Good Bye January, You Sucked As Usual!!

I could have swore this entire month was the movie Groundhog Day.

Ravens and Chimes [mp3] January

Kelvin, Who Do You THINK Should Get The Car Keys...?

I encourage anyone to send me something to post. I will be happy to do so. This little bit on IU Basketball is written by our correspondant Paul Vartanian.

Last year about this time I was quoted on Sun Sets' former site as saying, “Eric Gordon is the best guard I’ve seen to come out of Indiana since Oscar Robertson.” Now that a year has passed, I continue to stand by my statement and add what a better man with better hair (ESPN Analyst Steve Lavin) has said, “Eric Gordon is the best college guard since Jason Kidd, only he has a J.J. Redick jumper.” Now these statements leave this question: Why does Eric Gordon Jr. (EJ) struggle to get the ball?

I feel there are a number of components to this issue. The casual viewer probably watches a game and thinks, he gets plenty of shots and IU is a solid offensive team. I DVR every game and really concentrate on the sets they run (or lack there of), interaction between teammates, and all around team concept. I definitely keep my eyes on EJ to define what his role is in the offensive scheme. There in lies the problem, he is unsure of his role, he HAS no defined role. As a freshman, it is the coach’s job to establish what role he will play. I watch games scratching my head, wondering if EJ is the go-to guy, or is it DJ, or is it Crawford, maybe Ellis. I have no idea and the sad thing is, neither do they.

I’m going to break this down plain and simple. I’d like to sit Coach Sampson down, put my hands on his shoulders and say, Kelvin, you have the “best college guard since Jason Kidd” supposedly, give the “Kidd” the ball and let him create, let him play jazz. “He has a JJ Redick jumper” they say. Kelvin, dig some game tape of Duke Basketball in the Redick era, and start copying and pasting, I know you don’t have a problem with bending the rules. Hell, Reddick was no more athletic than Ryan Connors (former University of Evansville and Memorial High School baseball standout), but amazingly ole JJ got a few good looks in his 4 years. But Kelvin, we all know it’s obvious you don’t want to run any sets, so then why not give it your stud and get the f#@k out of the way. Spread the floor, or go 1-4 and let EJ go to work. He’s unselfish, nothing but good things will happen with the ball in his hands. And then from there let the Crawfords and Ellises play their game. You have a serviceable Big Man in DJ White, get him touches. I just see 3 guards bumping heads on who is going to get the next shot. And from my angle, they don’t even like each other. Watch the game tonight (IU vs. Wisconsin, 8:00 pm cst, ESPN2) and look at how the guards interact, not a lot of high fives and chest bumps distributed throughout the team. I don’t think Crawford and Gordon even talk to each other. I’m not blaming any of the kids, it is the coaches job with a young team to define roles in preseason. If he had established this like MOST coaches would do at this level, IU would be undefeated and would be a legit Final 4 contender, no question.

I’m no basketball mastermind, but there is a fundamental rule in sports: Keep the basketball, football, baseball, hockey puck, whatever, in your best players hands. Its simple. When you have a Tom Brady at quarterback you’re not going to hand off for the run. That’s what Kelvin Sampson is doing, He’s got Eric Gordon Jr. at guard, but instead he wants to give Jordan Crawford the green light. Wouldn’t you think you would give a kid that is a projected # 1 pick in next year’s draft every possible incentive to stay another year. So Kelvin, dig into you pockets, fish out the keys to the car, hand them over to EJ, let DJ ride shotgun, and tell the others to get in the back seat, shut their mouths, and enjoy the ride to San Antonio.

Can You Bear The Overhype...

I hate overhype. And here I contribute to the madness. Subconsciously I don't give bands like this a chance because the over excitement annoys me and I end up hating the people that "love" this band today...only to forget about them next month (Arctic Monkeys). With that being said, here are a couple songs from Vampire Weekend. A band that is "all the rage" these days. From what I gather these are some wicked smart kids from Columbia University and the songs I have heard aren't half bad. Not quite ready to spend my hard earned cash on an album, but I am willing to burn it for free....

Vampire Weekend [mp3] Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
Vampire Weekend [mp3] A-Punk

on another note...everyone around the brain factory is just a little too giddy today in anticipation of a snow day. I will stick with the stance "I would rather be suprised than let down...if I expect a snow day and the streets are clear by morning, you might as well wake me up on a saturday morning and tell me I have to be at work."

Times New Viking-Drop Out

This song is kind of badass.
Times New Vikng [mp3] DROP-OUT

The Conspiracy of the Snow Day and the Grocery Stores

Holy shit here it comes. Word has it that the Blizzard of 08 is to hit here on Friday. Whispers of "snow days" echo throughout the locker lined hallways. Adults look happy like children at the hope of having one day off...a Friday at that. The excitement is electric. The only problem is that Midwestern meteorologists have a success rate on par with a therapist working at a Hollywood Heroin Clinic. They conjure up all this excitement and then poof...45 degrees and rain. They won't dupe this sap...not this time. I plan for nothing but another day of work...another 6 am morning. It reminds me of the last time I had a Friday snow day.

From January of 07
I would never, in my right mind, choose to spend an entire Sunday afternoon @ Starbucks sipping coffee amongst hipster chatterboxes, popping Adderals, and reading various essays written by David Foster Wallace...In fact it might be one of the last things I would choose to do on a winter Sunday. So why would I make the conscious decision to spend my Sabbath in human claustrophobia instead of lying in the warmth of my living room, drifting in and out of naps while the crashing of football pads played beautiful background symphonies? The reason is that a city wide blackout has robbed me of my warm livingroom and my football and my comforting way of life...72 hours and counting...no heat, no television, the smell of rotting carcuses in a dead box in the kitchen, sock hats, ice cold toilet seats, colder bed sheets, flashlights, a fruit salad of scented candles (evergreen, carribean breeze, and soap), not being able to find the goddamn square batteries that power my clock radio, a dead ipod, a deader cell phone...
We all knew the storm was coming...we heard it like the approaching snare drums of the Revolutionary Red Coats...we were just children praying for a snow day. And it came. Half a day Thursday, Full Day off Friday. Plans to drink whiskey and watch movies, and take naps, and listen to new cds, and play guitar abruptly died at 1230 am on friday morning when a transformer outside my bedroom exploded like the 4th of July...Silence...you dont realize how badly silence hurts your brain until you hear true silence. No buzz from the heater...no hum from the fan...just cold air...cold, cold air...
It is amazing how one learns to adapt...to enjoy a seemingly mundane activity like sitting in a coffee house when faced with shitty cicumstances. Our evolutionary survival instincts kick in and we search for warmth...Prometheus stole us the fire...but Zeus seems to have the last word today...for his lightning bolt is directly related to my frozen ass and my frozen toes...so we loiter...all day long...9 hours to be exact...in one of the only places loitering is encouraged, or at least practiced...Starbucks. We were refugees fleeing to coffee shops and movie theatres, and book stores and tiny cars spitting heat.
The needle has broken off our themostat...50 degrees is the coldest it shows...and the needle has broken off...last night it was 9 outside...we are settlers...we are tougher than the settlers...We are tougher than Laura Engels Wilder, tougher than Davy Crockett, tougher than Daniel Fucking Boone (they had fire places, we have the warmth of scented candles)
I have not watched television since thursday night and it feels good...like I have finally removed myself from this electronic teet that has become so necessary to my survival...I read books and go to movies, and listen to headphones in a man-made cocoon of hooded sweatshirts and blankets and stocking caps
This situation is not as bad as it seems...or maybe it is...or maybe i have slightly lost hold of my senses...it is now just a matter of principle...we will not bail on the house...we will not flee to an overpriced hotel...we will not abandon this ship...I am just out of sorts...
A few minor details have made this situation a bit more ittitating
1. Ameren UE (local electric company) has taken their phones off the hook (i have stubbornly called upwards of 75 times) and I can only picture them all sitting around in their boxer shorts in the warmth of their office playing poker and drinking scotch...I cant help it, this is what I picture and it fucking pisses me off
2. The houses directly across the street...fifty yard from my front steps...are lit up like Vegas
3. I carefully planned, as this ice storm approached...to store my car in my garage...the ice came and my car was safe, avoiding the crystal shell that encased vehicles parked curbside...But since the electricity is out my car remains unrescuabley trapped in the only garage in the universe without a connecting door to the outside world (electric garage doors dont open in blackouts). This is only bothersome because I never carefully plan...never
So it ends with me, pensively looking on as Morgan Freeman narrates my inner monologue overlooking the sun setting on this the third day of our Antarctic Midwest...
I pray we never have such a day again

Sgt. Dunbar and the Hobo Banned [mp3] Don't Fall Asleep

10 Things I Love About Living In The Midwest

1. We are safe from sea attacks. If some ignorantly confident country decides to invade us by sea we are relatively safe, being one thousand miles away from the action on both sides.
2. If those wacky liberals are right and the "green house effect" is in full effect and the snow caps melt into the sea bringing tidel waves of flood water hundreds of miles inland...we are safe...we will be a tiny island in the middle of a new ocean. The island of Indiana. Has a nice litte ring to it.
3. We have Jimmy Chitwood. No one else does. You may love the movie Hoosiers (and if you have a soul you do) but you don't love it like we do. We grew up shooting jumpshots until dark. In a game of horse between a man from the Midwest and a man from anywhere else the game will result in a H-O to H-O-R-S-E victory to the man from Middle America. (it should be noted that if you grew up in the Midwest and move you are still a man from Gods Country...even if you moved to Charleston).
4. Everywhere else is a nice vaction spot.
5. We can hold our liquor. This may seem unimportant to many, but if you have had drinks with someone outside of our geographic location you will know what I am talking about. Chuck Klosterman has a great quote about Midwest drinkers...the details escape me.
6. The hole-in-the-wall bar is not a gimmicky, trendy place for hipsters to occasionally gather to drink Pabst Blue Ribbon and feel like they are blue collar; it is our every night and we are blue collar (even if we are technically not).
7. You can wear jeans and a t-shirt to about any eating establishment you chose to dine in. Unless you are a gimmicky, trendy bar trying to be LA or NYC...then you have to slap on your black pants and tight muscle shirt. You guys are clowns.
8. Once you live in the Midwest it is difficult to leave (see #8 on 10 things I HATE About Living In The Midwest)...Unless you plan on moving to Charleston...I guess.
9. There isn't a place in the world where the changing leaves in the fall are prettier. IF we get a fall...the drive to Bloomington Indiana is about as nice as it gets. The only problem is that sometimes we skip through fall right into winter.
10. We are surrounded by "real" people (and by "real" I mean those who truly know what it means to be a Midwesterner...not those posers who have confused themselves into believing they are something other than what they really are)...we exercise when we feel like it...we eat red meat when we feel like it...we drink whiskey when we feel like it...we have fistfights when we feel like it...most of all I think we try to keep things simple.

10 Things I Hate About Living In The Midwest

The order of these is irrelevant...
It should be noted that people have different opinions of where the Midwest is. Some say that Indiana is not in the Midwest and I do not agree. The way I see it is that the Midwest is from the Dakotas down to Kansas...across to Indiana (not including Kentucky) up through Western Ohio leaving Wisconsin and Minnasota up for debate.
1. Obviously the weather. Freezing in the Winter...Hotter than Satans Heel in the Summer...and sometimes skipping through the good months of Fall and Spring.
2. We are landlocked. Not that I am a huge beach goer, but I would like to sit and stare at large bodies of water from time to time.
3. A lot of Midwesterners walk around with an inferiority complex...like we have something to prove. Through over compensation the inferiority complex manifests into what can only be described as a smarmy, elitist attitude. We aint got nothing to prove to no body. We are great. We are the salt of the earth.
4. Everything looks the same. Its not exactly flat like a ballroom floor, but its pretty close. If you want to go skiing around here (again, not a big skier) you go to places like Hidden Valley or Paoli Peak. Skiing in a valley and Paoli does NOT have a peak. God does not always provide us with the appropriate precipitation so we make it ourselves with machines.
I wouldn't mind a little variation...a hill here...a mountain there...maybe I would take up hiking as a hobby...throw on some short khaki shorts and some Merrells and make a day of it...isn't hiking just walking around though? Thats not a hobby!
5. If you have liberal views on anything in life and don't live in Chicago people whisper behind your back..."don't mind him, he is too young to know what is really going on"
6. Can't get a good bowl of clam chowder around here. That really creases me.
7. We get movies around the same time as Sri Lanka does. The Darjeeling Limited was out for a month before we got to see it. Stick the film reel in a truck drive it 60mph until you reach the middle. Its not only the Darjeeling Limited...good movies take forever to get here.
8. Once you are in the Midwest you don't leave the Midwest. (this is also on my list of 10 Things I Love About the Midwest)
9. Its hard to write 10 things you hate about a place you actually enjoy.
10. The months of August and January here are enough to make a grown man cry.

(NEXT: 10 THINGS IO LOVE ABOUT LIVING IN THE MIDWEST)

The Eggs Will Fall Out Just To Break...

I think this song is very fitting for this time of year. Recently, every day feels like the movie Fargo only instead of being covered in pretty snow the Mississippi River does something to kill that hope of white covered front yards and snow days; we are left with another sloppy Midwestern day. "I wouldn't worry about today, tomorrow will just be the same." And that is exactly how January 22nd feels and it is the same as the 23rd, the 24th, and the 25th will feel. The days will feel long...they will feel cold...they will be unforgiving. But there is a little hope. The hope is two solid months away. Right now it looks like a little speck in the distance, but soon will look like green trees and pleasant morning temperatures. Just need to hold on for a little longer. As Uma Thurman so poignantly put it in Beautiful Girls "Pitchers and catchers report in two months, three weeks, and six days.."

Ce N'est Rien [mp3] Today

Happy MLK Day!!

FIGHT THE POWER

The Magnetic Fields Weekend Continues....

STEVEN MERRITT

I walked into Borders on Friday with a nice sized gift card ready to purchase overly priced cds to listen to this weekend. I ended up buying 69 Love Songs Vol 1 by the Magnetic Fields and Tigermilk by Belle and Sebastian. It is not easy writing a "love song" that doesn't fall into the same category as Richard Marx and Michael Bolton. Steven Merritt can write a pop song...and he can write a love song that doesn't sound like it should be on Delilah After Dark. There are others that write as well as him, but I don't know if there is anyone who does it better. Granted, some of the songs on the cd are silly as shit (Lets Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits "lets pretend we're bunny rabbits lets do it all night long...and when we've had a couple of beers we'll put on bunny suits, I long to nibble your ears and do as bunnies do.") and thats alright to me, but there are also some great songs filled with observations you never spend time thinking about. The Magnetic Fields most recent release Distortion seems to have the same great songwriting...the only difference is that the pop melodies are sung over distorted guitars. Here is a great song from the album, displaying the songwriting I really like about Steven Merritt. He also does a nice little acoustic version you can see here The Nun's Litany (acoustic). He is a funny looking character in his cab driver hat and he writes a good song.

The Magnetic Fields [mp3] The Nun's Litany

If I Had To Pick Another Human Being To Be I Am Pretty Sure I Pick Eddie Vedder

I still haven't seen this movie, but the cd is great.

Flashback Friday

Somewhere there is a video of me and Ben Shoulders lip syncing to this song. If it was recovered it would be the greatest piece of video footage from the 90's.
ANOTHER BAD CREATION-IESHA

I Love New Music That Has Been Around For Years---The Magnetic Fields

THE MAGNETIC FIELDS

I love running across a band that has been around for a while...a band you always hear about, but never listen to. A band that has albums full of songs that you have never heard...The band, The Magnetic Fields. Amazing songwriting and poppy melodies from Steven Merritt. I am excited enough to go buy albums (plural) from them today and listen to them in succession through this weekend (thank you MLK for giving me the day off Monday). This band has been around since the early 90's and I am sure they are such a band that has a following of people who say things like "I have been listening to them far before anyone knew about them." What the fuck is that! You don't get any credit for "discovering this band"...and by the way you just listen you have nothing to do with anything.
They have a new album out called distortion and I assume I will pick that up as well. I have one coming in the mail, but I have no patience for the time it takes the pony express to cross the plains with my package. So, I can't really talk much about their catalog of songs because I don't know many of them. Here is one I ran across and enjoy. Hopefully after this weekend I will have a better grasp of what they are all about.

The Magnetic Fields [mp3] All My Little Words

New Counting Crows Song?????

I don't really listen to the Counting Crows anymore. What I mean by that is I haven't listened to them for 7 years or so...whenever Hard Candy came out. I enjoyed that album...there are some good musicians in that band. I have seen them live and they were great, but there is something about them that is sad to me now. The band doesn't make me sad, as much as Adam Duritz does. An overweight fella who wrote/ writes great songs. Sincerely, he is a very good songwriter. To me he is the poster child for what making music can do to your love life. But the days of dating Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, and some chick from The Young and the Restless is pretety much over. As are the 90's and the popular interest in the band. This is the first song I have heard from them since that song where he hooks up with a cartoon character in the video...or maybe he hooks up with the cartoons girlfriend...I can't remember. I like this song though...and it sounds like early 90's Counting Crows to me. I woudn't have even noticed if it wasn't for Stereogum posting it...

Couting Crows [mp3] When I Dream Of Michelangelo

Ce N'est Rien--You Are Heaven and Others

I haven't stopped listening to this album since I received it on Friday. Enjoyable from track 1 to track 10, filled with great melodies and choruses that hook you into singing in your sleep, and verses that reveal something new each time you listen. It's not an exaggeration saying that this is a great album..and that is what it is. An album. For the first time he has put together 10 songs that make a record...they work together. Building up and crashing down...witty and thoughtful. Just when the casual listener might find himself wandering off into a meaningless conversation they are hit with an amazingly catchy chorus that brings them back into the tale. For those of you who listen to every word coming through the headphones to dissect the storyline you will have plenty to work with on this one. Songs filled with promise and disappointment and when you feel like a character is giving up he throws out a line like "when you hold me like a body bag" or "I want to close my eyes and throw you down a well"...It makes you laugh in a way that only means you kind of understand. Great songwriters make depressing statements comforting...lines like "slowly I have become quicksand" doesn't make you sad but makes everything seem like it might be OK. Its hard for me to pick a song to post...honestly I could have pulled one out of a hat and you would find it just as enjoying as the one below. This is one of my favorites.

Ce N'est Rien [mp3] I Could Just Die

and one of my favorite lines from another song...called Today.
I will wait for you today
but only if you're running late
Its open season my mistake
the eggs will fall out just to break

17-0 and Some Awesome Jacksonville Fans

We decided to go watch the Patriots game at a bar last night. We were hungry and wanted to find somewhere to drink beers and eat Buffalo Chicken Wraps. The bar was small and was not crowded...we ordered food and buckets of beer and were getting ready to enjoy the game. A group of people came in shortly after us and sat down at a table behind us. Immediately they made it known that they were Jacksonville Jaguar fans...and who isn't in the St. Louis area. It didn't take long to figure out that these clowns just didn't like the Patriots. They ran their mouths all game long...most of their nonsense fell on deaf ears. The Patriots seemed like they were in control, I was enjoying the evening, and I had the sneaking suspicion that one of the guys was retarded (although I don't think he really was), so I didn't feel that it was necessary to respond. One guy was obviously trying to get our attention because he kept making stupid ass comments when Rodney Harrison would light someone up or when Jacksonville gained more than 3 yards. It got annoying pretty quick. As the game was winding down and the Pats put the game to rest this douche bag started yelling "Hurt him, I hope they injure him!" (you see why I thought he was retarded). We finally lost our cool a bit and started to run it back at them. He was a big dufus and I don't think he understood what we were saying, I made fun of him by imitating his lisp (which I am almost embarrassed about) and before things got out of hand we left. The last thing dumb fuck muttered was "thteroidth". All I said to him was that we aren't going to give any of them back. And we won't. Whether it is someone saying that the Patriots are cheaters for the videotape thing or that Rodney Harrison cheats because he used steroids we won't give back one of the 16...now 17 wins. The only thing that matters is that you win.
It was a good win, both the game and our confrontation with those boring dipshits. I just get really annoyed with people who root obnoxiously against a team. As long as you are cheering for your team you can be as obnoxious as you want. Jacksonville played surprisingly well. They will be pretty great next year.
I am real disappointed that we won't get to see the Cotls/ Pats matchup next weekend. That would have been a good one. It will be fun playing the Chargers and making fun of Shawn Merriman and his Lights Out dance. Word.

Jenn Baker-Dreamer

"I am dreaming of butterflies and candy canes."

I have something for Canadian musicians and Jenn Grant is one. I can't really give a review of any kind except for the fact that I like this song. This is a pretty song and she is from Halifax if that means anything at all to you. She has toured with Feist and The Weakerthans. Her album is called Orchestra For The Moon. This song alone kind of makes me want to hear the entire album.

Jenn Grant [mp3] Dreamer

Flashback Friday

Eric B. and Rakim-Paid in Full
This goes out to Jackson Brownlee and the hopes that he will not become jaded by rap today.

Marissa Nadler Covering Bright Eyes

You don't hear a lot of Bright Eyes covers. I cover Bright Eyes songs occassionally in my living room with the blinds drawn because I can sing them without completely disgracing them. Marissa Nadler does a nice version of a pretty great song. She has a nice, pretty voice.

Marissa Nadler [mp3] Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed)--Bright Eyes Cover

Hall of Fame Snub Number 2 (Goose Gossage still Sucks)

THE HAWK
I would not consider myself a Cubs fan, but if I had to pick a National League team to root for the Cubs would be the team. I used to love getting home from school and hustling downstairs to watch Ryne Sandburg and Mark Grace, Keith Moreland and Gary Mathews, Jody Davis, Leon Durham and Andre Dawson. It was a treat to catch day baseball before Wrigley got lights. Too much emphasis on longevity and just trudging along to accumulate statistics. Granted, Andre Dawson did play 20 years...he did forgetably play for the Red Sox and Marlins, but what I am going to do is focus on the years from 1977 to 1991. In those years he was a great outfielder. I don't mean good...I mean great. He played his first 10 years in Canada and when it comes down to it, in the eyes of the evil media, this fact hurts him. He won 8 gold gloves. He had an absolute laser beam coming out of his arm from right. He had 1 MVP (on a losing ass, last place team), 8 All Star appearances, and he was the Rookie of the Year in 1977. If we take his prime years ('77-'91) he averaged 30 homeruns 100 RBI and close to 30 stolen bases a year. He never played for a winner and he never really had a stud hitting behind him like a lot of these guys today. He finished with 438 homeruns, but that doesn't matter to me. During his prime years he was one of the best in the game. And that is what the Hall of Fame is. It should be based on eras and Andre Dawson was arguably the best Outfielder in the 80's. I don't really hate Goose Gossage, I think he was a good closer...I just think the Hall is a bit of a stretch. He is not more deserving than Jim Rice or Andrew Dawson. Basically, I don't like anyone who was once a Yankee.

Hall of Fame Snub (Goose Gossage Sucks!)

I would like to issue a formal complaint to whomever this may concern. Mainly dumb shit sports writers and the veterans committe in charge of voting guys into the hall of fame. Jim Rice. Why are you denying this man entrance inside the walls. I realize Hall of Fame worthiness is soley based on career statistics. The benchmarks of 500 Home Runs, 3,000 Hits, 300 Wins, 3000 Strikeouts...and on and on. Do the numbers really mean as much anymore. What does it matter that Mark McGwire finished with 583 home runs? I think McGwire would have finished his career with 295 Homeruns if he left the steroids alone. Does that mean anything? And Clemens? Do his numbers mean anything to anybody?
Look at Jim Rice. 6' 2" tall 205 llbs. Thats smaller than me. And he raked for 14 years. An average season for Jim Rice looked like this .300 Average with 30 Home runs and 113 RBI. One MVP award in '78 when he hit .325 with 46 Home runs and 139 RBI. So he didn't win a championship, but he was with the Red Sox and we all understand why he has 0 rings. He was loyal and played in one city...He made 8 All Star games yet he isn't in the Hall of Fame because he doesn't have the gawdy numbers that some of these freaks have. You have to ask yourself if he was one of the best outfielders from '75-'85? The answer is yes.

(next Andre Dawson)

My Second or Third Favorite Weekend in Sports

Best Uniforms in Football

As far as sports goes this weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the year. It rivals that Sweet 16/ Elite 8 weekend in March for College Hoops. To me, everything leading up to the final game is much more exciting than the final game itself. I don't know if its my cursed mindset of always dreading the end...even before it has begun...or the fact that I love how hard teams are working to get to that pinnacle final game. Lets start in the AFC. All across the nation everyone is hoping for a Patriots/ Colts AFC Championship game. I even think the folks in Jacksonville and San Diego secretly would like to see this game...and why wouldn't they. I hope we see that game and I cleanse myself of all jinxing repercussions after making such a statement. I will head back to Indiana and engage is 3 hours of verbal sparing with my friends who are Colts fans. I am not so secretly scared of one friend and what he transforms into when the Colts and Hoosiers play. He somewhat resembles the Hulk in certain situations when his team is under duress.
In the NFC I like the Packers and the Giants. Very rarely in the NFL does a team beat another team on three seperate occasions in one year. I think Eli Manning is finally figuring out how to "not try to be his brother" and has turned himself into a pretty efficient quarterback. Burress is healthy and the Giants running game is solid. Tony Romo will crack and you will see Terrell Owens true colors shining through.
I like Seattle, but I dont think they can beat the Packers at Lambeau. Too cold...too much Brett Favre
Here is where the smart money goes this weekend.

Saturday 1/12
SEATTLE (+8) 24

Green Bay 28
----------------------
JACKSONVILLE (+13) 21

New England 30
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Sunday 1/13
INDIANAPOLIS (-8) 35

San Diego 7
-----------------------
NEW YORK (-7.5) 28

Dallas 24

Make Sure You Think You Are Great At One Thing (at least)

Make sure that you think that you do at least one thing well in life. It doesn't matter what it is...and it really doesn't matter if anyone else agrees with you. I am all for humility, but in situations such as this, when talking to a computer screen, it is alright to brag a little...or a lot. I do believe if you write one great song in your life then that trumps all and you don't have to worry about being good at anything again. I have not written one great song so I have to examine my abilities and assess my self-confirmed greatness.
First of all, I make a pretty good mixed cd. What I mean by pretty good is that it is phenominal. Contrary to popular belief, there is no real formula to go by (ie High Fidelity). It is a sliding scale...it all depends on who you are making it for. You have to invision them sitting in their living room by themselves...placing the disc in their stereo...drinking optional but encouraged...listening to each track as it plays. On that note I still owe some people Holiday Samplers and you will get that within the week or three.
Second, and maybe most impressive, is my ability to excel at RBI Baseball on Nintendo. I don't know if it is my strategic use of pitchers...or my ability to get out of 85% of rundowns...or my ability to throw out anyone who tries to steal on me...or my ability to score 10 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to win a piss ass drunk game at 3am, but when that simple rectangular controller is in my hand I am in my world of success. It doesn't matter who I play with. My career winning percentage with the Red Sox is surely around .950...but I win with others as well. Whether I am bitch slapping with Vince and Ozzie of the Cardinals...or dropping bombs with Reggie of the Californial Angels or Chili Davis of the Giants I will not lose a 7 game series. Please reread that last statement...for it is an important one.
I do not skate on the line of confidence/ arrogance on this one. I tap dance in arrogance. I lay down on comfortable couches being fed grapes by beautiful belly dancers in the arena of arrogance. I throw bricks at expensive vases in my living room of arrogance. I would just like one person to come forward and knock me off of my RBI Baseball high horse. Even if by chance, a freak occurance would transpire, a fluke defeat at the hands of an equally confident 30 year old, I, in my own mind...would still be the greatest. THE GREATEST!!!!!

If I Was A Professional Athlete Named in the Mitchell Report

I took steroids. I wasn't injected with flax seed oil or B vitamins...I took the good stuff, Stanozolol, Nandrolone Deconate, HGH. I took them because I wanted to make money. That is the number 1 reason. You see, when you get to this stage in your athletic career winning Championships is nice and all, but the most important thing is making money for my family. Winning Championships is for high school and college. Once you get out here the loyalty is gone...the selflessness disappears into the floating dollar. If the guys who say they just want to win really meant it, you would see more guys taking pay cuts to play on a winner. Speaking for myself...I want my money. I know what you all must be saying. Two million a year is plenty. You don't need any more. When there is money out there to be made, you always need more. Any athlete who tells you that he bent the rules because he wanted to win is as full of shit as the ones who say they have never touched the stuff. How can all of you, sitting out there in your easy chairs, on your fucking high horse say that you would never cheat to get ahead. I am sure all of you have done it in one way or another. Maybe you have convinced yourself that your actions are justified...you know, so you can sleep at night. Don't judge me. I am standing up here and admitting what I have done.
Money has turned this great game into something that was never intended. A business. Its a game and I miss the times when thats all that I thought it was. As athletes we have nothing to apologize for. You pay the money to see the games. You want to see bombs and fireworks and 103 mph fastballs. So what now, you want me to be sorry for it. I am not sorry.

The Decemberists [mp3] The Sporting Life

I Spit Out Tiny Fires All Day

For me this is my first Monday back. Its sort of painful. Kind of feels like doing yardwork in the respect that at this moment I am semi miserable, but when it is finished I will have an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment. Here are a few songs to get us through today...

Sgt. Dunbar and the Hobo Banned [mp3]The Seattle Song
Great Lake Swimmers [mp3] Moving Pictures Silent Film (live)
Marissa Nadler [mp3] Honey Bear

Flashback Friday

This song is hard, right. Is that right?..."hard".
"so fuck charlie manson
I'll snatch him out his truck
hit him with a brick and I'm dancin"

DR DRE AND ICE CUBE- NATURAL BORN KILLAZ

New Mountain Goats Song Called Sax Rohmer Number 1 Is Badass Awesome

Wow this song makes me happy today.
The Mountain Goats [mp3] Sax Rohmer Number 1

Juno

"Hi George Michael I am pregnant with your child"

I have made a vow to myself in this new year, that I will go see more movies. The problem, for some time now, has been the amount of horseshit films thrown onto the big screen. Going to the movies will always be one of my favorite things to do. Try to catch a few good ones here and there. Rocket Science was pretty entertaining. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead was close to great. And Juno. I don't exactly know where to put Juno. I was entertained for sure. Ellen Page did a good job as a cynical and matter of fact pregnant 16 year old. I didn't realize this but she played in Hard Candy and I thought did a pretty nice job in that one. Michael Cera is awesome and he will always be George Michael to me. He plays his role well. Funny akward kid who unbeknownst to his classmates, will one day be a popular person as an adult. At times the dialogue of witty banter was great while other times it seemed a little much. You know what I mean...a little too cutsie...a little too Gilmore Girls-esque. The soundtrack was good... Belle and Sabastian amongst others...got a little annoyed with the musical references...Iggy Pop and the Stooges and so forth. But overall funny and entertaining. I recommend that you check it out, but only after you make sure your girlfriend knows you are going...because she probably wants to see it and because lying also can mean not offering up the truth.

From The Radiohead Laboratory

VIDEOTAPE

AND THE WINNER IS....

I would like to thank the 6 people who voted for album of the year...and the two who voted twice. It is my priveledge to announce the winner of the The Sun Sets On Indiana's Album of the Year. Just edging out Bright Eyes by one vote is Band of Horses-Cease to Begin.
I apologize for only giving 90 days to vote for the album of the year...tomorrow we will start voting for 2008's album of the year.

A New Years Guide to Beating the Post Holiday Blues

Happy New Year!!! 2008, huh? I don't know what to say about that. A little disappointed that we don't have flying cars and full meals in tasty pill forms yet, but I guess we are doing alright. Ipods and Nintendo Wii and all.
The post holiday blues. They are tough to get through. And if you can't write a song about it then you need this guide to get through those dreadful months called January and February. Anticipate the absence of sunlight from your life. Periodic weepy moments remembering all the fun you had this holiday season. The early morning dry heaves when thinking about going in to work. And worst of all getting used to that empty space where the Christmas tree used to be.

***THE GUIDE***
1. THROW OUT THE TREE! If you have to just pick up the tree out of the stand, ornaments and all, and throw it out your back bedroom window, you must do it.
2. Exercise. Everyday. No excuses. Go to the gym and punish yourself for all the fun you had.
3. Find three good books to read. Jitterbug Perfume, Elliott Smith's Biography, and, I dont know, maybe Ramona Quimby Age 8.
For old times sake.
4. A little New Years cleaning. Throw out old shirts and boxes and things you don't use.
5. Start writing letters again. Send them to your friends and family. (everyone likes getting mail...if you send it..more times than not you will get a reciprocation soon)
6. Finally, its not wrong to supplement happiness with merchandise. Go buy yourself something. A new pair of slacks, a kitten called Terminator X, five new cds, a PSP game. Whatever you like. Pick out something nice.

New Years resolutions are not bad things. You only have to do those things you promise to do for two months. Once you get to March everything is good again and goes back to normal.
If all else fails think about Professor Peanut Butter and his modest nod.

This song was thought to be the best of the year in a few publications. What do you think? Best song of the year or just different enough that music elitists love it to make you feel that your musical taste is "simple"?

LCD Soundsystem [mp3] All My Friends