I wadded the end of winter up in a ball and threw it in our trash cans out back

Baseball Means Springtime and Springtime Means We Are Less Likely To Punch Strangers In The Face

It is just about that time...on the cusp of another new season, that we start wishing time away to get to the warm Spring weather...We are ready to discard a winter season that has already given us everything it had to offer. Christmas and snow and whiskey drinkin indoors with friends and family and all the rest. We have used it up and all we are left with is soggy ground from melted snow and an overall depression brought on by constantly freezing temperatures and overcast skies that make you wonder if something terrible has happened to the sun.
I realize that Spring is still weeks away, but March is so close and March means good things...baseball...March Madness...and Spring. Here in the Midwest we could all use a string of 65 degree days that will allow the flowers and greenery to feel welcome...to encourage their arrival...and to get the idea of bathing with toasters out of our heads. You know what they say. The sweet just isn't as sweet without the sour. And we are smack dab in the middle...or end hopefully, of the fucking sour. So that means we will truly enjoy the sweet as it creeps up around the corner.
Here is what I am looking forward to- (in a random as I think of it order)
1. Grilling out and drinking beer on the porch at 7pm while it is still light
2. Baseball being everywhere.
3. Opening round games of the tournament. The opening rounds are the best. Everyone is hopeful...everyone believes they will be the cinderella or the final ones holding the trophy.
4. Green trees and grass and all that.
5. 65 degrees
6. Spring Break

With all this being said, at the end of February, wishing for Spring. Here is a song from Beach House because I would love to be in one today...

Beach House [mp3] Gila

Falling Slowly by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova

I almost made it through the Oscars. I knew who was going to win the big ones so seeing it to the end wasn't a priority on Sunday night. Probably the coolest moment was when Glen Hansard and Markta Irglov won for their original song in the movie Once. I liked Once...it was a good movie. Glen Hansard is the lead singer of the Frames and we saw them a couple years back. It was nice to see people so genuinly thankful to win. They didn't act like they were shocked they way someone at home might be if they found out they had just won an Oscar for Cinematography. They were thankful and excited and I was glad that Markta Irglov got to come back and say a few words. The song is really good.
Falling Slowly [mp3] - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova

Opinions of The Mountain Goats New Album Called Heretic Pride

You can't possibly review a cd from a band or a man who you enjoy as much as I enjoy John Darnielle. It's the same thing as betting on your team. It's impossible to take a bias stance. So this is not a cd review, but just opinions from someone who would still have favorable things to say if the album was a concept album about meatloaf or subzero water removal...
I couldn't even wait to get to the record store to pick it up. Vintage Vinyl is simply down the street but it was really cold and I was hungry therefor could not make a rational decision. This is bothersome to me because I hate to buy things off of Itunes. I like to be able to hold the product in my hands. The concept of digital music still seems very impersonal to me...although very practical.
So on Tuesday I had to have it...so I bought it...and listened to it twice in a row. Heretic Pride is as amazing as you would expect...maybe more so. Get Lonely was good not great and Sunset Tree was close to perfect. This album to me seems like a combination between the two. Musically it is the Mountain Goats best.
The first four songs of Heretic Pride (Sax Rohmer Pt 1, San Bernadino, Heretic Pride, Autoclave) almost make the rest of the album seem like shit, but thats only because they are extraordinarily swell. And if the rest of the album is shit...I love shit. New Zion starts out like a Steve Winwood song to me...just a neutral observation.
So Desperate is nice and quiet. A good break. In the Craters On the Moon (I love it when he screams "In the declining years of the long war" it makes me want to break my ceiling fan) and Lovecraft in Brooklyn are badass awesome. We saw both those live and I liked them when we heard them then, but like them more now.
One of my favorites, if not my absolute favorite, is the redo of Michael Myers Resplendent. You noticed it was a great song before when it was recorded on Songs for Vamsidassa Babaji...just him, but with drums and violins and all the production it is awesome.
I can't post a song because I bought it off of Itunes and they do some super special finagling to prevent the transfer to mp3. Those selfish sneaky bastards...
I think it would be in everybodys best interest to buy this cd. It will give you super powers and will probably make you faster than everyone in your gym class.
word

I Love A Good Sleet Day

There are two distinct types of snow days. The kind that is called the night before. You are excited, maybe you make the decision to drink lots of alcohol, you stay up late, and sleep in the next day. There is very little to complain about with this scenario. You get to drink a lot on a snow day without the recourse of a day ruining hangover and you get to sleep as long as you would like. There is not a lot of surprise in this one, but its still nice.
Then you have the kind where you go to sleep early the night before, get up at 6, shower, put on your clothes, drink your coffee like a zombie...and then, unexpectedly, you receive a phone call telling you to go back to bed. You look outside and think this must be a mistake because there is no visible snow on the ground...you look closer and the streets resemble an ice skating rink. You are so excited that going back to sleep is not a possibility at the moment, you jump in your car after scraping off the thick ice with a cd case and head to McDonalds for breakfast. This dangerous endeavor is not without reward. Bacon Egg and Cheese Biscuit and a McDonalds coke...
Today we got snow day two and it is 725 am and the day has just begun. Sportscenter will be watched at least twice. I have four new cds I am very excited to listen to.
1. Times New Viking- This cd is amazing. Honestly. It is loud as shit and you can't really make out a lot of the words, but there is something about it that I like a lot.
2. The Mountain Goats-Heretic Pride- Buy it today.
3. The National-Alligator- I have spent some time now enjoying Boxer, this is the one right before Boxer. It is good.
4. Ice Cube-Lethal Injection- I miss rap like this. "To G or not to G is the question..."
I try to pretend that he wasn't in Are We There Yet?
I am getting a little sleepy I think I will take my 8 am nap and start my day a little later.

The National [mp3] Secret Meeting
Times New Viking [mp3] My Head (Be careful your computer speakers will probably catch on fire)

Taping Over Things

Take 7 minutes and 11 seconds out of your day and have a listen.

Ce N'est Rien [mp3] Taping Over Things
Ce N'est Rien (myspace music)

There Will Be Blood

I haven't seen a better performance by an actor than Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood...maybe ever. It was that good. He skates a line between stability and insanity and then falls right over into the insane. I liked No Country For Old Men more as a movie, but as far as single character acting goes, Daniel Day Lewis was amazing and better than anyone I have seen in a long time.
The movie was 2 hours and 45 minutes long. That is a long time to sit in a non reclining seat, but I enjoyed every minute of it. It's a different sort of movie than Paul Thomas Anderson is used to making (Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love) and I can't say that it was better or worse than his previous work. Just different.
I think it is important to go see people with extraordinary talent, especially in a world right now so full of hacks and mediocrity. There is such a desire to be "famous" that we have created all sorts of machines to give people what they want. If you turn on the television at any moment in the evening you will understand what I am talking about. Ordinary is fine, just don't try to create interest or talent out of it.
So when you have a chance to witness someone who has a talent that stands out in a sea of other talents you should check it out. They are pretty rare these days.

Happy Presidents Day

"You Fucked Frank, Didn't You!"

Happy Presidents Day. If there is some way we could "celebrate" Presidents Day the Monday after the Super Bowl, we would be on to something. Just an idea for the Holiday Planners out there to think about.

Okkervil River [mp3] The Presidents Dead
*April 19th Okervil River and New Pornographers @ The Pageant in St. Louis

Black Cab Sessions-Elvis Perkins

These little one take performances just don't get old to me. I ran across Black Cab Sessions. Take a look when you have a chance; songs by The National, Okervill River, The New Pornogrophers, Lightspeed Champion, and Elvis Perkins.
Here is a song off of Ash Wednesday. Elvis Perkins singing in a black cab in, what I can only assume, is England. I have an idea... lets see if there are some artists willing to sing one of their songs in a phonebooth, or on the toilet, or in a suitcase. That is a money maker, I tell you.
Don't forget how great that entire album, Ash Wednesday, is. Its Only Me is one of 11 great songs on the disc.

ELVIS PERKINS-ITS ONLY ME

Chris "You are an extremely annoying sportscaster" Berman

Chris Berman is probably my least favorite announcer/sportscaster of all time. Great, you're a pioneer...whatever. He is such a dick in this video...I almost like him. Take a second and watch this...if you haven't already.

Video Clip Berman Temper Tantrum

If Samson and Clemens could be put in a row boat and pushed out to sea I might have a better Thursday than I am having now

My sports world is turning itself inside out right now. First, we have Roger Clemens and his stumbling around like a 6 year old caught with fudge all over his face...lying like a middle schooler caught snagging an Ipod...and Sampson making the same stupid mistakes he has always made.
You know, its not the cheating that is bothersome. In a way we can all appreciate the temptation; it is a machine that runs itself wild. Building and building until we hit the inevitable. What I can't get over is the sad, foolish, obvious, lying. It's hard to watch a grown man struggle to keep his head above water. Especially one who hung on our bedroom walls for so many years. When Clemens joined the Yankees he was dead to me. Like an Evangelical "Christian" finding out his only son is gay. He was dead to me. So all of this "scandal" only affects me in that it gives me something to bitch and moan about today. Baseball will still be baseball. With or without the steroids there is nothing anyone can do to make me love the game less. That is that.
Then you have the Hoosiers. The sad, sorry, Hoosiers. I don't care that they are 20-4; they haven't beaten a team in the top 25. They are not good.
Cheating and losing is a bad, bad combination. I am not saying that I could overlook the infractions if we were winning tough games because I don't think that I could. It would be easier though. We pride ourselves, as part of the Indiana Basketball program, in doing things the right way. Coach Knight established that quite nicely. This is unacceptable. Kelvin needs to go tomorrow.

Band of Horses--No One's Gonna Love You

These guys should be bigger than China. Big Ben looks a little more comfortable than the last time I saw him perform The Funeral on Late Night Television.

To the Pen You Go

Remember White Men Can't Jump. Remember the scene when that guy got pissed at Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson for hustling them in hoops. Apparently, "The Game" did the same sort of thing, whipping out his pistol on a school basketball court. He has to go to jail for like 60 days. He is hard core. This will surely boost his already hard core street cred. One thing it won't do is make him a good rapper. He is closer to a clown than a rapper. Good luck big guy...hope you don't get pounded in the ass too hard. Word.

Going Anywhere But Here...

Not that "here" is thatbad...Rule #1 for this time of year is to not wish time away. I am ignoring rule #1 because I am tired of the cold. It is cruel to offer a person a taste and then snatch it from their jaws. Saturday was 55 and sunny. Spent the whole day building something that should have taken half the time, but I didn't mind because it felt as if the day was trying to be Spring...albeit, much earlier than scheduled. I am wishing cold February away.

I would apologize for all the recent Mountain Goats songs, but I am not sorry. Here are a few, I suppose, lesser known songs by the Mountain Goats. I like them.

The Mountain Goats [mp3] Going to Utrecht
The Mountain Goats [mp3] Going to Santiago
The Mountain Goats [mp3] Going to Kansas
The Mountain Goats [mp3] Going to Scotland

The Mountain Goats write a song called Down To The Ark for Super Tuesday because Voting makes you Smarter

Back to some music. If you haven't seen...or heard it yet, the Mountain Goats were asked to write a song about Super Tuesday. To no surprise to anyone, the song was great. Heretic Pride will be out on the 19th. Here is a link to the song because the mp3 is nowhere to be found.
here is the link...its worth your time
The Mountain Goats Down To The Ark (stream)

Notre Dame Signing Day

THE FUTURE???

Signing Day in college football. Notre Dame has signed a whopping 2 from the ESPN top 50. This is not a good sign coming from a team that could easily have been called the worst team in NCAA fooball last year. Thatis a hard thing for me to say, but it might be true. So they have signed Dane Crist who is probably 2nd best quarterback coming out of high school (Terelle Pryor-undecided) and that backs up my belief that Clausen will not take another snap at Notre Dame. They also signed a wide receiver, Mike Floyd out of Minnesota. I don't know if Coach Weiss noticed this last year but the O line is absolutely embarrassing. Could have mixed in a big time offensive lineman...something.
So I can't say that I am feeling too good about another season rooting for the Irish. There is no excuse. Charlie has played his one get out of jail free card. We need to win from here on out.

Lightspeed Champion

Here is a nice song by a guy I have been listening to a lot lately. Devonte Hynes who goes by Lightspeed Champion. He is a weird looking fella and his first LP Falling Off The Lavender Bridge is filled with good pop songs. It was produced by Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes. Have a listen and buy the album.

Lightspeed Champion [mp3] Dry Lips

Coach Knight And What He Has Meant To The Kids Of Indiana

There are two types of people in this world. Actually there are many more but you can divide sub categories into two main ones. A group that appreciates Bob Knight's greatness...and a group that does not.
It goes much deeper than you may think. It's not just about basketball.

With the sudden retirement of Coach Knight, this seems to be a fitting time to discuss his legacy...his influence...his greatness. Lets put wins aside (902 of them in 42 years)...and lets put aside the obvious comments from the obvious people "yeah, great example he set, didn't he throw a chair across the court in the middle of the game". He is a "black and white" guy...and I love "black and white" guys...there is no gray...there are no excuses...there are no reasons...there is success and there is failure. When you get down to it in real life that is what we have...success and failure and how you deal with them both. Mommy and Daddy aren't always going to be around to make everything alright. When you dig yourself a hole and bury yourself in shit, no one is going to get you out of it but you. The world is big...the world is cruel....and if you don't have the tools you will drown...or suffucate...and fail. That is a fact. Coach Knight taught those tools. His message is always that he is teaching kids how to make it in the "real world".

People in Indiana love him unconditionally. Just as you are born and taught to love Jesus or Mohammed Ali we are born to love Coach Knight (if you are from Indiana and don't love Coach Knight...we have no love for you). As a kid you saw him yell, berate, verbally undress his players...and you might have even muttered "I don't know if I could play for him"...but then when you came to your senses all you could say is "When I play for the Hoosiers I will be so good that he won't yell at me". Ask Steve Alford if that worked. Bottom line is that we saw them win and we knew who was in command. We learn early...Don't make excuses and when you win the ends always justify the means. Always.

There are lots of people that don't like Coach Knight. People who don't quite understand what he does as a teacher...as a coach. They make untelligent comments about him throwing a chair, or choking a player, or slamming his fist on a scores table. They don't see the good...and after their first statment...you dont expect them to. You can tell a person who doesn't appreciate his leagacy. It's easy. Most of the time they are complaining....or making an excuse...or talking shit about a friend of theirs...or taking a sick day after a night of heavy drinking...or being a hypocrite. They tell you that they couldn't finish the project because the power went out. They call that a reason, not an excuse...they have fooled no one, but themselves. They say they hate losing, but what they really mean is that they are a poor loser. There is a big difference.

You have to respect anyone who goes against what is "popular opinion"...because as we all know the majority, unfortunately doesn't have a clue. He did things his way. I love that. Wishywashy sucks. He believed his way was the right way and he never waivered, never made excuses, never apologized. I respect that, as does anyone who appreciates what Coach Knight has done.

He never cheated and his teams always graduated the highest percentage of players. All of this done in a wining program. All 902 wins aside...his programs were winning programs. Miles Brand made one real mistake in his career and he knows what it is. Or maybe he doesn't. I wouldn't expect him to understand the importance of Coach Knight in molding young lives and futures. Poor guy is just a dumbshit.

I am thankful for Bob Knight and all that he has done for Indiana basketball and the kids who grew up worshipping him and the program he built. We are now approaching 30 and we still understand the "old school" approach to how life is supposed to be. He is another reason why I am thankful for growing up in Indiana.
Jim Rome and Billy Packer can go fuck themselves.

A Day of Mourning

I MISS THE OLD DAYS...WHEN WE WERE WINNERS!

I threw up in my mouth last night. The exact moment I can remember clearly because it was the moment I knew the Patriots were going to lose. It wasn't when Eli threw a perfect fade to Plaxico Burress in the corner of the endzone...and it wasn't when the 4th and 20 prayer was ignored by god...it was when Eli Manning, whom I don't think of as a very agile human being, was wrapped up by 2,3,4 Patriot lineman only to somehow escape and chuck the ball to David Tyree (HE HAD FOUR F-ING CATCHES ALL YEAR!!!!) who made the best catch he will ever make in his life. He should quit now because he will do nothing better in his life....EVER! At that exact moment when he trapped the ball on his helmet and he dropped to the ground I threw up a little in my mouth...it was followed by a very pronounced dry heave. I knew that was it.
It was a heartbreaking loss. One of the biggest heartbreaking loses I have ever seen...and I mean that. It was like running 26 miles and 284 yards of the Boston Marathon only to have someone chop off both of your legs as you bleed 3 feet away from your milestone. Its like writing an American masterpiece only to have the entire manuscript fly out of an open window and into the Pacific Ocean as you type the words The End...I am not overexaggerating. It is devistating.
I don't feel good for anyone...
I don't feel good for Eli
Tom Coughlin
Strahan...
I can't write about this anymore

Sax Rohmer #1

word!

Tyler Ramsey

" I sort of look like Richie Tenenbaum in this picture, but my name is Tyler Ramsey."

Tyler Ramsey is part of Band of Horses. He just released a solo album called A Long Dream About Swimming Across The Sea. He opened for Band of Horses and was really good. He played a lot of really great instrumental stuff. If you like that sort of thing he is your guy. This song is not an instrumental although there is an instrument being played; singing accompanies it. This is a good song. Have a listen.

Tyler Ramsey [mp3] A Long Dream

Band Of Horses @ The Gargoyle...The Only Good Thing That Came Out Of January... Besides Getting Out Of It

You know a show is great when you are sitting in a basement of a University building, packed with sweaty, malnuritied college kids sporting chucks and ratty beards and you find yourself enjoying every single second of it. One kid played air drums through the entire set. He played the air drums over his head. I have never seen such a thing. He donned a sock hat that he kept on grabbing onto and pulling off and putting back on. There were moment I thought he was going to combust and then there were other moments when his reaction to a song was on par with what I could only imagine as someone watching a milk cow give birth to the baby Jesus. He loves Band of Horses.
The Gargoyle is not my favorite place to see a show...in fact it might be my least favorite, but when a band like Band of Horses plays I don't think it matters where you see them. The show will inevitably be great. Ben Bridwell is awesomely entertaining and he plays with an energy in his craft and he truly seems to enjoy his bandmates, giving them sideways grins after his ad-libbed f-bombs (Is there a ghost in my house...my fucking house). They played everything you would want to hear...No Ones Gonna Love You, The First Song, Monsters, Cigarettes Wedding Bands, Ode to LRC, Funeral, and There Is A Ghost. I then realized that this band does not have a song I do not like (maybe Detlef Schrempf). They played two great covers of songs I have never heard. A JJ Cale cover that I am desperately trying to find, and a CCR B-Side I can only assume is called Effigy. They were both amazing. They closed with Marry Song and General Specific and that was that. General Specific is fucking awesome...awesome. A top five show for sure.

Band of Horses [mp3] (Biding Time Is A) Boat Row (Live off of Limited Edition Tour EP)