The Late 90's Are Back

I don't know what made me post this song because its not that great.  It is Stone Temple Pilots and it sounds like Stone Temple Pilots so maybe thats why I have posted this song.  Listen to this song twice and I think you might just say that it is alright.
I still love Purple and Tiny Music and even like No 4.  They were really a great band and I think they were underrated because they were being compared to Pearl Jam and Nirvana.  The comparison doesn't seem fair, but you can't blame anyone but Scott Weiland because he thought it would be a good idea to emulate the most well known voice in 90's rock music.  To his credit he did a great job turning himself into something quite different.  Take a listen and remember your friends passing out in the back of your '81 Blazer listening to a worn out copy of Purple on cassette.

Stone Temple Pilots - Between The Lines by Atlantic Records

Titus Andronicus The Monitor

I loved Airing of Grievances by Titus Andronicus. It was great and I didn't think 
they could come up with another album that good, or even close to that good.  
They did and it is better.
The album is The Monitor and here is a song off of the album. This is A Perfect Union. I hope
you enjoy it.

Magic and Bird: A Courtship of Rivals

Its no secret that The Sun Sets On Indiana loves Larry Bird and 80's NBA basketball. Or maybe it is a secret, but let it be a secret no more. I just watched an unbelievable documentary called Magic and Bird: A Courtship of Rivals. I laughed like I laugh when I see genius and I cried like someone who watched a highlight video of their childhood. At the risk of sounding like every coach, teacher, parent, adult that have lectured us through our early years I am going to say that life was better when we were growing up. Let me be more specific. Sports and competition were better.

Rivalries were real, I mean existent. They weren't conjured up by Nike puppets, they were conjured up in big games and heated battles. In those days you could foul somebody into the third row and not face a lifetime ban from the sport. You could leave the bench and knock someone's nose off and not be crucified in the media. It was a better time. It was a time when real rivalries meant you didn't hug before big games and if you did the river dance during a rout you might just have your patella tendon ruptured the next time you played. I miss Larry and Magic. Those two divided friendships and gave us all something to argue about. Larry and Magic were polar opposites divided by a continent. Did you have the black converse or did you go with the purple and yellow. I know which pair I owned.

Those two defined you. If you liked Larry you were...like Larry. You were a little more quiet, you were a little less flashy and if you weren't a poor kid from Indiana, you wished you were. If you liked Magic you were a little bit of a "show off" and you were outgoing and you might just be a trouble maker. I don't know if that completely true, I think I am just describing the differences between me and my childhood friend Parker Gibson.

When was the last time you saw an NBA player go diving into the scores table to save a ball. I will tell you when. Late 80's Larry Bird. No one does this anymore. In "A Courtship of Rivals" they showed a number of clips where Larry dives, I mean sells out, to save a ball. I get dusty watching it. I don't know what it is, but it makes me remember why I wanted to be him for the first 13 years of my life. This documentary was everything I wanted it to be. Everyone always says, "who will be the next Jordan" and people always answer, "there will never be another Jordan" and while that is probably true I guarantee you we will see "another Jordan" before we see anyone who comes close to Bird or Magic.

As kids we grew up with these guys as our idols. We saw how much it hurt to lose (LeBron's leaving the court before shaking hands doesn't even come close, even though he thinks it does). Being competitive meant you would rip someone's balls off with your teeth if it meant you would have more points on the scoreboard when the clock read 0's. Its different now. It doesn't make me sad, it just makes me happy that we got to live in the middle of it. That when we shot free throws on our slanted driveway at night, we thought we could still be them.

Magic and Bird: A Courtship of Rivals is showing on HBO

The Freaking Rural Alberta Advantage by Mitch Miggenburg

by: Mitch Miggenburg

I was assigned a record review by Sunsets a couple of months ago, and while i have yet to complete this assignment, the main reason is here. I loved many albums of the 'oughts' (is this the best term for the years 00' - 01'? I guess it'll have to do) including, but definitely not limited to:
Band of Horses - Cease to Begin and Everything All the Time - I love them both unconditionally
The Mountain Goats - Sunset Tree (my original winner of album of the decade)
Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake It's Morning
Son Volt - Okemah and the Melody of Riot (bad name for a great album)
The Thermals - The Body, The Blood, The Machine
The Postal Service - Give Up
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - self-titled
Pearl Jam - Backspacer
Kings of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak
Josh Joplin Group - Useful Music
The Features - Exhibit A
The Decemberists - Picaresque
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band
Sun Kil Moon - Tiny Cities
and
The Fray - How to Save a Life....OK, just kidding - had to make sure you were still reading!

Some pretty good stuff! How is one to choose fromt he greatness above? I am no rock critic, i just know what I like. Most of the time I have a difficult time describing exactly why. I usually just kind of realize my affection for an album based on its time spent in my disc player. Each of the albums above spent an inordinate amount of time in my cd player in my car, and most of those still find their way there on a regular basis. These albums just don't get old. Ever. I have probably listened to Sunset Tree and Cease to Begin all the way through at least 200 times each. And that's a conservative number. Even when I know every single lyric and melody....I still listen. In those three seconds before the next track begins, I can already hear the opening sequence to the next song I already know i like. Powerful stuff. You know you've found something special when you don't even bother to research new bands, or songs, or videos. Nothing new gets a chance. You're content listening, and re-listening. I guess that makes these albums 'great' to me.

That being said, there's one band (and one album) that still gets me excited every time i listen. It's denying other new bands chances to be a part of my life. I don't want to listen to anything else. I am still stuck on Hometowns by the Rural Alberta Advantage. It snuck into my life at Christmas time, thanks to Sunsets, and it hasn't left my life since. I have literally worn the album down to a nub. I play it on repeat grading papers in my classroom; i listen over and over on my ipod on long runs; and i cannot eject it from the honda's disc player. It's the soundtrack of my last 3 months, and I don't see it coming to an end any time soon. I search for videos on youtube (hold on, where almost there), look for articles on websites, hoping for new releases....anything to feed the addiction. Again, i am no rock critic, but there's something to be said for their simplistic chord progressions, the urgency of his voice and words, and the complexity of the drums (I've never heard percussion this way). i notice something new with each listen. That's what makes it great to me.

So, if you haven't heard the RRA, do yourself a favor. If you have, do yourself another favor and play it again, and again, and again. I bet it won't get old any time soon.

Here's a couple videos I found taped at a record store in Ontario. Anyone else have a little bit of a secret crush on Canada? I digress. "Don't Haunt this Place" is on Hometowns, and Barnes' Yard is not. Both are unreal.

Don't Haunt This Place




Barnes' Yard

Spring Is Here or Its Closer Than it was with Snow on the Ground by Greg Brinkmeyer

It’s amazing what a few beers, sunshine and good music can do to inspire or lighten your mood. The temperature hit the low 40s today but the sun was out all day. I wore a fleece jacket to class. The small amount of warmth broke through the lingering haze of winter and offered a glimmer of hope for better things to come. Spent the evening with a few classmates kicking back a few Guinness and reliving the past week. Came home, cooked dinner and enjoyed a few Heinekens. But the weather was still on my mind and the things to come. Looking forward to
Opening Day
Green grass
Flip flops
Driveway drinking while listening to Bob Dylan
Leaves on the trees
Tiger lilies blooming throughout the neighborhood
The Kentucky Derby
Simply saying it’s May
Outdoor fires
Washers
Cornhole
Smoking meat on the grill
Plants and veggies springing out to say hello
Tomatoes with mozzarella and basil
Gin and tonics
Garage sales
Rolled down windows in the car
Open windows in the house
Birds singing you to sleep and
Waking you up in the morning
Blue skies
Rainy days
Coolers full of beer
Sunday fun days
Vinyl in the garage
Porch swings
The smell of fresh cut grass
A simple sense of peace
Regardless of feelings, desires and personal dissatisfactions, Spring always, always brings back a sense of hope, a sense of new beginnings. The true task is to take advantage of the opportunities this great season presents to us all. Spring is upon us. Take it by the horns and live it up with good music, good friends and family, and remember to enjoy each and every minute of it

Iron and Wine's music means Spring is around the corner.

The 6 Most Inspirational Sports Movie Scenes

Television and media have done everything in their power to water down "inspiration". All the talk shows and reality shows with their perfectly timed instrumental accompaniment leading to the bursting crescendo and streaming tears. We are duped into believing this is inspirational while in reality it is simply pathetic. Everyone wants to give a standing ovation and everyone wants to say they 'made a difference'. The truth is a standing ovation should occur once or twice in a lifetime (ie Bob Knight "...I want they bury me upside down so my critics can kiss my ass." and maybe after the father came out of the stands during the Olympics to help his injured son across the finish line...that one gets me every time). When you give 82 standing Os a year, you know what, they don't mean shit. Why bring this up, you ask? Because I am compiling a list of "The Most Inspirational Moments In Sport's Movie History". The criteria for making the list is somewhat simplistic. 1) This scene has or still does bring about tears, even if you fast forward to that very scene and skip everything preceding and following. 2) This scene has made you get up off of your couch and shoot free throws until dark or run stairs by yourself or look for a barn to throw a baseball through or run through the snow with a wooden beam across your back etc. etc. On to the list. In ascending order, for dramatic effect.
6) Rudy "The Sack"
This is 6th and not higher for mainly one reason and that is Sean Astin. Wasn't he a troll in one of those Lord of the Rings movies? Yes. Still, this moment is close to perfect. Notre Dame Stadium, Touchdown Jesus, Vince Vaughn telling Rudy "that was for you", his dad in the stands "this is the most beautiful sight these eyes have seen". All of this sets the stage for Rudy's game ending sack in a meaningless point of the game. There isn't a time I put this on and don't get a little dusty. A close second in this movie is when all the seniors line up to give up their starting position. Pretty sweet.
5) Rocky IV "Right after Apollo dies"
I am talking about Rocky flying around the streets of Philly at night blaring John Cafferty's "Hearts on Fire" after his boy Apollo gets his skull cracked by the Russian steroid machine. Flashback montages of the great times he spent with Apollo (getting his ass knocked out, getting beat by Apollo in a footrace on the beach). I know the obvious is probably Rocky working out in Siberia, but this one does it for me.
4) Field of Dreams "Dad, you wanna have a catch"- Inspiring? I don't know, but I have to put this one in there because, in a line, it is what growing up in America is all about. Sun setting in the summer, probably right after dinner, the day is cooling down a little and you are headed out into the front yard to have a catch with your dad. It's what we all did and what we will all do someday with our own children. This one surely brings out the "no...i don't know, I think I have something in my eye" excuse for getting a little weepy. Great stuff, even though the guy playing Ray's father throws like my sister throwing with her off hand. Wow! Nice casting.
3) Karate Kid "The Crane"
Alright the move itself is kind of gay and I can't fathom it working but it does, so we have to get past it. What gets you is Ralph Macchio, the all time underdog looking over at Mr. Miyagi at the most crucial of moments and simply getting the head nod from the old man. Porcupine goosebumps! Then he crane kicks Johnny's face off. Wow! That is enough to get you out of your seat and maybe asking your parents for Karate lessons. They of course say no and you go out and shoot hoops, but the inspiration is there..and it is real.
2) Hoosiers "Coach stays I stay...He goes I go" and "I'll make it"
Honestly this isn't even fair. How can you pick one moment from a film that, in its entirety, is the single most inspirational movie that the kids of Indiana have ever seen. There wasn't a red blooded Hoosier who didn't leave the theater that afternoon for their driveway hoop, shooting jumpshots until dinner. But I had to pick one, so I picked two. Chuck Klosterman wrote about the first moment in one of his books...think it was Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs(CORRECTION: This was Bill Simmons and a great article he did on the movie Hoosiers Hoosier Daddy? The Sports Guy ). He said that sometimes after a day of drinking in a bar he pays the tab and then takes the receipt in his hand and says to everyone "Coach stays", while ripping up the paper. Sweet!
While that scene doesn't necessarily make you want to go out and burn up your red, white, and blue net... the next one does. The team, hands on knees, huddled around Coach, Gene Hackman drawing up the final play, using Jimmy as a decoy, getting the ball to another player (I hate myself for not remembering who, it wasn't Olie). Everyone in the huddle then stands up and looks at each other like their Colonel just told them to individually dive on a live grenade. Gene Hackman can't believe what the fuck is going on and then Jimmy Chitwood utters those sweet, sweet words, "I'll make it". Holy shit I get chills writing that sentence. That scene, followed by Jimmy hitting a long jumper through 6 slow motion seconds that seem to last a minute. Pandemonium. It is the best. Honorable Mention: When Gene Hackman tells them all that he loves them before the championship game. whewwwww.
1) The Natural "Suit Up"
First of all this is the greatest sports movie of all time. I won't spend time defending this statement because it needs no defending. (But if you need to know why its the best [ARCHIVE] Everything You Need To Know About Life) Roy has been laid up in a hospital bed for a week and the Knights and the Phillies are all tied up for the pennant. Roy has been scratched form the lineup, Pop is depressed and in the locker room shaving hours before the first pitch. Roy appears and the following ensues:
Pop:Red I wanted to win that pennant worse than I wanted any goddamn thing in my life and you think I could just this once. I didn't care nothing about the series. Win or lose I would have been satisfied. I'd a walked away from baseball and I'd a bought a farm.
Roy (standing in the doorway): Nothing like a farm. Nothing like being around animals, fixin' things. Nothing like being in the field by yourself, with the vegetables and the corn and the winter wheat. Greenest stuff you ever saw.
Pop: You know my mother told me I ought to be a farmer.
Roy: My dad wanted me to be a baseball player.
Pop: Youre better than anyone I ever had. And your the best goddamn hitter I ever saw. Suit up.
Holy shit. I want to cry and hit a game winning homerun at the same time. Baseball is the greatest game and this is the greatest scene in the greatest baseball movie. I am moved. I am inspired.

There you have it. Those are the best. This is fact, not opinion. If your opinion is different, your opinion is wrong.

Good Day At The Record Store-Surfer Blood-Swim

Had a worthwhile trip to the record store today. This does not always happen. I usually go their with 3 or 4 cd's/record albums that I want and on a typical trip I will be happy walking away with 1. Today I was 3 for 3 with a bonus thrown in at the last second. I went in looking for Spoon-Transference, Beach House-Teen Dream (Don't google this looking for the album art you will end up with borderline child porn and a paranoia that your computer activity is now being recorded), and Surfer Blood-Astro Coast. Walked in to Euclid Records and found all three. As I was walking out I picked up a Buddy Holly record and was only disappointed that I couldn't find any Neil Diamond. Overall a great trip and a great snow day. I have only had a chance to listen to the first half of Astro Coast and I think it is great so far. Here is my favorite track from those first five songs. Its goddamn great and made me drive a little faster than I should have through unplowed side streets.

Surfer Blood 'Swim' from kay kanine on Vimeo.