Friday, May 18, 2012
Saturday, March 03, 2012
Regional champs: Gardewine gets game winner to fall with 3.5 seconds left
By JACK HITTINGER
Daily News
EFFINGHAM — Nick Gardewine didn’t want to go out on a losing note on his home floor.
With 3.5 seconds left in the Class 3A Effingham Regional championship game and the score tied at 48, the Effingham senior had a clear lane and an eye on a title. He drove in, attracting two Charleston defenders who chased him to the hole before getting a soft finger roll to go through the basket.
“It was basically what coach drew up,” Gardewine said. “He told me to get the ball and drive to the hole. He told everybody to spot up, and they cleared the lane for me. My teammates did a great job.”
Gardewine’s athletic move proved to be the game-winner when Charleston’s TJ Bell couldn’t handle the long inbounds pass, and the Hearts topped Charleston 50-48 Friday night to win their own Class 3A regional title — their third in five years. They’ll take on defending Class 3A runners-up Centralia in the Class 3A Carbondale Sectional Tuesday night. The teams have split a pair of meetings this year.
Gardewine scored 11 points — including seven in the fourth quarter — to help lead the Hearts to victory.
“This is awesome,” said Hearts senior guard Curran Walsh, who scored a team-high 18 points, including a key 3-pointer early in the fourth to give the Hearts a boost. “Beating our Apollo (Conference) rivals here on our home floor, it’s our senior year. It’s definitely awesome. The fans were into it. This might be the loudest crowd we’ve ever had.”
More after the jump:
Daily News
EFFINGHAM — Nick Gardewine didn’t want to go out on a losing note on his home floor.
With 3.5 seconds left in the Class 3A Effingham Regional championship game and the score tied at 48, the Effingham senior had a clear lane and an eye on a title. He drove in, attracting two Charleston defenders who chased him to the hole before getting a soft finger roll to go through the basket.
“It was basically what coach drew up,” Gardewine said. “He told me to get the ball and drive to the hole. He told everybody to spot up, and they cleared the lane for me. My teammates did a great job.”
Gardewine’s athletic move proved to be the game-winner when Charleston’s TJ Bell couldn’t handle the long inbounds pass, and the Hearts topped Charleston 50-48 Friday night to win their own Class 3A regional title — their third in five years. They’ll take on defending Class 3A runners-up Centralia in the Class 3A Carbondale Sectional Tuesday night. The teams have split a pair of meetings this year.
Gardewine scored 11 points — including seven in the fourth quarter — to help lead the Hearts to victory.
“This is awesome,” said Hearts senior guard Curran Walsh, who scored a team-high 18 points, including a key 3-pointer early in the fourth to give the Hearts a boost. “Beating our Apollo (Conference) rivals here on our home floor, it’s our senior year. It’s definitely awesome. The fans were into it. This might be the loudest crowd we’ve ever had.”
More after the jump:
Friday, March 02, 2012
COLUMN: Hornets have lots to be proud of
By JACK HITTINGER
Daily News
NORMAL — Courtney Myers placed her fingertips on the ball carefully, not wanting to smudge the signatures. Her eyes still a bit red from tears, she still smiled when holding the ball. It meant something more to her — to the team — than just the names of the Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City girls that wrote on it in blue and gold ink.
CHBC’s run of area — and state — basketball dominance has meant more to the four communities that participate in the co-op than just wins and losses.
“It’s made the communities grow together,” the CHBC senior said following her team’s heartbreaking loss in the state title game Saturday. “It’s been pretty awesome.”
Sure, there were more than a few tears following the loss to Aquin. And that’s OK. It takes getting that far — being good — to make it hurt that much.
More after the jump:
Daily News
NORMAL — Courtney Myers placed her fingertips on the ball carefully, not wanting to smudge the signatures. Her eyes still a bit red from tears, she still smiled when holding the ball. It meant something more to her — to the team — than just the names of the Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City girls that wrote on it in blue and gold ink.
CHBC’s run of area — and state — basketball dominance has meant more to the four communities that participate in the co-op than just wins and losses.
“It’s made the communities grow together,” the CHBC senior said following her team’s heartbreaking loss in the state title game Saturday. “It’s been pretty awesome.”
Sure, there were more than a few tears following the loss to Aquin. And that’s OK. It takes getting that far — being good — to make it hurt that much.
More after the jump:
The past two months
I wrote some things I like these past few months.
I got to follow one of our girls basketball teams to state. Unfortunately, they lost in the title game.
I also wrote about a foreign exchange student. She's from Slovakia and is really good.
There's also a column I wrote about the state basketball team that didn't make it on our website. I will post it on this blog because I thought it was good.
So. Yeah. Sports. Fun!
I got to follow one of our girls basketball teams to state. Unfortunately, they lost in the title game.
I also wrote about a foreign exchange student. She's from Slovakia and is really good.
There's also a column I wrote about the state basketball team that didn't make it on our website. I will post it on this blog because I thought it was good.
So. Yeah. Sports. Fun!
Saturday, January 07, 2012
"When I'm driving I found I'm dreaming": A Winter Mix
We have not had any significant snowfall to speak of here in the state of Not Chicago, leaving the cleared corn and soy bean fields looking even sadder and more barren than they would with white stuff covering them. In that sense, the "cover" to this mix I have created is not exactly accurate. But it is a piece by Grant Wood called "January" (which, as of this writing, is only four days gone), so it is a little early to be making predictions.
That said, the scenery is a little bleaker than usual — overcast skies, trees with nothing covering the branches, chilly but not chilly enough to create ice when it rains. It's really an extended fall without the pretty colors to look at.
Hence why this mix has two modes: Loud guitars with fuzz pedals or loud guitar that sound weird. (And also some offputting rap music thrown in there for good measure.) It's not sad bastard music like my last two mixes. It's just abrasive — much like my Midwestern winter.
Download it right here, if you wish.
"When I'm driving I found I'm dreaming": A Winter Mix
1. "Get Away" - Yuck
2. "Hack The Sides Away" - Chavez
3. "An Echo From The Hosts That Profess Infinitum" - Shabazz Palaces
4. "Nosferatu Man" - Slint
5. "Sleeper Hold" - No Age
6. "Bones" - Male Bonding
7. "Unforgettable Season" - Cut Copy
8. "Sour Times" - Portishead
9. "Strange Ways" - Madvillain
10. "Seagull" - Ride
11. "Now You Know" - Afghan Wigs
12. "4th Chamber" - GZA
13. "Futura" - Battles
14. "Future Crimes" - Wild Flag
15. "Black and Brown" - Danny Brown and Black Milk
16. "Ghost Town" - Kurt Vile
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Power Rankings — Wu-Tang Solo Albums
I have recently taken up the (so difficult, I know) task of re-listening to every single Wu-Tang Clan solo debut album at least once.
Unsurprisingly, Liquid Swords is still ranked No. 1, mostly due to an all-star starting lineup (of well-known hits) as well as an extremely deep bench. Every single track, even a relativity unknown deep cut like "Hell's Wind Staff/Killa Hills 10304, sounds ominous yet inviting — the sonic equivalent of a kick in the teeth from Shogun Assassin while under some heavy drug-induced coma.
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx is No. 2 because I don't like Raekwon's flow quite as much as I like GZA's, and I also prefer weird pseudo-sci-fi underworld aspects of Liquid Swords to the whole "Let's rip off Scarface!" concept behind Cuban Linx. Really, though, the top two are a matter of preference.
What is non-negotiable, however, is Tical. The beats sound like RZA created them underwater, then dumped beer on his mixing board juuuuust in case. Also, Meth's flow is horrible (slow and sluggish) and he sounds high the whole time. This is not always a drawback in rap music (or even on Meth's Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) verses), but in this case it just makes the entire record feel sloppy and incomplete.
Here's the whole list. Judge for yourself.
Also, this is the solo debuts albums only... If you were to take the entire Wu-Tang solo oeuvre Ghostface wins by a landslide, no questions asked. But competitively, Iroman sucks.
And, technically, Liquid Swords isn't GZA's debut but it's his first put out after the Wu-Tang got big and entirely produced by RZA, so it counts.)
1. GZA - Liquid Swords
2. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
3. Ol' Dirty Bastard - Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version
4. Ghostface Killah - Ironman
5. RZA - Bobby Digital in Stereo
6. Inspectah Deck - Uncontrolled Substance
7. Masta Killa - No Said Date
8. U-God - Golden Arms Redemption
9. Method Man - Tical
Unsurprisingly, Liquid Swords is still ranked No. 1, mostly due to an all-star starting lineup (of well-known hits) as well as an extremely deep bench. Every single track, even a relativity unknown deep cut like "Hell's Wind Staff/Killa Hills 10304, sounds ominous yet inviting — the sonic equivalent of a kick in the teeth from Shogun Assassin while under some heavy drug-induced coma.
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx is No. 2 because I don't like Raekwon's flow quite as much as I like GZA's, and I also prefer weird pseudo-sci-fi underworld aspects of Liquid Swords to the whole "Let's rip off Scarface!" concept behind Cuban Linx. Really, though, the top two are a matter of preference.
What is non-negotiable, however, is Tical. The beats sound like RZA created them underwater, then dumped beer on his mixing board juuuuust in case. Also, Meth's flow is horrible (slow and sluggish) and he sounds high the whole time. This is not always a drawback in rap music (or even on Meth's Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) verses), but in this case it just makes the entire record feel sloppy and incomplete.
Here's the whole list. Judge for yourself.
Also, this is the solo debuts albums only... If you were to take the entire Wu-Tang solo oeuvre Ghostface wins by a landslide, no questions asked. But competitively, Iroman sucks.
And, technically, Liquid Swords isn't GZA's debut but it's his first put out after the Wu-Tang got big and entirely produced by RZA, so it counts.)
1. GZA - Liquid Swords
2. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
3. Ol' Dirty Bastard - Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version
4. Ghostface Killah - Ironman
5. RZA - Bobby Digital in Stereo
6. Inspectah Deck - Uncontrolled Substance
7. Masta Killa - No Said Date
8. U-God - Golden Arms Redemption
9. Method Man - Tical
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Unreal Is Here: Fall Mix 2011
Those of my readers that live in the more Southerly states (i.e., the ones that have no seasons) may be laughing at me when it is December and I am essentially scraping glass off my car's windshield after an ice storm, but there's really no better season than the fall in a flyover state.
Recently I had to drive to a teeny town in west-central Illinois to cover, of all things, a soccer game. This meant meandering on state highways through cornfields and small towns with brick European style downtowns, and also wide places in the road with wood and stone Old-Western style "downtowns".*
*Never go to Van Brandenburg, Ill. If you blink, you'd miss it, and also be slapped with a $100 speeding ticket for blinking.
I don't say this so that you might pity me (although, I did hurt my back while carrying around a camera on the sidelines). I say it because it might be the most enjoyable drive I have made this year.
It rained the entire way. I never once got on the interstate, instead opting to look at the colors of the country. Well, the colors that were left. It had been so windy that many of the leaves skipped the transformation stage altogether and just flew off branches in waves.
I was listening to this fall mix I just made. (Mark always has good ideas about these things and made me want to make one of my own.) It's sad bastard music, maybe, but it's autumnal. Autumn is a sad bastard time of year. It makes you think — mostly about how cold it's going to be in a short amount of time and why didn't you spend more time outside and what the hell happened in the ALCS and what am I still doing here with myself?
Hopefully that's a good thing and not a bad thing. If you'd like to see for yourself, you can download said mix here. I don't think it's as good as Mark's (which you should go find here) but it works for my current Midwestern mood.
1. "Tractor Rape Chain" - Guided By Voices
2. "Route" - Son Volt
3. "Trans Canada" - The Constantines
4. "In The Morning" - Junior Boys
5. "Should Have Taken Acid With You" - Neon Indian
6. "Cause = Time" - Broken Social Scene
7. "Age Of Consent" - New Order
8. "Vapour Trail" - Ride
9. "The Boy In The Bubble" - Paul Simon
10. "Everyday Is Like Sunday" - Morrissey
11. "Going To Acapulco" - Bob Dylan & The Band
12. "Unreal Is Here" - Chavez
13. "Ice Hockey Hair" - Super Furry Animals
14. "These Days" - R.E.M.
15. "Feel The Pain" - Dinosaur Jr.
Recently I had to drive to a teeny town in west-central Illinois to cover, of all things, a soccer game. This meant meandering on state highways through cornfields and small towns with brick European style downtowns, and also wide places in the road with wood and stone Old-Western style "downtowns".*
*Never go to Van Brandenburg, Ill. If you blink, you'd miss it, and also be slapped with a $100 speeding ticket for blinking.
I don't say this so that you might pity me (although, I did hurt my back while carrying around a camera on the sidelines). I say it because it might be the most enjoyable drive I have made this year.
It rained the entire way. I never once got on the interstate, instead opting to look at the colors of the country. Well, the colors that were left. It had been so windy that many of the leaves skipped the transformation stage altogether and just flew off branches in waves.
I was listening to this fall mix I just made. (Mark always has good ideas about these things and made me want to make one of my own.) It's sad bastard music, maybe, but it's autumnal. Autumn is a sad bastard time of year. It makes you think — mostly about how cold it's going to be in a short amount of time and why didn't you spend more time outside and what the hell happened in the ALCS and what am I still doing here with myself?
Hopefully that's a good thing and not a bad thing. If you'd like to see for yourself, you can download said mix here. I don't think it's as good as Mark's (which you should go find here) but it works for my current Midwestern mood.
1. "Tractor Rape Chain" - Guided By Voices
2. "Route" - Son Volt
3. "Trans Canada" - The Constantines
4. "In The Morning" - Junior Boys
5. "Should Have Taken Acid With You" - Neon Indian
6. "Cause = Time" - Broken Social Scene
7. "Age Of Consent" - New Order
8. "Vapour Trail" - Ride
9. "The Boy In The Bubble" - Paul Simon
10. "Everyday Is Like Sunday" - Morrissey
11. "Going To Acapulco" - Bob Dylan & The Band
12. "Unreal Is Here" - Chavez
13. "Ice Hockey Hair" - Super Furry Animals
14. "These Days" - R.E.M.
15. "Feel The Pain" - Dinosaur Jr.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Pitching Pioneers
Here's the story I wrote for the Effingham Daily News on a couple of local prospects that were selected in the most recent MLB draft and pitched in the Pioneer League this season. You can find a link to the full story here, but if you want to see the front page of Thursday's sports section (for which I designed the main centerpiece graphic), I'm including it here. Click on the photo for a bigger view.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Late-Night Summer Mix (For the Workin' Man)
Hello.
Spurned on by Dan Nick Sean Mark Sam Tom (a blog, yes, but also a bunch of dudes that I know... complicated), I decided to take up their idea (challenge?) of making a summer mix.
I was inspired by the kinds of music I listen to as I drive home from my second shift job at night, with the windows down and the cool, humid Midwestern air blowing through.* Sometimes, I am smoking a cigarette.
*Strangely, the title and idea for this mix was inspired by one song that did not make the final cut, "Factory," by Bruce Springsteen. ("And you just better believe, boy, somebody's gonna get hurt tonight/ It's the working, the working, just the working life".) But there are two other Bruce songs from the same album on here, so hopefully that makes up for it. Also, a very similar song ("Factory Belt" by Uncle Tupelo) did make the cut. What kind of Midwesterner would I be if I didn't include a Tupelo song on a mix about working?
So without further ado, here is the aforementioned summertime mix, "Late-Night Summer Mix (For the Workin' Man)". Don't worry, it's got fun songs on it too. Enjoy. (Download here: http://www.mediafire.com/?7xcgp7a7hjg084p )
1. "Two Angels" - Jayhwaks
2. "Factory Belt" - Uncle Tupelo
3. "Tonight's The Night, Part II" - Neil Young
4. "Chest Fever" - The Band
5. "The Promised Land" - Bruce Springsteen
6. "People Got A Lotta Nerve" - Neko Case
7. "Before They Make Me Run" - The Rolling Stones
8. "Stay Positive" - The Hold Steady
9. "Dig A Little Deeper" - Peter Bjorn and John
10. "The Corner" - Common
11. "No Future Shock" - TV On The Radio
12. "Valley Hump Crash" - No Age
13. "Linus Spacehead" - Wavves
14. "Still New" - Smith Westerns
15. "Melody Day" - Caribou
16. "Battery Kinzie" - Fleet Foxes
17. "ELT" - Wilco
18. "One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong" - Leonard Cohen
19. "Streets Of Fire" - Bruce Springsteen
Spurned on by Dan Nick Sean Mark Sam Tom (a blog, yes, but also a bunch of dudes that I know... complicated), I decided to take up their idea (challenge?) of making a summer mix.
I was inspired by the kinds of music I listen to as I drive home from my second shift job at night, with the windows down and the cool, humid Midwestern air blowing through.* Sometimes, I am smoking a cigarette.
*Strangely, the title and idea for this mix was inspired by one song that did not make the final cut, "Factory," by Bruce Springsteen. ("And you just better believe, boy, somebody's gonna get hurt tonight/ It's the working, the working, just the working life".) But there are two other Bruce songs from the same album on here, so hopefully that makes up for it. Also, a very similar song ("Factory Belt" by Uncle Tupelo) did make the cut. What kind of Midwesterner would I be if I didn't include a Tupelo song on a mix about working?
So without further ado, here is the aforementioned summertime mix, "Late-Night Summer Mix (For the Workin' Man)". Don't worry, it's got fun songs on it too. Enjoy. (Download here: http://www.mediafire.com/?7xcgp7a7hjg084p )
1. "Two Angels" - Jayhwaks
2. "Factory Belt" - Uncle Tupelo
3. "Tonight's The Night, Part II" - Neil Young
4. "Chest Fever" - The Band
5. "The Promised Land" - Bruce Springsteen
6. "People Got A Lotta Nerve" - Neko Case
7. "Before They Make Me Run" - The Rolling Stones
8. "Stay Positive" - The Hold Steady
9. "Dig A Little Deeper" - Peter Bjorn and John
10. "The Corner" - Common
11. "No Future Shock" - TV On The Radio
12. "Valley Hump Crash" - No Age
13. "Linus Spacehead" - Wavves
14. "Still New" - Smith Westerns
15. "Melody Day" - Caribou
16. "Battery Kinzie" - Fleet Foxes
17. "ELT" - Wilco
18. "One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong" - Leonard Cohen
19. "Streets Of Fire" - Bruce Springsteen
Sunday, March 27, 2011
'Bout to make some bodies turn cold
I might have something more meaningful here in coming days (I'm working on it), but until then, a song that I've been playing contless times since his death last week:
Monday, February 14, 2011
I never should have given up animation rights....
"I mean, I guess it would just be a guy who, you know, grabs bananas and runs. Or, um, a banana that grabs things. I don’t know. Why would a banana grab another banana? I mean, those are the kind of questions I don’t want to answer."
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Stones
Not much to post, except I figured I should give a little update at least.
I'm in the middle of reading this book about the history of delta blues. Also, finished reading that Greil Marcus book I put on the side (it's like a "Studies in Classic American Literature," only for music). As a result, Robert Johnson's been in heavy rotation.
I guess I'd also ask: Anyone have any favorite blues guys for me to check out? Both books have opened up some new listening for me, but there's so much out there to process. I'd like to find out if any other readers have any favorite bluesmen.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
2010 Jamz
The SadBear albums extravaganza is (hopefully) on its way.
In the meantime, (because of boredom and the want to write about some musical things), I present to you my 15 favorite (notice I say "my favorite" and not the best) tracks of 2010. You'll probabaly note that (when you see my albums list), a lot of these songs come from said albums. That's because I am, at heart, more of an "albums" guy than a single songs guy. (Not that there's anything wrong with listening to a lot of singles. It's just a different way of digesting and enjoying music.)
Again: These are just my jams that I played on repeat this year. I don't know if they're better or worse than any other songs that came out this year. I just couldn't stop listening.
Let's do this, countdown-style.
15. The Roots (feat. Joanna Newsom) - "Right On"
I did not listen to the album that Joanna actually released this year, but who knew that anyone could make her sound this funky? Leave it to Questlove.
14. Caribou - "Jamiela"
The kettle drum/synth climax halfway through this song makes me cream my jeans a little bit every time.
13. Black Keys - "Every Lasting Light"
Note to Dan and Patrick: More falsetto-stomp, please.
12. Titus Andronicous - "A More Perfect Union"
One of my favorite moments in song comes in at around 1:45, when Patrick Stickles yells "Baby we were born to die!" Then comes a messy solo that probabaly isn't that hard to play but just makes me want to pump my fist along the whole time. Also, the outro with "Rally round the flag" is very cathartic. I think it's about a relationship and not about war, but I have no real idea.
11. Thermals - "I Don't Believe You"
Always count on the Thermals to write a hook.
10. She & Him - "In The Sun"
Zooey sounds great (as Econ says, "her voice is actually pretty hot in this song") and M Ward mostly lays low until that solo at the very end, which is very tasteful yet kind of trippy with all the reverb layers. Also, the video: M. Ward is just fucking cool the entire time, and she's adorable.
9. Beach House - "Silver Soul"
It was really a matter of "which Beach House song on the album is best?", since I love all of them but have limited myself to one song per artist. I went this route because I think it's the most representative of the album and what I like about it.
8. Wavves - "Green Eyes"
Real stoner love.
7. Kanye West ft. Pusha T - "Runaway"
Pusha T's verse on this song has been lingering in my head ever since the first time I heard it. "Power" might be the more epic song, and most representative of the album thematically, but I think this one takes the cake musically and production-wise.
6. Broken Social Scene - "Forced to Love"/"Meet Me In The Basement"
These both count as one in my mind, mostly because it's hard to seperate "Basement" from the album since it's only an instrumental. But, boy, what an exhilarating instrumental. When the horns come in near the end, you're almost sad to hear it end, and wish it could go on for another four minutes. But it does. So you have to listen again.
The other song here, "Forced to Love", is perhaps the exact opposite. It announces its intentions quickly, with a fluid keyboard-and-flute main riff and pretty easily-digestible (probabaly disposable) lyrics about love. It's nothing new, but it all comes together so nicely. I thought I would get sick of these songs/this album after seven months, but I still haven't.
5. Hot Chip - "Take It In"
Hot Chip at their most vulnerable.
4. Cee-Lo - "Fuck You"
If this song doesn't stick in your head after just one listen, you have no soul.
3. Janelle Monáe ft. Big Boi - "Tightrope"
I came into Janelle late in the game (try three weeks ago) so maybe this should be No. 1. Time will tell. Regardless, she sounds so exuberant in this song — it just drips with excitement.
2. Big Boi - "General Patton"
The rap world needs more opera samples. This one is downright triumphant.
1. LCD Soundsystem — "Dance Yrself Clean"
Any doubt as to why this song is No. 1 on my list? 3:07. Just hang tight til 3:07 and all your questions will be answered.
In the meantime, (because of boredom and the want to write about some musical things), I present to you my 15 favorite (notice I say "my favorite" and not the best) tracks of 2010. You'll probabaly note that (when you see my albums list), a lot of these songs come from said albums. That's because I am, at heart, more of an "albums" guy than a single songs guy. (Not that there's anything wrong with listening to a lot of singles. It's just a different way of digesting and enjoying music.)
Again: These are just my jams that I played on repeat this year. I don't know if they're better or worse than any other songs that came out this year. I just couldn't stop listening.
Let's do this, countdown-style.
15. The Roots (feat. Joanna Newsom) - "Right On"
I did not listen to the album that Joanna actually released this year, but who knew that anyone could make her sound this funky? Leave it to Questlove.
14. Caribou - "Jamiela"
The kettle drum/synth climax halfway through this song makes me cream my jeans a little bit every time.
13. Black Keys - "Every Lasting Light"
Note to Dan and Patrick: More falsetto-stomp, please.
12. Titus Andronicous - "A More Perfect Union"
One of my favorite moments in song comes in at around 1:45, when Patrick Stickles yells "Baby we were born to die!" Then comes a messy solo that probabaly isn't that hard to play but just makes me want to pump my fist along the whole time. Also, the outro with "Rally round the flag" is very cathartic. I think it's about a relationship and not about war, but I have no real idea.
11. Thermals - "I Don't Believe You"
Always count on the Thermals to write a hook.
10. She & Him - "In The Sun"
Zooey sounds great (as Econ says, "her voice is actually pretty hot in this song") and M Ward mostly lays low until that solo at the very end, which is very tasteful yet kind of trippy with all the reverb layers. Also, the video: M. Ward is just fucking cool the entire time, and she's adorable.
9. Beach House - "Silver Soul"
It was really a matter of "which Beach House song on the album is best?", since I love all of them but have limited myself to one song per artist. I went this route because I think it's the most representative of the album and what I like about it.
8. Wavves - "Green Eyes"
Real stoner love.
7. Kanye West ft. Pusha T - "Runaway"
Pusha T's verse on this song has been lingering in my head ever since the first time I heard it. "Power" might be the more epic song, and most representative of the album thematically, but I think this one takes the cake musically and production-wise.
6. Broken Social Scene - "Forced to Love"/"Meet Me In The Basement"
These both count as one in my mind, mostly because it's hard to seperate "Basement" from the album since it's only an instrumental. But, boy, what an exhilarating instrumental. When the horns come in near the end, you're almost sad to hear it end, and wish it could go on for another four minutes. But it does. So you have to listen again.
The other song here, "Forced to Love", is perhaps the exact opposite. It announces its intentions quickly, with a fluid keyboard-and-flute main riff and pretty easily-digestible (probabaly disposable) lyrics about love. It's nothing new, but it all comes together so nicely. I thought I would get sick of these songs/this album after seven months, but I still haven't.
5. Hot Chip - "Take It In"
Hot Chip at their most vulnerable.
4. Cee-Lo - "Fuck You"
If this song doesn't stick in your head after just one listen, you have no soul.
3. Janelle Monáe ft. Big Boi - "Tightrope"
I came into Janelle late in the game (try three weeks ago) so maybe this should be No. 1. Time will tell. Regardless, she sounds so exuberant in this song — it just drips with excitement.
2. Big Boi - "General Patton"
The rap world needs more opera samples. This one is downright triumphant.
1. LCD Soundsystem — "Dance Yrself Clean"
Any doubt as to why this song is No. 1 on my list? 3:07. Just hang tight til 3:07 and all your questions will be answered.
Monday, November 22, 2010
East Boogie
Call it a morbid curiosity.
On the way back from St. Louis this weekend — my dad visited me since I'm not going back for Thanksgiving — I had some strange and sudden desire to get a glimpse of what local residents call "East Boogie."
That's right. For reasons unknown even to myself, I decided to venture inside and get my own firsthand glimpse of East Saint Louis, Illinois.
I've already been interested by the rise and fall of East Side's ridiculously good football team. But I wanted to see it first hand.
And now I have.
I didn't take any photos — I didn't have a camera, but even if I did I think I would have been too dumbfounded to actually stop and photograph things.
There is, however, a website where you can gaze upon the horrors of East Side. Built Saint Louis is this great website that documents cool old buildings and architecture — still standing and not — around Saint Louis and vicinity. It devotes an entire section to ESL, which you can find here.
Do I have some sick sense of intrigue? Well, maybe. But I am somewhat fascinated with post-industrial America. Maybe this is a byproduct of growing up in Detroit and being born in Joliet.
At any rate, I wasn't really prepared for what I saw today.
Don't get me wrong. I EXPECTED lots of urban blight and I expected to see a sad-sack city down on it's luck. I guess I just didn't expect it to be THAT bad. Maybe like Detroit on a smaller scale.
But the reality is much worse. Imagine Gary, Indiana (I'd say Detroit, but Gary is a similarly-maligned satellite community of a major city). Then, take away 70,000 people, remove every single worthwhile industry (factories) and leave only a Casino and about 15 strip clubs. Then, detonate a bomb that levels half of all the buildings that are left.
Yeah. THAT'S East Saint Louis.
I saw rows and rows of houses that had plywood walls instead of brick. I saw two project buildings, probabaly built in the 1970s, that were maybe seven stories high and easily the tallest buildings on my route. The only businesses to speak of were: a single convenience store, a single funeral home and a church. There was also a massive junkyard that took up what seemed like an entire city block. It was mostly full of trash.
I only drove down one street — Illinois 15. Basically, I was in Belleville and was on the road anyway and the sign said "East Saint Louis - 4" so I thought, what the hell? Why not at least drive in and say I've set foot in there? You can see my route here — I got as far as the project on 14th St. until I'd decided I'd seen enough. An old man watched me turn around, probabaly bemused that I had no idea what I was doing.
I should note that, unlike Gary, it's not easy just to "pass through" East Saint Louis. Gary is situated right on 80/90, and if one wants to, they could easily stop to get gas or whatever on their way to Chicago.
Such is not the case with East Saint Louis. By diverting the three interstates around the city, East Saint Louis is boxed in on the north, south and east. To the west, of course, is the River. One basically has to go out of his way to get anywhere other than the casino, which sits right on the River anyway. All of the exits have two options: towards East Saint Louis, or towards somewhere else (not that Brooklyn or Sauget, its direct neighbors to the north and south, are better options... Belleville, Collinsville, Edwardsville, Fairview Heights, and the other towns that don't directly border the river are actually livables places, but most of the Metro East suburbs are more rural than their Missouri-side suburban-sprawl neighbors to begin with).
What's the moral of this story? (Well, other than to share my weird fascination with this stuff and urban exploration.) I guess I'm just horrified that this is America. This is a city where 2/3 of the population is on federal assistance, 50 percent live below the poverty line and has one of the worst crime rates in the United States.
We have allowed this to happen to so many places in America. And at least in Detroit and Baltimore and Cleveland and regular Saint Louis there are redeeming qualities to the cities in question. Actual business. And some form of tax base that pays the bills.
The point is, there's something worth saving.
East Saint Louis almost seems like the type of place where no one would miss it if we started completely from scratch. And they might as well have — at its height in the 1950s, there were 80,000 people in the city, lots of factories and a bastion of blue-collar prosperity (at least, according to some articles I read today). Then everyone left, took all the jobs with them and allowed the people who couldn't leave to wallow in their poverty.
It's a sad state of affairs when an American city gets so bad it has to sell its municipal buildings and the residential neighborhoods start looking like a shantytown in the third world. That's East Saint Louis. If any city is a stand-in for American poverty, it is this place.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Fall = Time
Why hello, fall weather. So nice of you to show up. I know, I know, I ran into you in Chicago last weekend and it was awkward. Really, I wasn't ready to see you again. But now that I'm back Downstate I can say, for certain, that I'm glad you're back. I don't like watching high school football games in 90-degree weather. Without you, it just feels wrong.
But now, with you back, I will pledge to wear a sweatshirt and jeans every day. That's a promise. Really. Maybe flannel every once in a while.
One thing, though: Could we not move so fast, so soon? I like you and all, but I think we just need to ease into this. I don't want to get sick. Please.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Things I read
Magically, moving has found me more time to read that I ever did in Missouri. This probabaly has much to do with the fact that I no longer have cable and watch stupid Adult Swim shows during the wee hours of the night. Anyhow, here's a few things I've been reading as of late:
•Baseball biographies, including this great one on Satchel Paige and another on pre-1940's ballplayers (just re-released after being out of print for years, apparently).
•Harvey Pekar. I tried in vein to find some American Splendor comics at bookstores but everyone was sold out (or did not carry them). Instead, I bought his graphic history of the Beats. A re-reading of On the Road follows.
•My recent (a few months ago, that is) discovery of Longform.org has fueled my interest in long journalism (obviously). Some recent highlights have included the story of Paris' most secret society, TV's Crowning Moment of Awesome and The Mark of a Masterpiece.
•Most significantly, though, is the David Foster Wallace piece "Consider the Lobster". This because, I had somehow forgotten about DFW. The man wrote possibly one of my favorite sports pieces ever, on Roger Federer. (I'd also read the piece "Host", which appeared in the Ira Glass edited New Kings of Nonfiction.)
After reading the lobster piece, and because I had a $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble for my birthday, I decided to give his collection of essays (also called Consider the Lobster) a go. Recommended, for two main reasons: the piece on the national porn convention and the piece on the McCain2000 campaign. Unfortunately, the Federer piece is not in there but I think that might be one of the very last things he published. Thank god for the NYTimes archives (and, again, R.I.P. Play magazine). The point here is, DFW seems like the kind of guy I should have known about forever, yet I know painfully little about him.
My next question is figuring out if I want to attempt his fiction, and if I will like it. Lots of footnotes work for certain pieces of nonfiction, but I'm wary about authors who like incorporating them into 1,000+ page works of fiction. Any insights?
•There happens to be another short piece in Consider the Lobster on Dostoevsky, which convinced me I need to start re-reading Crime and Punishment (a book I never actually got around to finishing). Wish me luck. (Edit: This would probabaly be easier if I could find my goddamn copy of the book.)
•Baseball biographies, including this great one on Satchel Paige and another on pre-1940's ballplayers (just re-released after being out of print for years, apparently).
•Harvey Pekar. I tried in vein to find some American Splendor comics at bookstores but everyone was sold out (or did not carry them). Instead, I bought his graphic history of the Beats. A re-reading of On the Road follows.
•My recent (a few months ago, that is) discovery of Longform.org has fueled my interest in long journalism (obviously). Some recent highlights have included the story of Paris' most secret society, TV's Crowning Moment of Awesome and The Mark of a Masterpiece.
•Most significantly, though, is the David Foster Wallace piece "Consider the Lobster". This because, I had somehow forgotten about DFW. The man wrote possibly one of my favorite sports pieces ever, on Roger Federer. (I'd also read the piece "Host", which appeared in the Ira Glass edited New Kings of Nonfiction.)
After reading the lobster piece, and because I had a $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble for my birthday, I decided to give his collection of essays (also called Consider the Lobster) a go. Recommended, for two main reasons: the piece on the national porn convention and the piece on the McCain2000 campaign. Unfortunately, the Federer piece is not in there but I think that might be one of the very last things he published. Thank god for the NYTimes archives (and, again, R.I.P. Play magazine). The point here is, DFW seems like the kind of guy I should have known about forever, yet I know painfully little about him.
My next question is figuring out if I want to attempt his fiction, and if I will like it. Lots of footnotes work for certain pieces of nonfiction, but I'm wary about authors who like incorporating them into 1,000+ page works of fiction. Any insights?
•There happens to be another short piece in Consider the Lobster on Dostoevsky, which convinced me I need to start re-reading Crime and Punishment (a book I never actually got around to finishing). Wish me luck. (Edit: This would probabaly be easier if I could find my goddamn copy of the book.)
Friday, June 11, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Plagerism
Reebok's new sneaker commercial sounds awfully familiar, no?
Unfortunately, this is not the first time a sneaker company has ripped off aspects of rock and roll culture to sell its wares.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Reflections on my job
Gary Cartwright, 1969 in Harper's:
Also:
-from "Confessions of a Washed-Up Sportswriter" by Gary Cartwright. Required reading for all sportswriters (and journalists, for that matter). In this book, which is well worth getting.
Still, ethics is a nebulous question to a profession that has never really defined its purpose. To report? To expose? To speculate? To entertain? To criticize? To subsist and endure? A good sportswriter does it all. I do not know a sportswriter who would accept, say, one hundred dollars to print something he did not believe.
Also:
Many times I put out the paper alone. All the sportswriters did. We staggered in, tore the night’s run of copy from the United Press machine, selected the stories according to the page dummies supplied by the advertising department, assigned headlines and wrote them, clipped box scores and other trivia from the morning Star Telegram, selected pictures and sent them to the engravers, made up the cutlines, then hurried to the composing room where a printer named Max would be waiting to change everything. Like Charley, Max was a professional. All he ever said was, “Who the hell do you think you are?”
We survived on the assumption that no one read our paper anyhow. It is the same feeling you get on a college newspaper or on mind-expanding drugs. There are no shackles on the imagination; there is no retreat, only attack. One of my jobs was to make up little “brights” or boxes:
John Doughs made a hole-in-one yesterday at Glen Lakes Country Club when a snake swallowed his tee shot, a dog swallowed the snake, and an eagle carried off the dog, dropping him in the cup after colliding head on with a private plane flown by Doughs’s maternal twin.
We went heavy on the irony. Under these circumstances you might think we. got a lot of letters to the editor, but I don’t remember any.
-from "Confessions of a Washed-Up Sportswriter" by Gary Cartwright. Required reading for all sportswriters (and journalists, for that matter). In this book, which is well worth getting.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
No Love Lost
The description to this video says simply "smoking is cool." And, really, I must agree. Only Don Draper makes smoking look cooler.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
