What My SoCal Readers Don't Understand

Yes, it is physically possible for the temperature to go from 50 degrees to below zero in just a few hours. I know that 50 degrees sounds crazy to begin with, but yeah, it gets cold here, and it happens in a hurry. Consider yourselves lucky.

The Verve, when they were good

The two best Verve singles, to keep you occupied until the Arizona homestand. Feel free to gaze at your shoes.

Songs for the Weekend

Let's go back about 12-14 years or so to a time when some of us, most importantly me, were still in college, and starting to broaden our musical horizons to include the north of Europe. First up is a bit of quintessential American style indie for a Dutch act. It's Bettie Serveert with Ray Ray Rain.



And if you're the type who can't appreciate good songcraft, the type who maybe thinks that was a bit effeminate, I give you the Swedish band Salt, with Bluster:

UCLA - 80; Oregon - 75

Niiiiiiiiikolllaaaaaaaa!!

Well, we learned this. Oregon students are stupid. They pissed off someone with the ability to really do them in. Kevin Love went for 24 point and 18 rebounds while the piece of shit Oregon fans gave him nothing but vulgarities, apparently oblivious to the fact that their coach doesn't know how to recruit without Phil Knight. Darren Collison added a career high 22 points, along with six assists against one turnover. Russell Westbrook added 15 of his own along with seven rebounds, and a block of center Maarty Leunen.

Yet the biggest plays of the night came from unheralded Nikola Dragovic, a shooter who hasn't found his shot, and hasn't been able to play strong enough defense to crack Ben Howland's regular rotation. In the game only because of injuries to LRMAM and Lo Mata-Real, and foul trouble from James Keefe and Alfred Aboya, Dragovic hit a pick and pop three pointer with 3:21 to go and the Bruins trailing by four. To the casual observer, it looked like an important shot at an important time. But to the discriminating Bruins fan, it was a huge three from a guy who so far really only has one skill, and even that has been debatable. It was the type of shot that make you cringe, because you know it's a huge momentum swing if he makes it, and possibly a back breaker if he misses it. But it rattled home, and as things turned out, it was a back breaker. Oregon, coming off two Leunen free throws, wouldn't score again until the game was all but over. Part of the reason was a big Dragovic rebound just a minute after his three pointer.

Kevin Love survived the classless and oh so clever (Love's a pussy? Really?) Oregon fans, and basically made the Oregon front line his collective bitch, equaling the offensive output of Leunen and Joevan Catron, while dominating both on the glass (18 rebounds against 11 combined), and was never in foul trouble. Booed every time he touched the ball, he sent the home crowd home very disappointed. Oh, and he did that without Mata-Real, and without LRMAM, two stalwarts in the UCLA frontcourt. He was awesome, and in what may be his only game ever at Mac Court, he earned this win.

Russell Westbrook brought himself back to down to the right level. After trying to make the highlight reel on every possession against U$C, he settled down tonight, made big shots when the Bruins needed him to, and took the ball to the hole on the basket that gave UCLA the lead for good.

And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Josh Shipp. The numbers are uninspiring: 2-8 from the field, three rebounds, seven points (along with six assists). But honestly, I'm a little surprised he took eight shots. Sometimes you're not on your game, or your opponent is focused on taking you out of the game. And in those situations, the best thing you can do is keep yourself from forcing things. That's not easy to do when you're often the team's offensive focal point. But Shipp let the game come to him. He didn't try to make himself the story. When a leader like Shipp isn't a factor, and UCLA wins a close game, you know they didn't do it in spite of him. You know he let his teammates do what they needed to do to win.

Quite a show of resiliency tonight, especially after Oregon had started to separate a bit, taking a seven point lead with under eleven minutes to play. All in all a great win for the Bruins, and with awful OSU on tap for the weekend, the Bruins are looking for a second consecutive road sweep, the home loss to the women of troy being their only conference blemish.

The Walkmen at Schubas - 1/20/08 - A Quick Recap

First live show of the new year for me. I skipped the first two bands, figuring I'd be there in plenty of time to get a good spot, but that turned out to be a bit of a bad move. Still weaseled my way into a good viewing are, but the place was packed when I showed up, which isn't surprising. The Walkmen can fill larger venues than Schuba's. They played a bunch of new stuff, almost half the set, and one song that I recognized at the time, but can't remember now. They played almost nothing off of Hundred Miles Off. List of what I can remember:

1. Little House of Savages
2. 138th Street
3. Thinking of a Dream I Had
4. No Christmas While I'm Talking
5. What's In It for Me?
6. Wake Up
7. Another One Goes By

Set lasted roughly an hour, which wasn't surprising, because they put a lot of energy into each song, so I have to figure that takes a lot of a person. I was disappointed that they didn't play Emma, the Rat, or a lot of stuff off the last album, but I can't complain. It was an hour of solid entertainment.

White Rabbits played right before and I thought they sounded sort of Walkmen-esque, but a little more accessible. I'll check out their other stuff. All in all, not a bad start to 2008. Here's a clip someone recorded at the show of Wake Up:



And again, I'm always disappointed that I think there are a lot of people who really like that version of Another One Goes By, but who have never heard the original Mazarin/Quentin Stoltzfus version, which I think is superior. Which isn't to say the Walkmen version isn't excellent. I just don't like it as much as the original. Judge for yourself:

Norm Chow to UCLA

Well, that takes some sting out of the performance by the basketball team, doesn't it?

UCLA now has arguably two of the most coveted coordinators in college football, to go along with what is currently a top ten recruiting class. Next year may be a tad rough, but the future looks very bright. Weird to think that I'll have two fairly decent college football teams to root for in the near future.

Pathetic

UCLA loses to a bunch of kids who can run and jump, but can't think their way out of a paper bag, which is why they've ended up at Thug Central. Note to the Bruins: The other team just isn't going to quit when you take the lead.

This is the most embarrassing loss of the Howland era. There is no excuse for crap performance that the Bruins put on the floor today.

And not to pin the blame on one player, but Russell Westbrook played BY FAR the worst game of his season. He's ahead of schedule, so a game like this was due, but he was flat out awful. Balls going off his feet, an inability to maintain possession, shots that barely cleared the rim at their highest point, and he's clearly fallen in love with the highlight reel, as his botched dunk demonstrated. 2-11, 0 three pointers, and fortunately ESPN's box score doesn't list his many turnovers yet. And as well as he did on defense in the first half, his man still ended up with 16 points.

You have to feel bad for Kevin Love. He didn't shoot well, but he finished with 18 and 12, outplaying Mayo. But in the end, all that matters is that his team lost. You can say the same for Josh Shipp.

As for LRMAM, well, he apparently needs another off-season to work on his jump shot. And someone can add shot selection to his lessons.

I don't mean this to sound like a shot at Howland, but until a few years ago, this game would have been on Wednesday night. It would not have come after a week layoff. I don't know if the layoff had an effect, but in the past, it wouldn't have been an issue. It would have been midweek, and the Bruins would have been playing a non-conference game today. I love 99% of what Howland brings to UCLA, but I don't care for his scheduling, and I never have.

All you can do is hope they use this as a learning experience.

On Rick Neuheisel

At the start of the coaching search, he probably wasn't my first choice. But whether it's rationalization, or the acquisition of new information, I've gotten to like the idea, and I'm glad that UCLA made that hire. Nothing he's said since has dissuaded me from that view.

I'm not worried about the past trangressions. Despite their volume, they were very minor, and I think he's probably learned his lesson.

I'm not worried about the gambling thing. And any of you who want to bitch about that, well, if you've never participated in an NCAA basketball pool, have at it.

I'm not worried about him lying about interviewing for other jobs. He's not leaving UCLA unless he's asked to leave. This has always been the job that he wanted.

I'm not worried about Walker leaving. Dissolution of the recruiting class would be unfortunate, but I don't think recruiting will be a problem long term. And at this point, I'm not sure Walker would be comfortable working under Neuheisel. And let's be honest, the DC will have to work under Neuheisel. He's not an equal, he's an assistant. And if this class is loyal to Walker, and Walker isn't loyal to the head coach, that could mean big problems down the road. But if Walker is willing to maintain that position, and agree to work under RN, then all the better.

But ulimately, he's not Karl Dorrell. He's not wedded to the West Coast Offense, which does not work in college football, nor is it philosophically the right offense to play in college. He's been successful during his two stops as a head coach. He's got pro experience as a coordinator. He knows what he has to do to keep his nose clean. I like the hire, and I think UCLA is a better program because of it.

Ilinois 17 - thUg$C 49; Thoughts on the Rose Bowl

• There's no question which team is better, just as there wasn't before the game. That said, I think Illinois would beat $C probably 10-20% of the time, and experience was a big factor. Maybe the mood was different on TV, but there was a real sense of momentum in stadium when Illinois was driving to make the score 21-17.
  
• Three plays were the difference in the game. The Jacob Willis fumble was the first, but I actually think the Illini could have recovered if they had been able to get a defensive stop. They blew an opportunity to do that when $C converted a 3rd and 12, which was followed by the lateral that bounced into Joe McKnight's hands for a 64 yard run. That took the wind out of the Illini sales, and the game was effectively over right there.
• I thought the play calling in the first half was atrocious. It was the same uninspired run, run, screen, run, run, run, run, screen, etc. that they ran against Iowa. No deception. No play action. Just the same crap over and over until they decided to throw at the end of the first half. Lo and behold, things opened up, they started to move the ball, and Mendenhall got off. If they had done that a quarter earlier, that Mendenhall score may have made the game a lot closer.
  
• Temple City High School has had very few athletes ever make noise on national level, but I was embarrassed to be a Ram after Temple City grad Desmond Reed showboated his way into the end zone. It would have served him right if he had torn up his knee again while doing it.
• The thUg$C band is as undisciplined as the football team, but it was great to see the 3 in 1 again, even without the Chief.
• It's a lot different going to the game and having good seats than it is having the crappy seats I used to get when I worked the game every year.
• Rashard Mendenhall is a freaking stud. I haven't seen many guys who blend his power and speed. He may have run his way into the first round today.
• Illinois looks to be pretty good next year. If they can replace Mendenhall, and if Juice can learn to throw a little better, the offense will be improved. The defense will be a bit of question mark, though.
• The game was a good experience, and I'm glad I went, even with the score the way it was. It was nice to be around so many fellow alums.
  

Top 10 Albums of 2000 - #1: Simple Kid - 2

It's rare that an album comes completely out of nowhere to impress me this much, but it happened twice this year, Panda Bear being one, this being the other. I first came across this before he opened for BRMC a few months ago, and I wanted to know whether I should get there in time for the opening act. It sounded good, I went, and was blown away. I immediately (legally) downloaded the album and couldn't stop listening to it for the next two weeks.

Virtually all self-recorded, he walks the line between traditional (Ballad of Elton John) and experimental (You); Bluegrass (Little King Kong), and metal (Mommy and Daddy); Folk (Old Domestic Cat), and Indie (Serotonin). Yet somehow, this has generated almost no buzz whatsoever. Not a single mention on Pitchfork. The new album doesn't even have an Amazon review. It's like I'm in some alternate universe where I'm the only person that's heard of this guy.

Start to finish, this album is a masterpiece. Some tracks stand out more than others, but they're nicely placed so that the album doesn't really reach a crescendo until the penultimate track, Mommy and Daddy, where Ciarn McFeely shows off his metal chops, no small feat for a one man act. Within the first week of owning this, I knew it was the best album of the year. It's simply fantastic.

Here's Serotonin, Ballad of Elton John, and Self Help Book.

Top 10 Albums of 2000 - #2: Panda Bear - Person Pitch

Another 2007 revelation, inspired by a Song of the Day post back in April, this was one I listened to a few times and thought was good. Then I got the urge to listen to it again sometime around October and was blown away. The opening triumvirate of Comfy in Nautica, Take Pills, and Bros are probably the three best opening tracks on any album I've ever heard, rivaling even OK Computer.

These songs are sounds, but not noise. They sound both carefully crafted and pulled from the ether at the same time. It's pure sonic bliss for the first 20 minutes. It gets a little goofy/experimental from there on, but closes nicely with Ponytail. It's hard to write too much about this one. It's unlike almost anything I've ever heard, but still quite familiar. It's just basically fantastic.

Here's Comfy in Nautica, Bros, and someone's video for Take Pills:

Section 20; Row 67; Seats 101 & 102

Just got my Rose Bowl tickets today. Casually asked the owner of a local Mexican food restaurant that my parents frequent, and he hooked me up. Should somewhere between the 25 and 40 yard lines, about ten rows under the press box, which are actually excellent seats at the Rose Bowl. Could stand to be a little lower, but these will be good. Paid face value. Only downside is that they're in the U$C section, but I'll survive. It's the alumni section, so they're all rich and docile.

This will be like the fifth or sixth Rose Bowl game I've been to, but the first where I've had decent seats.

Top 10 Albums of 2000 - #3: Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

Now we get to a band who's sound has really evolved over time. Their very early work was much more Pixies influenced, much rougher. It's a sound so foreign to their newer fans that they don't even play stuff from Telephono in concert anymore, or at least they haven't at any of the shows I've been to in the last few years.

The result of that evolution is Gax5, and it's arguably their best to date. I say arguably because I think it's a question of peak value vs. consistency. "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb", "the Underdog", and "Finer Feelings" are as good as anything they've ever done, and maybe the best three songs to appear on the same album. That said, I don't think it's consistently good as Gimme Fiction. Start to finish, I'll take their last album. I'm not a huge fan of "the Ghost of You Lingers", "Eddie's Raga", or "Japanese Cigarette Case", and they tend to stick out surrounded by such excellent tracks. But the quality of those top three, along with "Don't You Evah" and "Black Like Me" push this into the upper echelon of 2007 releases.

Here's Don't You Evah, Black Like Me, and Cherry Bomb.

Top 10 Albums of 2007 - #4: Super Furry Animals - Hey Venus!

It's kind of strange to think about a favorite band as being "under the radar", then realizing that they've got eight full length albums, a rarities collection, and a singles compilation. Generally bands that stay under the radar don't stick around long enough to be that prolific. But Hey Venus! marks the bands eight album, and fourth in the last five years or so.

Much like their last album, Love Kraft, Gruff Rhys shares the vocal duties with Huw Bunford ("Battersea Oddessy") and Cian Ciaran ("Carbon Dating", which sounds a lot like his Acid Casuals song "Bowl Me Over"). This might be their most pop-friendly album since, well, maybe ever. After the brief introduction of "Gateway Song", the album launches into the two most consumer friendly tracks on the album, "Run Away" and "Show Your Hand", before settling down with the mellowed out "Gift that Keeps Giving".

Like a lot of SFA albums, except for maybe Rings Around the World and Phantom Power, it tails off a little bit at the end, and you'll probably find yourself listening to the first seven tracks a lot, and the last four tracks not so much. That's not to say they aren't great tracks, but they tend to require the right mood, whereas a song like "Run Away" sounds good no matter what you're in the mood for. There are no real epic, defining tracks here, like Love Kraft's "Lazer Beam", Phantom Power's "Slow Life", or Rings' "Receptacle for the Respectable" or "Run, Christian, Run". But start to finish, it's on par with all of those albums.

Here's Run-Away; Show Your Hand (you have to sit through a minute or so of chat, but you'll get a cool glimpse of "God, Show Me Magic"); and the Gift that Keeps on Giving.

More fun with Sitemeter

Alright, who keeps coming here after googling Warren Busick? It was a throw away line in a post from quite a ways back, but it gets me like three or four hits per week. Sheesh, I don't think I've even seen him since I was about 12.

Top 10 Albums of 2007 - #4a: Earlimart - Mentor Tormentor

Alright, mea culpa, I forgot this one when I put my original list together, and I'm shoehorning them into roughly the spot they would have had if I hadn't been an idiot. Now that that's out of the way...

Earlimart returns with the third full-length of the Aaron Espinoza fronted era, and start to finish, it's their strongest outing to date. They've retained the knack for finding just the right ambient noise to back their stronger tracks, and even amplified by touring (briefly) with a string quartet. This is most notable on "Answers & Questions". They've moved away somewhat from the feedback heavy tracks like "Unintentional Tape Manipulations" and "Lost at Sea" from previous albums, and moved toward more piano and softer vocals, which suits not only Espinoza's ability, but Ariana Murray's, who contributes lead vocals on "Happy Alone", and shares them on "the World".

There's nothing here as sumblime as "Heaven Adores You" from the last album (though "Answers & Questions" is close), but the album is their most consistent to date. Every track is solid, and the pacing is excellent. No videos this time, but you can stream the whole album at their site.

Top 10 Albums of 2007 - #5: The Broken West - I Can't Go On, I'll Go On

The first full length from The Broken West, once known as the Brokedown until they found out they shared the name with a Chicago band. They hold the record as the band I've seen the most in a single year. I saw them initially when they opened for the Walkmen early in the year, then a month or so later when they headlined. They came back in the summer to play the Taste of Randolph Street festival, and hit the town once again with the Whigs in late October. The nice thing about listening to indie stuff is that one can actually afford to see the same band a bunch of times in the same year.

This is simply good, straightforward indie pop/rock, and it's very impressive for a debut. And it's very West Coast. While bands like Beulah captured the San Francisco Sound, the Broken West are much more L.A. Laid back groovy pop-songs like You Can Build an Island and Slow are set among the driving pop beats of So It Goes and On the Bubble, and the almost country sounding Abigail.

There's really not much more I can say. It's not complicated. It's not groundbreaking. This album just does what it sets out to do very, very well. Here's the studio version of Down in the Valley, a live version of So it Goes, and a live version of You Can Build an Island:

Top 10 Albums of 2007 - #6: The Apples in Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder

After a five year hiatus, which saw side projects from both Hilarie Sidney and Robert Schneider, as well as the end of their marriage, the Apples In Stereo returned with arguably their best album yet, and while Sidney is no longer a full fledged member of the band, she lends vocals to a couple of the many excellent tracks on this album.

Every AiS record has sounded a little bit different than the one before. From the jangly pop of Tone Soul Evolution and Fun Trick Noisemaker, to the lilting pop of Her Wallpaper Reverie, to the feedback drenched Beach Boys melodies of Velocity of Sound, they've managed to alter their sound just enough to let you know that they had evolved since the last time you heard them. New Magnetic Wonder showcases Schneider's experiments with vocoders and other bits of technology, while still calling back to their past, maintaining the framework of melodic psych-pop that has shaped every album to a varying degree.

There's a little bit of everything here. The opener "Can You Feel It" would have sounded at home on Fun Trick Noisemaker. The more raw "Skyway" follows, a track that could have had a home on Velocity. "Same Old Drag" and "Play Tough" bust out the harmonies that were so prevelant on Tone Soul, while "Sun is Out" opens as a lo-fi low tempo track right out of Wallpaper, before becoming a campfire style sing-along. Sidney pitches in with Sundaal Song and Sunday Sounds. It's like a greatest hits album of all new material, if that makes any sense.

The album is replete with short little song breaks (Don't download this album unless you can get it for one price, and don't get it from Emusic). There's 24 tracks, but it plays as something closer to a tradition 12-14 track album. And typical of AiS, it's all stuff that really transfers well live. They put on a great show, and they're someone you should check out if you get the chance.

Here's Same Old Drag; Can You Feel It?; and a live acoustic version of Skyway:

Top 10 Albums of 2007 - #7: Radiohead - In Rainbows

A majority of the buzz surrounding this album was centered on Radiohead's method of delivery. What was somewhat left out was the fact that this is another really, really good album, probably their best since OK Computer which, let's face it, is probably an insurmountable piece of work for Radiohead. It's one of the three best albums of all time, and all of those people who say they like The Bends better are lying, and simply trying to be contrarian.

For those unaware, Radiohead offered this album for download a few months ago through their own website. For how much? Whatever you were willing to pay, including $0 if you were a dick. I paid £5, which I thought was fair. I'd much rather purchase music from the artist when possible, which is why I tend to stream a lot of stuff via Rhapsody, then wait until I see a band live to buy the CD whenever I can.

Unlike the last three albums on the list, this album feels like a bit of a departure for Radiohead, but it's hard to tell, since they've kind of been all over the map lately. However, they've toned down the experimentation a bit, and this album seems more instantly accessible than the previous three, though it's more down the path of Hail to the Thief than either Kid A or Amnesiac. Starts off quickly with 15 Step and Bodysnatchers, which are my two favorite songs on the album.

For the first time since OK Computer, it's not a chore to listen to an entire Radiohead album beginning to end. Here's the first two tracks mentioned above, plus Jigsaw Falling Into Place.

The Mitchell Report

I've given it a long, hard thought, and after much soul searching, I've come to this conclusion:

I. Don't. Care.

I don't care if every player who has ever played is, was, or will be juicing. This is arguably the biggest waste of effort in the history of the sport.