March 2007 Archives
March 31, 2007
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Potential replacements for Kenny Rogers
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Completely inappropriate, completely hilarious music video detailing "Sad Kermit's" downward spiral. Rated R for sex, violence, and drug use. (See, it's funny already.)
March 30, 2007
In the stretch run now...
I listened this record more than anything else in 2006. To some extent, the delicious interplay between the next two records (WARNING: Spoiler Alert!!) is the only thing keeping it from the top spot. That, and it seemed dreadfully predictable.
In his solo debut, Yorke jumps off of the most intimate and sparse Radiohead songs. Thing "Pyramid Song" minus the guitars.
And, of course, Yorke can't help be political. Yes, "The Eraser" could just be another sad breakup song. It could also be a paean to the power of an idea:
The more you try to erase me,
The more that I appear.
In "Harrowdown Hill," he's more direct. The song is named after the site of the suspicious suicide of David Kelly, a British government official who spoke out against the trumped up "evidence" of Iraq's WMD. In that context, the lyrics of authoritarianism and artificial patriotism are chilling.
Ultimately, Yorke proves himself again to be the musical genius of his generation. I don't know if the others on this list can repeat their success, but I'm rather certain Radiohead's 2007 record will find him gunning again for the top spot. That kind of legacy means something.
Best Song: The Eraser (4.7 MB MP3)
Official Site - MySpace
Previous 2006 Todd Ten Entries
4. Rock Plaza Central - We Are Not Horses
5. Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther
6. Roddy Woomble - My Secret is My Silence
7. Infadels - We Are Not the Infadels
8. The Twilight Singers - Powder Burns
9. Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat
10. Band of Horses - Everything All The Time
The Bad News
Opening Day is just days away, but the Detroit nine will be starting the season a man short.
Tigers ace Kenny Rogers had surgery today to fix a blood clot in his pitching shoulder. He'll be out until about the All-Star break. The Free Press has a good recap of the surgery.
Remember, this is the same Kenny Rogers who set a playoff record for scoreless inning last year. This is a big hole for the Tigers.
Get well soon, Mr. Rogers. All the Tiger faithful are pulling for you.
Adding injury to injury, the Tigers also announced today that backup catcher Vance Wilson, one of last year's pleasant surprises, will also be going to the DL.
The Good News
If there's one place the Tigers have depth, it's starting pitching. Chad Durbin, Wil Ledezma, Zach Miner, and Jordan Tata all had success last year and are poised to fill in as necessary. Remember, this quartet filled the hole left last year when Mike Marath - arguably the Tigers best pitcher at the time - went down midway through the season.
Plus, the early season MLB schedule always includes a bunch of off days and rainouts in April and May. Chances are, the fifth starter will only need to make half a dozen starts in the first two months.
Additionally, a fully-rested Kenny Rogers seems like a heck of a pickup just before the trade deadline, doesn't it? A little boost of the stretch run sounds pretty nice right about now.
And...of course...there's always Andrew Miller. You know, the number one draft pick from last year? The can't-miss golden kid? The one the Tigers damn near put on the playoff roster last year? The one that probably should have made the team this spring? Yeah. Him. He's there if we need him.
Be afraid, American League. Be very afraid. After posting the best record in all of Spring Training, the Defending American League Champion Detroit Tigers are back on the prowl. Nothing less than October will satisfy.
Opening Day is Monday.
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Fun video. Cute joke at the end.
March 28, 2007
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This isn't me, right? Right?
March 25, 2007
I just started reading What is the What, Dave Egger's "novel" about the war in Darfur and the rest of the Sudan.
I put "novel" in quotation marks, because really, this is the life story of Valentino Achak Deng, one of Sudan's "Lost Boys" who literally walked out of the warzone, bounced through a few refugee camps, and eventually landed in America with no money or family, but with the guidance of gentle souls and staggering quantities of will and hope.
This is not a happy story, but it sure seems important. It will probably take me two weeks or so to read this book, and I'll post my reactions here. I'm also excited to attend a discussion by Deng later this week at Boston College.
In something of a BTP experiment, I encourage you, dear reader, to track down a copy and join me in discussion.
A final note: I respect the heck out of Dave Eggers. He is committed contributing his art to efforts to create a better world. This book tells a vital story, and proceeds support Deng's foundation for educational and financial assistance for Sudanese refugees. In addition, Eggers is the driving force behind the 826 organization that provides after-school arts and writing workshops to kids in seven cities.
Although such do-gooder-ism can sometimes be derided, I think it's pretty admirable to believe care, creativity, and community can actually change the world.
March 22, 2007
Returning from hiatus. As always, the game is simple. Describe your favorite records of the year. Count backwards.
It's an indie-folk concept record about the existential crises of robot horses.
Seriously.
And it avoids the minefield of potential pitfalls - every single one - to make one of the truly fantastic records of the year. What else do I really need to say?
Previous 2006 Todd Ten Entries
5. Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther
6. Roddy Woomble - My Secret is My Silence
7. Infadels - We Are Not the Infadels
8. The Twilight Singers - Powder Burns
9. Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat
10. Band of Horses - Everything All The Time
I'm a sucker for horns. If the guy singing with the horns is hapless and British, well so much the better. So it's not really a surprise that I'm getting a huge kick from the above video. It's the first single from the Rumble Strips' upcoming June debut, Girls And Weather.
It's also a song about how much it sucks to wake up in the morning, a topic near to my heart.
It's also worth noting that a year ago, I fell in love with "Motorcycle," the first Rumble Strips tune. I even went so far as to download a special program to strip out the audio from the video (below) so I could listen to the song on my iPod. According to iTunes, it got the second most plays of any song last year.
Any band that can put together two ace singles in the span of a few months is clearly worth paying attention to. I'm excited for the new record.
Finally, I also dig that the videos are cool. They're just fun to watch.
Hi there, sports racers.
First, I moved to Boston to keep Tracy company during law school.
Second, I've opened up my own consulting shop. For at least the foreseeable future, I think I can actually make a living offering online political strategy, communications, and tech development. So, if you know anyone who needs any of those things, please send me their way.
March 21, 2007
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Non-Tiger fans, meet our mysterious secret weapon, Fernando Rodney.
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No additional comment necessary.
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Get well soon, Mr. Letterman!
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New Weird Al video. Bizarrely intoxicating.
March 12, 2007
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Dinner this week. I think it would go well with asparagus. And I don't even like asparagus.
Jim and I were having an interesting discussion about our favorite sports today.
I was commenting about how much I love the first few days of March Madness. The unadulterated overload of competition is probably my favorite sporting event to watch every year. Jim, however, doesn't particularly like college basketball (despite being the only two-time winner of Donutland.)
This lead to the construction of the list of our respective favorite sports. Here's mine.
- Playoff Hockey (Go Wings!)
- Olympics (U-S-A!)
- Playoff Baseball (Go Tigers!)
- World Cup (U-S-A!)
- March Madness
- Regular Season Baseball
- Regular Season Hockey
- College Football (Go Blue!)
- NFL (Go Lions!)
- Regular Season College Basketball (Big Games Only)
- Pro Golf (Majors Only)
- Curling
- NBA
What's your list? Did I leave anything out? Is curling better than golf? Hit me up in the comments.
March 9, 2007
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The secret to Apple's success is, I believe, careful and meticulous thought.
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Special extended trailer for 300, the new movie about the greatest last stand in ancient history. Complete with "blood, nudity, and extreme violence."
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More on the greatest last stand in ancient history.
March 7, 2007
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Neat travel site focusing on daytrips from major cities.
March 6, 2007
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Fun puzzle game. Beautiful charcoal drawing artwork. Took me about 30 minutes to figure it all out.
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Dinner monday. Tracy really liked it!
March 2, 2007
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Andrew Miller, the next Tiger pitching phenom, struck out 4 Mets in his Spring debut. Buster Olney speculates behind ESPN's paywall that the Tigers may keep Miller in the bigs, just like Zumaya last year.
March 1, 2007
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Jayson Stark on how winning changes everything.
