A couple posts ago I was complaining about not winning in fantasy sports. It still completely baffles me that I could not win the league last year in baseball. This is a subject I fear that I will never be able to let go.
Purely for my own indulgence, I'd like to talk about my roster.
C-Pablo Sandoval-572 AB/79 R/25 HR/90 RBI/5 SB/ .330 AVE
I saw Kung Fu Panda as a huge sleeper last year. He finished 2008 with big numbers and a great average after being called up by the Giants at the end of the year. Sure, he might have been a fluke, but what I loved was that he was getting the full time gig at third base while still being eligible for catcher under Yahoo rules. A full time player that you can slot in at the C spot is a dream come true. My plan was to draft Pablo and Matt Wieters, the rookie sensation, and trade whichever one had the most value later on. Well, Pablo was awesome, having a great breakout year. Wieters ended up not being worth the hype, and I dealt him at some point.
1B-Prince Fielder-591 AB/103 R/46 HR/141 RBI/2 SB/ .299 AVE
Nothing like getting top 5 production from your second round draft pick. Fielder was, by far, the MVP of the team. Huge year, and consistent to boot. Other guys on the team had cold spells and hot streaks, but it was Fielder who was consistently ape shit every week. He was coming off a down year in which his transition to a vegetarian lifestyle was criticized, but he was still a monster bat at the position where power is needed. Good move there. I highly doubt he'll be available in the 2nd round this year.
2B-Chase Utley-571 AB/112 R/31 HR/93 RBI/23 SB/.282 AVE
Look at those numbers. Nice, right? How often will you find a 30/20 guy at 2B? I was able to snag Utley in the 3rd round due to concerns that his offseason surgery would cause him some problems. Even at that point in the draft I thought I was taking a gamble. It helped that Pedroia was coming off an MVP season and half the guys I play with are Sawx fans. Utley ended up being awesome. He's a bit streaky, but it was alright... until September, that is. As soon as the playoffs began, Utley went stone cold. On September 1st, Utley had an average of .304. He finished at .282. Over that last, most crucial month Utley went 22/108 (.204). And THAT is why I will not be drafting Utley this year, unless he falls, again, to the 3rd round.
3B-Miguel Cabrera-611 AB/96 R/34 HR/103 RBI/6 SB/.324 AVE
For the second year in a row I made Miggy my first round pick. There's something about him that is very un-exciting. I think it's his consistency that does it. He never has a huge week. Not much to say about him except he keeps almost every category afloat while the various other parts of the roster can blow up and suck at their own discretion. He ran it to some trouble this off season with a drinking problem. It's easy to forget that Miggy is very young. Hopefully he cleans up his act and takes things to the next level.
SS-Gordon Beckham-378 AB/58 R/14 HR/63 RBI/7 SB/.270 AVE
The biggest source of drama in 2009 was definitely my SS situation. I drafted Theriot, included him in a trade for Reyes, lost Reyes to a season ending injury, went through an assortment of Alcides Escobar/Erick Aybar/ Maicer Izturis/Jhonny Peralta/Everth Cabrera/and Elvis Andrus, and finally settled on Beckham who had a very good debut in the majors. Beckham started slow, got really hot in July, went cold in August, and finished nicely in September. If you take his numbers at 600 ABs you get a line of: 92/22/100/11. Not bad at all at SS. I'll take it, and Beckham will definitely be on my radar next year, even though he loses shortstop eligibility.
OF-Matt Holliday-581 AB/94 R/24 HR/ 109 RBI/14 SB/.313 AVE
I didn't draft Holliday but I did get him on a sweet buy-low situation. My OF was garbage at the beginning of the season but I was able to build something nice from nothing. I had Magglio Ordonez (big time slump), Ankiel (garbage), Snider (bust), and Maybin (still waiting for that breakout) to begin the year, but I ended up with a great squad at the end. Holliday was awesome. I got him near the time he was traded to St Louis where he really seemed to enjoy batting behind Pujols. He suffered a power outage and stopped running in September, so, like Utley, I am kind of pissed at him, but he was still batting .326 so I can't complain too much.
OF-Nick Markakis-642 AB/94 R/ 18 HR/ 101 RBI/6 SB/.293 AVE
I've had a man crush on Markakis for a few years and I was bummed when I couldn't get him in the draft. I was able to trade him off on another buy low where he started playing a little better. However, Markakis is now in the same doghouse as Utley as my 2009 fantasy killers. You think Utley was bad with his .204 September average? Well Marakis was even worse with a .198. He, also like Utley, came in to September with a .304 average. It was all downhill from there. I was especially surprised with this production as Markakis was starting to get a reputation for second half explosions. Well, you win some you lose some.
OF-Shin Soo Choo-583 AB/87 R/20 HR/86 RBI/21 SB/.300 AVE
Choo was another proud drafting moment for me as he was a guy I was definitely targeting. I got him in the 17th round and he was definitely worth it. His one bugaboo was injuries and he managed to stay healthy. He was a little heavy on the K's (our league counts strikeouts) but he was solid in every single other category. He also hit a bird one time on a shallow outfield bloop.
Util-Denard Span-578 AB/97 R/8 HR/68 RBI/23 SB/.311 AVE
Span was another guy I wanted to grab as a sleeper but he went before I could get him, where I settled on Maybin. However, he was part of the ill-fated preseason trade where I sent away my pitching staff for Jose Reyes. Span was perfect in this OBP/K league. He gave me a solid OBP, stole a few bases, and scored a bunch of runs. Not bad at all at the utility spot.
SP-Adam Wainwright-233 IP/19-8/212 K/2.63 ERA/1.21 WHIP
Wainwright has been on my team for 4 years now. I love this guy, he's been a sleeper every year while offering at least SP2 production. Unfortunately, his Cy votes finally put him on the map and I'll probably never see him again.
SP-Cliff Lee-231IP/14-13/181 K/3.22 ERA/1.24 WHIP
Another buy low steal. He was slumping at the time of acquisition, but shortly after he was traded to Philly and he exploded. I cant recall what I gave up for him but it was definitely worth it. Once he got out of Cleveland he reduced his walks (33vs10) and shaved a half a run off of his ERA. Nice.
SP-Ricky Nolasco-185 IP/13-9/195 K/5.06 ERA/1.25 WHIP
What can I say about Ricky? By every indication there is no way his era should have been as awful as it was. He started awful. His April ERA was 6.92. His May was even worse at 12.23. He still showed great control and had no problem striking guys out, but he was just plain too damn hittable. His BABIP was absurd at the time, around .350 if I recall correctly. I hung on to him though, as his numbers looked fine. He was sent down for a little while, and when he came back it appeared that he corrected his issues. His second go around showed significant improvement and was striking out 10/9 IP, which is great. So, I'll give Nolasco a pass on 2009 as he didn't really hurt me too much, and stuck around when it really counted.
SP-Tommy Hanson-127 IP/11-4/116 K/2.89 ERA/1.18 WHIP
I hate to wait forever for Hanson to get the call, but it was well worth it. He experienced some good luck, but I wasn't complaining. His debut went so well that a number of 2010 rankings have him among the top 25 SPs for the year. Apparently I'm kind of a sucker for these hot new rookies as I was also the guy who held on to Wieters forever. And a couple years ago I managed to get both Tim Lincecum and Yovani Gallardo as soon as they were promoted. However, I'm also the guy who drafted Alex Gordon, and look how that turned out. Sometimes it doesn't work, sometimes it does.
SP-Arroyo/Slowey/Baker/Kuroda/Kawakami
My other pitchers were hit and miss, for the most part. Arroyo, as it turns out, is absolutely money in the second half. He's the pitcher version of Adam Laroche. Slowey was a target of mine as he walks nobody. Unfortunately he had a season ending injury kind of early on. Baker I took a chance on when someone else cast him off. He's like Slowey, another Minnesota product. These guys have great control. Kuroda is a solid pitcher. Nothing fantastic. The downside is that he rarely gives you more than 6 innings. Kawakami... meh.
Closers-Bell 42 SV/Soria 30 SV/MacDougal 20 SV/ Gutierrez 10 SV
I learned a lesson about closers last year. Not going to share it, but I learned something. Anyway, I traded away a number of closers throughout the year in a number of those buy low deals. I'm the a-hole who picks up the closer-in-waiting the second that the grumblings begin on trade rumors. In review my end of year closers were either solid or garbage. Bell had a breakout year and I expect that he will be overrated this year and Soria had another great year despite an injury. MacDougal, on the other hand, is a WHIP killer and never deserved the job. Gutierrez didn't deserve the job either, and he no longer has the job.
So, in review, I had career years out of Sandoval, Fielder, Utley, Holliday, Span, Choo, Wainwright, Lee, and Bell. It was all kittens and rainbows for 95% of the year. When the playoffs came, however, it was like a completely different squad.
The guy who beat me had a number of spare parts, and it is especially painful in that I traded them to him:
C-Miguel Montero-this guy is actually really good, but he was a part-timer
1-Cuddyer-he had a career year, but no where as good as Fielder
2-Cano-solid, and unlike Utley, he didn't completely disappear in the playoffs
3-Reynolds-had a monster year, but he only batted 260 and set the record for Ks (223)
S-Alberto Callaspo-Who? Exactly. This dude went nuts in September with an ops of .970. In the week of our matchup Callaspo had 1/8 of his RBIs
O-Rajai Davis-another nobody known for stealing bases and nothing else. In that week he had 1/7 of his RBIs
O-Ludwick-he sucked last year
O-Matsui-I traded Matsui to him, hoping to cash in on the name and team. He thanks me by smacking a couple of dingers
Util-Jose Lopez-another guy I sent to him. At least he didn't screw me over.
Other than that he had no decent pitching other than Sabathia. His closers were nice though.
What it all came down to was that everything that could go wrong for me, did, and whatever could go right for him, did.
What are the chances of me ever assembling a team like this again, especially in a 14 team league? Zilch. Nada. It was a learning experience, at the least. It definitely forced me to pay attention to the September track record for players.
Pitchers and catchers report this week, so it's time to finalize my prep, and stop bitching about the past. But god damn that sucked.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Grammy review from a guy who didn't watch them
Fuck the Grammy's.
In fact, fuck all the music award shows. Somewhere along the way it became important for all of the elitists to jerk each other off over how much they like particular artists who they have decided it would be "cool" to like.
For example, it has suddenly become "cool" to think Lady Gaga is the tits. Why? Nofuckinidea. Her music is awful. Her outfits are not edgy, they're ri-goddamn-diculous. I'd comment on her equine-like face but looks should not matter in music. If you look at pictures of the music stars of pre-internet and media saturation times, you'll know what I'm talking about. I'm no fan of that Susan Boyle woman but you have to give her credit for shaming the world in to looking past her Jabba the Hutt-like exterior.
But Lady Gaga is everywhere. In the car she's on the radio. She's a guest on every talk show. I have to hear her at the gym. She's constantly in my head. And how can anyone take her seriously when she looks like this:
You'd think I would be a fan as she is one of those rare women who doesn't believe in pants. Ordinarily, that is something I can get on board. But this woman does nothing for me. Maybe it's the hermaphrodite rumors. Either way, her music is awful, she's obnoxious, and the people who celebrate her eccentricities are doing so in a self-serving way to make themselves think they are edgy.
My next beef is on that little starlet Taylor Swift. Now I hate country music, I think it's awful. Sometimes it can be funny when you have those songs that are just so redneck it's hard to figure out if it is meant to be satire or not. That being said, if I was a country fan, I'd friggin hate Taylor Swift. It's kind of like being really in to rock and having to deal with little bitches like My Chemical Romance and Death Cab for Cutie.
Swift's music is so far from legitimate country music it's barely recognizable. She's a blond Avril Lavigne, who's also annoying. Perhaps my problem is with these little starlets in general. Is there any other country which has to deal with them en masse like the USA does?
Speaking of which, OMGZZZ did you hear the whopper from Miley Cyrus??? She's going to call it quits on Hannah Montanna!!!
My guess is that she has just grown up too much for a show that caters to pre-teen girls. I'm not sure what's next for Miley but I have some guesses...
Now on a positive note, you won't hear me bitch about Beyonce and her shitload of awards. Good for her. That woman can sing, that woman can dance, that woman can do whatever she wants. The "Sasha Fierce" alternate personality bullshit that she's been talking about is lame but these rock stars these days always engage in a little bit of self-indulgence so I will give her a pass on that.
The lack of rock dominance is a trend that gets worse year after year, and that's a bummer. The crop of good rock musicians is just getting weaker. Green Day won, of course. So did Kings of Leon for the one song that people know. Whatever, it would have been nice to see Pearl Jam win something, but that is wishful thinking.
Is rock dying? Perhaps. The genre itself is getting pushed aside by the likes of Country, R&B, Rap, and American Idol-style pop. It took hippies to make it big in the 70s, glam and drugs in the 80s, and Kurt Cobain in the 90s. It will be interesting to see what it will take to bring it to the forefront in the future.
Now, in honor of Beyonce's record-breaking haul, get up and shake that ass.
In fact, fuck all the music award shows. Somewhere along the way it became important for all of the elitists to jerk each other off over how much they like particular artists who they have decided it would be "cool" to like.
For example, it has suddenly become "cool" to think Lady Gaga is the tits. Why? Nofuckinidea. Her music is awful. Her outfits are not edgy, they're ri-goddamn-diculous. I'd comment on her equine-like face but looks should not matter in music. If you look at pictures of the music stars of pre-internet and media saturation times, you'll know what I'm talking about. I'm no fan of that Susan Boyle woman but you have to give her credit for shaming the world in to looking past her Jabba the Hutt-like exterior.
But Lady Gaga is everywhere. In the car she's on the radio. She's a guest on every talk show. I have to hear her at the gym. She's constantly in my head. And how can anyone take her seriously when she looks like this:
You'd think I would be a fan as she is one of those rare women who doesn't believe in pants. Ordinarily, that is something I can get on board. But this woman does nothing for me. Maybe it's the hermaphrodite rumors. Either way, her music is awful, she's obnoxious, and the people who celebrate her eccentricities are doing so in a self-serving way to make themselves think they are edgy.
My next beef is on that little starlet Taylor Swift. Now I hate country music, I think it's awful. Sometimes it can be funny when you have those songs that are just so redneck it's hard to figure out if it is meant to be satire or not. That being said, if I was a country fan, I'd friggin hate Taylor Swift. It's kind of like being really in to rock and having to deal with little bitches like My Chemical Romance and Death Cab for Cutie.
Swift's music is so far from legitimate country music it's barely recognizable. She's a blond Avril Lavigne, who's also annoying. Perhaps my problem is with these little starlets in general. Is there any other country which has to deal with them en masse like the USA does?
Speaking of which, OMGZZZ did you hear the whopper from Miley Cyrus??? She's going to call it quits on Hannah Montanna!!!
My guess is that she has just grown up too much for a show that caters to pre-teen girls. I'm not sure what's next for Miley but I have some guesses...
Now on a positive note, you won't hear me bitch about Beyonce and her shitload of awards. Good for her. That woman can sing, that woman can dance, that woman can do whatever she wants. The "Sasha Fierce" alternate personality bullshit that she's been talking about is lame but these rock stars these days always engage in a little bit of self-indulgence so I will give her a pass on that.
The lack of rock dominance is a trend that gets worse year after year, and that's a bummer. The crop of good rock musicians is just getting weaker. Green Day won, of course. So did Kings of Leon for the one song that people know. Whatever, it would have been nice to see Pearl Jam win something, but that is wishful thinking.
Is rock dying? Perhaps. The genre itself is getting pushed aside by the likes of Country, R&B, Rap, and American Idol-style pop. It took hippies to make it big in the 70s, glam and drugs in the 80s, and Kurt Cobain in the 90s. It will be interesting to see what it will take to bring it to the forefront in the future.
Now, in honor of Beyonce's record-breaking haul, get up and shake that ass.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
The man behind the curtain
A segment from the Sunday morning talk shows involving Arianna Huffington and Roger Ailes:
AILES: FOX News is fair and balanced. We had Geraldine Ferraro on for 10 years as the only woman the Democrats ever nominated. Now we have the only woman that the Republicans nominated. I'm not in politics, I'm in ratings. We're winning.
HUFFINGTON: Roger, you clearly are in ratings, but if you are in ratings, can you explain to me why FOX went away from the meeting the president was having in -- why did you go away, 20 minutes before the end?
AILES: Because we're the most trusted name in news.
This helps to understand why Republicans do their best thinking when expressed in the form of slogans: it is because the man behind the 24/7 Republican propaganda machine, himself, can only think in slogans.
UPDATE: Ahem...
AILES: FOX News is fair and balanced. We had Geraldine Ferraro on for 10 years as the only woman the Democrats ever nominated. Now we have the only woman that the Republicans nominated. I'm not in politics, I'm in ratings. We're winning.
HUFFINGTON: Roger, you clearly are in ratings, but if you are in ratings, can you explain to me why FOX went away from the meeting the president was having in -- why did you go away, 20 minutes before the end?
AILES: Because we're the most trusted name in news.
This helps to understand why Republicans do their best thinking when expressed in the form of slogans: it is because the man behind the 24/7 Republican propaganda machine, himself, can only think in slogans.
UPDATE: Ahem...
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
My Personal Curse
What it is, jive turkey!!! I've got a problem. Actually, I have 3 problems:
First of all, I've been cursed with incredible good looks.
Second of all, I spend too much time on fantasy sports.
And third, I can't seem to buy a friggin championship in said fantasy sports.
Early playoff exits are my thing. I've managed to win one football championship a few years ago, and I believe I took another in hockey two years ago. My recent past, however, leaves something to be desired. If I recall correctly, my most recent performances go a little something like this:
Hockey
2006-Finished 9 out of 10, most likely because of the incredibly gay team name of "Hockey Town Hussies"
2007-Team name change to "Le Chuck" results in CHAMPIONSHIP!!! Suck it!
2008-Trip to Colombia and not setting line up results in 2nd place out of 12.
2009-Not finished but currently climbing the charts.
Football
2006-"Sexy Time Explosion" isn't so sexy at all and finishes 8 out of 8
2007-"Hot Beef Injection" gets the silver
2008-"Mandalorian Merc's" finishes with the 1st seed and then is immediately eliminated in the 1st round. End result: 7th out of 16
2009-"SherrifGonnaGetcha" again finishes with the 1st seed. I roll my way in to the semi's where I eliminated. End result: 3rd out of 12
Baseball
2006-My fightin' "Underpants Gnomes" can only manage an 8th place finish out of 10th.
2007-"Tater Chips" is a little better, getting 5th out of 12.
2008-"Logjammin" scores the 2nd seed. After the 1st round bye I immediately lose in the playoffs. End result: 3rd out of 14.
2009-"Logjammin" finishes with the 1st seed with perhaps the best roster ever in the history of fantasy baseball where I then again LOSE IN THE GOD DAMN SEMI'S!!! End result: Fucking 3rd.
So my average finish is:
2006-8th
2007-3rd
2008-4th (Despite 1st and 2nd place finish)
2009-3rd (Despite 2 first place finishes)
So what the hell is this shit??? What is the issue? I have no fucking idea. All I know is that is getting really friggin annoying to have my team eliminated in the playoffs by the dude who autodrafts and checks his team twice a month.
Across the last 4 fantasy seasons I have finished either 1st or 2nd in the regular season and I have nothing to show for it.
Am I cursed? Am I destined to never get a hold of the gold in the two sports with money on the line (hockey doesn't pay)? If not it is certainly not for lack of trying.
Football I can certainly understand because it's a complete crapshoot. You never know who's going to get TDs. It's the most popular fantasy sport because it is, undoubtedly, the easiest to play. However, I'm obviously doing something right if I've managed to finish 1st two years in a row.
It's baseball that really bothers me. Baseball is the nerdy extra complicated cousin to Football. Baseball guys love stats. I love stats. I have designed, and am always making improvements on, my own personal excel spreadsheet designed to properly rank and tier almost 500 players which I check almost every single damn day. Excessive? You bet your ass. Do I love indulging in to that deep level of nerdery. Absolutely.
It makes me wonder what the hell it is for when I have nothing to show for it, however. I keep telling myself, "Fuck it. Next year I'm going autodraft", but I never do.
So, I'm all prepped for the 2010 baseball season. And while just about everyone else in the league will, at best, by a magazine the day before the draft and wing it, I'm going to be the numbnuts still debating at the last second if Felix Pie belongs in the same tier as Jason Heyward, despite the fact that neither may even get a single at-bat this year.
Whatever, fuck everyone else. This year I'm going to win. If not, well, just like following the Redskins, the failure gets a little easier each time.
First of all, I've been cursed with incredible good looks.
Second of all, I spend too much time on fantasy sports.
And third, I can't seem to buy a friggin championship in said fantasy sports.
Early playoff exits are my thing. I've managed to win one football championship a few years ago, and I believe I took another in hockey two years ago. My recent past, however, leaves something to be desired. If I recall correctly, my most recent performances go a little something like this:
Hockey
2006-Finished 9 out of 10, most likely because of the incredibly gay team name of "Hockey Town Hussies"
2007-Team name change to "Le Chuck" results in CHAMPIONSHIP!!! Suck it!
2008-Trip to Colombia and not setting line up results in 2nd place out of 12.
2009-Not finished but currently climbing the charts.
Football
2006-"Sexy Time Explosion" isn't so sexy at all and finishes 8 out of 8
2007-"Hot Beef Injection" gets the silver
2008-"Mandalorian Merc's" finishes with the 1st seed and then is immediately eliminated in the 1st round. End result: 7th out of 16
2009-"SherrifGonnaGetcha" again finishes with the 1st seed. I roll my way in to the semi's where I eliminated. End result: 3rd out of 12
Baseball
2006-My fightin' "Underpants Gnomes" can only manage an 8th place finish out of 10th.
2007-"Tater Chips" is a little better, getting 5th out of 12.
2008-"Logjammin" scores the 2nd seed. After the 1st round bye I immediately lose in the playoffs. End result: 3rd out of 14.
2009-"Logjammin" finishes with the 1st seed with perhaps the best roster ever in the history of fantasy baseball where I then again LOSE IN THE GOD DAMN SEMI'S!!! End result: Fucking 3rd.
So my average finish is:
2006-8th
2007-3rd
2008-4th (Despite 1st and 2nd place finish)
2009-3rd (Despite 2 first place finishes)
So what the hell is this shit??? What is the issue? I have no fucking idea. All I know is that is getting really friggin annoying to have my team eliminated in the playoffs by the dude who autodrafts and checks his team twice a month.
Across the last 4 fantasy seasons I have finished either 1st or 2nd in the regular season and I have nothing to show for it.
Am I cursed? Am I destined to never get a hold of the gold in the two sports with money on the line (hockey doesn't pay)? If not it is certainly not for lack of trying.
Football I can certainly understand because it's a complete crapshoot. You never know who's going to get TDs. It's the most popular fantasy sport because it is, undoubtedly, the easiest to play. However, I'm obviously doing something right if I've managed to finish 1st two years in a row.
It's baseball that really bothers me. Baseball is the nerdy extra complicated cousin to Football. Baseball guys love stats. I love stats. I have designed, and am always making improvements on, my own personal excel spreadsheet designed to properly rank and tier almost 500 players which I check almost every single damn day. Excessive? You bet your ass. Do I love indulging in to that deep level of nerdery. Absolutely.
It makes me wonder what the hell it is for when I have nothing to show for it, however. I keep telling myself, "Fuck it. Next year I'm going autodraft", but I never do.
So, I'm all prepped for the 2010 baseball season. And while just about everyone else in the league will, at best, by a magazine the day before the draft and wing it, I'm going to be the numbnuts still debating at the last second if Felix Pie belongs in the same tier as Jason Heyward, despite the fact that neither may even get a single at-bat this year.
Whatever, fuck everyone else. This year I'm going to win. If not, well, just like following the Redskins, the failure gets a little easier each time.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Alive... in the Superunknown!!!
Holy shit! If the Alice in Chains "reunion" had me amped then the recent rumors of an impending Soundgarden reunion have me doubly super stoked. Just the mere thought of Chris Cornell howling over some sick Kim Thayil riffs give me a boner that CAN NOT BE CONTAINED!!!
I am unapologetically a fanboy of the 90s grunge scene to which all other music fails in comparison. That's my M.O., that's how I get down, that's how I roll. Despite the fact that FM radio seems to play "Outshined" once per hour, I never change the channel. Never.
As much as Nirvana got credit for busting the door open on grunge or alternative rock or whatever you want to call it, as much as Pearl Jam gets the trophy for staying power, Soundgarden had the biggest sound, the heaviest riffs, and the biggest cajones of the scene. Even when they were bad, they were good. Some of their 80s stuff was cheesy as fuck.
Case in point...
Nice, right?
I'm a little curious as to how they are going to rectify their drummer situation, as Cameron has since joined PJ Supreme. What's that? you want a whole video of Matt C drumming to "Evenflow"? Here you go:
So who knows how that will shake out. Early indications are that Cameron will be touring with the reunion, but we'll have to see where it goes from there.
So, in lieu of blathering more about my love of Soundgarden, I'll just post a few more youtube clips.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Shake and Bake!
I got a message for you!
Good musics is few and far between these days. But I was able to salvage a few tunes out of the late 2009 that caught my ear. So, without further ado, here lies some sort of top 10-ish type list:
10-Them Crooked Vultures-Elephants
9-The Shock of the Lightning-Oasis
8-Never Ending Summer-311
7-All Secrets Known-Alice in Chains
6-Jars-Chevelle
5-Uprising-Muse
4-Let It Die-Foo Fighters
3-Wolfmother-Sundial
2-Kings and Queens-30 Seconds to Mars
1-Amongst the Waves-Pearl Jam
Good musics is few and far between these days. But I was able to salvage a few tunes out of the late 2009 that caught my ear. So, without further ado, here lies some sort of top 10-ish type list:
10-Them Crooked Vultures-Elephants
9-The Shock of the Lightning-Oasis
8-Never Ending Summer-311
7-All Secrets Known-Alice in Chains
6-Jars-Chevelle
5-Uprising-Muse
4-Let It Die-Foo Fighters
3-Wolfmother-Sundial
2-Kings and Queens-30 Seconds to Mars
1-Amongst the Waves-Pearl Jam
Monday, January 4, 2010
"The only cosmonaAAUUUTTTT"
Happy New Year, fuckers!!!
Merry Christmas and all that other happy horseshit, too. This newest of blog posts comes inspired by the crunchiness of one, Andrew Stockdale and his band of interchangeable parts.
Yeeaaahhh!!!
I wasn't overly impressed with the first Wolfmother album and it took a delayed liking of "Woman" to gain my interest. That, "Colossal", and "Love Train" are the only songs I can actually remember. At that point the band slowly crept away from my mind and was soon forgotten amongst a horde of bands that have come and gone (Full Devil Jacket, Audiovent, Big Wreck, etc.).
It was by pure bored curiosity that I looked in to their latest, Cosmic Egg, and shit did I have a good time with it. Sure, it may have had something to do with enjoying a fine selection of Sam Adams finest, but the rockin that occurred that evening was fan-tastic.
The reviews that I found for the album are a mixed bag, and the kiss of death known as good-review-by-Rolling-Stone is also present, but my own mind has been made up in the matter.
Again I have to vent on the pretentious world of music reviewer. Who do these people think they are? I read in not one but two reviews that Wolfmother would be better served to be more like The White Stripes. Why? Is it that awful for a band to do their own thing? The similarities between Wolfmother and Led Zeppelin, Jet, and the Stripes are bound to occur if only that they are rock bands with a singer who can reach some of those nut clenching higher registers, but it doesn't mean that one must go out of their fucking way to make that comparison every other fucking paragraph. "Er... blah blah blah look at me the music snob. This music is reminiscent of such bands as blah blah blah because I like them better and know more shit than you." Suck a dick. And I can't stop asking, what is so special about the fucking White Stripes? In fact, excuse me for a moment while I ask that very question on facebook.
Anywho, the riffs on this album are sick. None of the mindless noodling that drives me nuts in most guitar virtuosos, just crunchy fast, epic riffage. Sign me up on that shit. The new rhythm section is tight and hard.
Bands like this always get my attention if they churn out a product I like. At heart I love singers like Eddie Vedder or Scott Weilland (from the Core days, before the drug use tore up his lungs). I like the singing lower. Whiny voices make me want to choke people. So when groups like Wolfmother, Jane's Addiction, and Smashing Pumpkins get my attention, it's an especially big deal for me.
So for those of you keeping score, Peter Steele: Yes
Brendan Brown: No
Just sayin'
Now this post has taken entirely too long, and it's year end time and my ass is swamped with TPS reports. Later hosers.
Merry Christmas and all that other happy horseshit, too. This newest of blog posts comes inspired by the crunchiness of one, Andrew Stockdale and his band of interchangeable parts.
Yeeaaahhh!!!
I wasn't overly impressed with the first Wolfmother album and it took a delayed liking of "Woman" to gain my interest. That, "Colossal", and "Love Train" are the only songs I can actually remember. At that point the band slowly crept away from my mind and was soon forgotten amongst a horde of bands that have come and gone (Full Devil Jacket, Audiovent, Big Wreck, etc.).
It was by pure bored curiosity that I looked in to their latest, Cosmic Egg, and shit did I have a good time with it. Sure, it may have had something to do with enjoying a fine selection of Sam Adams finest, but the rockin that occurred that evening was fan-tastic.
The reviews that I found for the album are a mixed bag, and the kiss of death known as good-review-by-Rolling-Stone is also present, but my own mind has been made up in the matter.
Again I have to vent on the pretentious world of music reviewer. Who do these people think they are? I read in not one but two reviews that Wolfmother would be better served to be more like The White Stripes. Why? Is it that awful for a band to do their own thing? The similarities between Wolfmother and Led Zeppelin, Jet, and the Stripes are bound to occur if only that they are rock bands with a singer who can reach some of those nut clenching higher registers, but it doesn't mean that one must go out of their fucking way to make that comparison every other fucking paragraph. "Er... blah blah blah look at me the music snob. This music is reminiscent of such bands as blah blah blah because I like them better and know more shit than you." Suck a dick. And I can't stop asking, what is so special about the fucking White Stripes? In fact, excuse me for a moment while I ask that very question on facebook.
Anywho, the riffs on this album are sick. None of the mindless noodling that drives me nuts in most guitar virtuosos, just crunchy fast, epic riffage. Sign me up on that shit. The new rhythm section is tight and hard.
Bands like this always get my attention if they churn out a product I like. At heart I love singers like Eddie Vedder or Scott Weilland (from the Core days, before the drug use tore up his lungs). I like the singing lower. Whiny voices make me want to choke people. So when groups like Wolfmother, Jane's Addiction, and Smashing Pumpkins get my attention, it's an especially big deal for me.
So for those of you keeping score, Peter Steele: Yes
Brendan Brown: No
Just sayin'
Now this post has taken entirely too long, and it's year end time and my ass is swamped with TPS reports. Later hosers.
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