World Cup Fallout

...Nigeria's President has suspended the national team from international competition for two years following their poor showing at the World Cup...

...the French Parliament wants answers about the piss-poor performance of the French team.

...English soul-searching has also commenced, with rumors that Manager Fabio Capello still wants his job and that the English Football Association doesn't really have the $12 million to pay for his exit clause.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter is getting all sweaty about this, because political interference in football federations is a big no-no per FIFA rules. However, I'd like to submit that Blatter has more important things to worry about right now- like the astonishing poor refereeing that's been seen throughout the early stages of the World Cup. (England v. Germany, Argentina v. Mexico, Slovenia v. USA.)

Elected To Give Us The Finger...

...apparently. Extending unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed was voted down again. And Democrats aren't gonna ruin their 4th of July Recess by demanding another vote to break the Republican filibuster. In the meantime, if you're running out of your unemployment benefits, well, I guess you're shit out of luck.

I wish I could be surprised by this, I really do, but I'm not. When are people gonna get seriously pissed about this? Like to the point where we eject our corporatist oligarchy and have a democracy again? Can it happen soon, pretty please?

Albums2010 #17: Disintegration

I have to amend myself with this one: if you're in your mid-40s and suffer a bad break-up, then Fleetwood Mac's Rumors would probably be your 'wallowing' music of choice. If you have an unattainable love for George Harrison's wife, then check out Derek and the Dominos. And if you're 17, wear a lot of black clothing and think eyeliner is pretty cool, then The Cure's Disintegration is the perfect 'I'm bummed out and life is dark' mood music for you.

Unlike a lot of the albums I've been listening too, I know exactly why I purchased this album. South Park. No really, its all down to South Park. You know the episode I mean? The one where Barbara Streisand shows up and turns into some kind of crazy, metallic, town destroying monster and the kids have to summon Robert Smith, lead singer of The Cure (voiced by himself, amazingly enough) to save the town. He turns into some kind of bad-ass moth/butterfly and defeats her- and as he heads for the horizon, one of the kids (Stan, I think) yells Disintegration is the best album EVER!'

And, like so many other things, South Park gets it right. 'Love Song' and 'Pictures of You' are the two songs your average Joe is gonna recognize from this album. (Thanks to that HP Commercial and a cover song done by 311, I believe that pops up occasionally on Top40 Radio these days.) But it's the rest of the album that makes the grade and carries the singles to greatness. The song that stuck out for me: 'Prayers For Rain.' Consider the lyrics: 'you fracture me/your hands on me/a touch so plain so stale it kills/you strangle me, entangle me/in hopelessness/and prayers for rain.' Pretty dark, huh?

To be totally fair, the album's title should be fair warning to the average listener: I mean, it is called Disintegration, so what would anyone expect? A happy, pop album? Of course not. This is The Cure, we're talking about and save for the occasional song that must have been written when Robert Smith popped a valium or something, you're going to get an excellent dose of melancholy, dark and broody- and this album more than hits that mark.

So why do I like The Cure? Well, to be frank, it fit my mood once upon a time- and occasionally, when I'm trying to write something dark and raw, you need mood music to put yourself in that frame of mind and The Cure works. There's always a period in everyone's life- especially for people of my generation, I think where people feel adrift, alone and a little helpless. And The Cure works as a soundtrack to those days when you don't want to get out of bed, those days when life seems to want to kick you in the balls or even when your skatergirl, all black wearing, teeny bopper, neo-goth girlfriend dumps you for a jock when you're in high school. Their stock in trade are anthems for the melancholy and pensive and with Disintegration they are at the peak of their powers.

Overall: South Park gets it right. The perfect album for the melancholy, pensive and depressed, Disintegration is darkness perfected.

Albums2010 #16: Never Mind The Bollocks

...What can you say about The Sex Pistols? The progenitors of modern British punk, they didn't last very long, musically speaking- pretty much having this one, incredible album to show for themselves. But, I suppose if you're going to follow the Blade Runner school of thought: 'That which burns twice as bright, lasts half as long' then The Sex Pistols are the prime example of greatness and genius that flared like a supernova and then quickly was swallowed by the leviathan of British punk that they helped spark.

Musically, there's not a lot to say about this album. It's classic hardcore punk: simple guitar chord work, simpler melodies (if there are much of any at all) and behind it all- lead singer Johnny Rotten snarling and spitting his way through the lyrics. Rotten is the very epitomy of the angry young man, raging against a conformist and (what was then, anyway) a seemingly decaying country- capturing the mood of the moment perfectly. (While The Clash's lead singer Joe Strummer proved to have more musical longevity and depth that Rotten, I would say that when it comes to pure, unbridled anger, Strummer, who can howl and snarl with the best of them has to take a back seat to Johnny Rotten.)

All the songs you expect are to be found here: Holiday In The Sun, Anarchy In The UK, God Save The Queen- but the ones to me that stand out are Problems and Bodies. Bodies opens with 'she was a girl from Birmingham/she just had an abortion' which gets your attention right away and the song just holds you from there. Problems stands out because of the end, more than the start. Although the general tone and tenor of the song 'and the problem is you' Johnny Rotten exhorts the listener- is a clarion call to rebellion of some sort, it's the end, when the music starts to die and Rotten just starts repeating 'problems... problems' over and over again until Rotten is left alone, repeating it again and again into the mic, like a mindless zombie.

Another thing that makes this album unique is the cultural and historical context it emerged in. Historical analysis isn't something I'm expecting to dabble a lot in when listening to these albums, but in the case of this album, a casual knowledge of late 70s Britain will certainly make a lot of this album make a lot of sense. An odd group, really, the Sex Pistols were formed to help fashion impresario (and then punk impresario) Malcolm McLaren sell clothes. No, really. He had a shop called Sex and wanted to play with fashion and model his clothes, so he thought a rock n'roll band would be the way to do it. The idea quickly took on a life of its own and became more about music than clothing very, very quickly. Musically, Britain was itching for a remedy to the bloated, symphonic progressive rock of the late 70s. Socially and economically, the late 70s were fairly bleak and the post-war consensus (whatever that was) didn't seem to hold true anymore. Looking around at contemporary America, it's easy to see what rage against an uncaring establishment could prove to be so attractive- and with the Pistols, that rage is given a voice.

Another interesting point: 'God Save The Queen' probably the 'Pistol's most famous song provoked what I've seen called 'the last great moral panic' of rock n'roll, with the band being pilloried in the British press for their lack of deference to The Crown. However, when listening to it decades later, the sheer brilliance of this song as razor sharp social commentary is easy to see. On occasion in life as in all things, you can get in trouble for being too honest- and this is one example of that. It's easy to see why the British Establishment lost its collective s--t over this song: it's way, way too honest. Uncomfortably honest if you're a member of the elites of British society. The sheer idiocy and grim foolishness of demanding conformity and staging a ghastly Jubilee celebration for the Queen while the country is decaying around them was a blazing hot truth that the 'Pistols shot directly into the mouth of the British Establishment. No wonder they freaked out.

Of course, the band fell apart quickly. Rotten walked away at the end of their turbulent U.S. tour and Sid Vicious died of a heroin overdose the next year and then they were gone. Although the New York Dolls and the Ramones emerged as probably the first true 'punk' bands, it was the 'Pistols that took that notion and made it sing and made it angry and from that, wave after wave of imitators and fellow punks and the influence of this album echoes today- making it one of the most influential albums in the history of rock n'roll.

Overall: It's the granddaddy of them all. Perhaps not the most musical of albums, if you want hardcore, pissed off music, you can't beat the punk album of punk albums. A must listen for everyone, must have for people who love their punk music.

Vander Plaats Loses Again

Bob Vander Plaats still won't go away quietly- yet managed not to knock off Terry Branstad's chosen running met Kim Reynolds, who saw him off with 56% of the delegates to 44% of the delegates at today's state GOP convention. Vander Plaats still hasn't ruled out a third party run and still says he's not ready to endorse Branstad.

Despite the fact that Rep. Steve King (über-conservative loon and Congressman) placed Reynolds' name in nomination, Vander Plaats apparently still has his fans and it seem to be that the main objection is Branstad's unwillingness to commit to stopping gay marriage by executive order right out of the gate. Such eagerness on the part of Vander Plaats doesn't speak well for his respect for the constitution (at least in my book) and Branstad has a point: such an executive order probably would be overturned by the courts, because it well, flouts the constitutional process we have in place already and certainly pisses all over the will of the people that Bob Vander Plaats is so selfless standing up for.

If he runs, he runs- but I hope the State GOP has the balls and gumption to make him persona-non-grata for torpedoing the best chance they've had in 12 years to take back the Governor's Mansion if he does so.

The Idiocy Continues

The idiocy continues: Gulf Coast Governors are leaving National Guard troops idle as oil continues to gush into the Gulf of Mexico. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is saying that BP and the Coast Guard have to assign those troops individual tasks to do, while President Obama is urging those troops to be called up as soon as possible.

So what we have here is another Katrina in the making. Washington saying one thing, states saying another- both pointing fingers, all the while environmental damage grows and oil continues to spill. AWESOME.

This country put a man on the moon, yet can't seem to plug a hole 5,000 ft. underwater. What's wrong with that picture? The government, rightly, I have to admit, is correct that BP should pay for the clean-up costs and clean up its own mess, but the regulatory failure (an agency in the pocket of the industry it was supposed to be regulating) combined with the contradiction emerging from Washington (wanting regulation while simultaneously refusing to clean up the mess) is going to lead nowhere good. BP has no fiscal responsibility to anyone but its shareholders and if it decides to declare bankruptcy to protect its assets, then the United States Government is going to look like the bunch no-talent ass clowns they actually are.

Cynical? Bet your ass. Truthful? Damn right.

So Much For 'Hope And Change'

Closing Gitmo fades as a priority for the Obama Administration... which puts another nail in the President's coffin as far as getting my vote in 2012 is concerned. It was looking like a stretch anyway, but this is enough. More fool me, I guess. Should have known better voting for a major party candidate.

21-Only Can Go To Voters

Ack, ack, ack... well, it looks like the anti 21-only crowd managed to get the signatures they needed to get the question to the ballot box in November. Which probably means that it will, most likely be overturned, depending on how effective their message is going to be when the students get back in the fall.

To me, there are two things at work here. First, is the rather sad knowledge that the one thing that will send students to the voting booth in droves in their beer. Which is a very pathetic commentary on my generation as whole- especially since, despite the sermonizing and protestations of bar owners, this question is more about protecting the revenue streams of bar owners than about students having a 'safe' place to drink.

Secondly, once again, we see an indictment of the Iowa City City Council's failure to redevelop or develop anything resembling an economic model that will work for downtown Iowa City. The past ten years have witness a gentrification and upscaling of downtown that has priced most of the rest of the town clean out of downtown. No one is going to shop downtown, because no one in their right mind is going to spend $75 on a pair of jeans. (Sidewalk sales at Catherine's last week. I kid you not.) Students have no means of entertainment other than bars and there's nothing that can afford downtown other than bars. Until the basic economic model is changed and until business friendly policies are pursued that encourage investment and involvement in downtown instead of pricing the entire community out of downtown, nothing will change.

So I'll be voting in favor of keeping 21-only- but with reservations. I'm in favor of 21-only, because I think students are being fed a line of bullshit about what this is about- and I'm not about to vote to protect the profits of bar owners, even if that may be a minority point of view. My reservations: the City Council won't change their ways, so I'm not sure what keeping this ordinance or getting rid of it is going to do. We need to bring business back downtown and we need to bring people back downtown and the idea that Iowa City can be the speciality store-bar-restaurant mecca to Coralville's more generic retail environment isn't paying dividends anymore. What alternatives to students have to drinking? When the City Council starts delivering some results, I might start believing.

Albums2010 #15: Garden State

Soundtracks are tough. A lot of them don't actually fit in all that well with their movie- but then again, if you're dealing with something like 'Armageddon' or 'Titanic' you don't need a soundtrack to match. Insert [Generic Love Theme] by [Soft Rock Balladeer/Aging Rock Stars/Peabo Bryson] and fill in the rest of the blanks. By and large, they don't stand out when put up against other albums, but there are some exceptions. The soundtrack to 'The Graduate' is usually cited as the most successful, but for a more contemporary taste, I'd have to say my pick would be the soundtrack to 'Garden State.'

You gotta hand it to Zach Braff. He wrote, directed and starred in the movie- and he somehow found the time to pick the most brilliant soundtrack I've ever heard- and it works perfectly. You really won't find soundtracks better than this one and here's why: Garden State (the movie) is very emotionally subtle. There's not a lot of sloppy face-sucking or heavy-handed decision making. Braff's character is an emotionally numb, over medicated mid-20s guy who has to return home to New Jersey for him Mom's funeral where he decides to start feeling things again, slowly emerging from his personal fog to figure out something about his life. What's brilliant though is that there's no 'ah-ha' moment in the movie for Braff's character. He doesn't get a brilliant idea and then go rush off to 'fix' things- no, instead, he figures out he needs get on with his life, whatever that's going to look like and goes and does. That may be a terrible way of trying to impart the emotional subtleties of the film to you, the reader- but it's subtle, OK. If you don't believe me, go watch it.

But- back to the soundtrack: the music Braff picked does what every soundtrack should do, but a lot of them don't: it reflects the mood and tone of the movie perfectly. From the opening track from Coldplay 'Don't Panic' to a double shot of The Shins 'Caring Is Creepy' and 'New Slang' and Zero 7's 'In The Waiting Line' and contributions from the perhaps more well-known indy fixtures as Frou Frou, Thievery Corporation and Iron and Wine the entire soundtrack becomes one big celebration of acoustic, moody, indy music, which plays perfectly with (again, I'm sorry- just go see for yourselves. Really. It's a good movie.) the overall subtleties explored in the film.

This soundtrack introduced me to The Shins. Awesome awesome band. In the movie, Natalie Portman hands her headphones to Zach Braff and tells him 'Listen to this song, it'll change your life, I swear.' Perhaps a little melodramatic on her part, but it's kind of true. I had discovered Coldplay in high school- though I love their second album far more than their first- though that's still good. This soundtrack also introduced me to Frou Frou. Not that I listened to a lot of Frou Frou, just the song off this soundtrack. ('Let Go'- again, awesome song.) And overall, I love the soundtrack for the same reason that I love the movie. If you're in your mid-to-late 20s, trying to figure out how and what to do with your life, you'll identify with this movie. It'll, as so many people say in that vague, vague way 'speak to you' somehow. And as for the soundtrack, well I found this quote that summarizes it nicely:

Commenting on the soundtrack’s importance to the film, Sponic Zine wrote, "Braff did a masterful job of choosing songs that exemplified the emotional subtleties in the film… he put together a group of songs that complement each other perfectly and, when put together into one album, create something amazing, almost as if they never should have been apart"

And if this review has been subpar in anyway, I apologize- but really, this soundtrack can be summed up quite nicely by the above quotation and there's nothing more that I can really add to that in any meaningful way.

Overall: If you haven't seen this movie, you should. If you own just one soundtrack in your collection, this should be it.

Another Glass Ceiling Down

Australia has its first female Prime Minister as Labor MP Julia Gillard saw off incumbent Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in a leadership ballot- though, by all reports that I'm seeing, it wasn't much of a ballot, as Rudd couldn't even must enough support to contest the ballot much less make it close. The reason for the change? Well, mainly its politics more than anything else- the Labor Party's ratings were slumping and a general election is expected Down Under in the next few months. With Rudd not getting the job done, it comes as little surprise that the Labor Party decided to make the change. Whether Ms. Gillard can get the Labor Party back in for another term remains to be seen- so stay tuned on that score.

But: here's a Beeb profile of the new Aussie PM. Congrats to Ms. Gillard on the new job.

In related thoughts: this is shaping up to be a potentially very big year for women in politics across the globe. Brazilian Presidential Elections are due later this year, with the possibility of Brazil elected its first female President. Australia just shattered their glass ceiling and in the United States, Nikki Haley won the GOP Gubenatorial Nomination in South Carolina, while Meg Whitman and Margaret Anderson Keliher are in the running for the top spots in California and Minnesota respectively. (MAK needs to clear a primary first, but I think she will. She did get the DFL nod at the convention after all.) Only question now is: when will America's glass ceiling crack?

A lot of people are probably reading that and saying: 'In 2012, when Sarah Palin takes out Barack Obama.' But although Palin is (probably) going to run in 2012 and certainly as a damn good chance of getting the nod for the Republicans. (Who else can energize the base like she can? I think a Palin-Pawlenty ticket would be very strong indeed.) However, given the flailing and increasingly despondent incompetence of the current administration, I begin to wonder whether or not we could see a challenge from Hillary Clinton. I think she'll keep mum on that score for the time being, but if the midterms prove to be the disaster for the Democrats that many are predicting, I start to wonder whether she'll quietly resign her position at the State Department and make a go at it. Unless something radically changes in the next few months, that could be a very interesting race indeed- and one that the President is not assured of winning.

But broken glass keeps piling up and women keep inching forward in politics all over the world. Not a bad thing at all, I think.

The Lt. Governor Sweepstakes

Names are bubbling to the surface about who Terry Branstad will put on his ticket (which is going to be announced Thursday in Ankeny)- and while Rod Roberts seems to be still in play, Bob Vander Plaats is not showing up on the radar, leading some to speculate that his supporters could try and force him onto the ticket at the state GOP convention on Saturday.

UPDATED: It's Reynolds. She should get the official nod at the GOP Convention on Saturday.

USA, England In

England remembered how to play soccer today, beating Slovenia 1-0 off a beautiful goal from Jermaine Dafoe. They were playing with urgency, speed and looked good in the midfield and now they get Germany.

The United States played a nailbiter against Algeria today before Landon Donovan's late heroics lifted the United States into the round of 16 and to the top of their group for the first time since 1930. (This despite another perfectly valid and onside goal that was disallowed by the ref, raising the question of possible bias against the United States.)

Now, the United States gets Ghana and England gets Germany. Both of which are going to be some of the best match-ups of the Round of 16, I think. England-Germany is almost a rivalry on the level of England-Argentina and Ghana is young, has speed and will keep the United States busy. (Key for the USA: not conceding goals early. They didn't today and got the job done.)

Epic Match Still Not Done

I'm not usually one for tennis, but this is insane: ten hours of play, in the fifth set and tied at 59-59 all before play was suspended due to darkness.

UPDATED: It's over now- 11 hours, 5 minutes later and spanning three days, American John Isner finally won the fifth set 70-68.

Dude, You're Fired.

General Stanley McChrystal is out and General David Petraeus is in.

Albums2010 #14: August and Everything After

This was the first album I ever purchased. OK, so it was cassette form- not in the hip, cool and rapidly vanishing medium of vinyl or CD- but on cassette and I think I did so purely because this album contained the hit single 'Mr. Jones.' That was my true introduction to Counting Crows, because around that magical time when everyone starts to discover and explore music, 'Mr. Jones' was everywhere on the radio. And it was the perfect single, really- you could sing along to it, it had a cool, sexy intro that spoke of dark, exotic nightclubs where Maria, the Spanish Dancer Adam Duritz sings about in the song spends her nights dancing. I loved the song, loved the album and to this day, love the band.

Yet despite the pop-friendly hit single of 'Mr. Jones' August and Everything After is a curiously melancholy album. And that can work for a lot of people a lot of the time, but its a bit of a shock when you find yourself suddenly drenched in melancholy. That's not to say that the album is bad- in fact, I could argue and probably would happily argue that if there's a better way to put the idea of what it means to be melancholy about life to music, I haven't heard it. Counting Crows really really nailed it with this album- it's a complete, beautiful collection of songs drenched in the melancholy of yearning for a better life, a better relationship a better anything- and even crazier: this was their first album.

There are other hits buried in this album beyond 'Mr. Jones.' 'Anna Begins' is probably one of my favorite Counting Crows songs of all time. I may be totally off-base with this, but the song reads to me as a last ditch effort to save a relationship- because, as the song notes 'Anna begins/to change her mind.' I wish I could speak more coherently on analyzing the music itself, because it's really, really good. Which doesn't really tell you, the reader anything much- but get this album, listen to it- you'll understand. I think the other song worth noting is the sly track 'Omaha' with it's lyric: 'Omaha, somewhere in the middle of America/getting right to the heart of matters/it's the heart that matters more/I think you better turn your ticket in/and get your money back at the door.' Anyone who's driven through Nebraska (a rare four hour, painfully long experience everyone should have at least once) can sympathize with the idea- yet strangely enough, Omaha's a pretty nice city to visit- of course, if you're looking for something a little more cosmopolitan in your life, then you probably would want to, as the song suggests, turn your ticket in and try to get your money back at the door.

Overall: This album is always gonna have a special place in my heart, because it was the first one I ever actually spent money on. But aside from that, I really do think everyone should listen to this one at least once. Not many truly 'great' albums get produced in these days of mp3 downloads and lack of attention, but August and Everything After deserves to be right up there next to Nirvana's In Utero and Hootie's Cracked Rear View as some of the best music of the 1990s that's managed to stand up to the most important test of time.

Why Does Steve King Matter?

Let me explain something to everyone out there not familiar with the great state of Iowa: Rep. Steve King does not represent the state in any meaningful way. He represents the western part of the state, which is the more rural and most conservative part of the state. The crazy things he says: works perfectly for his constituency- though for how long, I don't know... let me put it this way:

Michelle Bachman:Minnesota::Steve King:Iowa

Does everyone get it now? As much as I roll my eyes whenever Rep. King's latest whatever reaches the media, it's not like he's a good representation of politics in Iowa or what people believe in Iowa. Although I live in the wonderful liberal fishbowl (gag) of Iowa City, people in this state tend to be practical, sensible human beings. King does not seem to be possessing of either attribute in great abundance.

Put another way, every state has a crazy politician- whether liberal or conservative and Steve King is ours, I guess.

Didn't See This One Coming

Latest non-celebrity idiot and 'Bachelor' contestant Jake Pavelka has split with his girlfriend/fiance/whatever you want to call her Vienna DiGuardi. Like no one thought this was coming... to me, this is the problem with the 'Bachelor' thing- people want to believe that true love is possible and it is, but I'm not sure how anything is possible in front of the cameras. There's some law of physics somewhere that says that the very act of observing a phenomenon changes it and reality television is no exception.

That's why it pisses me off: reality television is anything but reality. It's some weird, semi-scripted version of reality. Or something. Either way, this is no surprise. Can't find true love on television with cameras everywhere- you gotta go out and look for yourself.

Somebody's In Trouble

Top US Commander in Afghanistan Gen. Stanley McChrystal has landed himself in deep doo-doo over this (too candid) article in Rolling Stone, in which less than complimentary things are said about the administration. (Except for Hillary Clinton. They like her, I guess.) The good General has been summoned to Washington and the proverbial shit is hitting the proverbial fan in a major way.

Reading the article, I can't believe that the military- normally so tight-lipped, especially when dealing with the press, would let this actually slip out! It's unbelievable how candid this article is, which makes for fascinating reading about the tension between military-diplomats-NATO in Afghanistan and military-administration in Washington D.C., but at the same time, while you realize that those tensions exist, most of the parties involve keep their turf wars and pissing matches off of the radar of the Press. The Good General (or his staff, in this case) did not and it's downright shocking the lack of tact and discretion that's been shown here.

That doesn't make some of the points made in the article any less valid: we need to get our shit together when it comes to Afghanistan. Something has to change, valid progress needs to shown. I don't know. I think standing by Karzai after such a blatantly fraudulent election is ultimately going to be our undoing in Afghanistan. A solution to the problem? I'm not sure if there is one...

UPDATED: Politico.com is predicting General McChrystal is done. In other words: whatever war strategy we had just got very, very mess.

Albums2010 #13: Before These Crowded Streets

I don't know if it's true anymore, but when I was an undergraduate, the Dave Matthews Band was so beloved and so listened to by the college population that it was almost a cliche. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that it's still that way today: certain bands, like Phish, Dave Matthews and OAR- you think of them and you don't think about middle aged peeps getting their groove on, you think about college kids, trying to be cool and wishing they were hipsters- and sometimes think they actually are, despite driving a ridiculous SUV and wearing clothes from Abercrombie and Fitch.

And I'll admit, I indulged in a little love for the Dave Matthews Band back in the day- and with Before These Crowded Streets, it's not hard to see why. This is a good album. Of all their albums, the songs on this album were the ones that got played on the radio the least- at least in my memory. You heard a lot from their first two albums, but not so much from this one. That might be an incorrect impression on my part, but at the same time I think it's sort of nice as well. This was an album that probably belonged body and soul to college radio as a posed to being splayed out across the Top40 mainstream, which makes it probably very familiar to people who were in college back then as well as a new discovery to people just getting acquainted with the Dave Matthews Band.

I'll admit this though: my premise may be totally and utterly flawed- but my impression is that Before These Crowded Streets wasn't played that much on the radio, yet college kids snagged this album and listened to it by the bucketload- myself included.

Best reason to like this album: it knocked the Titanic soundtrack off the top of the charts. (Interesting as well: it's one of just two DMB albums released on vinyl.) Second best reason to like this album: the first half of the album is just beautiful- you don't need to hit skip once. Songs like 'Rapunzel' blend into the Middle-Eastern flavor of 'The Last Stop' and 'Don't Drink The Water.' But it's the fifth track, 'Stay (Wasting Time)' that's probably my favorite. My freshman year in college wasn't necessarily the most cheerful of times for me, personally- and in the mess of trying to figure out what to do with myself (still working on that, HAH!) and trying to figure out college, this was the one song that would always, without fail, cheer me up. So I have some fond memories of the front half of this album, because it certainly helped buoy my moods when things were shitty.

The second half of this album isn't bad, but it's somewhat hard to quantify. Probably the gem of the back half is 'The Dreaming Tree.' Quieter, more subdued, it's an 8 minute composition of quiet beauty that rounds out the album quite nicely, I think.

Overall: This is without a doubt the best of the Dave Matthews Band- and if there was an anthem for college kids in the early 00s, the Dave Matthews Band was the band of choice and this was the album of choice. Everyone had it, everyone listened to it and it's only the sheer quality of this album that saves the Dave Matthews Band from slipping into the realm of 'college-kid' cliche.

Say It Ain't So...

...Amanda Bynes announced her retirement from acting yesterday. I have a sneaking suspicion this may turn out not to be true, but if it does hold up, then I'm sad. Bynes seemed sunny, down-to-earth and hard working and her films were entertaining and enjoyable to watch and she had the makings of a really good comedic actress. (Plus, she's hot. I'm a guy, so sue me.)

But if she's serious about retiring: Happy Trails!

VanderPlaats to Bolt?

Rumors of a third party run by defeated GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Bob Vander Plaats are starting to swirl. Apparently, he met with Branstad and asked for a spot on the ticket (ballsy of him, no?) And when Branstad (quite rightly) said no, Vander Plaats took his bat, ball and decided he's about 50/50 on whether to bolt the GOP and run as an independent in the fall.

The Iowa Independent is of the opinion that this would effectively doom the chances of the GOP for taking down incumbent Democrat Chet Culver and I have to admit, they're probably right. A third party run by Vander Plaats would mean that Branstad would have to be digging for votes from his right and from moderates and independents and while I know that as an independent, I'd walk over broken glass to keep Bob Vander Plaats far, far away from the Governor's mansion, the calculus for other independents wouldn't be so clear cut I think.

Time for Mr. Vander Plaats to go away, I think. He's now 0-2 for getting the GOP Nomination (he tried in 2002 and lost to Doug Gross) and if he implodes the party's chances of winning in the fall (very high with Branstad as the nominee) then I know as a Republican, I'd stick him in GOP Jail for a very, very long time. I know there's this whole 'establishment v. tea party' thing going on throughout the Republican Party I think and for sure, Branstad can't be seen as anything but an Establishment candidate, but Bob Vander Plaats is running the wrong kind of insurgency. As much as the Social Conservative Republicans can move and shake Iowa Republican circles, I really think the mood of the state and the party is moving back towards radicalism when it comes to fiscal conservatism and letting the hard stances on social issues drift to the back of the line, in order to appeal to a broader base.

I could be totally wrong on that, of course- but that's what I'm reading in the tea leaves, anyway. But Mr. Vander Plaats should endorse Branstad, retire and maybe consider a run for state legislature? If social issues are what drives him, then getting gay marriage overturned is going to require his kind of Republicans to dominate the legislature. And Speaker of the House (should he get there) is another platform to try and get to the big house in Des Moines if that's what he wants.

As for Mr. Branstad well, there's a really simple solution to this: put Rod Roberts on the ticket. Do it now. Roberts has social conservative credentials that could be useful in reaching out to that area of the party, while you concentrate on moderates and independents.

But I could be totally wrong on that, as well.

In Columbia...

...government backed candidate Juan Manuel Santos has won the final round of that country's presidential election, promising to continue the tough security policies of his predecessor, outgoing President Alvaro Uribe. It wasn't much of a contest as he beat his closest rival, Green Party Candidate Antanas Mockus by about 40 points.

However, Columbia interests me. In a region where the political sphere seems to be tilting leftward, Columbia has gone the other way, primarily because I think it's worked for them. You don't hear a lot about chaos and drug cartels in the news anymore from Columbia, not because I don't think there aren't problems anymore (every country has them) but because I think President Uribe has done a lot to stabilize and improve the overall state of the country. So hopefully President-Elect Santos can keep that up. (Though how about the Green Party figuring in a presidential contest somewhere? Pretty cool, I gotta admit- despite the drubbing.)

The Draw Heard Round The World

I'm sorry to keep blabbering on so much about sports, but it's just that kind of summer. And as I mentioned in a previous post, I was withholding judgment on Italy and the Azzuri at the World Cup, but the early game this morning changed all that. New Zealand, underdogs extraordinaire managed to get an early goal and even though Italy equalized on a PK shortly thereafter, the All-Whites played magnificently for the rest of the game to preserve the draw.

For New Zealand, glory, for Italy trouble! I don't know what it is about the European teams in this World Cup. France is a complete mess. Germany looks vulnerable. England has one last change to get their collective s--t together and Italy just looked uninspired. Perhaps in the same way England did against Algeria, but nonetheless, New Zealand deserved this one! (In fact, they deserved to win, but I'm sure they'll take the draw!)

Congratulations to New Zealand and the All Whites! Beat Paraguay and you're into the round of 16!

Win Or Go Home

We're just inching over the week mark in the World Cup and it's fascinating to watch so far. No real favorites have emerged from the pack yet. Expected powerhouses have underperformed (Germany- lost to Serbia, Spain- lost to Switzerland, England- lost its mind) and people you haven't expected have stepped up in a big way. I'm sure the last round of group games will shake things up even more and maybe clear up the picture of what's coming in the tournament a bit, but then again, maybe not. Either way, it's fascinating to watch- and you know what, I'd be watching this anyway, but for some reason the South African edition of the World Cup is an increasingly fascinating and compelling bit of television to watch.

Some thoughts--

England: is having a team meeting to figure out just what the heck happened against Algeria. There are calls for Joe Cole to start, which I'd be fine with, but having watched both England games in full, I'd say the Three Lions have all the ingredients and just need to click. Always a difficult task, especially with the egos of such a diverse collection of superstars on your team, but I really believe if they get it together and work as a team, then Slovenia and the rest of us are going to get quite the show.

But although they seemed to have slept on Algeria, ('It's Algeria, we're gonna get a goal') was the lazy impression I was left with, I don't think it's all bad news for England. Unlike the last World Cup and Sven Goran Erickson's 4-5-1 idiocy that left poor Wayne Rooney taking on whole teams by himself, Capello has the right idea, pushing people up the wings and bringing talented midfielders like Lampard and Gerrard forward to try and create some more dynamism on offense. Against the U.S., they were quick, efficient passing through the midfield and if Tim Howard was one iota less good than he is, England would have won 4-1 easily. I'm hoping, however, if their collective balls are placed right against the bandsaw, it might well inspire some brilliance and urgency from England- both of which were lacking against Algeria and if England wants to stay in, they will need to go out and get after it for 90 minutes and then some against Slovenia, because if they don't, little Slovenia will eat them alive.

The United States-- again, very, very simple: win and you're in. And please don't concede anymore goals in the first 15 minutes. Let's shutout Algeria, shall we? And how about that game against Slovenia? Resilient, they never quit and after a dismal first half, it was a different, hungry team that came out and scored three fantastic goals (only two of which were allowed). If the United States can play for 90 minutes against Algeria like they did against Slovenia in the Second Half, they'll romp. And, in fact, if they can keep playing just like that, they have the talent and ability to go very, very deep in the tournament.

France--bwahahahahahahahahahahahaha! France, I'm sorry has looked like complete merde. They lost to Mexico, tied with Uruguay- striker Nicolas Anelka was sent home yesterday and today, the team refused to train. (England fans take note: it could be a lot worse, you could be France.) Little sad when you're known more for what you do off the field than on.

Who I'm Watching-- Uruguay, Ivory Coast, Ghana. Haven't seen Spain, Portugal or Brazil yet and I'm withholding judgment on Italy just yet.

Albums2010 #12: Cracked Rear View

I get the sensation, probably incorrectly that people these days tend view Hootie and the Blowfish as kind of 90s college radio has-beens. Which is kinda sad, because with Cracked Rear View, they produced one of the great albums of the decade that stands the test of time pretty well. I don't think it'll wind up on a 'greatest albums ever' list anytime soon, but if you're looking for good music, Hootie and the Blowfish deliver the goods both in general and especially with this album.

Of course, the memory I have of this album that sticks out the most is of (then Miami QB) Dan Marino, running around the video for 'Only Want To Be With You' chucking the ball down the field to (lead singer) Darius Rucker and generally looking confused about just why it was the Dolphins made poor Darius cry. The hits from this album ('Let Her Cry', 'Hold My Hand', 'Only Want To Be With You' and 'Time') were played to death on the radio when I was growing up. If there was one thing this band was good at, it was producing hits that radio stations just loved to play again and again and again. But what sticks out to me the most about this album are the songs that didn't necessarily get the play on the radio, most notably: 'Running From An Angel' and 'Not Even The Trees'

With 'Running From An Angel' it's pretty easy to see how Darius Rucker ended up going country. There's a distinct country flavor to the entire song, from the opening string section right on through the entire track. It's got a good beat and in general, I just love the song. 'Not Even The Trees' though is probably the best song on the entire album- a slow, melancholy song about, well, I'm not sure what exactly, other than trees, it's another gem that gets buried in the radio hits that crowd this album.

What else is there to say about Hootie and the Blowfish? Not much... except for these gems from the Missus:

They're freakin' awesome.

If you can sing 'em at karaoke, you're awesome.

Cuba Gooding Jr. is not Hootie.

To me that pretty much sums it up. One of the best bands of the 1990s, they aren't really given a lot of credit for being pretty damn good. And with Cracked Rear View, they produced one of the best albums of the decade. (Also one of the first cassettes I ever purchased- a recurring theme with these few albums on my list, I guess.) The radio hits should be obvious to anyone who was near a radio in the 90s and there are a lot of buried gems that people don't get to hear that much.

Overall: The best of the 90s, Cracked Rear View may not be entering rock n'roll immortality anytime soon, but if you're after good music, Hootie and the Blowfish get the job done in excellent fashion with this album.

From The Campaign Trail

Branstad is doin' his dance with Bob VanderPlaats and there's another group that wants Rod Roberts on the bottom of his ticket at Lt. Governor. I wouldn't mind Roberts on the ticket- in fact, I think that'd be a smart choice, because he seems to be the perfect bridge between the fiscal and social conservatives in the Iowa GOP. But VanderPlaats? Meh... I'd really like not to hear about him ever again, but I'm not really a Republican, so my opinion doesn't really count.

Des Moines Schools' Tough Cuts

...30% of music, art teachers. I don't think art and music are unimportant, which is why it's annoying that usually they're the first ones on the chopping block when budgets get tight. But that just undermines the problem inherent in our education system: it's vulnerable to economic downturns. When state, local and federal budgets are happy, schools are happy. When state, local and federal budgets are tight, usually districts have to cut things and that undermines the quality of education offered.

Of course, the quality question is another discussion entirely. (Something needs to be changed in both secondary and higher education- something big.) But smart people who can do math need to get thinking: how can we better fund education?

Commission Weighs In.

We're spending too much on college athletics, says the Knight Commission. Yeah, tell us something we don't know!

Conference Shuffleboard: The Final Crumbs

--Utah is joining the Pac-10. (As expected and guessed by many.)

--Lou Holtz thinks that Notre Dame should join the Big 10. (I think they eventually will and I think the Big 10 is done expanding until they can get Notre Dame and I'm guessing either Maryland or Syracuse. Still not convinced the Conference wants to go to 16 teams- they've been playing this way to carefully for that. I think 14 teams is where we'll stop, if not 12.)

--Some Houston area lawmakers are supporting the University of Houston to join the Big 12. I think the Big 12 is going to have a think about this- every school is going to get a bigger paycheck with 10 schools, so there's not a lot of impetus, money wise at least right now. But down the road, I think they've got a good shot. Why Dan Beebe wants to let individual schools start their own networks (i.e. Texas) I don't know, since as it stands now, a Big 12 Network could be a leaner, meaner competitor if structured correctly- and it would essentially be, a Longhorns network. Let's not fool ourselves here- it's Texas' show now. But down the road, there are some good options around, if they do want to expand: Tulsa fields some good teams pretty consistently, Memphis if you want to up your basketball and the two obvious Texas schools: TCU and Houston.

It's The Lakers...

But, as much as I don't care about the NBA or the Los Angeles Lakers, I have to admit: it was a good game. I checked the score, watched for what I thought was going to be a minute or two and it was a second half of no-holds-barred, scrappy, leave it all on the court basketball. Best Celtics-Lakers Finals Game since Magic and Bird, for sure and LA earned this one.

Albums2010 #11: Dookie

Along with The Offspring and Rancid, Green Day emerged in the early to mid-90s to help spearhead a punk revival that would eventually lead me back down the well-trodden paths of history to bands like The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Jam and The Ramones. Dookie, I remember as being one of the very first cassettes I ever purchased- and yes, I guess that makes me old as dirt, buying cassettes and not CDs, but oddly enough I'm OK with that.

Back then, we were at 1621 Spruce Ct. and on summer days when we were old enough, we'd sneak through someone's backyard, cross Sycamore St. and hey presto, we'd be at the Mall. Back in those days, the Old Capitol Mall was the bad-ass mall and Sycamore was the one we knew best. The arcade (Tilt) held the allure of getting tickets so we could get large furry animals we'd never use- the old movie theater (Cinema I and II) was where I saw every bad-ass Disney movie that came out in my youth (the 2D ones- that magical animated titans of the early 90s box office.) Waldenbooks (now deceased) was my first book store and Sam Goody (also now gone, replaced with a Hallmark) was my first music store. And all the cassettes were in those weird looking racks along the east side of the store and you'd have to go through painfully, one by one, just to find the exact cassette you were looking for.

And Dookie was one of my first... and it's not hard to see why. There was a period in the mid-90s when this album dominated the radio. Songs like 'Basket Case', 'Welcome To Paradise' and 'When I Come Around' were staples of Top 40 radio when I was growing up. And 'Longview' sticks out in my mind as the first song I ever called a radio station to actually request to listen too. It took me forever to figure out what it was called, and to this day, I'm not entirely sure why. Perhaps I didn't have the cassette yet, but I'd wait patiently for it to be played on the radio and hope like crazy they'd say the title of the song afterwards- and when I figured it out, it was awesome. Because I picked up the phone, called the radio station (Q103, of course) and requested it. And even better: they played it!

At the time, I don't think I quite realized that 'Longview' was principally about being too bored to do anything but masturbate, but I picked up on that rather quickly. As an album, Dookie was an incredible commercial success as Green Day's major label debut and remains their only album ever to go Diamond. Of course, the more mainstream sound on the album lead to charges from the more hardcore members of the punk community that the band had 'sold-out' and to be fair, Dookie's punk is radio-friendly and mainstream and while the band's lyrics throughout the album could be seen as a statement about the apathy many young people felt (and still feel) growing up in the 90s, it's no question that this isn't your Dad's punk album.

But that doesn't bother me at all, personally. I have to credit this album for leading me to explore punk as a whole. Without this album, I would have never found the Sex Pistols, Ramones or The Clash. I'd never have stumbled upon Rancid and I wouldn't love punk music as much as I do today. While I suppose if you're being a purist about it, then yeah, Green Day did sellout to produce a radio friendly, more pop album- yet at the same time, this album helped to mainstream punk to a lot of people that would never have even heard it otherwise and probably won punk more friends and fans than it lost. I know that's what it did for me. So thumbs up to Green Day for that.

Overall: It's the album that introduced me to punk, of course I love it. But it's also an amazing album- one of the all-time best, if certainly not one of the top 5 albums of the 90s. Songs like 'Welcome To Paradise', 'Longview' and 'Basket Case' are total classics and Dookie deserves a place not only on this list, but in the punk pantheon for the simple reason that it opened up punk to a lot of people that had never heard it before. Which makes this album important.

President Speaks,

while oil still pours into the Gulf of Mexico. No, I didn't watch- since I wanted to enjoy my evening and not be reduced to an incoherent rage. But color me distinctly unimpressed. Seems like he blamed BP and vowed to make them pay- as they should, but I'm getting increasingly tired of the shrill 'hey, it's not my fault' tone coming from The White House. Some actual, you know, leadership would be nice at some point. Because although I voted for President Obama in 2008, he's got a helluva lot of work to do if he wants my vote in 2012. Especially after this clusterf--k.

So, they met their deadline...

...the 'Anti-21 Only' Crowd that is. I saw a few of them downtown during the Arts Fest and was far from impressed. They looked as if they had rolled right out of bed and certainly didn't come up to me and ask me for my support. EPIC FAIL, methinks. And I'll still be voting against this, if it makes it to the ballot.

Damn, So That About That Nuke...

...embedded below the field at Kinnick Stadium. You mean that has to go? Yes, Iowa City is replacing its 'nuclear-weapons free zone' signs, as people like to steal them. (Which is pretty much all those signs are good for.) To me, while a bold statement against nuclear weapons, the very existence of these signs just prove how asinine this City can be when it puts its mind to it. Nuclear-weapons free zone? No shit. Because a big honkin' ICBM is going to be overlooked in the middle of the PedMall.

But you want to know what's even better? It's this:

Violators of the city's nuclear free weapons zone code are subject to a $500 fine and 30 days imprisonment for the simple misdemeanor.

Bwahahahahahahahahahaha! Leave your ICBMs at home, because in Iowa City, they're not welcome! And it'll cost ya if you want to bring 'em in. (Question: if a person detonates a nuclear weapon in the nuclear weapons free zone, do they still get charged with the simple misdemeanor?)

In Iowa City...

...it rained today (in case you didn't notice.) Really, really rained.

H-to the Izz No.

Michigan State Men's Basketball Coach Tom Izzo looks to be staying put. The Cleveland Cavaliers had expressed some interest in him, but big-time college coaches usually don't do too well in the NBA. At least not recently, as I recall. (See: Rick Pitino) How this plays into the 'Where Is Lebron Going' Sweepstakes, I don't know- but I still think he'll stay put at well.

Better Late Than Never

The British Government has finally released its official report on what happened on Bloody Sunday in 1972, finding that the killings were totally unjustified. Prime Minister David Cameron presented the report today and officially apologized for the action, in which protesters at a Civil Rights March in Derry were shot dead by Paratroopers stationed there at the time.

Good. Better late than never...

Albums2010 #10: Argus

Final album of the 70s British Prog Rock extravaganza is Wishbone Ash's Argus. Of the albums Mom inflicted on me, this one is her favorite-- she says:

College was when I started coming of age musically, so to speak. At home I had listened to the Beatles, of course, how could I be English and not grow up with the famous four! But I had also discovered, quite by chance, Beniamino Gigli and opera. At college I discovered Pink Floyd, Yes, Genesis, before they became all popsy under Peter Collins, Otis Redding, Rush, Tull, Hendrix, King Crimson, yu can see where my taste was heading...not Zeppelin though,that was a later stage, post college courtesy of the music group at church I played guitar with,as was my first rock concert! Argus evokes all the best memories of college, really late nights or early mornings, sitting up till dawn doing whatever...sometimes even work! I love the flow of the album, it was the first concept album and even though there isn't an actual story running through it all the songs are linked musically. Perhaps the lyrics do all fit together but not in an obvious way. There is also an element of nostalgia, they don't make albums like that anymore. These days its just single tracks or hits cobbled together and designed for the instant media market. No one has time to listen to songs that take time to tell their story or make their point. It is very mellow, soothing, arriving home after a long hard, journey.

I say: this was a damn good album, from an interesting band. Emerging from Torquay in Devon in the late 60s/early 70s, Wishbone Ash are considered one of the innovators and first bands to employ the 'twin lead guitar' format and broadly speaking, Argus is considered their best album, as well as a classic album in the rock pantheon overall. An accessible blend of folk and rock, with mood changes and music shifts throughout, Argus seems to have common threads running throughout the album that have lead many to proclaim to be one of the first 'concept' albums in rock history. However, the band (per the liner notes anyway) tells a different story:

"I don't think initially there was any conscious concept. We'd all found ourselves in the same frame of mind around the time of Argus, and the songs were obviously about similar subjects, and it just kept sparking us off."

Now that I found to be very interesting. (And it might also make me pay more attention to liner notes of the albums I listen too.) Just looking at the track titles and the cover (faceless warrior with spear) I genuinely thought it was the story of the warrior dude on the cover coming home to his kingdom and defeating the tyrant to become King or some weirdly medieval thing like that. But no, it just seems that way... which is strange, but totally cool at the same time.

As an album, the whole thing just works incredibly well. Opening with 'Time Was' and building up to 'Warrior' and 'Throw Down The Sword' there's a quiet, laid-back power to this album that achieves almost a perfect balance that would fit a lot of people's moods almost perfectly. There are times when you don't want music that's too soft and too fluffy and there are times when you don't want music that's too loud or obnoxious and Argus fits perfectly between those two extremes. It can be fast and peppy ('Time Was') it can rock pretty hard ('The Warrior') and be somewhat introspect and balladic in nature (if balladic is actually a word, that is)- with tracks like 'Throw Down The Sword.' And certainly, the twin lead guitar format makes for some incredible rockin' guitar work, especially on 'Throw Down The Sword.'

At the end of the day, however, I have to award Argus the first real award of the Albums2010 project: I'm putting it on my iTunes. All 10 tracks, because it's just that good- the first seven tracks of Argus, plus the three bonus tracks at the end of the remastered version I snagged from Mom.

Overall: A new discovery and one I'm not sorry to make and I'm quite happy to add it to my musical pantheon for future listening possibilities.

Oh, Vuvuzelas...

If you haven't been watching The World Cup, you better have a good excuse! And if you have, then you've probably noticed the ever-present buzzing noises that sounds like entire stadiums are full of bees. That would be the South African Soccer Instrument of Choice, the vuvuzela and plenty of people hate them and actually are pushing to ban them. (Some thoughts on that, here.) Personally, I tend to agree with the notion that the vuvuzela is unique to South Africa and they should be able to put whatever stamp they want on their World Cup. Yet at the same time, I miss the singing... the England fans got lost in a sea of vuvuzela buzzing as did the Dutch fans and their aria from 'Aida.'

But in the end, I think they should stay, despite being annoying...

Germany On The Brink

See? Look what happens when you bailout a bunch of other countries...

Eppur Si Muove

The Big 12 still breathes... Some final questions: if Utah goes to the Pac-10, does Fresno State go to the Mountain West (or, alternately, Nevada.) Does the Big 12 try and get back to 12 teams- and if they want too, who do they pick?

At the end of the day though, I'm happy about this. I think expansion is good, if carefully thought out, but gargantuan mega-conferences? Count me out- or at least leave it for a few years...

Iowa Dems Change Some Rules...

...about how the Lieutenant Governor is picked. Personally, I'm a little unsure of just what a Lieutenant Governor actually does, but here's the 4-1-1: under the new rules, the Governor (or Nominee) would pick the Lt. Governor and delegates would then be asked to ratify the choice. (Previously, delegates at the Party's state convention nominated and picked the Lt. Gov and not all of them are that happy about this.)

England 1, US 1

Yesterday probably saw the marquee match-up of the First Round of World Cup play with the US facing off against England in the World Cup for the first time since 1950. (When the Americans shocked England 1-0.) And there are positives to be had all round and some worries for England as well.

First, the positives: for England, offensively they looked really good. Very free-form, pushing people up the sides and getting Rooney help in the form of Emile Heskey. It's game one of this World Cup and they looked like a fairly cohesive unit already. What pissed me off about the 2006 World Cup was that England had all the ingredients, but kept poor Rooney up there by himself trying to score goals. It never worked, they never adjusted and then Coach Sven Goran Eriksson kept trying to find the right formula right through to the quarterfinals and never did so. After one game, you were left with the sense that new Coach Fabio Capello is a lot closer to finding the right formula that Eriksson ever was.

For the US: WOW. The sheer experience of this team was obvious with the veterans like Bocanegra and Donovan making themselves felt in the midfield- but it was Altidore and Findley up front that were really impressive. I was really worried about England Player Jamie Carragher's ability to keep up with Altidore, he was that fast. Defensively, there were some lapses, especially towards the end of the game, but they swarmed Rooney and shut him down and with Tim Howard in goal, I honestly think this is the best US team we've ever seen in a World Cup- and teams big and small had better pay attention, because if you don't respect these guys, then they'll eat you alive.

The Biggest Worry: England needs to toughen up their rookie Goalkeeper Green STAT. They don't have depth at Goal right now and if they run up against teams like Argentina, who are very fast on the breakaway, they could get into trouble real fast. To be fair to Green though, that equalizer was a rookie mistake- one that I doubt he'll make again, but the biggest question has been Goalkeeper for awhile- and those questions continue for England. But all in all, great start for the US and England, while not dominate has promise to improve throughout the rest of group play. Both teams have all the ingredients for a deep, deep run into this tournament.

Conference Shuffleboard Continues

Even as the Des Moines Register wonders where, if anyplace does Iowa State fit in, conference wise- it looks like there might be life in the Big 12 yet. Apparently Big 12 Commish Dan Beebe in what is probably the last best chance he's got to save both his job and his conference is telling Texas he can score them a better television deal. Texas is thinking hard- with Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State waiting for their marching orders.

This is in line with what I've been thinking for a few days now: money started this and money can grind this to a halt. Texas wants its own television network and this deal would allow for that- and if they bolt to a gargantuan Pac-16, they'll be one of many, as a posed to being the Big Boy on the Block in a slightly shrunken Big 12. Next week will clear things up for sure, but one floater out there that could keep this mess going: Texas A&M

The Aggies continue their flirtation with the SEC, who apparently wants them- and Oklahoma too. The Sooners appear to have made it clear that they're not going anywhere without Texas, which leaves an interesting scenario shaping up: the SEC taking A&M and someone big from the ACC. If the Big 10 moves to grab Maryland (better choice than Rutgers, in my opinion) then the ACC's likely targets would come from the Big East- probably Louisville and Syracuse. And then suddenly, the Big East is under threat and despite Notre Dame's insistence that they're staying put as an independent, some judicious raiding by other conferences into the Big East could change their minds. (Of course, if Texas and Company go to the Pac-10, then I think Notre Dame's options becoming even more narrow, because that will set off a mad grab for teams.)

So while the Pac-10 could grab Utah and stay at 12 and the Big 12 could stay at 10 or grab a couple of teams to get back up to 12, Big 10 Commish Jim Delaney is quite frankly emerging as an almost diabolical genius at this point: keeping virtually silent and letting the other conferences do his work for him.

Is College Worth It?

I posted some thoughts about the future of education a couple of days back, but the one, only Instapundit dug up this link which is worth reading. And then, just to underline the point about the need for reform in the educational system, the Press-Citizen had this news: UI To Offer Certificate In Leadership Studies

This is exactly what I'm talking about and it's also sorta the solution we need. On the face of it, a 'Certificate In Leadership Studies' seems like the typical academia-speak for 'piece of paper worth about as much as that wad of toilet paper you wiped your ass with early this morning,' but I think we'll see trends in this direction over the long term. If universities are going to be about getting people to actually attend and help them along their way in life, then more certificate programs for job training and the like would be nice.

But reading the article, it doesn't seem like the UofI is being that far-sighted about things. Plus, is leadership something that you can learn? It seems like more of a binary state to me: either you got it or you don't and if I'm a prospective employer who sees a 'Certificate In Leadership Studies' on a resumé, I'm not going to be that impressed. I may laugh a little bit, but impressed? Nope. Leadership isn't something you learn in a classroom and can get a piece of paper for. You learn it by going out there and doing it.

So at the end of the day, it's exactly what I'm talking about: a good notion in general for the future of higher education (quick focused certificates to help people in the job market as a posed to clunky degrees that aren't that mobile)- yet at the same time what's wrong with higher ed: bullshit courses and degrees like 'Leadership Studies.'

Albums2010 #7-#9: The Genesis Trifecta

As a true child of the 1980s, it's hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that Peter Gabriel used to be in a band and even harder for me to come to grips with the fact that it used to be Genesis. Genesis, the masters of the 80s pop song, Genesis, with Phil Collins at drums, belting out tracks like 'Invisible Touch', 'Turn It On Again' and 'Jesus He Loves Me' and that awesome video for 'Land of Confusion' where the band turned themselves and innumerable other political figures from the 80s into creepy Muppets that looked like they belonged more in The Dark Crystal or The Labyrinth than The Muppet Show.

So Genesis to me is more associated with the 80s than anything that came before. Images of my Dad trying to dance to 'I Can't Dance' and of Mervgotti being drunk in Apartment #12 at 1012 E. Burlington making up dirty lyrics to 'Invisible Touch.' It came as something of a surprise then to find out that Genesis has been around and kicking since 1968 and up until the 80s was one of the premier voices in 70s British Prog Rock. They were famous for their big, orchestral music and bombastic live stage shows and lord, lord, lord does it require patience to listen to the best of Peter Gabriel-era Genesis.

I took on three albums, Selling England By The Pound, Trespass and the double album The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway and of the three, Trespass was probably the easiest listen, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway the most familiar-sounding of the bunch and Selling England By The Pound was a bit of a head trip for me.

Trespass, the earliest of the three albums (it was the band's second album overall) is probably the easiest to listen too. With only six tracks and none of them hitting double digits in length, it stands as a pretty accessible, open and shut example of 70s British prog rock. The usual hallmarks are all there: big instrumental arrangements- almost on the same level as that of an orchestra, somewhat abstract lyrics and the usual generous dollop of weirdness that seems to characterize all three of these albums. There was no one song that really stood out for me on this album, but what I did find fascinating about it was that after all, with a good ear, you can hear the foundations of what Genesis becomes in the 80s. Whether its the guitar work or the vocals, there are some subtle touches that sound achingly familiar.

Selling England By The Pound was an album I found to be a bit more well-defined. Taking its title from a 70s Labour Party slogan, per Wikipedia, the theme of the album is a 'longing or nostalgia for Old England' be it going all the way back to medieval times or just earlier times, before what I'm sure to the band seemed like a lot of contemporary changes and social upheaval in the 70s. This album is also notable because it contains the one song from Peter Gabriel-era Genesis that I actually recognize: 'I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)' When Mervgotti was playing his Genesis Greatest Hits Collection in Apartment #12 at 1012 E. Burlington, this was the only song from early Genesis that was on the CD. He (and when I burned it for myself, I) both tended to skip over the track. Which is a shame, because it's not a bad track to listen to at all.

Thematically, however, Selling England By The Pound hits all the marks. Britain in the 1970s wasn't exactly a fun place to be for a lot of people: economic decay, social upheaval, decimalization of currency and joining the common market meant that a lot of things were changing in Britain- and not necessarily for the better. A nostalgia or longing for earlier times must have been extremely resonant to the listeners at the time and the idea of a less complicated time is a notion that I expect can still resonate today. A good album overall.

Finally, we come to The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. A double disc- the story is about the following:

The album tells the surreal story of a half-Puerto Rican juvenile delinquent named Rael living in New York City, who is swept underground to face bizarre creatures and nightmarish dangers in order to rescue his brother John.[1][2] Several of the story's occurrences and places were derived from Peter Gabriel's dreams, and the protagonist's name is a play on his surname

That, as usual is from wikipedia and it's a helluva good summary of a two-disc epic album that's damn hard to quantify. I honestly didn't know what to think about this album. Surreal, lots of instrumentals and, if there is a story, it's certainly abstract at best. One good point though: 'The Carpet Crawlers' which is an appropriate metaphor for the corporate drudgery and ladder-climbing that goes on throughout modern society today. That one I liked. The rest of it? Songs like 'The Lamia'? Um... again, not really sure what to make of it or what to think about it.

Overall: Selling England By The Pound is probably the best of the three Genesis albums I listened too- and if you're a fan of Peter Gabriel and his work, for sure check out these albums, because if you give 'em a listen, you'll hear elements of what Gabriel takes to his solo work and what Genesis becomes in the 80s, just waiting to be unveiled.

Ain't No Mountain...

...high enough? Boise State is joining Colorado and Nebraska (who made it official today, as expected) as the latest school to join in the conference shuffle- moving from the WAC to the Mountain West Conference. And with Orangebloods.com reporting that Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech looking closer to bolting for the Pac-10 as well- (A&M continues to be coy with the SEC, I guess) the Mountain West looks poised to move up to major conference status, should it take on the Big 12 orphans.

Late Night Chronicles 70: Jamie Pollard and His Fiddle

Published 6/11/10 on Facebook...

By now anyone who even casually glances at newspapers or ESPN is aware that great things are afoot in the landscape of college athletics as we know it. Rumors of Big 10 expansion have been around for months and today might be the day where the great centralizing earthquake rattles Universities from coast to coast- or maybe not. Nebraska is rumored to make its departure to the Big 10 official in just about an hour or so. Colorado has already left the Big 12 for the Pac-10 (now 11, I guess.) And all eyes have turned to Texas, to see what, if anything they're going to do.

Here in Iowa questions have to be growing- not only amongst Iowa State fans and alums, but amongst fans of college athletics in general: what is Iowa State going to do? Where could they end up? And more importantly, just what the hell is ISU Athletics Director Jamie Pollard actually doing right now? Iowa State officials seems to be content with issue statement after statement affirming their belief in just how awesome the Big 12 is for them, as if they say it out loud enough, it'll actually prevent the conference from exploding in their faces. In the meantime, poor Missouri is wondering if it's going to get asked to the prom, as the Big 10 doesn't appear to be showing the Tigers a lot of love. Kansas Basketball Coach Bill Self is wondering why football matters so much (and probably wondering just how much enjoyment he's going to get out of dominating the Mountain West Conference thoroughly- something that erstwhile former Iowa Coach Todd Lickliter could probably manage with ease) and Baylor is desperately trying to get some legislators in Austin to make sure they have seat to sit in should the current game of conference musical chairs cease playing the music and they get left standing.

All in all, the potential Big 12 orphans don't seem to have much of a clue as to what's going on, what they're going to do and what might actually happen tomorrow. Which to me, is pretty much sealing the fate of the Big 12 as we know it. Sure, Texas, Oklahoma and all their merry men might bolt for a new Pac-16 super-conference... but instead of waiting for that to happen, what's the Big 12 going to do about it right now? Why are these potential orphans sitting around whining and praying that the Conference holds together... if Jamie Pollard is going to get Senators Harkin and Grassley to go to bat for him, it sure would be nice to show some modicum of effort by the potential orphans to actually fight for what might be left of their conference.

First of all: meet-up. Have a summit somewhere-- the Hessen Haus in Des Moines has good German beer and if this thing goes down the way many are predicting it will, then Kansas, Kansas State, Mizzou, ISU and Baylor are all gonna need a beer. (Well, maybe not Baylor. They are Baptist. The food's good too, Baylor...)

Second of all: fire Big 12 Commish Dan Beebe. I mean, really... talk about a guy who got smacked in the face and then some. Rumors of Big 10 and Pac-10 expansion have been flying for months- why didn't you have a plan B in place? Why weren't you taking the temperature of your conference? Why didn't you say: 'fine, if Nebraska and Colorado want out, we'll invite these guys...' some leaked stories to the press and some daring, ambitious expansion targets and suddenly the Big 12 might seem like it's actually read to handle this mess.

Third of all: lay down the law to Texas and Company. I heard somewhere that it takes 9 votes (hopefully this is true) to dissolve the conference without exit penalties and the like and guess what? Even if Mizzou bolts for the Big 10, you still have enough to block peaceful dissolution. Colorado wasn't a good fit for the Big 12 from day one. Let 'em go. Nebraska misses playing Oklahoma and they weren't that good of a fit in the Big 12 either. Let 'em go too. But if Texas and Company are going to screw you guys and leave you out in the cold- well, shit. Make 'em pay through the nose for it.

Fourth of all: Start playing the expansion game too. A column in the Dallas Morning News speculated about a merger with the Mountain West. Still others have thought about poaching Louisville and Cincy from the Big East. TCU has fielded a damn good football team for quite sometime now- and you could attempt to snatch Utah right out from under the noses of the Pac-10 (now, 11 I guess.) Either way, if you want to keep your comfortable conference intact, you gotta start playing the expansion game right along with the other conferences. Don't go gently into that good night- hang together, fellas, because if you don't, then you're for sure going to hang separately.

A lot of people seem to be expressing surprise and disgust that a lot of these moves are motivated by, of all things, money- but basic greed aside, potential Big 12 orphans, you have to realize: money started things moving, but money could also stop 'em cold. Texas wants its own television network and if they move to a Pac-16, that probably won't happen. Texas likes to be in charge. If they get absorbed into a super-conference, especially with titans like USC in it, life probably won't be as cushy for them as it is right now with the Big 12 HQ in Dallas, TX and them pretty much running the show.

Of course the Big 12 as you know it was probably doomed from day 1. The addition of the Texas schools skewed power southward in a huge way that rankled old school Big 8ers like Nebraska and left them stuck in the weaker division of the conference. The unbalanced nature of the Big 12, the lack of revenue sharing, especially for big football schools like Nebraska was going to breed resentment and at the end of the day, one of the biggest rivalries in college football died when the Big 12 was born. Nebraska would probably like to start playing Oklahoma again, wherever they end up.

A lot of this should have been seen as inevitable, but now that it's here, the potential orphans have got to start being proactive instead of reactive otherwise their worst fears will undoubtedly come true. When your house is on fire, you don't just gawk at it- you grab a hose and start spraying. And if the Emperor Nero had picked up a bucket instead of playing his fiddle while Rome burned, history might well remember in a more kindly fashion. So, potential orphans, it remains up to you: are you going to grab your buckets and start dousing, or is someone going to hand Jamie Pollard his fiddle, so he can play a merry little tune while the Big 12 burns down around Iowa State and the rest of you?

Albums2010 #6: Minstrel In The Gallery

What can we say about Jethro Tull? Well, nobody has rocked the flute harder than Jethro Tull. Ian Anderson makes it seem easy and makes it seem, I hate to say it, even a little cool. Even as my Dad had this near obsession with Pink Floyd, my Mom's musical drink of choice on vacations always involved Jethro Tull sneaking in there somewhere along the way- usually the more well-known album, Aqualung. But when I told Mom what I was doing with the Albums2010 Project, she loaded me down with a five album load of mid-to-late 70s British progressive rock (which is what we're dealing with this week for the Albums2010 project) including her all time favorite Jethro Tull album, Minstrel in the Gallery.

And you know what? It's actually a pretty damn good album. The sound of Jethro Tull is hard to quantify, but this album makes me think of those long summers in Minnesota, where, on various trips to the Cities, we'd always pass through Chaska, MN and always, without fail, we'd seem to run into miles and miles of traffic heading to the Renaissance Fair (which we never went too.) This album: it's like a band of rebel musicians got tired of strumming their lutes at the RenFair, went nuts and started a lute-playing rock band.

The first two tracks open the album with a bang: the title track blends folk and acoustic rock with some slamming hardcore rock n'roll guitar hooks that is a killer blending of styles that really attracts your attention and sucks you into the album. And, even more brilliantly, the second track: 'Cold Wind To Valhalla' does much the same thing- starting with an acoustic rock/folk feel before building into a driving rock melody that makes for an unusual amalgamation of styles that I think makes Tull's overall sound unique.

Of course, this being 70s British prog rock, there's got to be an über-long song, somewhere on the album and Tull's nod to prog rock is the whopping sixteen minutes and forty seconds of Baker St. Muse, which essentially closes out the album. (There's a coda, Grace that ends it- but that's only about forty seconds long.) For those who don't know, prog rock emerged in the 70s, as a vague offshoot of psychedelic rock and according to wikipedia, they were about: 'elevating rock music to new levels of artistic credibility' Big, orchestral arrangements- instrumental tracks, generally trying to make rock almost more 'musical' than it has been before- so sixteen minute long songs aren't that uncommon, which makes old school prog rock something of an anathema to the ADHD-ridden, twitchy generation of today. We, by definition are an impatient lot, which is why, outside of Arlo Guthrie's 'Alice's Restaurant', Zeppelin's 'Stairway To Heaven' and Derek and the Dominos' 'Layla' ten to sixteen minute songs are few and far between on radio today- and if there are any super-long songs, they'll be on classic rock stations.

But that said with Minstrel, Tull scores an accessible, kick-ass album that holds itself above a lot of the prog rock I've spent a few weeks listening too because it's linear, easy to listen to and doesn't test my patience too much. But just because I am a stereotypical young person who doesn't often have the patience for twenty minute rock-songs doesn't mean that it isn't worth listening too. Especially this album.

Overall: a damn good album- skip Aqualung and go straight to this one, if you want to check out Jethro Tull. Perfect for flautists that want to prove to their friends that they're the shit, RenFair fans that want to get their rock n'roll on and people that like their rock n'roll mixed with folk, acoustic and flutes.

It Has Begun...

...and I could not be more excited. Let's go ENGLAND!

(For the record: I will be extremely happy if the following things happen. First, if someone other than Brazil, Italy or Germany wins, that's an interesting Cup as far as I'm concerned. Second, if they manage to lift the Jules Rimet Trophy without resorting to penalty kicks- such as desultory, boring way to decide things, then I too will be happy. But I'm still hoping for England to actually get this done for once and if I can't have England I'll cling to the hope that the US can pull off a miracle and make the world's collective head explode. And if I can't have either of those too, I'll be pulling for an African team!)

Late Night Chronicles 69: The Future of Education

Published on Facebook, just seconds ago...

With all the economic chaos out there, it's not surprising that economists and random commentators are warning of other bubbles that might be set to pop and drop up back into the pile of recession sewage we now find ourselves precariously trying to get out of. They talk about public pensions a lot- the effects on state budgets, but one other thing that seems to be getting increasing buzz lately is the bubble of college tuition and college costs in general.

It's no surprise to anyone who's been to college, is in college or about to go to college that getting an education is damn expensive these days- increasingly, its become a dicey financial prospect for students and their families because there's no guarantee of a job on the other side of your BA. So what do people do? They go to grad school (I'm guilty of that, I admit) and then try to look again, only to come to the depressing realization that either their degree is totally impractical or too practical and could be put to use in a million different ways (the challenge with the latter option is figuring out which of the million ways you want to choose.) Either way, students are left with increasing debt, no job prospects and believe it or not, if that wasn't cheerful enough, it gets worse:

Student loans cannot be discharged through bankruptcy. While the Federal Government will happily give you the shirt of its collective back to help you repay, private loan companies aren't quite so nice- so if you find yourself sans job post-graduate and unable to pay the full amount or anything at all, you can get sucked down in a truly bad spiral very quickly. Unable to pay your student loans- and debt multiplies quickly. Late fees from the Feds or Private Loan Companies build up and if it has to go to a collection agency? Well then you're pretty much effed, because they have costs too... and if, God forbid you default on a student loan payment? Well then bye-bye credit score, good luck finding that job and a house? Shit, forget about that.

A quick Google search will give you all the information you could possibly want on the ins and outs of the economic side of this. Why tuition has exploded over the course of the past ten years, what it's going to look like ten years from now and so on and so forth. Me, I prefer to focus on the institutional side of the question. Why has my generation been spoon-fed so much absolute bullshit? And more to the point, why on Earth did we buy into it? Back in the hippy-dippy flower power days, they used to say 'Don't Trust Anyone Over Thirty.' That remains probably the smartest thing any hippy has ever said- and my generation forgot it. Our political class is interested in short-term solutions to secure their continue access to the teat of Federal largesse. Our corporate class remains committed to their own interests and us young folk? Well, we bought the bullshit. Now I guess we have to own it.

What do I mean by that? Well here's the bullshit that we swallowed: a college degree is your ticket to a comfortable, middle class existence. Thirty to forty years ago, having a high school diploma could land you a decent job with a good salary that you make a life with. Today, a high school diploma is little more than a piece of paper with your name on it- and it's barely enough to get you a job flipping burgers and McDonald's. Somewhere along the way, these past decades, the chorus of 'go to college, go to college' drowned out anything resembling intelligent thought. Why are you going to college? What do you want to do with your college degree? Our educational system is about shoving us forward into the waiting arms of higher education- it places no emphasis on learning about financial responsibility or even thinking about the how one can pay for and achieve one's goals and ambitions. We're fed the notion that college is the answer to anything and everything and the magical college degree will help you achieve your dreams.

It's embedded into society now. Kids go to college. Is what they do, whether it's a good fit for them or not- it's now expected. Happiness and success means that you send your kids to college so they can 'succeed' whatever that means. And we wonder why manufacturing has collapsed in this country- it's because you can't exactly get your BA in being a plumber.

Anyway, as a result of this, institutions of higher education have seen a proliferation of departments, degree offerings and as a result staff and faculty- a lot of which comes out of the pocket of the taxpayer- and, as this should be of no surprise to anyone, it's becoming rapidly unsustainable over the long term.

As with so many things we take for granted in society today, we need to take a hard look at what and how we're teaching the younger generation. Deep, meaningful questions like 'what is the purpose of high school?' 'what is the purpose of college?' Education needs to be restored to its proper place in our discourse: it's a tool, not an answer. It can help you get to where you want to go, if used correctly. A degree in Asian Studies or Communications probably won't get you a whole helluva lot. But put Asian Studies together with International Business and Communications with say, Journalism or something then you might have something you can work with.

For education to survive and improve, practicality must be the watchword. High school shouldn't be a happy-go-lucky four years of busy work. Kids gotta be sat down and asked the tough questions: what do you want to do? What's your plan? How you going to pay for it? Too often, kids (including me) just wander into college without a clue, purely because that's what expected of them... With no idea what to do, whole semesters are wasted having the 'college experience.' Semesters that can take years to repay. High school should be rigorous and demanding. Kids should graduate with a plan of some kind- and a clue. It doesn't have to be a lifetime thing, just a first step on the great, metaphorical road of life, so to speak. While our grandparents may have graduated college to get jobs that they kept until they retired, we will change our career on average maybe four to five times over our lifetime- so don't think because you decide on something when you graduate that you've locked yourselves into something for life. But you have to start somewhere- and that should be what high school helps you to decide: where to start and how to start.

As for college, well again, practicality would be nice. If you're offering 150 degrees in various fields, you have to ask yourself: what does a degree in pan-Asian Studies get you by itself? Should students be encouraged to combine degrees and double major? Should some degrees become certificates instead? Internships and work experiences should be innovative, plentiful and required. Even study abroad should be expanded and made available to all students- any and everything that will help students get in, get out and get something useful and tangible out of their education has to be considered and implemented.

For those of us already out into the scary real world, well then I guess we're left to do the best we can. Lord knows, I'm not going to expect any helpful policy changes to ease the burdens of current and future college graduates. All we can do is find whatever pays a bill or two in this economy and hang on for dear life. For education, for the country, for all us, I have a feeling that the next ten years are going to be a bumpy ride.