A completely dominant performance by the #1 seed Syracuse Orange this weekend was highlighted by the play of Wes Johnson, who is finally back to his early-season form before the February fall against Providence hurt his back and a subsequent hand injury hurt his shooting. Wes was absolutely the best player on the court and as Gus Johnson repeatedly said "the best player in Buffalo" and he followed up a 20-point outing against over-matched Vermont with a 31 point, 13 rebound domination of the #19 team in the nation, Gonzaga. Wes played as well on Sunday as he has all year and the team did the same, despite not only being without Arinze Onuaku but also without Rick Jackson for the final 9 minutes of the first half, when he recorded his third foul. But even semi center-less, with freshman DeShonte Riley filling in the gap, the Orange just went on a dominant run against the Zags to close out the first half with a 16 point lead and then they came out in the second half and just blew the doors off their opponent, staking themselves a 32 point lead before some late game sloppy play pushed the final score to 87-65.
I was frightened to death about this weekend's matchups, both Vermont and Gonzaga, because we were without Onuaku and we hadn't been playing well, but neither game was close and neither team had even a shred of a chance to stop our offense, especially with Wes Johnson playing this well. Three-point shooting was probably the biggest factor, against both teams, as we shot incredibly from long-range and the opponents did not, so the size of the blowouts was definitely affected, but we do lead the nation in field goal percentage and it was no fluke that we were ranked #1 in country just two weeks ago. The Big East may be struggling mightily early but Syracuse is carrying the banner for the league and if they can come anywhere near as close to playing this well next week, a trip to the Final Four should be theirs. There is still hope that Onuaku will be back for Thursday's game against Butler, and even though we played great without him, I still think we need him to keep winning, so my fingers are crossed that he keeps healing, but damn, DeShonte Riley didn't play half bad today... I still can't believe it.
I don't mean to do this every Sunday, because it's not a good or fun trend in music to talk about deaths but I felt like I needed to say something about legendary indie hero Alex Chilton, who died on Thursday at the age of 59 from a heart attack. I first heard of the lead singer of Big Star (and The Box Tops as a teenager) from The Replacements song with his name, as I imagine most alternative '80s kids like me did, but I don't think I ever sought out his songs until much later. The Big Star songs were maybe not as great to me as they were to my '80s idols (both The Replacements and R.E.M. cited Chilton as a big influence) but they are certainly wonderful in their own right. Vic Chestnutt. Jay Reatard. Mark Linkous. And now Alex Chilton. 2010 is not getting off to a wonderful start.
Children by the million sing for Alex Chilton when he comes 'round
They sing "I'm in love. What's that song? I'm in love with that song."
And on a personal note, yesterday was the birthday of my friend Dan, who died about a year ago, so while I'm saying rest in peace to strangers, I'd like to add this personal note for him. Miss you Dan. The world has been worse without you.
I think I'm at the breaking point, or the end of my breaking point. Since January 1st, I've been working non-stop, strange hours, long days, no breaks, no time off, nothing but the pressure of it all and it's killing me. Drinking tons of caffeine to get through the day and wired, too wired, to even think straight by the end of the day, like now, when I write this. And I'm taking two classes at the same time, with all the homework involved, and I'm writing my thesis so I can graduate this spring, and I'm writing a novel, which is my thesis, but is more, I think, or hope, and there's research for that and insanity and doubt, and did I mention all the caffeine? Friday night I was at a client from 6 pm until 5 in the morning, slept through some of Saturday only to wake up in the midst of Hurricane Hell here in NJ, and my fence blew down, or part of it, so I have to buy a new fence, and he came out here yesterday to give me a quote and shit it's expensive, so I have to keep working to pay for crap that I don't really even want, but the fence is hanging over and it's a disgrace and I couldn't stop staring at it on Saturday on no sleep and exhausted and hoping it wouldn't fall down but it did. And did I mention the caffeine? And then there's Syracuse, my favorite sports team of all sports teams (sorry Phillies fans) and they were #1 in the nation and now, it's all falling apart I'm afraid, like my mind. But I'm trying to pay attention and hoping Arinze will be healthy but there's too much going on and I'm running my NCAA pool again of course and then entering Todd's super-complicated one that takes hours to enter but I did it anyway, because hell, I have no time, and I've got more money to throw away, so why not? And I'm planning a party, my Final Four party and why I'm throwing it when I have no time to even breathe let alone throw a party and I have no fucking fence even but I hope it's nice out because with the number of people I invited they'll have to stand outside next to the tattered waste of a former fence and what if Syracuse is playing, but no they won't be playing, not without Arinze, and did I mention the caffeine? And then last night, for reasons unknown to me, we had a good time, an excellent time, but I didn't get in until 3 am and then I had work today, like every day, even though I worked on Saturday until 5 am, because I'm leaving for Dallas on Monday and a report needed to be done by me, alone, again, because, well I have to pay for the party and the fence and the betting and the caffeine -- oh the caffeine -- so I sat at my desk on the most beautiful day of the year and just worked and worked until I almost died and then I had some caffeine and I almost died some more and then there was Lost and South Park which was so fucking funny and now it's after midnight and I can't even breathe but I'm wide awake, because did I mention the caffeine, and I know this isn't making any sense, but thank you for reading, and tomorrow... tomorrow, March Madness begins so I can take a break, but I can't take a break, I need a break more than I've ever needed a break, but I can't take one, I know I have to, ever so brief. And I need to forget about work and forget about school and forget about my novel and my party and this blog and caffeine and everything else and just drink, god I need a drink, and I hope Syracuse wins. The way Spencer looks in this video is the way I feel right now and I've felt it for 3 months. I really need this ride to stop.
She said my name and my spirit are both corrupt and if you hold me close you gotta hold me up.
The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night is an absolutely wonderful new album from Canada's The Besnard Lakes, not so much a concept album any more than all their albums are conceptual, but it's just an explosion of interesting, unique sounds and warbling rock arrangements that sing and swing through every song, highlighted by the magical "Albatross," one of the best songs of the year, but also by the wondrous 2-part opener, "Like the Ocean, Like the Innocent". It's a familiar sound to anyone familiar with the band's last effort, The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse, but at the risk of sounding like a cheesy record reviewer, I'll say they shouldn't be a dark horse anymore, they need to be heard by the indie rock masses.
It's only been 8 days since Syracuse was the #1 team in the country and losing on the road to Louisville in the final game at Freedom Hall, but so much has seemed to happen to the team in that time that I'm rather surprised, but pleased, that we ended up holding on to the #1 seed. We lost to a Louisville team that outplayed us 8 days ago, but also a team in which some white kid off the bench banged home about 6 three-pointers in the 2nd half and I think was something like 11 of 12 from the field. It was a miracle performance by one player and the rest of the team responded as well and Louisville figured out a way to beat our zone in the end. But it wasn't too bad a loss, we still had the Big East tournament to come, and then the NCAAs and our #1 seed wasn't in jeopardy from a loss on the road to another tournament team.
Then came Thursday's debacle against Georgetown, who came in as the #8 seed in the Big East. This is why a team like Duke or Kentucky or even Kansas can run away and win their conference tourneys and stake a claim for the #1 seed without trouble. Because they're not facing fucking Georgetown (who ended up with a #3 seed) in the quarterfinals! The Big East -- for the 2nd straight year -- is far and away the best conference in the nation, and you can certainly make a case that the last two years the Big East has had have been the best two year stretch of any conference in the history of the sport. They've been that good. Let me reiterate: Georgetown was the #8 seed. 7 of the Big East's 8 entries in the NCAA Tournament are top 6 seeds, with Louisville as a #9, not quite up to last year's level when all 8 entries were top 6 seeds, but it's pretty damn close. Anyway, we played Georgetown for the third time this season (we'd won the first two) and had the lead at the half but it was close and Georgetown was attacking the zone much, much better than the first two times we played them. But we went on an 8-0 run to open up a double digit lead and all seemed well. Then everything fell apart.
There was a brief time around 2003 or so when I thought Sparklehorse's It's a Wonderful Life was one of the most brilliant albums I'd ever heard. But the band, which was basically just Mark Linkous's pseudonym, didn't release another album until 2006 and I lost interest and I haven't really revisited it since. So it saddened me to hear that Linkous had died. I wish I'd heard more.
Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse has committed suicide, according to a report from Rolling Stone.
His family has released a statement reading, "It is with great sadness
that we share the news that our dear friend and family member, Mark
Linkous, took his own life today. We are thankful for his time with us
and will hold him forever in our hearts. May his journey be peaceful,
happy and free. There's a heaven and there's a star for you."
Linkous made his debut under the Sparklehorse name with the 1995 album vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot,
which yielded the minor hit "Someday I Will Treat You Good". He went on
to release three more acclaimed records of fractured, experimental
alt-blues: 1999's Good Morning Spider, 2001's It's a Wonderful Life, and 2006's Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain, as well as the Danger Mouse/David Lynch all-star project Dark Night of the Soul and the Fennesz collaboration In the Fishtank. A voracious collaborator, Linkous also worked with PJ Harvey, Daniel Johnston, Tom Waits, and many others.
For any of those who never heard of him or the band, check out It's a Wonderful Life. It's a sad listen even on the best of days, but it's even sadder today.
I think my favorite new show on television right now isn't exactly new -- it's in its 4th season, in fact -- and isn't that easy to find -- it's on the Fine Living Network, which is one channel higher than the Food Network on DirecTV, but I do wonder how I missed out on such a fine program, which features a guy named Zane Lamprey traveling the world to find places to drink. It's called Three Sheets and it's basically a beer lovers' delight (and pretty much any other alcohol you love), along with an interesting travelogue and some wholesome comedy fun -- because getting wasted in foreign cities is fun for the whole family! Like how much Guy Fieri must eat in Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, I do wonder how much Zane must drink on the job and how he can stay somewhat sober and upright until the end of the episode(s), which usually conclude with a day-after hangover "cure" but it's hella enjoyable to watch and live vicariously through. I don't like to travel, but if ever there was a reason, it would be for this. Watch the episode in Munich during Oktoberfest below and see what I mean.
Syracuse junior forward Wesley Johnson was named Big East Player of the Year on Tuesday, in a mild upset over Villanova's Scottie Reynolds, who was the only unanimous member of the all-conference first team announced on Monday. Also Tuesday, Jim Boeheim was named Big East Coach of the Year, for the 4th time in his career. This followed Monday's announcements that Johnson made first team all-conference and senior Andy Rautins made 2nd team while freshman Brandon Triche made the All-Rookie Team. Johnson's player of the year trophy marked the 4th time a Syracuse player has won that honor, following Hakim Warrick in 2005, Billy Owens in 1991, and Derrick Coleman in 1990. While Johnson has had a remarkable season in his first year at Syracuse (after two years at Iowa State and one year on the bench as a transfer student), his productivity has dropped dramatically since his injury in a bad fall against Providence on February 2. Andy Rautins has been by far our best player since Wes got hurt, and it was Andy's poor play overall that was a big factor in the loss against Louisville on Saturday. He has become our most important player for the postseason, although certainly we fans hope that Wes gets enough rest between now and then to regain his shooting touch, which has suffered mightily under a swollen right hand. But congratulations to Wes. This has been a magical season and he's been a big huge part of it. Below are he and Boeheim accepting their awards.
Joanna Newsom returned last week with a 3-CD collection to follow up her magical 2006 hit Ys, which was the #3 album on the Vague Space 2006 charts. The new album made a little noise on the Billboard charts this week by becoming Newsom's first release to enter the top 100...
Joanna Newsom, the week's most-talked-about release, lands further down at No. 75. The long-awaited, highly-ambitious three-CD Drag City set "Have One on Me" sold
more than 7,000 copies in its first week, and gives the critically
beloved Newsom a new high on the big chart. Her 2006 effort, "Ys,"
debuted and peaked at No. 134.
I guess 7,000 copies isn't very much in the grand scheme of things but how many potential buyers are there of a $20 3-CD set by a harpist with insanely literate lyrics and a voice that challenges even her most ardent fans. Especially when it's pretty easy to find a free copy of just about any album made these days. So good for her. She deserves any success she can get.
One of the few joys in traveling for business is seeing the parts of the world that you didn't know you knew, that you simply heard of in a snippet somewhere until you see it's real, but it's not really real until you are there. While I was in Dallas last week, I watched the local weather report with interest, hoping they'd talk about the storm that was driving its way east and threatened my flight back to NJ, but they didn't, they only talked about the weather in Texas. And on the map were two towns that I didn't know that I knew, until I saw them on this map showing the weather in northern Texas. The first town was Corsicana, TX, a town I'm almost certain I didn't know just a few months ago, but it's the hometown of Wesley Johnson, Syracuse's star forward who has led them to a #1 ranking and earned himself the nickname "The Corsicana Kid".
The second town was Denton, TX, and it took me a half-second to remember where I'd heard of the town -- in the classic song by The Mountain Goats, "The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton," which was featured on their All Hail West Texas album. So when I got home it gave me the chance to find the song in my collection and play it again to relive the joy of John Darnielle's musical genius, and to realize that while there's nothing quite like being home, there is a little bit of joy to be found in going out and exploring the world.
Here's Darnielle talking about this song in on Emusic:
"Obviously -- or I'd think obviously -- the work I used to do in psych
hospitals and residential treatment homes is what informs this song.
People ask me sometimes if Jeff or Cyrus are based on anybody, and of
course the answer's "no," but only because of course they're dozens of
guys. I knew a dude in high school whose girlfriend didn't know he'd
been locked up until he'd already been gone for half a day: by the time
she found out, he was in Utah, not to emerge for, I think, a year or
two.
To take somebody's adolescence away is to deny that person some of the
closest looks at God's face that we ever get on this planet; I try not
to hate the parents who, as misguided as confused, take young men and
women away from their friends and their lives to send them away. But
it's hard. I try not to excuse the destructive things adolescents
sometimes do to express their pain, but in my gut, when I write a song
in which a couple of teenagers vow to take revenge on the grownups
who're fucking up their lives, well, I cast my lot with the teenagers.
They may do wrong sometimes, but their hearts aren't rotten yet, and
the light is strong within them."
