VAGUE SPACE

The Power of Negative Thinking

I was once a huge Jesus & Mary Chain fan.  From around 1992 to 1996, the J&MC and Dinosaur Jr. led a second wave of great bands that I'd fallen hard for after I owned everything the original batch of alternative legends from the '80s like The Smiths, The Cure, New Order, and The Replacements.  This Scottish band that originally started as a duo of brothers Jim and William Reid in 1984 released the universally lauded Psychocandy in 1985, with a lead single that made it to #84 on my recent list of all-time favorite songs, "Just Like Honey."  They followed with the more subdued, less reverb-heavy,  Darklands in 1987, which again got overwhelming positive press in Britain.  1989's Automatic broadened their appeal to the United States, and hard-charging single "Head On" was an MTV staple, at least on "120 Minutes" and "Post-Modern MTV", right at the time I was discovering this type of music.  I remember buying Automatic at a record store in downtown New Brunswick in one of the bargain bins for a couple bucks.  This was probably in early 1992.  I fell instantly in love, and soon owned Psychocandy on cassette.  Honey's Dead came out in 1992 and I remember I played it until the tape broke, although looking back, it's probably my least favorite of their first four albums.  Stoned & Dethroned was released in 1995 and Munki closed out the band's tenure in 1998.   Stoned featured a duet with Hope Sandoval that got a ton of alternative radio play, "Sometimes Always."  I loved it then, but it hasn't lasted as well and signalled a decline from the hard-rocking days of the Reids' youth.  The brothers weren't speaking to each other when they broke up after Munki and by 2001 I'd re-discovered music in the form of "indie rock" with help of the Internet and a band like the Jesus & Mary Chain got lost and somewhat forgotten.  They did get 4 tracks on my top 200 of all-time, but none above #80 and did not come close to my top 10 artists of all-time listing, a position they'd enjoyed for almost all of the 1990s. 

But thanks to The Power of Negative Thinking, a B-sides and rarities box set released in recent months, I've rediscovered the band.  It's an expensive purchase (It's almost $50 right now at Amazon) and as a B-sides collection, includes a bunch of less than memorable tracks mixed into the four CDs worth of material, but there are a ton of wonderful gems and some lost treasures that I'd all but forgotten among the 80 songs total in the collection.  The box set goes pretty much in chronological order, starting with a 1983 demo called "Up Too High" and finishing with latter-era J&MC that isn't nearly as compelling.  The entire first CD, spanning the Psychocandy era, in just wonderful, a band at an early peak with alternate versions of classics like "Just Like Honey" and "Never Understand" along with gems like "The Hardest Walk" and "Some Candy Talking."  The second disc has a bunch of Darklands era classics, including a demo-version of "Happy When it Rains" and "Everything's All Right When You're Down."  But it's the third disc, spanning their poppier Automatic and Honey's Dead time that blew me away the most.  "Rollercoaster," a track that appeared on Honey's Dead is a song I once loved that I've completely forgotten about since I never had the CD version (so it's not on my computer) and "Something I Can't Have" was at one time just about my favorite J&MC song but got lost completely in time.  It was on the 1995 B-sides release I Hate Rock 'n' Roll, which I did own on CD and played relentlessly but somehow lost from my collection in one of my moves in the late '90s and I forgot just how much I loved that song.  It's absolute pop brilliance and if some unknown indie rock band put out "Something I Can't Have" in 2008, it would easily secure a place in my top 10 tracks of the year.  As it is, it may just have to remain a quiet memory of a forgotten past love, but at one time, this song meant the world to me.  I'm glad I got to hear it again.

• Download The Jesus & Mary Chain - "Something I Can't Have".mp3
• Download The Jesus & Mary Chain - "Drop (Acoustic remix)".mp3
• Download The Jesus & Mary Chain - "Rollercoaster".mp3
• Download The Jesus & Mary Chain - "The Hardest Walk".mp3
• Download The Jesus & Mary Chain - "Just Like Honey (demo Oct. '84).mp3

Full box set contents below:

The Rural Alberta Advantage

The Rural Alberta Advantage.  Hometowns.  It's apparently self-released, but available on Emusic.  How to describe it?  The Jeff Mangum/Neutral Milk Hotel comparison is obvious, if only because of the off-kilter voice and odd instrumentation, but that's not quite right.  It's poppy, sincere, gorgeous, melodic and includes layers of rhythm a la other indie rock artists of recent years like Sufjan Stevens or Arcade Fire, but yet, it's strikingly original.  Some of it is subdued, some is simply beautiful, but when it explodes, such as on "Four Night Rider," it really blows me away.  Check it out if you have an Emusic account (and if you're an indie rock fan, why don't you?)  Otherwise, you can buy the album through Paypal at their website.  Take a listen to the best track I've heard in weeks and see if you don't agree.

• Download The Rural Alberta Advantage - "Four Night Rider".mp3

Food for Thought

In honor of Thanksgiving and after reading this blog post over at Podium Cafe, I was wondering what my top 5 favorite foods were... 

For some reason this reminded me of a conversation in my head while making kids breakfasts: a list of the top five edible substances ever:

1. Garlic
2. Peanut butter
3. Thai fish sauce
4. Salt (can centuries of warfare be wrong?)
5. Wine

Water didn't make the list, as with coffee: these are mere survival matters. Also, I had to eliminate bacon -- too processed. 

I like his list somewhat -- #s 2 and 4 would definitely be in the running for my list.  Garlic and wine would not (not a big fan of either).  I like Thai food, but not fish, so that knocks out #3.  Not sure about the "no water or coffee" edict.  Water is clearly the substance I ingest most during a day (I probably go through, on average, at least a dozen bottles of water a day).  But I guess it's not something I necessary "love", more something I require, so okay, water's out.  But his list has no meat on it -- yet I'm sure the garlic and salt and Thai fish sauce are being placed onto proteins.  So should my list mix foods and flavorings?  Like where does "pork" go?  Plain roast pork with salt and pepper?  It's good, but not making any top 10 list.  Baby back spare ribs -- now we're talking.  And what about turkey?  Roast turkey for Thanksgiving is close to the top of anyone's list -- but a deli turkey sandwich is quite a different taste.  Not sure where they would rank separately, together, or what.  So anyway, I did two lists below:  Top 5 favorite "edible substances" (excluding meats and water and processed foods as above) and top 10 favorite "food dishes".  Comment away with your favorites, however you'd like to rank them.

Syracuse Starts Off Season On Top

The Syracuse Orange took a quick 5-2 lead against Kansas on Tuesday night and then did nothing for the next thirty minutes against the defending national champions.  They looked lethargic, their 2-3 zone was giving up easy layups and wide open 3-pointers, and the Jayhawks gathered a 13-point lead with about 12 minutes left in the game.  Then Jimmy Boeheim - finally listening to the pleas of his players (and Dickie V announcing the game) - switched from the hapless zone to a man-to-man and everything turned around.  Jonny Flynn made two steals in a row for easy baskets and the pressure on the ball clearly and quickly got to Kansas guard Sherron Collins, who looked tired and out of sorts for the rest of the game after dominating Flynn in the first half.  But Flynn dominated when it counted, as his tenacious on the ball defense sparked a run that brought the Cuse within 3 points with 6 minutes to play.  But Kansas fought back, hitting a couple more threes, and Syracuse continued to miss free throws for the second straight game (Devendorf missed 2 key free throws with about 3 minutes left) and the Jayhawks took another 6 point lead.  The Orange would not be denied though.  Fighting back yet again, even as the Kansas City crowd was screaming at top volume, the defense clamped down and shut down Kansas for much of the rest of the game. 

After Flynn made two free throws to tie it at 69 with a minute left, Kansas center Cole Aldrich had a nice inside move to put them back on top 71-69.  Syracuse came up empty on the following possession and then put Aldrich on the line with 19 seconds to play.  The big man only made one of two (the only free throw he missed in the game), giving Syracuse a chance to tie.  Flynn had the ball in his hands and after a defensive switch from Kansas's tough man-to-man defense, Flynn had the 7'0" center guarding him outside the arc.  He made a couple quick moves to free himself and with Aldrich stretching out his arm to try to reach the shot, Jonny went up from the right side of the key and banged home a three-pointer to tie the game and send it to overtime.  Jonny already has proven himself to be able to hit these clutch shots (he won a game in November a year ago as a freshman on a 3-pointer at the buzzer) and there was no one I wanted more with the ball in his hands.  Vitale said that Billy Donovan called him the best point guard in the nation and you won't get an argument from me.  Of course, if he keeps playing this well, this might be his last year in the Syracuse Orange.  But oh what a year it could be.

Overtime saw an inside score from Arinze Onuaku and a foul shot from the shaky free throw shooter to give the Orange an early lead.  But Kansas scored twice to make it 76-75 with a little over three minutes to play.   Then Syracuse turned it on.  Andy Rautins missed a wide open three but Paul Harris tipped it in to give us the lead, a huge, huge basket.  Rautins made a three on his next attempt and Devendorf followed with a layup.  Syracuse went on a 10-0 run to put the game out of reach and hit their free throws down the stretch to secure the 89-81 OT victory.  It was Kansas' first loss in 17 games, ending the nation's longest winning streak, and the first time they lost in Kansas City since 1983 against Ohio State.  The CBE Classic, coinciding with the College Basketball Hall of Fame Induction ceremonies downtown, lived up to its name, with a hell of a classic game, and this is going to be one hell of an Orange team.  5-0 to start the season.  2 wins over ranked opponents.  And if Boeheim ever figures out that the man-to-man defense is light years ahead of the 2-3 zone for this team, they could maybe even win games going away.  Kansas looked great, especially in the 1st half, despite losing most of their starters from the championship team.  Their defense was a tenacious man-to-man that shut down Flynn for a while and clamped down on Onuaku in the paint.  They made a bunch of three-pointers to show they can shoot, although they were so wide open in that zone that I could have made them.  But in the end, the more experienced Syracuse squad earned the victory.  And a great start to the season.

Syracuse Wins CBE Classic in OT!!

In one of the most exciting comebacks I've ever seen, the Syracuse Orange returned from a 13 point deficit late in the 2nd half to beat #23 Kansas, 89-81 in OT.  Jonny Flynn was the MVP of the tournament and player of the game, sending the game to OT with a 3-pointer to tie it with 6 seconds left.  He finished with 25 points.  Paul Harris was a superstar in the second half and got his 2nd straight double-double.  Arinze Onuaku also had a double-double and dominated in OT, but it was the defense that carried the team as Boeheim finally - finally after getting burned all game in our passive 2-3 zone -- made the switch to man-to-man that sparked the run to take us from 13 down to the victory.  I'll have a more complete recap tomorrow, but it's 1 AM and I've got to get up in 5 hours, so that's it for tonight.  But what a great, great win for the team.  And if my season preview seemed a bit pessimistic based on their shaky performance against Richmond, just forget all that.  The team I saw the last 2 nights in Kansas City (yes, Kansas played a virtual home game tonight) will absolutely be a force this season.  I haven't been this excited about a sports team since the Phillies won the World Series way back in October.  Oh yeah, baby, Vague Sports are on a fucking roll!

Syracuse 89, #19 Florida 83

The Syracuse Orange start off the season 4-0 and gain a big win over a ranked opponent in a game that featured a ton of scoring, not a lot of defense, and a little too much Dickie V. for this viewer's interest, but was overall a solid effort for the Cuse in victory.  The game was close at halftime (41-38) but Syracuse came out firing on all cylinders in the 2nd half, building a 10-point lead on multiple occasions, but in a scene eerily reminiscent of the last two seasons, struggled to close out the win with under 5 minutes to play.  Turnovers, poor free throwing shooting (four straight bricks from Onuaku and Joseph), and tentative defense brought Florida within 4 with 1:20 to play and the ball.  But the Gators could not convert on multiple chances and the rebound eventually ended up in Johnny Flynn's hands and the game was finally, as they say, over.  Florida looked very young, played sloppy, and played horrendous defense.  Syracuse was sloppy as well, the defense wasn't that strong either, but they dominated the game at times and should have won easier than they did.  They played great offensively, other than a few typical Paul Harris brain farts, and spread the scoring around, with 5 playersreaching double figures.  They move to the championship of the "CBE Classic," tomorrow night at 10 pm on ESPN2 vs. the winner of Kansas/Washington.  Good job, boys.

Friday Night Lights

"I was living in a devil town
Didn't know it was a devil town
Oh Lord, it really brings me down
About the devil town
All my friends were vampires
I didn't know they were vampires
Turns out I was a vampire myself
In the devil town
I was living in a devil town
Didn't know it was a devil town
Oh Lord, it really brings me down
About the devil town."

I was flipping around DirecTV a few weeks ago and Friday Night Lights the television series was showing.  For whatever reason -- the song that was playing or the sequence that was showing, I'm not sure, but I watched the rest of the episode.  It's the third season of the program and although I loved the movie upon which the series is based, I only watched the premiere episode three years ago and haven't seen a single episode since.  I didn't know the characters.   I didn't know any of the storylines.  And yet I watched the whole episode.   It was excellent.  I've since placed Friday Night Lights on my DVR schedule (Wednesdays, DirecTV 101 at 9 pm) and have watched three brilliant episodes since then.  I don't know how far into the season we are.  I don't know what the exact arrangement is with NBC once these episodes are over (I think DirecTV shows them here first and then NBC starts off in January with the same shows?).  And I don't know if anyone besides me and Bill Simmons are watching this program.  But I must say he was right.  This is one of the best shows on television.

Hoop Dreams

Hoop Dreams made #26 on my favorite movies of the '90s list, but I think I only watched it the one time (twice at most) since its length and somewhat depressing nature didn't exactly lend itself to repeated viewings.  But it was a great film as far as I can remember and quite moving.  I certainly hoped that the young stars of the documentary - William Gates and Arthur Agee -- were able to find success in their lives in the years after high school, when their "hoop dreams" failed them - Gates with a serious knee injury and Agee without quite enough talent to get a college scholarship.  Unfortunately, a Chicago Tribune feature on the duo some 14 years after the film was released doesn't exactly paint a rosy picture.  Gates has been more successful, serving as a minister in the Cabrini section of Chicago, where he lives with his wife and four children, the oldest of which is a teenager himself (as Gates was at the start of filming in 1989).  Agee doesn't have a steady job and is unmarried, but lives with his girlfriend in Bartlett, a northwest suburb of Chicago, and their 8-month old son.  He also has four other children with four other women, who each live with their mother.  Agee played basketball longer -- getting an offer for a CBA contract as late as 1996, but has not embarked on any kind of steady career since then.  His latest effort involves selling "Hoop Dreams" merchandise.  Two other important characters from the film -- Gates's brother Curtis and Agee's father Bo were both murdered in recent years, the former in 2001, the latter in 2004.  In trials for their murders, suspects were eventually acquitted.  It's definitely a sad ending, and a sadly realistic one, chronically the lives of great young athletes who are among the 99% unable to fulfill their dreams of professional sports contracts, many from inner-city backgrounds where pro sports seem like the only chance of escape.  In this case, neither young man has "escaped," although both -- especially Gates -- seem happy with their lives and perhaps don't see any need to escape anymore.  Hell, I never escaped New Jersey and I'm not complaining about it.  Anyway, read the articles linked above if you're interested.  Very compelling stuff.

Syracuse Season Preview

With some serious shades of 1991, the Richmond Spiders came into the Carrier Dome tonight and took a 7-point lead into halftime.  But led by an 11 point run by a resurgent Eric Devendorf and a dominating second half by sophomore Jonny Flynn, the Cuse held off the Spiders, 76-71, winning fairly easily at the end against a non-conference opponent.  While I'll take the win, I must admit the Orange looked bad for most of the first half and looked outhustled for parts of the second half until Flynn took over -- and Devo made a hugely important three from the corner with about 6 minutes to play.  Richmond was only 16-15 last season and while they played well (and were red-hot from 3 in the first half... where have we seen that before?), this is a game the Cuse should have won, and by a more comfortable margin.  Of course, we've lost in early season games to midpack A-10 schools the last couple of years, helping to keep us out of the NCAA tournament.  So I'll take the win.

And it's sad to say, but at first glance, this team doesn't look much better than our last two teams and is arguably worse.  Flynn and Devo were supported by 17 mostly first half points by Arinze Onuaku, but that was it.  They might as well have played with three guys on the court.  The rest of the team?  Disastrous.  Paul Harris scored 8 points and the rest of his teammates scored 3 points, combined.  Andy Rautins went 0 for 6 in his 2nd game back from knee surgery, Rick Jackson and Kristof Ongenaet were invisible on the court, especially on defense, and freshman Kris Joseph did little with extended 2nd half minutes.  I don't think fellow freshman Mookie Jones got on the court -- he didn't in the 2nd half, when Boeheim buried his bench in a close game and rode Devo and Flynn to victory.  That will not be enough to win in the Big East.  We're 2-0 to start the season, but there is a ton of work to do.

New Music Tuesday

Today's new releases include Belle & Sebastien's The BBC Sessions on Matador.  This double CD release is a marvelous collection of the band's performances for BBC Radio in their early years, including wonderful renditions of "The State that I Am In", "Judy and the Dream of Horses", and "Sleep the Clock Around."  The recordings are from 1996 to 2001 and include four tracks from a Christmas show in 2001 that were never subsequently released on albums and feature Isobel Campbell's last appearances with the band.  So, that's pretty damn interesting stuff for completists, even if the songs themselves don't seem particularly special.  There's also a live CD from a show in Glasgow included in the double CD available now at Matator. 

The full track listing is as follows:

01 The State I Am In (Mark Radcliffe Session; 07/96)
02 Like Dylan in the Movies (Mark Radcliffe Session; 07/96)
03 Judy and the Dream of Horses (Mark Radcliffe Session; 07/96)
04 The Stars of Track and Field (Mark Radcliffe Session; 07/96)
05 I Could Be Dreaming (Mark Radcliffe session; 12/96; abbreviated version)
06 Seymour Stein (Evening Session; 07/97)
07 Lazy Line Painter Jane (Evening Session; 07/97)
08 Sleep the Clock Around (Evening Session; 07/97)
09 Slow Graffiti (Evening Session; 07/97)
10 Wrong Love (later recorded as “The Wrong Girl”) (Evening Session; 07/97)
11 Shoot the Sexual Athlete (John Peel session; 05/01)
12 The Magic of a Kind Word (John Peel session; 05/01)
13 Nothing in the Silence (John Peel session; 05/01)
14 (My Girl’s Got) Miraculous Technique (John Peel session; 05/01)

Disc Two - Live in Belfast (12/21/01):

01 Here Comes the Sun
02 There’s Too Much Love
03 The Magic of a Kind Word
04 Me and the Major
05 Wandering Alone
06 The Model
07 I’m Waiting for the Man
08 The Boy With the Arab Strap
09 The Wrong Girl
10 Dirty Dream #2
11 The Boys Are Back in Town
12 Legal Man

• Download Belle and Sebastien - "Judy and the Dream of Horses".mp3

• Download Belle and Sebastien - "Sleep the Clock Around".mp3

• Order at Matador Records