VAGUE SPACE

Happy New Year

Oh I'm still living at the old address.
And I'm waiting on the weather that I know will pass.
I know that it's true.
It's gonna be a good year.
Out of the darkness and into the fire,
I tell you I love you.
And my heart's in the strangest place,
That's how it started.
And that's how it ends.

And I know you're with me.
It's a point of pride.
And it's louder than lightning, in this room of mine.
Oh I'm just like you,
I never hear the bad news.
And I never will.
We won by a landslide,
Our troubles are over.
My sisters are married, to all of my friends.
Yeah, that's how it started.

You took your sweet time and I waited without complaint,
Til all the pipe dreams made me insane,
So it's all over, it's all over anyhow.
You took your sweet time and finally I opened my eyes.

My friends and my family, they all ask me one thing,
"How long will you ramble?  How long will you stay with me?"
Snow is still falling,
And I'm almost home,
I'll see you in the new year...

• Download The Walkmen - "In The New Year".mp3
• Download Death Cab for Cutie - "The New Year (Daytrotter Session)".mp3
• Download Casiotone For The Painfully Alone - "New Year's Kiss".mp3
• Download Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - "New Year's Kiss (Daytrotter Session)".mp3
• Download Asobi Seksu -  "New Years".mp3
• Download U2 - "New Year's Day".mp3

Most Played Artists, 2008

On my iPod/iTunes, which conveniently tracks how many times I've listened to songs and bands this year, here are the 2008 totals:

1.  Okkervil River                    1,022 plays
2.  This Will Destroy You     819
3.  Wolf Parade                         748
4.  Mogwai                                  623
5.  Sunset Rubdown                564
6.  Sigur Ros                               553

Sunset Rubdown was #1 last year, Okkervil River was #2, and Sigur Ros was #3, so not a lot has changed since 2007.  Okkervil River was 4th in 2006, giving the band three straight years in the top 4, a feat only surpassed by Bright Eyes four straight years in the top 5 from 2004 through 2007.  In fact, this is the first year since I've had an iPod that Conor Oberst's band did not appear in the top 5.

Happy Holidays

From all of us at Vague Space, have a happy and healthy holiday season.  Enjoy your presents.  Enjoy all the various nogs you may be drinking.  And enjoy temperatures above the freezing point in New Jersey for the first time this month.   Posts will be light through New Year's since I won't be working (hey, wait, shouldn't that mean I have more time to post?) but if you have absolutely nothing to do, check back because there may be a quick post or two if the mood strikes.  Probably at least a New Year's music/celebratory posting.  And thanks for reading all year long.  Readership in 2008 has increased by nearly 50% over last year, with about a week left in the year.  Thanks again.

• 2005  17,369 page views
• 2006  59,694 page views
• 2007  93,508 page views
• 2008  134,486 page views (and counting)  woo hoo! - that's almost 400 a day.  Well done readers.

2008 Album of the Year

2005:  #1. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois; #2. Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary
2006:  #1. Mogwai - Mr. Beast; #2. Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I Am Dreaming
2007:  #1. Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover;  #2. Handsome Furs - Plague Park

In the three previous years of this blog, members of Canadian band Wolf Parade have dominated my album of the year charts, gathering 4 of the top 6 slots.  Wolf Parade came out with its second album this year and it's no surprise to find it at the top of my 2008 list, continuing an absolute dominance that no artist has come close to equaling. Given that Handsome Furs, Swan Lake (a third band for Spencer Krug), and Sunset Rubdown are all coming out with new albums in the first half of 2009, it seems likely that this dominance will continue.  On the downside, if I had to rank all six of the albums previously released by WP/SR/HF/SL, Wolf Parade's 2008 release would only rank higher than Swan Lake's 2006 debut album, the only album from Spencer Krug that hasn't charted in the top 2.  But even though At Mount Zoomer didn't quite reach the heights of the collective recordings of Spencer and Dan from 2005 to 2007, it was still good enough to win my 2008 album of the year and that's impressive enough. 

1.  Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer

• Every song on the 9-track album is good (fully six of them showed up on my Top 100 songs of the year list) and many are great.  I have a detailed review of the album here.  While Spencer's songs on the album ended up being a little disappointing (at least compared to his Sunset Rubdown and previous Wolf Parade output), Dan's contributions made up for it, with the scorching "Language City," the brilliant opening burst of "Soldier's Grin," and the wonderfully understated "The Grey Estates."  The lengthy ending track that both Dan and Spencer sung on, "Kissing the Beehive," had some detractors among fans but ultimately, I loved it and it helped propel the album to the top of this chart.
  • Download Wolf Parade - "Soldier's Grin".mp3
  • Download Wolf Parade - "Language City".mp3
  • Download Wolf Parade - "An Animal in Your Care".mp3

In the Summertime

It's 12 degrees outside right now.  12 degrees.  I thought this song might cheer you up...

In the summertime,
I don't know if the stars were aligned.
We'd stumble onto something we would like
And I'm afraid I lost the words tonight

And in your summer dress, I was holding you
But you were holding less
It's not the words, it's the ones you stress
I love you as I love you just don't love me less

And once in a while,
I know our hearts beat of time.
And once in a while,
I know they'll fall back in line.

• Download The Rural Alberta Advantage - "In the Summertime".mp3

Syracuse 72, Memphis 65

Eric Devendorf was suspended for the game (and from the school).  Jonny Flynn had an injured hip and was questionable to play.  Syracuse had lost a game at home to Cleveland State on the shot heard round the world.  They were playing their 4th game in 8 days (with another scheduled for Monday).  And they were playing in Memphis at the FedEx Arena, where the home squad had lost something like 3 games in the past 3 seasons, coming off a 38-2 NCAA mark that left them seconds away from a national title.  But the Orange rolled into Tennessee, undermanned and tired, looked overwhelmed and beaten at the start, falling down by 10 points in the earlygoing, only to have the zone defense work its wonders and pull off the upset, making the Cuse 2 for 2 against NCAA finalists from last season.  That's right, as clueless commentators and Dickie V. still complain about Syracuse's "cupcake" schedule (which they haven't actually played in years), the Orange have quietly beaten Kansas, Florida, Virginia, and now Memphis this season, only one of them in New York.  At 11-1 and with Devendorf potentially back as early as the Big East opener against Seton Hall on Dec. 30th, this remains a team to be reckoned with.

Last night's game was all about Jonny Flynn, though.  According to ESPN's horrendous coverage (seriously, I can't take Vitale and Dan Schulman anymore -- they don't even discuss the events of the game during the crucial moments, let alone for the rest of the game), Flynn's hip injury (suffered at the very end of the Wednesday win against Canisius) made him a game-time decision before the contest.  But Flynn not only played, he played all 40 minutes, driving and diving all over the court to lead the team to victory.  Jonny scored 24 points and added six assists and although he had a surprising 5 turnovers, it was his play that carried the offense, including several spectacular drives to the basket against a suffocating Memphis man-to-man to score buckets when none appeared remotely evident.  I can't say enough about Jonny's effort, as he came up huge in a very difficult environment in the absence of fellow guard Devendorf.  Jonny hasn't played all that well recently (after a blistering start against Kansas and Florida), but he was back on form in Memphis and showed why he is one of the best players in college basketball this season.

My Year in Sports

2008 marked the greatest year in sports for me since 2003, solely due to the Phillies surprising run to a World Series victory.  It was a flawed team that suffered through an up-and-down season and somehow came out on top in the NL East and cruised through the playoffs to the championship.  Sure, they were helped immensely by yet another Mets collapse and by only having to face the Brewers, Dodgers, and Rays on the way to the title (not exactly a murderer's row), but flags fly forever and this was one I'll savor for a long, long time.  Well, at least until new GM Ruben Amaro's inexplicable offseason moves (Raul Ibanez?  Seriously?) drop the team below .500.  But for now, I can simply celebrate 2008 as a wonderful year for the Phillies.  And that makes up for everything else in my sports world hitting rock bottom this year.  And I do mean rock bottom.  If the Phillies didn't show up for a miracle, I wouldn't have been blamed for never following sports again after the year I've witnessed.  Here's some of the lowlights:

Seattle Mariners:  spent the offseason trading away the team's best prospects and signing mediocre pitchers to long-term deals in an attempt to "win now"; ended up with the worst record in the American League.  I mean, could a team possibly have a worse season?  Here's a USS Mariner note on Erik Bedard, traded last winter for five players (including our best position prospect since Alex Rodriguez) :  

There’s very little chance that Bedard ends up as a Type A free agent next year. It goes off of your last two years, and Bedard’s 2008 was just not that impressive.

He’d have to be a monster in ‘09 to be a Type A free agent. He just barely made the cut as a Type A this year, and that includes his ‘07 season. For us to expect two draft picks, we’d have to conclude that he’s likely to pitch 180-200 innings with a 3.00ish ERA. That’s a bad bet for anyone, much less Bedard.

Bedard’s just not that valuable anymore. The picks are unlikely, re-signing him is unlikely, and his trade value is pretty significantly diminished.

Best case scenario, he pitches well for three months and we flip him in July for a couple of B- prospects. Worst case scenario, he struggles/gets hurt again, and his career as a Mariner ends.

Good times.

White Winter Hymnal

The Pitchfork readers choice song of the year.  The Stereogum album of the year.  The Vague Space 6th best song of the year.  And the song most appropriate for the past two days in New Jersey, which began with temperatures in the 70s on Monday that plummeted overnight and brought rain, then sleet, then driving snow this afternoon which covered the cars and roads and brought winter in unexpected force and had me wishing summer would just return for one more day again.

I was following the pack
All swallowed in their coats
With scarves of red tied round their throats
To keep their little heads
From falling in the snow
And I turned round and there you go
And Michael you would fall,
And turn the white snow
Red as strawberries
In the summertime...

• Download Fleet Foxes - "White Winter Hymnal".mp3

Record of the Year 2008

This year turned out to be a rather interesting year in music.  Lots of anticipation early for new albums by The Mountain Goats, Destroyer, Xiu Xiu, Stephen Malkmus, The Magnetic Fields, My Morning Jacket, and of course, Wolf Parade, many of which disappointed.  Unexpected releases by Sigur Ros, Mogwai, Okkervil River, and Conor Oberst that didn't quite live up to previous albums, but some of them grew on me.  Big blog and indie rock hype for bands I just couldn't get into for the most part (Vampire Weekend, MGMT, Bon Iver, Vampire Weekend, No Age, Cut Copy, Vampire Weekend -- did I ever mention how much I don't like Vampire Weekend?).  But despite those trends, this year in music, at least to my ears, was dominated by new bands I'd never heard before, many with debut full-lengths that blew me away.  This Will Destroy You.  Fleet Foxes.  Los Campesinos!  Wye Oak.  The Dodos.  Late entrant The Rural Alberta Advantage.  And the band responsible for my #1 favorite song of the year, Canada's Plants and Animals.  In fact, my top 3 favorite songs of the year were from debut full-length albums.  That's pretty damn impressive.  The future of music looks as strong as ever.

1.  "Bye Bye Bye"  Plants and Animals  (3:38, 123 plays)
2.  "Threads"  This Will Destroy You  (5:42, 133 plays)
3.  "Four Night Rider"  The Rural Alberta Advantage  (1:55, 68 plays)

• Download Plants and Animals-"Bye Bye Bye".mp3
• Download This Will Destroy You - "Threads".mp3
• Download The Rural Alberta Advantage - "Four Night Rider".mp3

The battle for first went right down to the wire.  "Bye Bye Bye" was the clear favorite for most of the year, but I couldn't stop listening to This Will Destroy You's self-titled debut full-length up through this fall, and its best track, "Threads", threatened to overtake the majestic splendor of Plants and Animals' "pop" gem.  Then, out of nowhere, in late November I heard the self-released album by the RAA and fell instantly in love with "Four Night Rider."  In the end, the Plants and Animals track held on, but it's just as likely that one of the other two will be remembered more fondly a year from now.  For what it's worth, "Threads" had the most plays of the year of any song on my iPod/iTunes.

Baseball Writers

One of my biggest time-wasters in the early days of the Internet was getting into heated discussions on message boards and other places about the evaluation of baseball players.  Back then -- this was probably a decade ago -- I would write pages and pages about Derek Jeter being a horrible defensive SS only to have his defenders say the opposite, typically using anecdotal evidence to prove his excellence.  I also remember huge arguments about the travesty of Sammy Sosa winning the MVP over Mark McGwire in 1998, or Roger Clemens's undeserved Cy Young in 2001, or how Edgar Martinez (and Albert Belle) got jobbed in the 1995 AL MVP race.  Of course, now everyone (even Mike Francesca!) realizes that Jeter has no range and that On Base Percentage and Slugging are much better indicators of offensive value than AVG and RBI, just as ERA is a much better indicator of pitching performance than Wins (of course, since then, I've learned that ERA is not a great indicator of performance by itself, at least compared to more advanced metrics, so I'd have to check to see if Clemens' Cy Young was as ill-deserved as I remember -- he had a 3.51 ERA to Freddy Garcia's 3.05 in less innings yet won the award going away).  But my point is, I've stopped getting into useless message board arguments with strangers who will never see my point of view and aren't looking at the facts the way I am anyway.  I may continue to get into pointless email debates about equally meaningless topics, but believe me, I wish they would stop.  Yet I do remember fondly delving into statistics and reading other people's research and doing all the things that the Internet gave a baseball fan to allow him or her to become a much better fan.  I don't have the time or energy to do any of that anymore, obviously, but my knowledge of the game and appreciation for players underrated by traditional statistics or media hype (Mike Cameron, for example) increased appreciably over the past 15 years, which has been a wonderful thing indeed.  I wish the mainstream media or the general baseball viewing public wasn't still a decade behind the cutting edge sabermetricians who have studied the game so carefully, but at least they're not two decades behind anymore.  And we'll take progress where we can get it.