VAGUE SPACE

One Down, Three to Go

Never a doubt in this game, from the way Cliff Lee was pitching, yet again in this postseason.  CC Sabathia tried to keep up, escaping a dicey first thanks to a horrendous swing by Raul Ibanez on an outside 3-1 pitch, but he ran into the Chase Utley chainsaw, which provided all the runs Lee would need on the night.  A solid effort by the "vaunted" Yankees pen put the game out of reach, and only a throwing error in the 9th that allowed an unearned run to ruin the shutout.   A great effort throughout, and we certainly needed the win, with the less heralded Pedro going tomorrow, but yeah, I was pretty confident we were going to win game 1 and nothing on the night deterred that thought.  Well done, Phillies.  The only surprise to me during the game was the early comment by McCarver on a shot by Jimmy Rollins that stayed in the park that the ball wasn't carrying in Yankee Stadium in the postseason.  I hadn't actually seen any of the Yankees postseason (it's taking way too much of my time just watching all these Phillies wins), so I was a little surprised about that.  So maybe tomorrow won't be the high-scoring affair that it looks like on paper -- I think Burnett's control problems are really going to show against such a patient lineup as the Phils (unlike the free-swinging Angels and Twins), but we'll see.  I'm not expecting a win tomorrow as much as I expected one today, but I'd sure as hell take it.  Pedro shocked me once this postseason, so let's see if he can do it again.  And let's put up a bunch of runs on Burnett and that non-Rivera Yankee bullpen so that we don't need to worry about who's going to close for us for a second straight win.  Well done.

Oh, and to all the Yankee fans expecting me to make fun of them, just be happy that most of you -- with a few exceptions -- have been very un-Yankee-like and cordial to me coming into the series, so I'll lay off for now.  Of course, I did have three different people send me "Fuck You" e-mails and texts between 11 pm and 11:30, so that was fun.  Go Phillies!

Phillies - Yankees World Series: A Fight to the Death

The long slide into irrelevance for the Philadelphia Phillies between 1995 and 2005 coincided with some historically great teams for the Seattle Mariners, who had been my favorite American League squad since the early '90s.  As a result, I ended up following the Mariners as much or even more than the Phillies, especially during the 2000 and 2001 playoff seasons for the M's, the great post-Griffey, post-ARod, post-Randy Johnson teams that stunned the world by winning the most games in one season in baseball history (116) in 2001.  Edgar Martinez had become my favorite player of all-time (surpassing Michael Jack Schmidt), while Ichiro! debuted as a superstar, Bret Boone slugged his way to 2nd baseman records (with a little help from pharmaceuticals), and Mike Cameron caught every fly ball in Safeco Field.  Things were great.  Until the playoffs.  In both 2000 and 2001, the Mariners ran into the Evil Empire Yankee juggernaut and lost unceremoniously in the ALCS, one step from the World Series each time.  Then, despite 93-69 records in 2002 and 2003, the Mariners missed the playoffs both years, GM Pat Gillick moved on to greener pastures (the Phillies!) and the worst general manager in the history of pro sports (Bill Bavasi) led the team to last place finishes in four of his five years in charge.  The Mariners have not been in the playoffs since losing to the Yankees.  And I'm still pissed.

New Music Tuesday

Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs teamed up with a bunch of, apparently, children to do the soundtrack to Where the Wild Things Are, and while these songs are ostensibly for children, I have to admit that I'm kind of digging the album.  There are really some great songs on here.  Of course, any movie that uses Arcade Fire's "Wake Up" in its trailer -- and then gets the trailer played on pretty much every show in the country for the last month, spreading Arcade Fire's wonderful music further than it's ever been spread -- is pretty awesome in my book, whether the book is for children or not.

• Download Karen O and the Kids - "Building All is Love".mp3

• Download The Arcade Fire - "Wake Up (live)".mp3

• Download Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix)".mp3

The Nightman Cometh

I went to a Halloween party this weekend dressed as Nightman, which was basically me in a black shirt and pants with some eye makeup... you know a normal day out.  Aaron dressed as the Troll, while Chris, in an inspired, if very brief appearance, dressed as the Dayman, full codpiece and all.  Chris only lasted about five minutes in the costume, experiencing too much pain in the groinal area to continue.  But anyone looking for a last-minute Halloween costume idea, believe me, we were the talk of the party, if only because everyone who never saw "The Nightman Cometh" episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (one of their best episodes ever) had no idea what we were supposed to be.   What I didn't realize is that the crew of the show took the "play" that they performed on a national tour this summer, performing the absolutely brilliant songs from the episode live in front of confused and delirious audiences.  You really have to regularly watch the show, which has been absolutely on top of its game this season -- some of its best episodes ever, and that's saying a lot -- to understand the warped humor and wonder of a character who creates a play largely about a boy getting raped, in order to woo a girl who can't stand him and hasn't for years.  Any show that ends with Danny DeVito, dressed as a Troll, saying "I think the rape scene went really well" is just warped enough to be a classic.  Of course, any song that includes the lines: "You're a master of karate, and friendship, for everyone!" is just destined to be a hit. 

If you don't watch the show, tune in Thursdays at 10 pm on FX.  Really,  seriously, it's the absolute funniest thing on television right now.  Last week, the Green Man (another brilliant Charlie Kelly character) fought the Phillie Phanatic as the gang tried to attend Game 5 of last year's World Series.  In previous weeks, Charlie admitted to a date that he's a "full-on rapist" (he meant to say philanthropist), they attempted a road trip and never made it out of Philly, and of course, they ruined the Waitress's life, again.  And they show repeats at 10:30, so if you happen to see "The Nightman Cometh" coming up, make sure you set your DVR.  It really doesn't get any better than this.

Phillies Return to World Series

After tonight's destruction of the last glimmer of hope for the Dodgers, the Philadelphia Phillies are only 4 wins away from a second straight World Championship, one step closer from becoming the first NL team with back-to-back titles since the Big Red Machine of the '70s.  Jayson Werth led the attack with 2 home runs, including a first-inning 3-run bomb that erased a 1-0 deficit, and from there they didn't look back, cruising through the middle innings with home runs from Pedro Feliz and Shane Victorino and getting solid relief work from Chad Durbin and Chan Ho Park in the aftermath of another disappointing Cole Hamels start.  But the best part of the night -- in between all the screaming and curtain calls and celebrations -- was the fans chanting "Yankees suck" in the 7th inning with a 9-3 lead.  Oh yeah.  It's on.  Bring it bitches.  This will be the battle of all battles and I may have to stop speaking to the 8 out of 10 of my friends who are Yankees fans for the next week.  Of course, then I'd be left with just Jan and people who don't follow sports, so it's a tradeoff, I guess.  It should be exciting.

Peace

President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize  a couple Fridays ago, an amazing accomplishment for a president in his first year of office, and it reflects the interests of voters ecstatic about the end of the Bush/Cheney years of worldwide destruction and imbues with it a sense of responsibility that Obama should take seriously, a responsibility to make the world a more peaceful place, on his watch, now that he is in charge.  Because, sadly, we are still in the same exact wars that the Bush/Cheney machine brought us into, for the foreseeable future, with Obama considering General McChrystal's request to up the ante in Afghanistan with another 40,000 young men being sent off for the service of something -- what that is remains unclear -- and perhaps give their lives, for us, or for the military industrial complex that continues to be fed by nearly every president of this country since World War II.  Is Obama listening to the Peace Prize advocates in Norway?  Or to the general of his armed forces, who -- brilliant as might be -- would never, ever advocate for less troops, or less money.  No general ever has, in the history of war.  And when the history of war is over and Afghanistan has passed Vietnam as the longest American conflict ever (which it will soon), will Obama be a deserving recipient of the Peace Prize?  Or will he be closer to Kissinger and Arafat, two other world leaders prodded by the Nobel Peace committee but ultimately failing in their roles as potential peacemakers in the world.

I haven't written much about politics since the election of Obama nearly one year ago.  I've watched with some sense of glee as the right wing has devolved into a lunatic fringe of birthers, tea baggers, and secessionists, most of them out of unadulterated racism, the rest out of fear, and I've seen Obama work with Congress to stabilize the economy and put us on the road to recovery, which isn't yet realized, but which seems the likely result.  But beyond that, beyond some wonderful speeches and an unwillingness to be baited by cheap Republican propaganda, there's been a dearth of accomplishments so far in this administration.  And that's been rather shocking to me.  And it's becoming more and more disappointing.

Are You Kidding Me?!!!

Jimmy Rollins hits a 2-out, 2-strike, 2-run double off Jonathan Broxton's 100 mph fastball in the bottom of the 9th, and the Phillies win.  The Phillies win!!!  5-4.  Just a brilliant turnaround from a game that was all but lost and thrown away, our bats silenced by former Phillie Randy Wolf and our starting pitcher Joe Blanton not quite able to keep up.  But Jimmy -- J Roll! -- who led off the game with a single and scored on a Ryan Howard HR that gave us an early 2-0 lead, came back in the 9th with the game on the line and did what he hadn't seemed to do the whole fucking year -- he got it done!  Walk-off smash double to knock in pinch runner Eric Bruntlett (on base after a Matt Stairs walk) and catcher Carlos Ruiz (on base with a HBP) all the way from first, as the ball rocketed all the way to the fence and the Dodgers outfielders were helpless to try to stop it.  Holy shit.  Two innings ago I was falling asleep from a complete lack of sleep this past weekend and the previous week and that may be the story of my life of late but I'm wide awake right now and the Phillies won.  The Phillies won.  Let's clinch this bitch on Wednesday and bring on those fucking Yankees (or Angels) in the World Series!

Sunset Rubdown Live at the Sonar

It's been an interesting and travel-laden week for me, and I won't bore you with all the details, but since Wednesday, I've driven to Baltimore, flown to Kansas City through Detroit and then back to Baltimore through Chicago, arriving from beautiful weather in the midwest to miserable, near-winter wet weather conditions on the east coast, all to see Sunset Rubdown live.  Well, not entirely, but due to a work conference that I couldn't miss (but did cut out early from, and got in trouble for), I missed SR in Manhattan Friday night, so I re-arranged my schedule to leave and return from Baltimore (a 5-hour round trip drive from my house) in order to catch the band's appearance at the Sonar on Saturday.  Was it worth it?  Absolutely.

As usual, the band was stunningly great.  This was their first time at the venue (and presumably in Baltimore, although that was less clear) and while the crowd of mostly young fans didn't know all their music as well as someone like me, they were very energetic, receptive, and into the show that Sunset Rubdown put on.  And it was a wonderful show.  I saw them in Philly earlier this summer playing a very similar set, and while I wish they would have varied their tracks a little more from the first leg of their tour, I really can't complain about any of the song choices, and some were surprisingly brilliant.  The big opener, which they apparently played in Manhattan the night before, was a combined version of "Empty Threats of Little Lord" melding into "Idiot Heart," which is just a great way to start a show.  By the time Spencer belted out "so move around" in the second song, I'd already belted down several Magic Hat #9s (great selection of beers at the Sonar, by the way), and after traveling since noon to see a show that didn't start until 10:30, that was the kind of release I needed, and along with the rest of the crowd, it was time to "move around" and celebrate Spencer's brand of brilliance. 

Spencer's Gifts

I'm going away this week for work, a long-scheduled training event that bleeds into the weekend in the heart of the country and the middle of nowhere, forcing me to miss Sunset Rubdown in Manhattan as part of the second (and final, presumably) leg of the Dragonslayer tour.  I saw them play a spectacular show in Philly during the summer and eagerly awaited their return, but alas, I cannot attend.  Yet instead of giving up, I've decided to fly to and from Baltimore (a 2 1/2 hour drive from my house) so I can get back just in time for their concert at the Sonar on Saturday in downtown Baltimore.  It's sort of a ridiculous thing to do, particularly when I've been so busy lately, to take a 5-hour round trip detour for a flight to Kansas City, just to see my favorite band play.  But I can't imagine them being on tour again any time soon, and that's their only Northeast date left, so... yeah, I'm there.  And I know it will be great.  Dragonslayer doesn't have any real competition for Vague Space album of the year in 2009, so Sunset Rubdown will have won the award 2 of the last 3 years, with Spencer Krug's "other" band, Wolf Parade, taking down the title in 2008.  So yeah, three years in a row of Spencer's gifts.  It doesn't stop there, though, since 2nd place this year is very likely to be Swan Lake's Enemy Mine, and that of course is Spencer's third band.   Throw in second places in 2005 and 2006 for Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown, respectively, and Spencer's bands have been in the top 2 for 5 years running, occupying fully 6 of the 10 slots available for best or second-best albums of the year.  And that's not even counting Spencer's Wolf Parade bandmate Dan Boeckner's "other" band, Handsome Furs, which had a second place album in 2007.  I've never in my life had a single musician (or a single musician and his bandmates) dominate my musical landscape in this way.  Not for five years running.  It's quite shocking, and amazing, and when I release my top 50 albums of the decade chart later this year (if I ever get some time to assemble it), Spencer will be all over the list.  But to tide you over, here's my list of my favorite songs written by Spencer, updated from the last time I tried this, a few genius Spencer albums ago.

1.  I'll Believe in Anything - Wolf Parade

• Apologies to the Queen Mary, 2005

2.  The Mending of the Gown - Sunset Rubdown

• Random Spirit Lover, 2007

• Download Sunset Rubdown - "The Mending of the Gown".mp3

3.  Up On Your Leopard, Upon the End of Your Feral Days - Sunset Rubdown

• Random Spirit Lover, 2007

4.  Us Ones in Between - Sunset Rubdown

• Shut Up I Am Dreaming, 2006

5.  Silver Moons - Sunset Rubdown

• Dragonslayer, 2009

6.  Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts - Wolf Parade

• Apologies to the Queen Mary, 2005

Miracle Win Puts Phils in NLCS

Cliff Lee pitched a gem, another absolute gem.  But so did Colorado starter Ubaldo Jimenez, who held the Phillies to two solo home runs through 7 innings.  We had our chances -- failing twice with the bases loaded and 1 out (take a fucking pitch this century, Feliz!) -- but the lead was a slim 2-1 when Lee went out to pitch the bottom of the eighth, his pitch count well over 100 and Ryan Madson warming up in the bullpen.  Lee gave up a baserunner and then got Helton to ground weakly to Utley with 1 out.  A double play would have ended the inning.  A single out would have been nice.  But Utley, bothered by runner Dexter Fowler literally leaping over him to avoid running into him, made an awkward backhand toss to Jimmy Rollins at short that Jimmy couldn't field.  Fowler was safe.  Helton was safe.  And Cliff Lee was out of the game.  A really, really bad play by Utley -- you take the out at first there -- but it was a bang-bang incident and these things happen, I guess.  But it nearly cost us the game.  Troy Tulowitski was up (and if I hear one more of those "Tulo" chants by the Coors Field faithful, I may smash my television), so Charlie went to the righthander Madson, who promptly gave up a fading shot to left that defensive replacement Ben Francisco made a miraculous diving catch on.  When Tulowitski (I refuse to call him Tulo, that fucking tool) hit the ball, my immediate thought was "Oh shit, no way Ibanez catches that" but then the camera showed an African-American man tracking down the ball, and I was like "oh shit, it's Francisco!" and he made the amazing (and for one brief moment) game-saving catch.  Charlie had made a double switch when he brought in Madson that can only be described as brilliant, which has to be the first time in history anyone anywhere has called our manager brilliant.  But I digress.  2 outs, 2 on.  Bottom of the 8th and we're still clinging to a 1-run lead.