Friday, February 20, 2004

Live Albums I'm listening to Cheap Trick's "Live At Budokan" album at work right now.  It's one of my favorite live albums, for many reasons.  For one thing, Cheap Trick is a badass live band whose repertoire was forged over years of touring small and mid-size venues before they found arena-sized fame.  And, it helps that the material is pretty strong.  But the thing that has always put Budokan high on my list is the manic energy of the late-'70s Japanese crowd, and their absolute adoration of Cheap Trick.  The scream they give the mere mention of Bun E. Carlos's name rivals anything the Beatles heard on Sullivan.  I also love the way Robin Zander speaks to the crowd in very s l o w and expressive English, as though that might help them to actually understand English.  Other great live albums?  U2's "Under A Blood Red Sky: Live At Red Rocks" is pretty hard to top.  Great video, too.  The Who's "Live At Leeds" is a powerhouse, recently improved by the re-release which includes "Tommy" performed in its entirety.  ("Budokan" has also been recently released with several new tracks.)  Joe Jackson's "Big World" is an amazing double album which was recorded live, but control-freak Jackson wanted the crowd to stay silent throughout the performance, so you can't really tell. Worst live albums?  I've heard a lot of live Stones albums, and they all sucked.  But the absolute worst I've owned had to be "Beatles: Live At The Hollywood Bowl".  I haven't heard so much screaming on tape since I saw the Paris Hilton video.  I lie.  I haven't seen the Paris Hilton video.  But you get the idea.  1:24:23 PM    Say what?[]

Nader's In Looks like Nader is going to run for the Presidency again.  That's his right, whatever his motives.  And while I disagreed with people who voted for him in 2000, I think a lot of that is fueled by hindsight.  I share a lot of sentiments with people who voted for Nader in 2000. But that ain't the same as a Nader vote in 2004.  He's not affiliated with a party, so the 5% discussion is moot.  And does anybody think there's no meaningful difference between Kerry/Edwards and Bush?  I'm gonna have a real hard time understanding why somebody would vote for Ralph Nader in 2004.  12:08:13 PM    Say what?[]

Ballooning in Africa When I was growing up, my friend Clinton's parents had a hot air balloon.  It was really cool.  I'd go on balloon trips with them and be on the chase crew, which usually meant riding around in the back of a pickup truck, drinking Coke, and watching the balloon land in some poor farmer's field.  It was a great way to spend a summer night. During the summer before our eighth grade year, Clinton took some pictures of his family's balloon as it was landing and taking off from some large, open field somewhere in Kansas.  And in this field, there were a lot of really gnarly trees and weird grasses, such that if you were to look at the pictures, you might think they were taken in Africa, and that giraffes were perhaps just outside the frame of the picture. You especially might think that if someone specifically told you they were taken in Africa.  And, for reasons I can't recall, but which probably had to do with just being asses, Clinton and I decided that it would be funny to tell the class all about his family's big ballooning trip to Africa that summer.  Or maybe Clinton decided, and I just was in on the joke.  I don't remember now. What I do remember is that Clinton spent at least one class period, and perhaps two or more, standing in front of the class and showing them these pictures, and then making up these elaborate stories about animals and natives and the exotic world of Africa (which he had never been to), and interspersing all of that with real life knowledge of ballooning.  The entire class and our teacher, Ms. Johanna Patch, was completely rapt with attention.  I just sat and watched Clinton, and we tried not to laugh when we made eye contact.  I believe we were even given assignments based on Clinton's presentations. I can't remember if Clinton divulged his ruse or not, but I don't think there's any question that they were the best, most educational Social Studies periods of the whole year.  11:15:50 AM    Say what?[]

Minnesota Stupidity Council Actually, they are called the Minnesota Family Council, but I think the name change is in order.  The MFC opposes letting gay or lesbian couples adopt children, oftentimes children who are hard to place via adoption, and prefers instead that those children go through foster homes. So, in the view of the Minnesota Family Council, these hard to place children that depend on gay and lesbian couples as a last resort to be in a family environment should have that last resort removed. 10:32:31 AM    Say what?[]

Running With The Wolves Nice win for the Wolves last night over a depleted Kings team.  Wally Szczerbiak made his return and seemed to grasp the concepts of defense and spot-up shooting.  Reading all the comments from players bending over backwards to express how welcome Wally is speaks volumes, both for how much they want Wally to accept his role and how concerned they are that he won't. Garnett rolled again with a 20/20 game against the Kings, one of at least 3 he's had against them.  Anybody who doesn't think he's the MVP is loco. But among many compelling reasons why the Wolves might see extended playoff action this year is Trent Hassell.  The Wolves now have a bona fide defensive stopper to put on scoring shooting guards or small forwards, something they haven't had since the days of Malik Sealy.  And Hassell is better than Sealy, at least on the defensive end.  At various points this season, Hassell has shut down the likes of Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and last night he held the frightening Peja Stojakovic 10 points under his average without much help from other defenders. Hassell, in combination with Garnett, gives the Wolves two highly versatile, skilled and energetic defenders capable of shutting down some of the premier offensive forces in the game.  And Latrell Sprewell is a considerable defensive presence as well, when he needs to be.  That allows the Wolves to play defense without relying so much on double-teams, and that creates fewer easy baskets for opposing teams.  And, starting tonight (in theory), they will get Michael Olowokandi back at center, which should give them additional size and shot-blocking ability on the defensive end.  This Wolves team is deep and getting deeper.  They have the best player in the world, a great coach, and they are as hungry as any team out there.  At 39-15, they are in a virtual tie for the best record in the league, and this team has the potential to get a whole lot better now that they are getting some of their missing pieces back. It's going to be a fun spring. 10:25:59 AM    Say what?[]

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