D's Notebook

Month: September 2014 (Page 2 of 3)

Reporter’s Notebook

September 16, 2014 /

Mannnn do I have a fun story to share. I just hope I can do it justice.

To set things up, I’m two-thirds of the way through a three-week run with our 3A school, IC, who is currently 4-0 and ranked #7 in the state. Two weeks ago I had them against last year’s runners-up from class A, and IC manhandled them by 30 points. Last week, against an 0-3 team, IC won by nearly 50. And this week they’re against a pretty bad 0-4 team.

So that’s been fun to watch and I think my stories have been solid.

Two weeks ago, it was in the mid-90s at kickoff. Five of us were packed into a tight press box and it was downright nasty. Fortunately we were wearing shorts and t-shirts and had a fan. The kids on the field had it rough. There were players puking all over the place. One puked just as the ref was placing the ball for a point after. As he ran off the field, the players from both teams tried to slide over to the left hashmark. The ref shook his head and brought them back to the center of the field. That was fun, I bet.

And then last week it was dreary and in the low 60s at kickoff. People were wearing coats and it was kind of chilly in the press box. Midwestern weather, man.

The best part about last week, though, was the radio crew that was there. I have no idea why, but this 0-4 vs 4-0 game was the Game of the Week on a nearby county station that carries a high school game each Friday night. It was especially odd because neither school was in the same county as the radio station.

Unlike the student broadcasters I listened to early this year, these guys were pros. They were cheesy, over-excited, and worked in cliches the way the great masters worked in oils. But they had been doing this awhile and were very smooth.

What attracted my attention was their great attention to detail. Not necessarily the details of the game, but the details of their broadcasting requirements. You see, pretty much every aspect of the game was sponsored by one local business or another. So there were sponsors for each first down, each sack, each kickoff, each big hit, and so on. What was really impressive was these sponsors changed from quarter to quarter, and the guys never flinched. They might misidentify a player, or get confused about whether the kick returner was crossing the 25 or 35, but they always had their sponsorship down.

I’d like to offer some examples that I scribbled down in between tracking my stats. I wish my text renderings of these could do justice to the quality of Randall and Jerry’s work. Imagine these being said with great enthusiasm.

“Johnson carries it to the 37 which makes that another Bob Wilson Ford first down!”

“And Lacy is pulled down by Mann in the backfield for a Furniture King Mattress and Home Decor sack!”

“Dylan picks it off for a Davis Country Diner interception!”

“Wow! What a big hit! That one was so big that the guys up here in the press box all let out a collective ‘Whoo!’ I think that qualifies as a Freiburg Food’s hit, don’t you Jerry?”
“I sure do, Randall. And they got him behind the line of scrimmage, so it’s also a Brother’s Body Shop sack!”

“We’re about to start the second quarter, which is brought to you by Springhill Christian Center and Bookstore.”

These guys were on it. Sure, they oversold a few plays, but their gusto was enjoyable to listen to. I would imagine their audience was rather small, so you might as well go big.

My other reporting news is that I worked on some basketball previews for a magazine that gets distributed around the state. I wrote about the boys and girls sectionals that most of the schools I cover are in, and then the same for the sectional that I live in.

It’s kind of a weird process. Coaches are supposed to turn in a one-sheet survey by early summer and then these get divvied out to writers around the state. We take all that info, funnel it into 3-4 paragraphs per team, then write a little intro for each sectional. It’s not terribly difficult, which the pay certainly reflects. It was cool to write a few words about a couple kids that will be playing D1 ball down the road, including one kid who is a top 20 player in his class and has offers from pretty much every school in the country.

I had to track down a few coaches who had not turned their info in. I took a little pride in that one of the coaches of a school I regularly cover apparently never turns his info in. I left him a message and he quickly called me back and was very friendly. And then he called me back the next day with an update on a player he forgot to mention. So I felt like I was showing the editors I worked for a little something extra since I was able to gather that school’s info just a few minutes after they told me that was one of the toughest coaches in the state to pin down and be prepared to write based on last year’s roster and stats I could find online.

Sports Whiplash

September 16, 2014 /

I have a whole mess of sports thoughts piled up, so let’s kick it off by running through probably the craziest 10-15 minutes of sports I’ve lived through in awhile.

Last night I had to multitask for my sports. I had the Colts-Eagles game on TV. And because the Royals were playing the White Sox, which are blacked out in Indy, I had MLB Gameday on my laptop with the game also on my phone so I could punch up the audio any time the game got interesting.

Most of the night I focused on the football game, which went well early. A couple times the Royals threatened to score, so I’d mute the TV and force myself to listen to Steve Physioc, who always seemed to be on the radio last night, call another disappointing inning for the Royals.

Right around 11:10 Eastern the Royals cut it to 3-2 and had a runner on third in the eighth inning. Billy Butler proceeded to hack at the first pitch he saw and ground out to end the inning. I had already been sending emails back-and-forth with Brother in Royalsdom Dave V., and Butler’s at bat prompted a new email from me that said only “One flippin’ pitch?” There was much angst at that time.

But as that was happening, the Colts, who led by seven points in the fourth quarter, were driving for what looked to be a game-clinching field goal. They were getting chunks of yards on the ground and Andrew Luck was finding receivers on third down to move the chains. Until he threw a ball that went right to a defender for an interception. The replay showed that the ball went straight to a defender because T.Y. Hilton, the intended receiver, had been pulled down while the ball was in the air. The Eagles marched right down the field and tied the game.

The Royals got through the top of the ninth and came up for their last at bat to salvage the game, and perhaps their season. Meanwhile the Colts couldn’t go anywhere and punted the ball back to Philly with a little over 3:00 to play.

Omar Infante grounded out and then Mike Moustakas doubled. The Eagles methodically marched down the field. Alcides Escobar grounded out. The Eagles kept moving and the clock kept ticking. Jarrod Dyson stole second and came home to tie the game on a wild pitch. Nori Aoki doubled. The Eagles got into field goal position. Then Lorenzo Cain singled on the infield, bringing in pinch runner Terrance Gore who was running on the play and came all the way from second to win the game. Seconds later the Eagles kicked a field goal as time expired to complete their 14-point comeback and send the Colts to 0-2 on the year.

Man, talk about emotional whiplash. The Royals season seemed to be slipping away while the Colts were getting a solid win over one of the best teams in the NFC. Fifteen minutes later the Royals had the most improbable of wins – seriously, two runners score from second on a wild pitch and infield single??? – while a bad throw coupled with a missed call open the door for the Eagles to steal the game away from the Colts.

I was angry and content, then thrilled and disappointed. But I think I got the best result. The Royals’ win, coupled with Seattle’s loss, put them two games up for the final wild card spot. The Royals haven’t been to the playoffs since 1985. Even if it is just for a one-game playoff against Jon Lester in Oakland, I want them to make the postseason. The Colts, on the other hand, are suddenly in a season of limbo. I thought they would be a much better second half team, but with Robert Mathis now out for the year and no one else on the defense able to get to the quarterback, I’m doubting that will be the case. It feels like a 8-8 year, but I’m starting to hope that they lose some other key players – just not Andrew Luck! – and turn this into a flukey 2-14 year that gets them another high pick where they can either grab another impact weapon for Luck, or a stud pass rusher to work with Mathis when he is back next year.

⦿ Friday Links

September 12, 2014 /

Not as many things to share this week.

Who do you think the greatest American athlete of the current age is? LeBron? Peyton? Tiger, before his fall? Ian Crouch argues it’s the perpetually underrated and unfairly maligned Serena Williams. I’m not sure I agree, but I’ve always liked Serena and I think she’s in the conversation.

For fifteen years, over two generations of tennis, Williams has been a spectacular and constant yet oddly uncherished national treasure. She is wealthy and famous, but it seems that she should be more famous, the most famous. Anyone who likes sports should love Williams’s dazzling combination of talent, persistence, style, unpredictability, poise, and outsized, heart-on-her-sleeve flaws.

Serena Williams Is America’s Greatest Athlete

I hope I haven’t shared this one already, because it’s been sitting in my Instapaper queue for quite awhile. But if you’re looking for some good music that you may have missed in the first decade of the century, this is a fine list to start with. I’m particularly fond of the Doves album. And although I prefer their later *Putting The Days To Bed”, the Long Winters disk is fine, too.

20 Criminally Overlooked Post-2000 College Rock Albums

Finally, journalism at its finest. Trying to figure out who exactly has the world’s biggest ball of twine. Clark Griswold would approve.

Twisted: The Battle to Be the World’s Largest Ball of Twine

Friday Vid(s)

September 12, 2014 /

http://youtu.be/gZi-dw03fE8

“Alex Chilton” – The Replacements
Nearly 30 years after being banned from NBC for their notorious drunken performance on Saturday Night Live, The Replacements returned this week and performed on The Tonight Show. Sure, it’s only two of the original members. And they’re clean and sober and that sense of danger that was key to their early performances is gone. But it’s still a great song.

And, in case you don’t know who Paul Westerberg is singing about, one of the finest power pop songs ever, written and sung by the late Alex Chilton.

“September Gurls” – Big Star

Passing On The Geezers

September 11, 2014 /

As you may have heard, U2 performed following Apple’s iPhone and Watch event on Tuesday. Along with their performance, their new album Songs Of Innocence hit the iTunes Music Store for free until October. I was immediately faced with a dilemma: do I listen to the album, since there’s no cost to me for doing so, or do I ignore it, since nothing U2 has done in roughly a decade has sounded good to me?

Well, this article by Steven Hyden helped. A little.

A Sort of iCloud: 11 Takeaways From U2’s New, Free, Apple-Foisted Album, ‘Songs of Innocence’

In general, he says the album isn’t vital, the Edge is mostly non-existent on it, and it’s full of Bono being full of shit. I found it interesting that Hyden liked the album more than All That You Can’t Leave Behind, which I think is U2’s last really good album, but less than How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, which I thought sucked.

When the band released their single “Invisible” free after the Super Bowl, I downloaded it, listened to about 2/3 of it, and then deleted it. I have a feeling if I downloaded the album, the same thing would happen.

As I did some house cleaning yesterday, I thought about my history with U2. How could I like a band so much for so long and now want nothing to do with their music?

The biggest factor is how U2 has changed over the years. They’ve gotten bigger in every way. Their songs, which were always meant to fill arenas to the very back row, are now designed to seemingly shake the earth to its core. What was once grand became bombast. Their videos are all kind of the same, or at least the ones I’ve watched. Bono over-emoting as he sings. The rest of the band over-playing. All layered over some crazy graphics. Then there’s the Bono being full of shit angle. I think most people admire the really good things he’s done to raise awareness and money for a long list of causes. There’s no doubt that he’s made the world a better place through his work. But, man, every time he talks, I want to hit mute or turn the channel. I can’t help but think of the time Alec Baldwin played him on SNL. “Am I buggin’ ya? I don’t mean ta bug ya.”

As for their music changing, what they’ve gone through isn’t any different than what the Rolling Stones or Aerosmith have gone through, or what Pearl Jam, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, or the Foo Fighters are beginning to go through. Their members are pulled in different directions, success and money have made them comfortable, and they no longer have to make music but can do so by choice on their own schedules. The results are bands that may be technically and musically better than ever, but without the passion and energy of their youth. Basically they become living greatest hits performers, making sure their new music fits the general vibe of their careers enough so they can move a few albums but then sell out arenas and amphitheaters when they tour. If it’s a band you like, you accept it. If you’re lukewarm at best, it becomes self-parody and easy to mock.

A lot of it is me, though. I think the moments when I began to not dig U2 came right when most of us have to make choices of how we consume music. As we build careers and start families, it takes more effort to keep up with new music. Some people still find the time to do so. I’ve been lucky that my life choices have allowed me to keep listening to the music of a 25-year-old, as I like to put it. But my personality and love of music makes me think I would have done that anyway. Where a lot of my friends, and I mean no disrespect by this, were comfortable listening to the same old CDs they’d been playing for years and keeping up with new music based on whatever songs they heard on their drives to-and-from work, I jumped onto the iTunes/music blog/streaming train and never looked back. I still listened to bands that owed a debt to what U2 did in the 80s and 90s. But they were taking those influences and pushing them in new directions.

So we have a band that was vital to my teens and 20s getting older and moving to a safer, more predictable place while I balanced my aging with looking to younger musicians to fill my playlists. It’s not just U2. When Pearl Jam puts a new album out, I’ll listen to it for a week or two and then it gets shuffled back into the library, rarely pulled out. I still listen to individual Pearl Jam songs quite a bit, and their channel is one of my SiriusXM favorites. But I prefer the music they made in their first 15 years as a band to the newer stuff.

There are nearly 900 words setting up my decision: I won’t be listening to the new U2 album. I’ll spend my time this week listening to the new albums from Ryan Adams, Interpol, Tennis, and the Delta Spirit along with my Rdio playlist of favorite albums of the year. U2 was a great band, and essential to the development of my adult musical tastes. But if I’m going to listen to them today, it will be The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby, not Songs Of Innocence.

Late note: Rolling Stone gives the album five stars. Because that’s what Rolling Stone does once you’ve been around a couple decades. Steven Hyden’s one-word Twitter response: “No.”

Q2 (ish) Albums

September 10, 2014 /

We started off strong with a few fantastic albums in the first 3 1/2 months of the year. Things slowed a bit, with some fine but not great albums, as we moved into summer. So let’s run through some of my favorite albums since April.

Teeth Dreams – The Hold Steady
Beauty & Ruin – Bob Mould
They Want My Soul – Spoon
Brill Busters – The New Pornographers
Each of these albums are exactly what you want from each band. The Hold Steady gives you solid, literate bar rock. Mould again shares the majestic brand of post-punk pop that he’s been cranking out since the early 90s. Spoon offers up a terrific blend of intelligent, indie rock over dancey grooves. And The New Pornographers hit their mark with more epic power pop.

Of these albums, only Spoon’s can challenge for the finest of their career. But in each case, they are well-crafted, “crank it up and enjoy the rock” affairs.

Essential songs:
“Spinners” – The Hold Steady
“I Don’t Know You Anymore” – Bob Mould
“Rent I Pay” – Spoon
“Brill Busters” – The New Pornographers

HEAL – Strand of Oaks
An absolute emotional monster of an album. Moments of it are about Indiana native Timothy Showalter’s childhood and the moments when he first discovered music. Others are about lost musical heroes. But the album has its biggest impact in the songs where Showalter lays out the failings in his marriage in great detail. He tells both of his indiscretions and lays out his wife’s infidelities as well. Most of this is done over music that has a strong 1980s vibe. It’s not quite the nostalgia-overload of last year’s brilliant Okkervil River album The Silver Gymnasium. But it’s in the ballpark.
Essential song: “Goshen ’97”

The Voyager – Jenny Lewis
Lewis released this album to enormous praise and press. On my first listen, it didn’t connect with me and I kind of forgot about it. A few weeks later I gave it another shot and fell in love with it. Or at least the first five tracks, which are each stellar and together irresistible. It’s also nice to see a woman doing what men have done for decades: write an album about growing older and the many emotional dilemmas that presents. Of course, men usually do it in their 40s. Lewis, who is still in her 30s, sings of approaching 40 and still being single and childless and the mistakes she’s made along the way that have left her that way. It’s honest, open, and touching.

You can’t write about Lewis without mentioning the Fleetwood Mac, California in the 70s vibe that seems to penetrate most of her music. All of that is very present here, but it sounds fresh and gorgeous rather than recycled and derivative.
Essential song: “Head Underwater”

Bonus Albums
As I mentioned on last week’s Friday Vid post, I’ve been digging Ryan Adams lately. His 1984 7” collection is fantastic. And this week he released his self-titled full-length album, which fits nicely into the vibe I’ve been digging for awhile. It feels very late 70s, early 80s Springsteen/Petty/Knopfler-ish. Not music I was necessarily listening to back then. But that sound hits me in all the right places now.
Essential songs: “Wolves,” “Gimme Something Good”

R’s: Down The Stretch They Come

September 9, 2014 /

Sadly I didn’t get to this before Monday afternoon’s disaster in Comerica Park in Detroit. But still, the Royals are one game into their biggest regular season series since that epic series with the (then) California Angels in September 1985. The big differences are that Angels series was in KC and during the final week of the season. When the Royals caught the Angels that week, they needed just two more wins to clinch the division.

This time, the R’s are in Detroit and there’s still plenty of baseball no matter what happens in these three games. Importantly, the teams play one more series back in KC to (potentially) balance whatever happens this week.

Still, there was a buzz in the air Monday anticipating the late afternoon start.1 Sure, it was going to be tough to beat Verlander, Scherzer, and Porcello. But in a season where crazy things keep happening, anything felt possible.

And then…

Misplays in the field. A bad time for a really crappy start by Jeremy Guthrie. Detroit ripping balls down the line and hitting soft liners that landed on the chalk.

A terrible start. But the beauty of baseball is that they get to try again today. I have a feeling Scherzer mows down the Royals tonight. Hopefully Jason Vargas can slow down the Tigers bats, too. But then James Shields will be nails on Wednesday and put the Royals back into first place with just over two weeks to play.

The last couple of weeks have been nerve-racking yet tremendous fun. Alex Gordon hitting huge, potentially career-defining home runs. The pitching staff being lights-out almost every night. The defense rising to the occasion more often than not. Baseball that really matters in late August and early September.

As so many people have written, the way the Royals are doing this is not sustainable. But it also harkens back to how that 1985 team won: great pitching, scratching out just enough hits to win. And the thing about sustainability is that this doesn’t have to last forever. Just two more weeks and, suddenly, the game turns to the Royals’ advantage. Playoff baseball is made for strong starting pitching and dominant relievers. We’ve seen it time-and-again in the Wild Card era. A team gets hot on the mound and rides them to back-to-back best of seven series wins.

Realistically, I expect the Royals to come up short. There’s just not enough juice in their bats and it’s hard to believe they can keep winning while scoring only one or two runs a night. And even with Detroit’s health issues, they have bats up and down their lineup and a pitching staff that keeps them in any series. That realist in me sees Detroit finally putting it together for a hot 15-game stretch and winning the division by three or four games. Meanwhile Seattle keeps winning and the Royals not only miss out on the division title, but on the second wild card spot.

But, you know what? The Tigers have only played really good ball for a few weeks in May and July. Why would they suddenly put it together now? They’ve battled injuries all year. Why not lose Miguel Cabrera for two weeks, or David Price develops a blister on his finger, of JD Martinez runs into a wall and goes on the concussion list. The Mariners still have 11 games against the A’s and Angels. There’s no reason they can’t fall apart. And that streaky-ass Royals offense has enough time to crawl out of this latest deep freeze and hit the ball hard for a couple weeks to put this thing away.

It’s been a ridiculously fun and tense six weeks for us Royals fans. The first time I’ve felt like this since I was 14 and starting high school. I hope they can keep it going for two more weeks so we can see what happens that last weekend of the season.

  1. Thanks to the Monday Night Football game across town. Which I loved. It made the game feel like one of those late afternoon LCS games that happened back in the 70s and 80s. ↩

⦿ Sunday Links

September 7, 2014 /

I figured three posts on Friday would be one too many, thus I’m finally posting these during halftime of the Broncos’ beat-down of the Colts. You know, the last time I turned off a Colts game at halftime it worked out ok…

First off, these pictures showing the effects the drought is in California are incredible.

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Dramatic Photos of California’s Historic Drought

I miss the glory days of The Office and Jim’s best pranks on Dwight. So here’s one person’s list of the top ten pranks.

Here Are The Ten Best Pranks Jim Halpert Pulled On Dwight Schrute, Ranked

Now I’m not one of those people who hears about vegetarian or vegan recipes and immediately turns my nose up. I like a good noodle dish. I can even eat tofu if it’s thrown in with some pad thai and peanut sauce. But tofu burnt ends? That is just dumb. Either eat barbecue or don’t. But don’t disrespect the art with garbage like this.

Smoked tofu burnt ends a healthy, vegan alternative to traditional KC barbecue

Today, Yankee Stadium is a shiny, soulless, corporate cash machine that is often far from full. Once upon a time, though, Yankee Stadium was a dark, dangerous building where you feared for your safety if you were a visiting fan. This article goes back to the 1988 season and one writer’s summer with the regulars in the bleachers.

When Yankee Stadium’s Bleacher Creatures Were Wild

Finally, I rarely read comments on stories. Mostly because they’re stupid. But in this case, they’re awesome. Following a fairly positive review of his new ebook, an author goes off the deep end responding to the reviewer. And anyone else who questions him. You don’t even have to read the article. Just scroll down and watch the fun begin.

FunBITS: Bears in Boats Fighting Crime

NFL Predictions, 2014

September 5, 2014 /

Whoo, what a busy week. I’m on library duty for all three girls this year, and I decided to stack those assignments in the same week. That makes them easier to remember, but also sucked up a lot of time this week. In addition to that, I have a small work project I’ve been hammering away on. I’ll share more about it later.

So here we are and it’s Friday already. I put this together last night, because I think I’d have to shut down the blog if I didn’t.

After five months of watching baseball nearly every night, I am now, on Thursday night, watching pro football. Seems like as good of a time as any to crank out my patented NFL previews for the coming season.

But before I cart those half-assed guesses out, a few observations from the opening moments of the NBC broadcast.

  • A little odd, at least to me, that the Seahawks used the opening refrain from The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony” as they unveiled their Super Bowl banner. Great song.1 Not sure there’s anything bittersweet about winning a Super Bowl. Or maybe they’re saying it’s bittersweet that their six months of celebrating have come to an end. Whoa. That’s kind of brilliant. If that’s what they meant. Otherwise it’s dumb.
  • Now I know Arianna Grande is the flavor of the month. And I know the first Thursday night game of the year is a national showcase, not a local one. I still think it’s a little weird to have a girl from Miami sing the National Anthem in Seattle. By the way, is she like 4’9’’, 80 lbs? She’s like the tiniest thing ever. Well except for her voice, obviously.
  • Wait. Were the guys in that DirectTV commercial with the Cowboys and Giants fans tackling each other supposed to be a gay couple? Didn’t he say they were “like any other couple?” My mind is kind of blown. I have a feeling NBC and DirectTV are going to get letters and a bunch of Fox News blowhards will have a field day with that. “HOW DARE YOU INJECT YOUR LIBERAL, GAY AGENDA ON MY FOOTBALL!”
  • OK, one more whoa. Icky Woods? Man, that dude blew up. “Gonna get some cold cuts!” is a solid line, though. Not quite “Cut! That! Meat!” But still good.
    Now on to the picks.

AFC East: New England

One day this won’t be such an easy pick. But not this year, and likely not for another two or three years.

AFC North: Ummm, Baltimore, I guess

I don’t trust a team in this division. Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, or the Ravens could all win it. Whoever does win, it won’t be pretty.

AFC South: Indianapolis

I saw Peter King picked the Colts to make it to the Super Bowl this year. That seems optimistic. I think Houston hangs with the Colts all year. In fact, I bet they’re in first place for the first half of the season. But the Colts will close the year on a six or seven game winning streak to take the division.

AFC West: Denver

Also pretty easy, as long as Peyton stays healthy.

AFC Wildcards

Houston
Kansas City

NFC East: Philadelphia

This Chip Kelly thing is fun.

NFC North: Chicago

Green Bay is the better team. But they always have a bunch of big injuries. This year will be no different.

NFC South: New Orleans

They play 11 games in domes (or semi-domes in Dallas’ case). They’ll be good for nine or ten wins in those games.

NFC West: Seattle

Hangover? Maybe. But San Francisco is fading a bit, between injuries and age and suspensions.

NFC Wildcards

Green Bay
San Fransisco

Playoffs

AFC

Indianapolis over Kansas City. Like always.
Houston over Baltimore
Denver over Houston
New England over Indianapolis. Like (almost) always.
Denver over New England

NFC

Green Bay over Chicago
New Orleans over San Francisco
Seattle over Green Bay
Philadelphia over New Orleans
Seattle over Philadelphia

Super Bowl

Damn. I really picked a rematch? Well, Denver doesn’t have to be as good on offense this year, because they will be much better on defense. And if they get the #1 seed, nobody is beating them in Denver in the playoffs. Same deal for Seattle. Unless Philly can steal the #1 seed away, no one is going to Seattle and winning in January.
Peyton Manning has played in three Super Bowls. He’s played like garbage in all three. Surely, if he gets one more shot, he finally has a performance for the ages and cements himself as the greatest QB in NFL history, right? Surely, after last year’s beat down, Peyton will find a way to crack the Legion of Boom, right? Surely the improved Denver D will play better than last year’s banged up unit, right?

Denver 31, Seattle 9

Mark it down, take it to Vegas, etc.

  1. One of my 20 favorites of all-time! ↩

Friday Vid

September 5, 2014 /

“English Girls Approximately” – Ryan Adams
An absolutely amazing live performance. No studio tricks here. The guy can just write great songs and sing them well.

It can be daunting to attempt to tackle Adams’ massive output. He’s released no fewer than 20 albums in his career, whether with his first band, Whiskytown, with his accompanying band The Cardinals, or solo efforts. I might be about to tackle it, though.

Tuesday he released a surprise album of songs inspired by the American hardcore and punk scenes of the early 1980s. It’s phenomenal. And next week he releases his self-titled album that features the single “Gimme Something Good.” You can stream it over at NPR. It’s fantastic, too.

I’ve admired many of his singles over the years. But if I’m going to spend a lot of time listening to two of his latest albums, it might be time to finally figure out what the rest of his career is all about.

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