As promised, a few more thoughts from the US Open I scribbled down over the past two weeks. In general ESPN’s coverage was quite good, as usual. They mix in enough back court matches during the afternoons to give you an idea of that environment. They also do a great job in those pre-prime time hours switching to different matches to at least make you aware there might be a different, more exciting match that you can view on ESPN+.
A very busy weekend, at least when it came to me sitting on my ass in front of the TV. High School Football A week after being shut out by the best team in Indiana, Cathedral was barely better against one of the best teams from Ohio. The Irish managed just two field goals in a 24–6 loss to St. Xavier. Ohio rankings are weird; I’ve seen St. X ranked anywhere from #2 to #7 in the largest class.
It’s that time of year again: the moment for some extremely half-assed NFL predictions. To begin, let’s spend a few minutes discussing my local team, the Indianapolis Colts. This week The Athletic ran a feature about what franchises were the most optimistic about the upcoming season. This was based on reader input, so highly unscientific. The Colts were dead last. I could stop right there and move on to the league-wide predictions.
Not to ruin your expectations before you work your way through this week’s songs, but I’m not sure about a few of these. Feels like we’ve reached a lull in the new music where I have a lot of B songs. Don’t get me wrong, there are some decent ones in here, especially in the front half of this list. I’m just saying if you get distracted and can’t finish it, I don’t think you’ll miss anything life changing.
Chart Week: August 30, 1986 Song: “Dreamtime” - Daryl Hall Chart Position: #23, 5th week on the chart. Would peak at #5 the week of October 4. Through the history of pop music, there has been a natural career progression for lead singers of successful bands: once your group peaks, hit the eject button and record a solo album. Sometimes this split is a result of the climb to the top had been long and arduous and everyone needing a break from each other.
Short week. I’m sure none of you working stiffs want to do anything productive. Here are some links to help get you a little closer to the coming weekend. Here is the oral history that led to my re-watching The 40 Year Old Virgin a couple weeks ago. I loved this tidbit. Apatow: Steve talked about chest waxing like he had never done it, but after we made the movie, I realized that Steve had clearly been waxing himself for years and knew exactly what was coming.
A laid-back, restful holiday weekend is in the books. Friday was the highlight in terms of number of things going on, so that will be the focus of my notes this week. Friday As happens this time of year, my attentions were pulled multiple directions Friday evening. The Cathedral game started at 7:00 on the radio. They were taking on 6A #1 and defending state champs Brownsburg, now ranked #35 in the country.
Movies, Shows, etc Dept. Q Lots of chatter about this in July, all saying it was basically Slow Horses but in Scotland and with cops. Which was very accurate. But this was much, much darker than any of the Slow Horses seasons I’ve watched. And broader. In some ways funnier. And definitely more moving. Episode eight was a little flat, which had me leaning towards a B. But episode 9, the season finale, was nearly perfect, one of the better season enders I can recall watching.
Yes, it has arrived: the end of summer. Good thing we’re about to hit the best three months of the year, or I’d be more sad that another summer is in the books. [open.spotify.com/playlist/...](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0RltQooc7msHF5HaXBOgUn?si=f1a6ae48484d4911) “Summer’s Over” - Jordana & TV Girl Obvious starting point. “Chateau Blues” - Spoon Spoon are in the early stages of recording their next album. They also started a new tour opening for the Pixies this week.
Chart Week: August 20, 1977 Song: “Telephone Line” - Electric Light Orchestra Chart Position: #16, 11th week on the chart. Peaked at #7 for two weeks in September and October. When I dove into this countdown last Saturday I was interested to see what it had to offer. Would a particular song jump out and lead to my next RFTS post? Or would Casey share some fun, new-to-me story that got my music trivia juices flowing?
I’ve been on a hot streak this month. In addition to the books below, I have three more I need to share. As they are related, I’m saving those for next week. King of Ashes - S.A. Cosby The latest addition to Cosby’s growing collection of terrific thrillers. Here Roman, a rising Atlanta financial advisor to athletes and other celebrities, returns to his childhood home in Virginia when his father goes into a coma following a car accident.
A relatively laid-back weekend that saw the return of football at multiple levels and a glorious change in the weather. High School Football The high school season began in Indiana Friday. 5A #2 CHS took on Ben Davis, a traditional 6A power that won state two years ago but is in rebuilding mode.[1] I figured CHS would win fairly easily. I guess that happened. The Irish were never really challenged, but could only score once themselves for an 8–0 win.
As I begin putting this playlist together Thursday evening, I’m not really sure where it is going. There are several older songs in the queue and I’m trying to figure out which newer ones to pull in. Let’s take a musical journey together and see where we land! [open.spotify.com/playlist/...](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1OZsjP4UnbQ27b9D2h9ubz?si=b8317359f1f1482d) “From The Night” - The Prize Hell yes! Some very solid power-pop-punk from Australia. “Simply Obsessed” - Field Medic If you combined Trace Mountains and Wild Pink, but turned them into jangle pop, the result would probably sound like this.
Like some of our friends a few hundred miles west, yesterday was college drop-off day for us. We picked a good one, too. The first day of IU dorm move in was Tuesday, a day that saw heat indices well over 100° with rounds of heavy rain in Bloomington. Wednesday, though? Cloudy, relatively cool, with a blessed relief from the humidity that has plagued us all summer. That part of the day was a big win.
A few sports notes before we head to Bloomington in a couple hours… Colts Welp, it’s official: the Colts are a disaster. Tuesday they named Daniel Jones as the starter for the coming season. Which means Anthony Richardson must have been really, really bad in camp, because Jones is about as mid as you can get in an NFL quarterback. Even in 2022, when the Giants made a surprise run to the playoffs, his stats were remarkably pedestrian.
I just read Niko Stratis’ book, which is part memoir, part reflection and analysis of the music she has loved. I found this interview with her, and this passage really struck me. I strive for my posts that are about music and memory to be accurate, but I often wonder how accurate my recollections really are. Ultimately, I’m never going to fully know the past. I’m in my forties now, so some of those years are so far in the rearview that it’s hard to see them perfectly anymore, and that has to be okay…And that is a hard reckoning as you get older, of “What are the stories I’ve told myself are true, and what are the stories I actually believe are true?
A pretty chill weekend, with not a lot to share. Most activities revolved around making final preparations to move C to IU this Wednesday. A final trip to Target. A final order (or three) on Amazon. Many loads of laundry. A lot of organizing of our bonus room, which is the staging area. There are whole sections of the floor in there I haven’t seen since June that are exposed again as S worked hard to get things jammed into boxes and containers and bags.
A funny thing happened as I began putting this week’s list together. I noticed a common thread through many of the songs in my working pile of music. So that led me in a slightly different direction than I had planned. See if you can figure out what these songs all share. [open.spotify.com/playlist/...](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2dQT3Sx3Oma0FXQsOQtWIT?si=4087503f5e464da0) “Magic” - The Cars A song better suited for early summer, but I hadn’t gotten to it yet this year and this seemed like the perfect week to squeeze it in.
Chart Week: August 14, 1982 Song: “And I Am Telling You I Am Not Going” - Jennifer Holliday Chart Position: #26, 7th week on the chart. Would peak at #22 for three weeks. One aspect of the pop chart that messed with my head when I was young was how songs that were huge hits on the genre charts would barely dent the pop Top 40. It seemed like there was always a song by a Black artist stuck at #34 on AT40 for three weeks that had already been #1 on the soul chart.
Fever Well, I sure jinxed the Fever! The last time I mentioned them I pointed out how they had their longest winning streak in a decade, all without Caitlin Clark. Since then they’ve lost three-of-four, the only win against hapless Chicago. Worst of all was last week’s game in Phoenix. I didn’t stay up to watch the game but in the morning the final result was on my phone screen: a 95–60 loss.