Another week where I’ve reviewed a ton of new songs, and many of them have stuck. So it looks like you all are the winners, with another stacked playlist. open.spotify.com/playlist/… “Take Back the Radio” - Katy J. Pearson A few of my loyal blog readers were also listeners to the music podcast I did for about 10 years, Carmel Liberation Radio. This would have been an easy choice for an opening song for CLR based on the title alone.
Deacon King Kong - James McBride My To Read list is always in flux. I’m constantly adding books, like any good reader should. And also culling books, figuring if a title has been on the list for a few years and I haven’t gotten around to reading it yet, odds are I never will. The list tends to grow a lot in December, when various Best Of lists hit the internet, and I make additions that seem to be earning universal acclaim.
Some sports notes while waiting on an ice storm to arrive. NFL So the Super Bowl is Chiefs vs Buccaneers, just like we all thought. Seriously, I’m questioning a lot of what I’ve thought about football the last 20 years this morning. I was not alone when I believed, back when the regular season began, that Tom Brady would struggle in Tampa while the Patriots would continue to win with Cam Newton at quarterback.
Phil Spector died last week. To say he leaves a complex legacy is an understatement. He crafted some of the most unforgettable songs ever, and created a sound that will forever be synonymous with his name: The Wall of Sound. But he was also, by many measures, a horrible human being. He ruined the life and career of his one-time wife, Ronnie Spector. His wildly erratic behavior put the lives of people around him at risk.
When banging out my most recent Sports Notes post, I overlooked one very important local story. Which may have been a good thing because there was another very important local story that broke yesterday. Looks like I better bust out an Indy edition Sports Notes post! Pacers Make a Big Trade Anyone who follows the NBA knew a James Harden trade was close last week, it was just a question of where he would end up: Brooklyn or Philadelphia.
Some notes from the sporting world. KU Hoops First back-to-back losses in Big 12 play in eight years, first Big Monday loss in 18 games. Neither of those are a surprise. Against both Oklahoma State and Baylor KU looked utterly overmatched early. Overmatched for sure in the athletic sense, KU looking slow and bound to the floor where their opponents raced up and down the court and flew for dunks and blocks.
A busy start to a new year of reading. Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man - Emmanuel Acho These are a series of essays by Acho, a former NFL player and currently a talking head on Fox Sports, to help white folks understand people of color a little better. It is light and breezy, at times almost too light and breezy. But the title is accurate: for things to get better in this country, those of us in the white community need to have some uncomfortable conversations and accept that we need to make sacrifices in all aspects of our lives for change to come about.
open.spotify.com/playlist/… “Start All Over Again” - Candy Opera This sounds straight out of the early ’80s New Romantic movement, with a few modern flourishes. Which makes total sense as Candy Opera got their start in the early ’80s Liverpool music scene. They plugged along for about ten years, split up, and went their separate ways. Then, three years ago, they reformed. They put a new album out last fall and it was filled with majestic pop like this track.
This is the best thing I’ve read this year. What the Hole Is Going On? The very real, totally bizarre bucatini shortage of 2020. Rachel Handler looks into the mysterious shortage of bucatini. It is hilarious and fascinating. I have to admit, I don’t think I had ever had bucatini before I read this. Magically I found some this week and made the Bucatini all’Amatriciana recipe Handler includes in her piece.
In my final piece of 2020 business, here are the last three books I read for the year. These put my total at 59 books for the calendar year. I know this sounds dumb, but I was disappointed with that number. I’ve read that many books in a normal year. Surely in a pandemic year I should have knocked out a few more. Oh well, a goal for pandemic year #2, I suppose.
I think the first ever Super Wildcard Weekend was a success. Wall-to-wall football in the midst of a pandemic and winter weather felt right. We got mostly competitive games book-ended by the Colts blowing a winnable game and the Browns shaking off decades of failure and pulling off one of the wildest upsets in recent memory. Some Indy-focused thoughts from the weekend. Colts When your team loses a close game, you spend the time afterward picking through dozens of little moments that could have changed the outcome.
After taking nearly a month off from sharing new-ish music, it’s time to start getting caught up. So an extra-long playlist this week, filled with recent songs and a few classics. open.spotify.com/playlist/… “Funny Farm” - The Hold Steady A late 2020 treat, and THS has a new album due out on February 19. That day is going to be a motherfucker for new music. Right now there are four albums out that day that I am very excited about.
A special playlist is in order this morning. There are plenty of other songs about this fine state that I’m guessing came from folks not happy with what went down in Georgia last night, thus they have been left behind. Hell, some of these may make no sense in the context of the election, Jay Farrar comparing his impending estrangement from Jeff Tweedy to a Civil War battle, for example. Nonetheless, a few songs about the state of Georgia.
A lot of material to get through, so strap yourselves in. The Holiday Shit Classics: Elf, A+ National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, A A Christmas Story, A Die Hard, A+ A Charlie Brown Christmas, B South Park: Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo, A The Office, see here New: Holiday Baking Championship Lorenzo and Juliana were the most impressive competitors all season. Lorenzo is crazy talented for his age, and always taking his baking interesting angles.
A lot of sports to get through, so let’s tackle the biggest issues of the day in no particular order. CFP Alabama crushing Notre Dame was no surprise. As an Indiana Catholic school parent I don’t hate Notre Dame nearly as much as I used to. I don’t mind them winning, but still take some pleasure in their losses. One day that fan base will wake and realize it isn’t 1977 anymore.
I watched a shit-load of TV in December and have an extra-heavy post coming up soon to cover all of that. First, however, something that would normally go into my January list requires immediate attention. Netflix did the world a solid by releasing season three of Cobra Kai on Friday. I watched the first two episodes in the gap between the CFP semifinals games that night. Then I crammed the remaining eight into my Saturday.
Families in Indianapolis got an early Christmas present about two weeks ago when the county health commissioner said that schools could return to in-person classes beginning today, rather than waiting until Jan. 19. St P’s normally starts the Tuesday after New Year’s Day, so today is a mini-virtual day with the kids having a few light assignments but no actual classes. Then they will be back the classroom tomorrow. CHS will begin virtual classes tomorrow and return in person next Tuesday.
It’s not every year that Jan. 1 falls on a Friday. I better commemorate the day properly. open.spotify.com/playlist/… “The New Year” - Death Cab for Cutie “New Years Morning” - JarJarBeatz “New Year’s Day” - U2 “New Year” - Beach House “Happy New Year” - ABBA “This Year” - The Mountain Goats
I’ll dispense with the monthly stats, since December is dominated by Bing and Frank and other seasonal fare. Instead here are my totals for the year. I believe they reflect the oddness of 2020 appropriately. I would not have guessed Pearl Jam, Springsteen, the Beatles, or Prince would be in my top ten one year ago. Pearl Jam - 347 Bruce Springsteen - 301 Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - 228 The Beatles - 205 Phoebe Bridgers - 165 Doves - 156 Prince - 134 Ratboy - 126 Waxahatchee - 125 cartalk - 123 And an annual refresh of my total Last.
Welp, it’s almost over. The worst year ever has but a few hours left. And then everything will magically get better at midnight, right? If only… 2021 has to be better. Vaccines are being administered and research continues to find more ways to fight Covid–19. It may take months, but the tide is turning. While Covid is our biggest issue, there are plenty of other issues for which there are no vaccines.