As is my norm, I am behind on sharing my books with you. So here we go… Normal People - Sally Rooney I hate when a book lets you down. I was really enjoying this book as I worked my way through it. And then the final quarter or so ruined most of that good will. Normal People is centered on two Irish teens from opposite sides of the track.
OK, finally some weekend notes. Youth Basketball L’s team finally got their second win of the year, a nervy 18–15 win. They were down 14–10 in the fourth quarter, which seemed like a monumental gap. We got back-to-back steals and scores to tie, then cranked up the defense, got a couple more scores, and held on for the win. It was everything a 5th–6th grade basketball game should be: maddening, hilarious, outrageous, and ridiculous.
Monday got away from me a little. I had some things on the agenda, but also figured I’d be able to sit down and crank out a weekend summary post or something. Then things got a little weird. So in the interest of posting something before Monday is over, here is a quick review of my day. I know, I know: I’m breaking ground for new levels of excitement here!
A couple new songs with a healthy dose of nostalgia this week. open.spotify.com/playlist/… “Our Little World” - County Line Road. Maybe it’s the name of the group, but I was surprised to learn this band is from England and not the US. This track has a big, mid–80s feel to it. “Walking on a String” - Matt Berninger with Phoebe Bridgers. What better way for Berninger to introduce the world to his first solo album than to release a single that features Phoebe Bridgers?
Chart Week: September 17, 1983 Song: “Stand Back” - Stevie Nicks Chart Position: #35, 16th week on the chart. Peaked at #5 the week of August 20. First a piece of housekeeping. I noticed this morning that I mis-numbered my last entry, for some reason skipping from 31 to 34. I have updated that post to correctly show it as entry #32 in the Reaching for the Stars collection. I regret the error.
I had a Reaching for the Stars post lined up for today, but one huge sports story has me skipping to throw down some sports thoughts on your heads. Kansas - Missouri Basketball is Back Well this was a total surprise. I have a few birdies out there who occasionally drop hints that big news is coming. None of them shared even a whiff of this coming out before last night’s announcement.
We are one step closer to being done with fall sports. L played her final soccer game of the season on Saturday. They won 3–1 to push their record to 4–1–1, including four-straight wins. It was kind of a bummer day, though. Early in the second half she was standing near a defender who was trying to clear a ball and took an absolute blast in the back of her head.
“Hail, Hail” - Pearl Jam A bit of an odd music week for me the past few days. I’ve hit the point in the calendar when I set asdide new music I dive into my Favorite Song list for a bit to start whittling it down to a manageable number before the final push to rank them for the year. Ah, but this year ends in a nine, so there’s also a Decade list to work on.
As we get deeper into October, the opportunities to play golf in the midwest are rapidly shrinking. I have played twice in the past couple weeks, both rounds worthy of brief breakdowns. First, as the title suggests, I have now carded a lifetime best of 92. In fact, I shot 92 in each of my last two rounds. Which, given where I started and what my goals are, is pretty great, right?
It was a nice, semi-relaxing weekend at our house. No sports, thanks to fall break. C was supposed to run at the City meet, but her foot pain never fully went away so she chose not to run. Kind of a bummer end to her season. M had finished her cross country season a week before. We are proud of her for sticking with it, as it was a very tough and humbling experience for her.
“Cusp” - Youth Group. After a decade away from recording, the great Australian jangle-pop band Youth Group returns with a brand new album today. I’ve not listened to it yet, but I’m loving the sound of the first single. “Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You)” - Bombay Bicycle Club. BBC hasn’t been on hiatus as long as Youth Group, but when their new album comes out in January, it will be their first in nearly four years.
Each year as we pass through October I enjoy the memories that pop up in my Facebook feed from Octobers past. Specifically the Octobers of 2014 and 2015, when the Royals were keeping me up late so many nights as they won two-straight American League pennants. Then there were the memories from years after the R’s run, when I joked about not thinking I would still stay up late to watch baseball when, in fact, I was staying up until 1:00 watching more crazy, extra-inning games.
A bit of a change-of-pace for this entry. The focus will not be on one song, or a couple songs, but rather an entire chart. This countdown was from Memorial Day weekend, 1988. In it, Casey counted down the top new artists of the 1980s. Which seems a little strange since there was a year-and-a-half left in the decade. But in the spring of 1988, Casey’s reign as host of AT40 was about to come to an end.
I feel like I’m not much of a bragger. I’ll toot my own horn on occasion, but I like to think I pick my spots and am not annoying about it. I also know that bragging inevitably comes back to bite you in the ass, so in addition to making you look bad, it’s just tempting fate. Example: just a week ago I was bragging a little about how I’m not allergic to poison ivy.
The Hood Internet presents 1979. OK, a video after all. And this is right up my alley. The Hood Internet has taken 50-odd songs from 1979 and put them together into this wonderful mix. Even better, the next four weeks will feature videos from 1980–1983. Yes, I’ll be sure to share them as well. Happy weekend!
A few songs for your Friday. “Shining Down” - Jesse Malin. Malin is an artist who has been on the periphery of what I like for a few years now. He’s worked with Ryan Adams, and that influence comes through rather clearly on this song. “Get Lost” - Queen of Jeans. Love the vibe of this track that is about moving on. Feels perfect for the day that fall finally arrived in Indiana.
It’s been a couple weeks, time for a quick-ish golf update. I have played three times since I last checked in; two nine-hole rounds and my first 18 of the year. On the 9’s, I shot 52 and 48. On the 48 I actually played the entire nine without losing a ball, which may never have happened. I should note that on one hole I blasted my drive way right and figured it was gone.
This was a lost baseball season for me. The Royals were shitty. For the first time ever, the MLB apps performed erratically at best, occasionally not at all. It was hard enough to find motivation to watch/listen to a bad team. When the tools that provide that access don’t work, you stop making the effort. Which is a shame because putting in the time in the bad years makes the good years even better.
A very special playlist this week. I don’t know exactly what it was, but something this week made me think back to September 1989, when I was in my first month as a college student. It must have been a song, because I immediately started mentally flipping through the music I was listening to back then. I realized that the fall of 1989 might have been the time I listened to the widest range of music.
I’ve casually mentioned a few times over the years that I have some contacts that are semi-insiders to what is going on with Kansas athletics. One of those contacts had been warning me for months that whenever the NCAA decided to officially weigh in on the Adidas-FBI issues, it was going to be worse than anyone expected. The NCAA officially spoke yesterday. And on the surface, it was indeed worse that most people expected.