open.spotify.com/user/224a… “Lannoy Point” - Ride. Another of the great bands of the early 90s British shoegaze movement returns with a fantastic effort. Along with Slowdive, they really know how to make a comeback. “Line of Sight” - ODESZA, WYNNE, Mansionair. I often complain about how dance and electronic music has squeezed out traditional guitar-based rock in the indie world. But when a song is this good, I can totally get on board with it.
The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter - David Sax. I generally think whether astrology and people’s birth signs determine their personalities are both bullshit. However, as a Gemini, I’m often surprised about how much of who I am is about balancing two seemingly different emotions, interests, etc. Take me and gadgets, for example. I love new, high-tech toys. I’m fortunate that I am in a position to purchase the latest shiny electronics on a regular basis.
I caught parts of almost every game of the NBA Finals. As compelling as the series was, I just couldn’t lock in for three hours for all five games. Often I would turn the game on only after the girls went to bed, which meant I generally just saw the second halves of the games. I think that’s a little funny because L is a big Steph Curry and Kevin Durant fan.
The first big, friend lake weekend of the year is in the books. I believe all who attended will judge the weekend as a success. This was a four-family, 17-person weekend, including us. The kids ranged from 13 to 8, so it’s a pretty good time. The 13-year-olds, all girls, are still capable of relaxing and having fun with the younger kids. And the youngest kids are all comfortable in and around water.
open.spotify.com/user/224a… “SGL” - Now, Now. The first new music from Now, Now in five years, and it does not disappoint. “How to Boil an Egg” - Courtney Barnett. This is a song Barnett performed when she first began playing live music, but never put to wax until now. It’s a one-off single, but she also just announced that she’s working with Kurt Vile on new music. That should be interesting.
Logic often gets thrown out in sports in favor of emotion. We mask over flaws in players and teams we love because we love them. And we ignore brilliance among rivals simply because they wear the wrong color of jersey. The Kansas City Royals are in a dangerous situation when it comes to emotion right now. All of us who are fans, and everyone affiliated with the organization, hoped the core of players who got the franchise to the ’14 and ’15 World Series had one more run in them this season before the dismantling began.
Another great weekend in Kansas City. Then again, aren’t all weekends in Kansas City great? At least when you’re visiting there. This trip was made more fun by it being the first full-family trip to KC in over three years. For my readers who weren’t involved in the weekend festivities, here’s a little run-down of what we did. We drove over Friday. Had great weather and easy traffic the whole way.
open.spotify.com/user/224a… “Day at Work” - Nouveau Vélo. Man, I was sure these guys were Australian until I looked them up. They’re Dutch?!?! That jangle sounds straight out of Sydney to me. “My Smile Is Extinct” - Kane Strang. Now this cat is from the South Pacific, although New Zealand rather than Australia. A great example of taking depressing lyrics and hiding them behind a bouncy melody to hide their pain.
A little behind, so better catch up as I hit the summer reading season. No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach - Anthony Bourdain. I’m working through a number of shows I have stockpiled on the DVR, watching the Royals most nights, and still trying to read. But I do attempt to squeeze in an Anthony Bourdain show on Netflix about once a week. I’m a big fan, and have been for years.
Memorial Day weekend is in the books, the girls are out of school, and summer is officially here! The school year wrapped up uneventfully. All three girls passed. Or at least we assume so; middle school grades are mailed so I supposed there’s still a tiny chance we’re going to have an uncomfortable talk with M about her academic plans for next year. I kid! By our calculations she’s going to get her highest GPA of her career.
Special playlist for a special time of year. open.spotify.com/user/224a… “Friday I’m In Love” - The Cure. A highly significant song in my life. Although it was Pearl Jam and Nirvana that were most responsible for shifting my taste in music away from Top 40 pop and R&B back in 1992, this song had a huge impact as well. It was so bright and shiny, unlike the gloom that I generally associated with The Cure.
You probably heard that Roger Moore died yesterday. History has been very kind to Sir Moore. Once upon a time, his run as James Bond was laughed at and derided. Eventually, though, people figured out that his portrayal of Bond was perfect for its time, and making his Bond dramatically different than Sean Connery’s was necessary. Connery might have turned Bond into a sensation, but Moore turned Bond into a franchise that fills theaters to this day.
For the third time in three seasons, M’s kickball team advanced to the City tournament. For the third time, they came up short. A disastrous top of the 7th inning put them on the wrong end of a 19–8 score in yesterday’s championship game. It was their second-straight, second-place finish. Their run began with a semifinal loss in the fall of 2015. While the result wasn’t as lopsided as their 26–1 loss last fall, this one was probably more crushing.
Last weekend of spring, last week of school. Just four more mornings of an alarm at 6:35 and the normal grumpiness as the girls and I navigate the time between me waking them up and dropping them off at school each day. We set the stage for the summer by putting the boat into the water on Saturday. We’ve usually done it a week or two earlier, but had a good excuse for waiting this year.
At first it didn’t hit me why Chris Cornell’s name was one of the headlines in this morning’s New York Times Morning Briefing email. “Why is he listed, did he say something about Trump?” was my first thought. I just did not expect his name to be listed because the news was just breaking that he died overnight. You can break down the 1990s Seattle bands a lot of ways. Nirvana had the biggest cultural impact, and Kurt Kobain’s suicide was a massive moment in our generation’s coming of age.
It’s a birthday day for us today. C is now 11. I don’t go back and re-read what I’ve written in previous years about each girl on their birthday, because I think they haven’t changed much. Or at least the two older ones have largely been the same kid for several years now. So I imagine this will be repetitive C is still our most sensitive kid. She’s the most likely to get upset about something and stomp off in tears.
A pretty busy few days, anchored by kid sports. So we’ll start with those and add in the other fun things that were a part of our weekend. First off, C’s kickball season came to an end Thursday night. You may recall her team was in a three-way tie for first place going into the final game of the season. All three teams were scheduled to play teams with worse records, so we were stressing about how the league would break the tie.
open.spotify.com/user/224a… “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness” - The National. The first single off the next National album is a shot out of the dark. So many of their songs are slow, brooding, builders. Here they get right to the point. Which confuses me. I’m used to it taking a long time to get into their albums; it took me a full six months to fully connect with 2013’s Trouble Will Find Me.
I came across this piece on Twitter and really enjoyed it. Gone The Way Of The Zambezi Zinger The Zambezi Zinger was awesome. It didn’t have huge drops, didn’t loop, didn’t go insanely fast. But all those turns and the consistent speed through the ride were tons of fun. I kind of forgot that you didn’t even strap into the cars. You just sat 2–3 deep and that kept you from flying out.
Part one of the spring kid sports roundup will focus on the kickball girls. First up is C, who is playing in her third season, and on a team mixed with 3rd and 4th graders. They’ve had a really good season, sitting 5–1 and tied for first with a game to play. They won their first three games easily, and then got destroyed in their fourth game. Adding insult to defeat, one girl on the other team kicked a ball that hopped a low stone wall, rolled into the street, and got hit by a car.