Getting Back to Your Roots

My blog, which I started in an attempt to collect my various pop-culture rants, has been a little light on the pop-culture lately, heavy instead on odes to the US Men's Olympic Swim Team and the chronicling of various voodoo rituals implemented in an effort to make the Yankees play better. To rectify that, 340 words devoted to The Hold Steady's excellent latest album, Stay Positive, which has been in heavy rotation on my iPod since purchasing it a few weeks ago. 

Very little press about The Hold Steady goes by without evoking Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. To be compared to the Boss certainly seems to set up high expectations, but if Bruce came of age listening to The Replacements, The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle is going to sound a lot like Stay Positive. Craig Finn's vocals are slightly more... shoutey than Bruce's - certainly a punk influence - but the loners and losers who inhabit his songs are the same ones roaming the Jersey Shore in the 70s - kids who just want to get out, to be anywhere but here, to figure out what the hell they're supposed to do with their lives while they work dead end jobs. And come on, if you're putting a saxophone solo in a rock song today, you owe a pretty big debt to Bruce and the Big Man.

But there are plenty of Springsteen tribute bands out there, and that's not a job for which The Hold Steady is applying. Sure, their love of classic rock shines brightly through every song they play, but they just wants to rock at a time when good old straight ahead rock and roll with thoughtful lyrics and loud guitars seems to be falling off the radar in favor of god knows what. "Sequestered in Memphis," a tune about a one night stand and a murder investigation, is far catchier than its macabre subject matter might indicate. The title track roars in with a triumphant organ fill and a grounded but optimistic POV on the scene. The entire album is one relentless guitar onslaught crammed with riff after riff of music that makes you feel alive again.

The Hold Steady are big enough now to get a full review in Entertainment Weekly (the July 18th issue, if you're curious, and a ringing endorsement). I'm not sure what this says about them, that they're just a few issues removed from a review of the new Jonas Brothers album. Hopefully it's a good thing. After all, if they're following in the footsteps of their idols, it did take a few albums before the world as a whole picked up on the genius of Springsteen.

Going for the Gold: Part III

I can has all three at once?

Ricky Berens, Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps. 

Go USA, indeed...

It's official, I love the Olympics...

New toy! New toy!

Because running on the treadmill has caused me to nearly kill my iPod and nearly kill myself with my iPod, I opted to buy an iPod shuffle. Frankly, I think it's kind of awesome. So awesome, in fact, that I've spent the entire evening since returning from the mall clipping it to various parts of my t-shirt and jeans. 

This just in: I am a massive tool.

Going for the Gold: Part II

Oh my. I'll, uh, be in my room...

Going for the Gold

Are the Olympics making anyone else feel lazy and underachieving? I mean, I feel lazy and underachieving on a daily basis, but this really seems to exacerbate the issue.

On the flip side, they're also, um, making me incredibly horny. What can I say, I dig the boys in the pool. And how could you not, after that performance that Michael Phelps and company put on to win the 4x100 free relay last night? Now if you'll excuse me, NBCOlympics.com has put up a gallery of delectable swimmer abs and... I think I need some time to myself.

The Moose gets no respect from FOX

The less said about the Yankees' last two games about the Angels, the better. But I have to mention this:

If you frequent Yankees.com/MLB.com, you may have seen that fans voted Mike Mussina the Clutch Player* for the month of July. It's nice that Moose is getting recognized for having a great season when he was thought to be done at this time last year. Let's not forget that many people surmised that he would be booted out of the rotation for the eventual rise of Joba Chamberlain the starter.

FOX broadcaster Thom Brenneman was absolutely disgusted with this. "I guess a lot of Yankee fans voted," he remarked disparagingly during the Yankees/Angels game, as he brought up CC Sabathia's stats and dissed the baseball-loving public for voting for Moose instead of CC.

Look, I get it. Neither FOX nor ESPN has any respect for the Yankees, because every saga needs a villain. But at a time when the Yankees have been desperate for good pitching, Mussina has stepped up and filled that need. If that's not clutch, I don't know what is. And come on, dude, give it up. It's a silly little award voted on by fans. CC Sabathia is likely going to get a HUUUUGE free agent payday come this offseason, so I think it'll be a pretty good consolation prize for losing the July Clutch Player of the Month award.

And come on. Give the Moose (who's also pretty funny) some props. He deserves it.

*I refuse to mention the sponsorship inherent in the name of this award.

Xtina hearts the X-Man

I really can't handle this right now, so instead let's talk about what a great acquisition Xavier Nady has been for the Yanks.

 

I was at the game on Sunday and he put on quite the show - going 4 for 5 including a home run with 6 RBI. Since becoming a Yankee, he's batting .382 with 7 extra base hits. As I type, YES is replaying his beauty of a diving catch from the bottom of the 6th in tonight's game. And because it can't be ignored: he looks fiiiine in pinstripes.

So kudos, Brian Cashman. It's still too early to say but this one has the potential to be up there with the David Justice and Bobby Abreu midseason acquisitions.

I'll take creative answers for $200, Alex

The category on Jeopardy: Black & White

My sister, before seeing any of the answers: "Oooh! What is Derek Jeter!"

*smacks forehead*

Joba leaves with stiff right shoulder/Yankees.com

Oh fuck me.

Maybe Phil Hughes will ride in from Scranton on a big ass horse (a la Wade Boggs) and be our knight in shining armor. Maybe he'll bring Shelley "Team Cheerleader" Duncan with him... 

Requiem For the 'Stache

Yes, I'm sad to say the 'Stache is no more. In a way, I feel honored to have seen its last game in person.

  

Picture taken yesterday by yours truly.

The 'Stache was 0-3 with 2 walks.

So tonight we celebrate the 'Stache. Pour out a little Jack Daniels in its honor. And look forward to the future. The 'stache-less era has gotten off to a great start - in his two ABs so far in tonight's game, Giambi has an RBI single and a solo homer. 

And all is not lost: one mustache dies, and another is born. Michael Phelps, you rock.

Movies you should not pay for

You may think that Will Arnett can't sink any lower than Let's Go to Prison. You'd be wrong. Exhibit A: The Brothers Solomon. Thank goodness he parlayed the excellence that was G.O.B. Bluth into a primo reoccurring guest spot on current greatest comedy on TV 30 Rock...

Dear Mr. Ramirez,

Adios mofo! We will not miss you "being Manny," except when it means you go up to bat against Mariano Rivera and decide not to take the bat off your shoulder. Also, we find it super ironic that once again, you are going to be Joe Torre's headache.

Enjoy LA.

Kindest Regards,

The New York Yankees and their fans

P.S. Mike Mussina wants to know where to send the thank you note.

Take that shift and shove it...

As a Yankees fan, I'll admit to having a rocky relationship with Jason Giambi, who has been with the team since 2002. He replaced Tino Martinez, then there was that whole steroids mess, then he just kind of sucked and always looked greasy. But in this season, a contract year for him, I confess that he's been one of my favorite parts of watching the Yanks (along with Moose's improbably successful season and the rise of Joba the Starter). There's the 'stache, of course, and then there's this little number from last night. 

The scene: Giambi has a base hit stolen away by the shift. In his next at bat, well, let's go to the tape:

Heh heh.

Bonus (for when the non-fun-loving bigwigs at MLB inevitably take down Giambi's little gesture):

The 'Stache talks about... the 'Stache

Oh Jason... it is ALL '70s porn star.

Tramps like us...

A-frickin'-mazing show by Bruce and the E Streeters tonight. 

But for now, exhaustion. And disappointment at Moose's inability to to hold his former team in check for the 2nd time this season (albeit disappointment tempered by the Rays and Red Sox also losing... although that should be even more disappointing because it means we could have picked up a game on each if we won... oh fuck it, I'm going to bed). 

Come on!

The national sports media has such a hard on for Yankees/Red Sox series that every time one comes around, the games get snatched up by Fox and ESPN. Which means that today's game is the Sunday Night Baseball game, which means it's on at the same time as the season premiere of Mad Men.

Not cool.

Ladies love Bats too!

One of the best parts of Friday afternoons has always been reading a just-arrived Entertainment Weekly. This week's issue featured a cover story on The Dark Knight, fairly unremarkable until I got to this passage:

Despite all of the records being shattered, perhaps the biggest revelation about The Dark Knight's opening weekend was who was sitting in the audience... A reported 48 percent of The Dark Knight's audience was female, and that number probably would have been even higher had so many women not flocked to Mamma Mia!

Whether they were drawn by the rubberneck curiosity surrounding Ledger's last fully realized performance or simply felt that this comic-book movie had something to say to them, too, The Dark Knight's audience represents a huge demographic shift for studio marketers to wrap their heads around.

As a female moviegoer who had The Dark Knight's release date marked on her calendar for some time (although considering the fact that it coincided with my birthday, it was pretty hard to forget), I'm kind of offended, not to mention confused, by these comments. 

To review: people out there think that a movie starring Christian Bale, sex object since the days of Newsies* (oh come on, he was 18 then!), Aaron Eckhart, who emerged as a smart woman's sex symbol in Thank You For Smoking, and Heath Ledger, who stole every teen girl's heart in 10 Things I Hate About You, isn't going to attract female viewers?

And this is Batman we're talking about here. He's not some obscure superhero from the 70s resurrected from the DC Comics vaults in the hopes of squeezing out a few more dollars from the comic book cash cow. He's a part of American culture and mythology.

The writer of this article - a dude, of course - surmises that women either went to see the movie because of all the hype surrounding Heath Ledger's death or because they thought it might "[have] something to say to them too." I'm not exactly sure what that latter reason means, but why can't a girl go see this movie because she, too, wants to go see a big ol' summer blockbuster? Are blockbusters not so because EVERYONE goes to see them? Last time I checked, women were included in "everyone." And it's not like this was a shitty summer blockbuster like Armageddon or Transformers. There's Oscar buzz for this movie and quality films appeal to people regardless of gender. No debate necessary.

Maybe my point of view is so hopelessly skewed when it comes to film that I'm talking out of my ass here, arguing for naut. But I don't think that's the case. Come on, Hollywood. Women love movies just as much as men. Stop acting shocked when we show up to see them.

*I admit I have an ironic appreciation for Newsies whereas everyone else my age seems to embrace it sincerely. But it's an appreciation nonetheless, right?

A social conscience gets me hot and bothered

Hot, talented, and he saves kitties. Lordy. Although, admittedly, the 0-12 in the series against the Mets is kind of a ladyboner-killer.

In more substantive news, thoughts on The Dark Knight and its monster opening weekend and The X-Files: I Want to Believe later. 

Time to build a bomb shelter...

This just in from the signs of the apocalypse department:

1. MTV is remaking The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

This is so bizarre that I really don't know how to respond. Except with concern that the powers that be at the channel that ruined music might cast Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson as Brad and Janet. I shudder at the thought.

Although, I confess, I'd kind of like to see Jack Black play Eddie.

2. A Boston Globe columnist advocates the abolition of the "Yankees Suck" chant.

But I am a Red Sox fan, have been all my life, and so that means I don't like the Yankees. My two sons don't like the Yankees either. But here's the critical difference: I respect the Yankees, and I've taught my sons to do so, too. They are 14 and 11, love baseball, and know that Derek Jeter plays the game as well and as hard as anyone has. If I were picking sides in the schoolyard, Jeter is the guy I'd pick first.

Whoa. Logic and civility coming out of Boston. That did not happen in the 4 years I spent there...

Dear BigTimeBats.com...

Please stop making weird Yankee Stadium final season collectibles and advertising them on YES. It's a long season and I don't want to buy any of your weird collectibles. 

Also, if we could additionally do away with the Fox News commercials on YES, we'd be golden. However, all that would leave us with is the MHR Hair Restoration system...

Ah, the perils of the regional sports network.

Birthday Weekend = Epic Win

To review:

The Yankees sweep the A's (while the Red Sox get swept by the Angels) and I'm in attendance Friday night (that would be my birthday) to see the Moose pick up career victory number 262, a warm but enjoyable Saturday night on Broadway, and Sunday afternoon at the movies for the mind-blowing experience that is The Dark Knight.

Awesome. 

Extra bonus awesome: Picking up the Hold Steady's new album. If you're a Bruce fan, you owe it to yourself to check out these guys.