The Boston Red Sox
(27-19)
2nd in American League East Division
The Sox were five-in-seven for the past week. Good for them!
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
(18-27)
4th in American League West Division
Mike Trout made history again. The Angels were three-in-six, including a couple big wins (a good phrase to use for this hard-luck team). Trout is batting .293, Mark Trumbo .269, and Albert Pujols .247.
The Oakland Athletics
(25-22)
2nd in American League West Division
The A's were five-in-six. That's awesome!
The St. Louis Cardinals
(29-16)
1st in National League Central Division
The Cardinals were four-in-seven. Pretty good!
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
#588. Fan Tango Tuesday: Hootie and the Blowfish
subject: Hootie and the Blowfish
overview: It's a fact of rock music that it just hasn't been the same since '60s, and really I blame Led Zeppelin. Rock was the hot new thing that angered '50s parents and gave us outsize personalities like Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry. Then stuff like the Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who, and The Doors happened. The '70s were a long decade of experimentation that gave us singer-songwriters, disco, and yes, Led Zeppelin. Then in the '80s everything exploded, broke all the rules. The '90s were one long effort to recover from the '80s. Kurt Cobain and Nirvana were a brief effort to do something new, bring it to the next level, but then Cobain died. The rest of the decade struggled to reconstitute rock identity.
And it all started with Hootie and the Blowfish. Hootie broke all the rules. The band was at the vanguard of reviving the '60s rock vibe, scaling back the excesses (which of course the '60s had begun, but surprisingly innocently) that had crept up and splintered interest into a thousand subgenres. Hootie was Southern rock and soul and pop all rolled into one. It sounded laid back. Within a year, though, Hootie was the most popular band of the new generation and then the squarest one around. This was around the time where everyone started to glom onto the hip hop and dance scenes, leaving rock entirely behind.
These days rock is making a comeback, which began with the garage bands of the early '00s like the White Stripes and continued to the folk acts like Mumford & Sons. Everyone is still rebelling against the mainstream sounds of U2 and Coldplay, because as mainstream as rock got with Elvis and the Beatles, observers are still convinced that rock is best represented as rebellion like the mumbling Bob Dylan and R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe.
Hootie stood apart because of its lead singer Darius Rucker, a black man surrounded by three white guys: lead guitarist Mark Bryan, bassist Dean Felber, and drummer Jim "Soni" Sonefeld (who's the one responsible for breakout signature song "Hold My Hand"). Rucker was indisputably the face of the band, who was assumed to be the Hootie in name while everyone else represented the Blowfish (these were actually Rucker and Bryan's nicknames for some old college friends). As much as this common misconception plagued the band, the name itself was so goofy that once people stopped paying attention to the music, they couldn't take the band seriously anymore.
And the glorious reception of the first album was met with dread silence when the second album (led by songs Hootie had dreamed up before its great success) came with much heavier material. Its name was Fairweather Johnson, giving entirely new meaning to the first one's Cracked Rear View. The band knew before anyone else that the ride wouldn't last. In fact, every member of Hootie quickly embraced the dreaded rockstar fate of growing up and starting families, bucking the lifestyle expected of them. It was the first time the slog of the new road scene had been rejected. Rock wasn't guarenteed for instant stardom unless you could accompany your songs with snazzy music videos. Have you ever seen a Hootie music video?
Today the music video aesthetic is built into the whole act since as we all know the music video is already dead.
Yet Hootie endures. Musical Chairs was all about having fun with the music again, while Scattered Smothered & Covered represented the band's covers era bar scene, and an eponymous album tried to replicate the early success. Hootie's most recent album together, 2005's Looking For Lucky, is some of its best work, in which the songs reached true Americana like the work of Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen. Yet the stigma remained. With the radio no longer interested in new Hootie, the band took an extended break. Rucker announced his intentions to become a country star. Everyone scoffed. Then of course it happened.
I've loved every minute of it. Mark Bryan has created two albums of his own material, while Rucker is releasing his third country album today (his first solo effort was an R&B set). They've remained a favorite no matter the incarnation since I first heard them. They're inexplicable to the Led Zeppelin set. Led Zeppelin happened as a direct answer to the original rock vibe, taking all the music and throwing Doors lyrics in front of them. Without Jim Morrison, Doors lyrics are beside the point. It was the jam session, rock as jazz, which the Grateful Dead and the Dave Matthews Band mined to great success, but rock is about the lyrics not just presentation or having a good time, rediscovering the communal messages that go beyond the traditional love message.
That's what Hootie is all about.
highlights:
(Yes, twenty selections. I really, really love Hootie.)
overview: It's a fact of rock music that it just hasn't been the same since '60s, and really I blame Led Zeppelin. Rock was the hot new thing that angered '50s parents and gave us outsize personalities like Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry. Then stuff like the Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who, and The Doors happened. The '70s were a long decade of experimentation that gave us singer-songwriters, disco, and yes, Led Zeppelin. Then in the '80s everything exploded, broke all the rules. The '90s were one long effort to recover from the '80s. Kurt Cobain and Nirvana were a brief effort to do something new, bring it to the next level, but then Cobain died. The rest of the decade struggled to reconstitute rock identity.
And it all started with Hootie and the Blowfish. Hootie broke all the rules. The band was at the vanguard of reviving the '60s rock vibe, scaling back the excesses (which of course the '60s had begun, but surprisingly innocently) that had crept up and splintered interest into a thousand subgenres. Hootie was Southern rock and soul and pop all rolled into one. It sounded laid back. Within a year, though, Hootie was the most popular band of the new generation and then the squarest one around. This was around the time where everyone started to glom onto the hip hop and dance scenes, leaving rock entirely behind.
These days rock is making a comeback, which began with the garage bands of the early '00s like the White Stripes and continued to the folk acts like Mumford & Sons. Everyone is still rebelling against the mainstream sounds of U2 and Coldplay, because as mainstream as rock got with Elvis and the Beatles, observers are still convinced that rock is best represented as rebellion like the mumbling Bob Dylan and R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe.
Hootie stood apart because of its lead singer Darius Rucker, a black man surrounded by three white guys: lead guitarist Mark Bryan, bassist Dean Felber, and drummer Jim "Soni" Sonefeld (who's the one responsible for breakout signature song "Hold My Hand"). Rucker was indisputably the face of the band, who was assumed to be the Hootie in name while everyone else represented the Blowfish (these were actually Rucker and Bryan's nicknames for some old college friends). As much as this common misconception plagued the band, the name itself was so goofy that once people stopped paying attention to the music, they couldn't take the band seriously anymore.
And the glorious reception of the first album was met with dread silence when the second album (led by songs Hootie had dreamed up before its great success) came with much heavier material. Its name was Fairweather Johnson, giving entirely new meaning to the first one's Cracked Rear View. The band knew before anyone else that the ride wouldn't last. In fact, every member of Hootie quickly embraced the dreaded rockstar fate of growing up and starting families, bucking the lifestyle expected of them. It was the first time the slog of the new road scene had been rejected. Rock wasn't guarenteed for instant stardom unless you could accompany your songs with snazzy music videos. Have you ever seen a Hootie music video?
Today the music video aesthetic is built into the whole act since as we all know the music video is already dead.
Yet Hootie endures. Musical Chairs was all about having fun with the music again, while Scattered Smothered & Covered represented the band's covers era bar scene, and an eponymous album tried to replicate the early success. Hootie's most recent album together, 2005's Looking For Lucky, is some of its best work, in which the songs reached true Americana like the work of Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen. Yet the stigma remained. With the radio no longer interested in new Hootie, the band took an extended break. Rucker announced his intentions to become a country star. Everyone scoffed. Then of course it happened.
I've loved every minute of it. Mark Bryan has created two albums of his own material, while Rucker is releasing his third country album today (his first solo effort was an R&B set). They've remained a favorite no matter the incarnation since I first heard them. They're inexplicable to the Led Zeppelin set. Led Zeppelin happened as a direct answer to the original rock vibe, taking all the music and throwing Doors lyrics in front of them. Without Jim Morrison, Doors lyrics are beside the point. It was the jam session, rock as jazz, which the Grateful Dead and the Dave Matthews Band mined to great success, but rock is about the lyrics not just presentation or having a good time, rediscovering the communal messages that go beyond the traditional love message.
That's what Hootie is all about.
highlights:
(Yes, twenty selections. I really, really love Hootie.)
Monday, May 20, 2013
#587. Frog Splash Monday: Now I've Seen WrestleMania 29
The thoughts on WrestleMania 29 will follow shortly, but there are a few topics worth addressing first:
1) Curtis Axel
Mr. Perfect's son Joe Hennig made his debut all over again on Raw tonight. Joe was previously featured in CM Punk's New Nexus circa 2011 as Michael McGillicutty, the name he went under when he competed on NXT (WWE's current breeding ground). This is pretty big. Much like Dean Ambrose as part of The Shield, this is someone the fans have been wanting to see get the call-up for a while. He's the guy who trained with The Rock in his most recent run with the company. The new name might take some getting used to, but it's a legacy combination just like The Rock's originally was ("Rocky Maivia" coming from Dwayne Johnson's father Rocky and grandfather Peter Maivia). Mr. Perfect's real name was Curt Hennig, while Joe's grandfather was known as Larry "The Ax" Hennig. "Curtis Axel" could eventually be boiled down to just Ax or something. "Ax" was also one half of the '80s tag team Demolition (no, not Larry Hennig), but I'm sure fans would be willing for someone with, ah, more talent to share it, much like "The Rock" was previously a nickname for Don Muraco. Joe received a strong push out of the gate tonight as the newest member of the Paul Heyman family (which also includes CM Punk and Brock Lesnar). You might remember Heyman from ECW, the "land of extreme." Joe battled Triple H, the semi-retired legend who lost to Lesnar last night at Extreme Rules in a steel cage match, in the main event. Not too bad! Although of course now fans will be asking all the more loudly to see Richie Steambeat receive similar honors. This particular prospect is the son of Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. If you have to ask who he is, then there's no hope for you.
2) Austin Aries
TNA was on the receiving end of yet another embarrassing episode a few weeks ago when Austin Aries showed a considerable lack of maturity when announcer Christy Hemme misstated his entrance. Hemme is a legitimate wrestling goddess, winning the original WWE Divas Search, but has nicely transitioned into a role more traditionally associated with men (unless you're Lilian Garcia). Aries is one of those ROH alumni renowned for his wrestling prowess. Last year he was given a run as TNA champion, a move that elevated him to the main event, which lately has meant a lot of tag team matches for some of the best wrestlers in the promotion (that's where Bobby Roode, Aries' predecessor as champion and in fact his tag team partner, currently sits, as well as Christopher Daniels, the hottest heel in the company not to be featured in the Aces & Eights faction). Aries decided it was appropriate to block Hemme into the corner and then climb to the second rope (so, let's be clear, his crotch was in her face) while she made the correction. That's just not something you do. TNA as a company has been doing commendable business. I said "yet another embarrassing episode" at the start of this item because in the spring of 2011, Jeff Hardy showed up to the main event of a TNA intoxicated and unable to compete. He subsequently cleaned up his act, thank goodness, and is once again a member in good standing of the wrestling community, but I'm sure there are still fans who will only associate both Hardy and TNA with such bad publicity. Aries has offered an apology, and Hemme accepted, but how could he have possibly thought that was a good idea in the first place?
On to WrestleMania 29!
Sheamus, Randy Orton, & Big Show vs. The Shield
The three names on the left side of this match are all perennial members of the WWE-doesn't-know-what-to-do-with-them-at-WrestleMania club. To be fair, Orton has had a good amount of success,but Big Show's woes are so well-known that they were the whole subject of his match against Cody Rhodes last year. Sheamus has twice had matches against Daniel Bryan sabotaged on the card, and his debut at WrestleMania against Triple H is one of those matches I still keep trying to redeem in my own thoughts. Still, Sheamus had the best showing in this match. As talented as the members of The Shield are, they were mostly playing off the big names. Not a bad match, but curiously devoid of any real momentum, possibly because they had to figure out how to help The Shield win again (they're currently undefeated and last night captured a bunch of championships, led as always by Ambrose).
Ryback vs. Mark Henry
It wasn't until I remembered that a lot of this WrestleMania could very easily be defined by the Hall of Fame induction of WWE legend Bruno Sammartino that the significance of this match clicked. It was all strongman style. That was Sammartino's gimmick, and who better to sell it at WrestleMania than the new Goldberg and the World's Strongest Man?
Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane) vs. Dolph Ziggler & Big E Langston
Langston was another obvious attempt at taking a chip off the old Sammartino. The commentary kept making references at how powerful he is. Ziggler is the new Mr. Perfect, though a version that can win a world championship in WWE (which he did the night after WrestleMania, though he recently suffered a legitimate concussion and so couldn't make his scheduled title defense last night). He wasn't given much to do in this match, however, which has been typical of his WrestleMania appearances. That's always puzzled me. Maybe next year?
Chris Jericho vs. Fandango
I will probably have to watch this match again, but most of it just seemed like it was the consummate professional Jericho at the top of his game, and Fandango merely keeping up. Jericho is one of those wrestlers who can have a good match with anyone, which was all the more necessary in this one because it was Fandango's first actual match in WWE. Their feud continued last night, and it seems to be continuing still. It doesn't hurt that Fandango's sometimes dance partner Summer Rae is turning into an attraction all her own. Previous Divas like AJ Lee (a breakout sensation last year), Sunny, and Sable have always made the most of it. Hopefully Summer can do the same. In the meantime, this match was fun in the same way Jericho's match against Steamboat, Jimmy Snuka, and Roddy Piper was a few years ago. Jericho can have a good match against anyone and even if he's the only one worth watching (and that's not necessarily the case in either of these matches), by god you'll still enjoy yourself.
Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger
A contender for best match of the night. These two had surprisingly good chemistry together. It's entirely possible that they are in fact each other's ideal opponents in the ring. Del Rio has been looking for exactly that since he arrived in late 2010. It was assumed that his match was fellow Mexican superstar Rey Mysterio, but it's Swagger. The company has been trying to make Swagger a star for years, but with his lisp it's hard to take him seriously when he speaks (I don't personally fixate on that, but I know other fans do). That's why he has a mouthpiece in Zeb Coulter. All he has to do is get it done in the ring. It's always good to have two submission specialists unleashed on each other.
Undertaker vs. CM Punk
For a good portion of Undertaker's famed WrestleMania winning streak (after this match now 21-0), he wasn't know for having the best matches on the card. But that has become the norm in recent years. This match was no exception. Punk had been on a hotstreak since the summer of 2011, and aside the injuries that are currently keeping him out of the ring he's shown no signs of slowing down. He's an inspired performer. Every threat to the streak makes big promises about ending it, but few have done it with as much flair as Punk. The death of William Moody, who portrayed Undertaker's long-term manager Paul Bearer, earlier this year provided particularly fruitful material. Where such an angle could easily have been in poor taste, in this instance it was the ultimate tribute. A lot of Undertaker's early WWE matches revolve around his mysterious urn, held like a totem by Bearer at ringside. Punk and Heyman centered a lot of the drama around the urn once again. Probably more rewarding than both recent Triple H matches, and even the ones against "Mr. WrestleMania" Shawn Michaels, whom I contend will be facing Triple H at next year's landmark WrestleMania XXX. It's no coincidence that WWE has been ramping up Shawn's appearances recently. He's been retired since 2010. It's time for one last moment of glory, ending his good buddy Triple H's career once and for all.
Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H
Like The Rock, Lesnar made an unexpected comeback, competing on cards sprinkled throughout the year. His last match before last year's Extreme Rules was at WrestleMania XX against Goldberg. Though he's a wicked heel now, circa 2002-2003 he was the Next Big Thing, the long-awaited second coming of the legitimate WWE big man, Hulk Hogan style, this time one who could pull off a competitive match (the problem was always finding competition). Lesnar had a successful stint in UFC, which has informed his current smashmouth style (and the corporate logo-infused attire he uses to wrestle). Now he's a monster that looks all the more impossible to defeat. This match with Triple H was a more contemporary version of the Sammartino style. Notably the commentary never once mentioned the strongman vibe, even though these are two wrestlers who epitomize it.
The Rock vs. John Cena
A reprise of last year's "Once in a Lifetime" main event was a clear echo of that match, much like Star Trek Into Darkness is of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. And it's a better match precisely for it. If Cena has any real weakness in the ring, it's that he doesn't often seem to realize that a big match should be treated that way. He's had plenty of big matches, but a lot of those big matches (especially the ones against Rob Van Dam and CM Punk) he lost. He lost last year's big match against The Rock, too, and that fact made this one more compelling than its predecessor could have hoped to be. The Rock always benefited from contemporary stars rising to similar levels of success as himself. Cena has often lacked that, or WWE in its incarnations at the time did everything possible to split its attention, keeping Batista and Randy Orton away from him for too long. Instead his early WrestleMania opponents were Triple H and Shawn Michaels, stars of previous generations. Cena in fact had a contemporary with whom he meshed really well, Edge, but their only WrestleMania encounter was a three-way match that also included Big Show (for some reason), and wasn't even the main event of the card. So it's no surprise that he needed some extra help to get it done with Rock. And get it done they did this time.
All in all a pretty good WrestleMania.
***
I'll round today out with an acknowledgement of my ongoing obsession over a different subject entirely, actor Colin Farrell, who was on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight. He was pretty awesome, promoting the animated flick Epic by...talking about his line dancing past. Makes perfect sense!
1) Curtis Axel
Mr. Perfect's son Joe Hennig made his debut all over again on Raw tonight. Joe was previously featured in CM Punk's New Nexus circa 2011 as Michael McGillicutty, the name he went under when he competed on NXT (WWE's current breeding ground). This is pretty big. Much like Dean Ambrose as part of The Shield, this is someone the fans have been wanting to see get the call-up for a while. He's the guy who trained with The Rock in his most recent run with the company. The new name might take some getting used to, but it's a legacy combination just like The Rock's originally was ("Rocky Maivia" coming from Dwayne Johnson's father Rocky and grandfather Peter Maivia). Mr. Perfect's real name was Curt Hennig, while Joe's grandfather was known as Larry "The Ax" Hennig. "Curtis Axel" could eventually be boiled down to just Ax or something. "Ax" was also one half of the '80s tag team Demolition (no, not Larry Hennig), but I'm sure fans would be willing for someone with, ah, more talent to share it, much like "The Rock" was previously a nickname for Don Muraco. Joe received a strong push out of the gate tonight as the newest member of the Paul Heyman family (which also includes CM Punk and Brock Lesnar). You might remember Heyman from ECW, the "land of extreme." Joe battled Triple H, the semi-retired legend who lost to Lesnar last night at Extreme Rules in a steel cage match, in the main event. Not too bad! Although of course now fans will be asking all the more loudly to see Richie Steambeat receive similar honors. This particular prospect is the son of Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. If you have to ask who he is, then there's no hope for you.
2) Austin Aries
TNA was on the receiving end of yet another embarrassing episode a few weeks ago when Austin Aries showed a considerable lack of maturity when announcer Christy Hemme misstated his entrance. Hemme is a legitimate wrestling goddess, winning the original WWE Divas Search, but has nicely transitioned into a role more traditionally associated with men (unless you're Lilian Garcia). Aries is one of those ROH alumni renowned for his wrestling prowess. Last year he was given a run as TNA champion, a move that elevated him to the main event, which lately has meant a lot of tag team matches for some of the best wrestlers in the promotion (that's where Bobby Roode, Aries' predecessor as champion and in fact his tag team partner, currently sits, as well as Christopher Daniels, the hottest heel in the company not to be featured in the Aces & Eights faction). Aries decided it was appropriate to block Hemme into the corner and then climb to the second rope (so, let's be clear, his crotch was in her face) while she made the correction. That's just not something you do. TNA as a company has been doing commendable business. I said "yet another embarrassing episode" at the start of this item because in the spring of 2011, Jeff Hardy showed up to the main event of a TNA intoxicated and unable to compete. He subsequently cleaned up his act, thank goodness, and is once again a member in good standing of the wrestling community, but I'm sure there are still fans who will only associate both Hardy and TNA with such bad publicity. Aries has offered an apology, and Hemme accepted, but how could he have possibly thought that was a good idea in the first place?
On to WrestleMania 29!
Sheamus, Randy Orton, & Big Show vs. The Shield
The three names on the left side of this match are all perennial members of the WWE-doesn't-know-what-to-do-with-them-at-WrestleMania club. To be fair, Orton has had a good amount of success,but Big Show's woes are so well-known that they were the whole subject of his match against Cody Rhodes last year. Sheamus has twice had matches against Daniel Bryan sabotaged on the card, and his debut at WrestleMania against Triple H is one of those matches I still keep trying to redeem in my own thoughts. Still, Sheamus had the best showing in this match. As talented as the members of The Shield are, they were mostly playing off the big names. Not a bad match, but curiously devoid of any real momentum, possibly because they had to figure out how to help The Shield win again (they're currently undefeated and last night captured a bunch of championships, led as always by Ambrose).
Ryback vs. Mark Henry
It wasn't until I remembered that a lot of this WrestleMania could very easily be defined by the Hall of Fame induction of WWE legend Bruno Sammartino that the significance of this match clicked. It was all strongman style. That was Sammartino's gimmick, and who better to sell it at WrestleMania than the new Goldberg and the World's Strongest Man?
Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane) vs. Dolph Ziggler & Big E Langston
Langston was another obvious attempt at taking a chip off the old Sammartino. The commentary kept making references at how powerful he is. Ziggler is the new Mr. Perfect, though a version that can win a world championship in WWE (which he did the night after WrestleMania, though he recently suffered a legitimate concussion and so couldn't make his scheduled title defense last night). He wasn't given much to do in this match, however, which has been typical of his WrestleMania appearances. That's always puzzled me. Maybe next year?
Chris Jericho vs. Fandango
I will probably have to watch this match again, but most of it just seemed like it was the consummate professional Jericho at the top of his game, and Fandango merely keeping up. Jericho is one of those wrestlers who can have a good match with anyone, which was all the more necessary in this one because it was Fandango's first actual match in WWE. Their feud continued last night, and it seems to be continuing still. It doesn't hurt that Fandango's sometimes dance partner Summer Rae is turning into an attraction all her own. Previous Divas like AJ Lee (a breakout sensation last year), Sunny, and Sable have always made the most of it. Hopefully Summer can do the same. In the meantime, this match was fun in the same way Jericho's match against Steamboat, Jimmy Snuka, and Roddy Piper was a few years ago. Jericho can have a good match against anyone and even if he's the only one worth watching (and that's not necessarily the case in either of these matches), by god you'll still enjoy yourself.
Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger
A contender for best match of the night. These two had surprisingly good chemistry together. It's entirely possible that they are in fact each other's ideal opponents in the ring. Del Rio has been looking for exactly that since he arrived in late 2010. It was assumed that his match was fellow Mexican superstar Rey Mysterio, but it's Swagger. The company has been trying to make Swagger a star for years, but with his lisp it's hard to take him seriously when he speaks (I don't personally fixate on that, but I know other fans do). That's why he has a mouthpiece in Zeb Coulter. All he has to do is get it done in the ring. It's always good to have two submission specialists unleashed on each other.
Undertaker vs. CM Punk
For a good portion of Undertaker's famed WrestleMania winning streak (after this match now 21-0), he wasn't know for having the best matches on the card. But that has become the norm in recent years. This match was no exception. Punk had been on a hotstreak since the summer of 2011, and aside the injuries that are currently keeping him out of the ring he's shown no signs of slowing down. He's an inspired performer. Every threat to the streak makes big promises about ending it, but few have done it with as much flair as Punk. The death of William Moody, who portrayed Undertaker's long-term manager Paul Bearer, earlier this year provided particularly fruitful material. Where such an angle could easily have been in poor taste, in this instance it was the ultimate tribute. A lot of Undertaker's early WWE matches revolve around his mysterious urn, held like a totem by Bearer at ringside. Punk and Heyman centered a lot of the drama around the urn once again. Probably more rewarding than both recent Triple H matches, and even the ones against "Mr. WrestleMania" Shawn Michaels, whom I contend will be facing Triple H at next year's landmark WrestleMania XXX. It's no coincidence that WWE has been ramping up Shawn's appearances recently. He's been retired since 2010. It's time for one last moment of glory, ending his good buddy Triple H's career once and for all.
Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H
Like The Rock, Lesnar made an unexpected comeback, competing on cards sprinkled throughout the year. His last match before last year's Extreme Rules was at WrestleMania XX against Goldberg. Though he's a wicked heel now, circa 2002-2003 he was the Next Big Thing, the long-awaited second coming of the legitimate WWE big man, Hulk Hogan style, this time one who could pull off a competitive match (the problem was always finding competition). Lesnar had a successful stint in UFC, which has informed his current smashmouth style (and the corporate logo-infused attire he uses to wrestle). Now he's a monster that looks all the more impossible to defeat. This match with Triple H was a more contemporary version of the Sammartino style. Notably the commentary never once mentioned the strongman vibe, even though these are two wrestlers who epitomize it.
The Rock vs. John Cena
A reprise of last year's "Once in a Lifetime" main event was a clear echo of that match, much like Star Trek Into Darkness is of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. And it's a better match precisely for it. If Cena has any real weakness in the ring, it's that he doesn't often seem to realize that a big match should be treated that way. He's had plenty of big matches, but a lot of those big matches (especially the ones against Rob Van Dam and CM Punk) he lost. He lost last year's big match against The Rock, too, and that fact made this one more compelling than its predecessor could have hoped to be. The Rock always benefited from contemporary stars rising to similar levels of success as himself. Cena has often lacked that, or WWE in its incarnations at the time did everything possible to split its attention, keeping Batista and Randy Orton away from him for too long. Instead his early WrestleMania opponents were Triple H and Shawn Michaels, stars of previous generations. Cena in fact had a contemporary with whom he meshed really well, Edge, but their only WrestleMania encounter was a three-way match that also included Big Show (for some reason), and wasn't even the main event of the card. So it's no surprise that he needed some extra help to get it done with Rock. And get it done they did this time.
All in all a pretty good WrestleMania.
***
I'll round today out with an acknowledgement of my ongoing obsession over a different subject entirely, actor Colin Farrell, who was on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight. He was pretty awesome, promoting the animated flick Epic by...talking about his line dancing past. Makes perfect sense!
Sunday, May 19, 2013
#586. Life & Theft Sunday: A Grunt
recently i was thinking
about war again
durm und strang
and bang and blame
i think the people
who hate war the most
are the ones who can't
keep their own horrors
out of their eyes
war is a terrible thing
don't get me wrong
but there are a lot of bad things
that happen all around us
all the time and war
has its worst effects in the mind
where most war is pitched
every single day
far from the battlefield
or at least any
that will ever be
commemorated
so what is it
about war and people
getting blown to bits
because that's
what they set out to do?
we find it a horror
because we can't imagine
how anyone could volunteer
for such a fete
yet we've been a volunteer army
for decades now
and the strange thing is
i wish we still had the draft
i wish we still had the draft
because it prevents all the typical bullshit
it prevents assholes from telling you
that you can't fight for your country
because once you go volunteer
you can be rejected
and i know all about that now
when there's a draft
they'll take anyone
and you're all in it for the same reasons
when you volunteer you can be screened away
like it's a good thing to reject the willing
on technicalities while those who slipped in
can be as bad as they want to be
like all the assholes behind a wheel
on the battlefields of the road
volunteers come into a regimented culture
but it's an artificial one that's just as phony
as anywhere else
the drafted were always forced into conformity
because there was no telling where they came from
the drafted could bitch about the horrors with justification
volunteers have no one to blame but themselves
and damned if no one still knows the difference
war in a volunteer state is a tacit approval
and a true dichotomy of the culture
even after all that culture revolution
there are still people who believe in war
and ain't that a bitch?
until the other day i thought the iraq war
was less stupid than the popular opinion suggested
a hangover of the vietnam years that we still cling to
like dependents on the drugs that helped make it possible
you all said bush was an idiot
burning in his own folly
you still claim that it made no sense
and yet it made all the sense in the world
the only problem is that we lost the stomach for resolve
and instead just wanted to believe in absent hope
hope in the middle of climate change
is like a winter that doesn't want to go away
snow in the middle of spring
and spring in the middle of winter
when the levies broke we all saw monsters
a hushpuppy in a bathtub
well maybe it was an obsession
that wasn't so healthy after all
but in a lot of ways it really was inevitable
a mess we had to clean up if we ever wanted
to look at ourselves in the mirror again
and in the 21st century mirrors are no longer miracles
but more of our patented nightmares
they're on the walls and nowhere in the landscape
and there is no fairest of them all
just another warrior attempting to find their grail
in a childrens crusade to a holy land
stuck in a quagmire of conflicting faith
all derived from the same source
but speaking a different language
someone is making the argument
that all of this makes sense
and that the only explanation is that
black is still black and white is still white
but black isn't a color and neither is white
these are absences and they are the abyss
and we are all staring at it
never once realizing that it is indeed
staring back at us
we moonwalk toward Golgotha
and there's not a Cyrenian in sight
and we look upon the grim works of
Ozymandias and tremble because we no longer know
how to look at history with any perspective
perhaps because all those books of Alexander's
were lost and really i was recently reminded
that 97% of human history was left off the annals
so what do we really know except what we tell ourselves?
drafted into this world and volunteered to fight a war
i try to blend all the disparate conflicting impulses
that float around me and the life and the theft of it
are just things that happen before it all ends
so tell me again why i should be outraged
or why i shouldn't be outraged
every single day
i respond with a grunt
about war again
durm und strang
and bang and blame
i think the people
who hate war the most
are the ones who can't
keep their own horrors
out of their eyes
war is a terrible thing
don't get me wrong
but there are a lot of bad things
that happen all around us
all the time and war
has its worst effects in the mind
where most war is pitched
every single day
far from the battlefield
or at least any
that will ever be
commemorated
so what is it
about war and people
getting blown to bits
because that's
what they set out to do?
we find it a horror
because we can't imagine
how anyone could volunteer
for such a fete
yet we've been a volunteer army
for decades now
and the strange thing is
i wish we still had the draft
i wish we still had the draft
because it prevents all the typical bullshit
it prevents assholes from telling you
that you can't fight for your country
because once you go volunteer
you can be rejected
and i know all about that now
when there's a draft
they'll take anyone
and you're all in it for the same reasons
when you volunteer you can be screened away
like it's a good thing to reject the willing
on technicalities while those who slipped in
can be as bad as they want to be
like all the assholes behind a wheel
on the battlefields of the road
volunteers come into a regimented culture
but it's an artificial one that's just as phony
as anywhere else
the drafted were always forced into conformity
because there was no telling where they came from
the drafted could bitch about the horrors with justification
volunteers have no one to blame but themselves
and damned if no one still knows the difference
war in a volunteer state is a tacit approval
and a true dichotomy of the culture
even after all that culture revolution
there are still people who believe in war
and ain't that a bitch?
until the other day i thought the iraq war
was less stupid than the popular opinion suggested
a hangover of the vietnam years that we still cling to
like dependents on the drugs that helped make it possible
you all said bush was an idiot
burning in his own folly
you still claim that it made no sense
and yet it made all the sense in the world
the only problem is that we lost the stomach for resolve
and instead just wanted to believe in absent hope
hope in the middle of climate change
is like a winter that doesn't want to go away
snow in the middle of spring
and spring in the middle of winter
when the levies broke we all saw monsters
a hushpuppy in a bathtub
well maybe it was an obsession
that wasn't so healthy after all
but in a lot of ways it really was inevitable
a mess we had to clean up if we ever wanted
to look at ourselves in the mirror again
and in the 21st century mirrors are no longer miracles
but more of our patented nightmares
they're on the walls and nowhere in the landscape
and there is no fairest of them all
just another warrior attempting to find their grail
in a childrens crusade to a holy land
stuck in a quagmire of conflicting faith
all derived from the same source
but speaking a different language
someone is making the argument
that all of this makes sense
and that the only explanation is that
black is still black and white is still white
but black isn't a color and neither is white
these are absences and they are the abyss
and we are all staring at it
never once realizing that it is indeed
staring back at us
we moonwalk toward Golgotha
and there's not a Cyrenian in sight
and we look upon the grim works of
Ozymandias and tremble because we no longer know
how to look at history with any perspective
perhaps because all those books of Alexander's
were lost and really i was recently reminded
that 97% of human history was left off the annals
so what do we really know except what we tell ourselves?
drafted into this world and volunteered to fight a war
i try to blend all the disparate conflicting impulses
that float around me and the life and the theft of it
are just things that happen before it all ends
so tell me again why i should be outraged
or why i shouldn't be outraged
every single day
i respond with a grunt
Friday, May 17, 2013
#585. Direct Current Friday
Rounding out the week, I'll secretly be participating in the Remakes Blogfest, but not until later in the post. I've decided that if I do things officially, it just won't work out. Somewhere along the way I think I either really did alienate everyone or somehow it was construed that I don't want comments. I love comments. I loved the dialogue that went into some of the comments recently, and would love to continue that. Although if I really have alienated everyone, as the title of the obscure Marlon Brando movie suggests, Sayonara.
Today Star Trek Into Darkness opens. This counts as a holiday for me, although I probably won't be seeing it until tomorrow. When Star Trek opened four years ago, I used it as an excuse to make repeated trips to the movie theater to see it in an almost exact replica of the instant adoration I had for The Dark Knight a year earlier. Sadly I have no monies in 2013, so I will not really be able to do that again, but I would beg borrow and steal my way into the auditorium for this.
I'm a Star Trek fan. Some of us call ourselves Trekkies, and some of us call ourselves Trekkers (because let's face it, "Trekkies" sounds stupid). I'm not a Star Trek fan in the sense that I regularly attend conventions and have psychotically (but awesomely) retrofitted my living quarters into a replica of a set. In fact, I've only ever been to one convention, and I had to leave before Robert Picardo made his appearance (yes, one celebrity appearance, so obviously not a big one). I'm a Star Trek fan in that I've loved Star Trek for a long time. It's not just one or two of the series or movies that I love. I have a whole blog committed to the entire franchise.
Ten years ago it was a rotten time to be a Star Trek fan, or at least one the least bit attuned to the rest of the community. Star Trek Nemesis had bombed in theaters over the winter, and Enterprise was limping its way to a woebegone conclusion two years later. Fans talked more about what they hated than what they loved. It was my introduction to Internet culture. Everyone's too cool for the room, harvesting a cult of personality rather than insightful commentary. I'm more of an insightful commentary kind of guy.
And so when I talk about Star Trek, it's about the things I love, and I love Star Trek because there are many things I love about it. I don't spread this love around unconditionally. It just so happens that Star Trek has a hard time disappointing me. The last time I was disappointed with it, I pretty much stopped experiencing the offender, which is the pocket universe of the Pocket Books novels. I used to read those all the time. I guess the more filmed Star Trek there was, the less tolerance I had for work that I found poorly derivative. Although that's what the fans who hated the later filmed material said about that, too.
It's all a matter of perspective. And I'm coming back around on the books, by the way. I'll be reading a few of them probably later this year. Anyway, it's not such a bad time to be a fan these days. Star Trek was more popular than any other film in the series. It made buckets and buckets of money. We're only just now getting another one, but that only figures. I maintain to this day that the main problem a decade ago was franchise fatigue. The fans went from having a single series that had run for three seasons to a new movie every few years a decade later to another series and more movies to three more series for more than another decade...These fans found plenty of shiny new obsessions, and they had their fun elsewhere.
The reboot was something some of us had dreaded for years. There was such an interconnectedness to the previous version and all its incarnations, despite minor deviations here and there, it was for those who could follow it exactly like a given author's beloved epic cycle. But the reboot worked. It was immediately different from what had come before, but it put a new focus on some of the elements that badly needed attention in the original versions of Kirk and his pals, being a knowing examination of these characters. Kirk and Spock were already legends. Now the stories themselves explained why instead of just letting the fans extrapolate.
Some people say the J.J. Abrams version of Star Trek is missing the insightful commentary of its predecessors. I offer a counterargument that this Star Trek has that, in spades. It speaks about the human condition, using the main characters, and doesn't do too much to distract from that, other than all the spiffy whizzbang action that won Abrams a seat at the Star Wars table. Star Trek has always been about the human condition, from Christopher Pike being held captive by the Talosians to "Trip" Tucker deciding to sacrifice himself so his buddy Jonathan Archer could disentangle himself from the mess Shran made. Every incarnation of Star Trek has interpreted this basic mandate differently. The new movies are no different.
***
The remake I choose to spotlight in my unofficial participation in the blogfest is The Maltese Falcon.
Wait just a hot dog minute, The Maltese Falcon a remake?!? The classic starring Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre?!? Indeed, grasshopper. It's also based on a book!
Okay, maybe you knew that one. Dashiell Hammett's book was published in 1930. Someone in Hollywood figured it would make a great movie. The Maltese Falcon was duly released in 1931. And then Satan Met a Lady was released in 1936. Bogart's Falcon, "the stuff dreams are made of," came out in 1941. It was an instant classic, a masterpiece of film noir.
And just think, all those people who claim remakes are a terrible thing would have done everything possible to block it from ever being made given half a chance. What are they, a thug in The Maltese Falcon? I know, I know, they usually adopt this stance because they hate to see a treasured memory attempt to be replaced. Obviously most remakes aren't based on actual treasured memories. Except Harrison Ford's The Fugitive. Or Judy Garland's The Wizard of Oz. You get the idea. "Remakes" are the basis of storytelling itself. You only think it's about original ideas. A story is only a version of something that already exists. It's inspired, no matter how tenuously, on events whether fictional or real. Every single story ever.
I'd much rather live in a world where Bogart's Maltese Falcon exists, thank you. I love that Homer helped give us The Iliad, and The Odyssey. Those poems were composed centuries after the events they evoke. Stories based on stories.
For the bonus round of music, I'm going unorthodox again. As I recently stated, I'm a fan of the Beatles. For a few years, I collected issues of the British music magazine Mojo that included complete covers of Beatles albums, uniting various artists and their particular interpretations of the songs. My favorite remains Revolver Reloaded, based of course on Revolver, another of their formative masterpieces. It includes Mark Mulcahy's version of "She Said She Said," which is to my mind the definitive one. These Mojo albums were probably why I was able to enjoy the movie Across the Universe so much, because it features another collective effort to cover Beatles song. As far as I'm concerned, you can't go wrong with Beatles songs.
Plus we wouldn't have this without remakes.
And I really wouldn't want to live in a world where that wasn't possible.
Today Star Trek Into Darkness opens. This counts as a holiday for me, although I probably won't be seeing it until tomorrow. When Star Trek opened four years ago, I used it as an excuse to make repeated trips to the movie theater to see it in an almost exact replica of the instant adoration I had for The Dark Knight a year earlier. Sadly I have no monies in 2013, so I will not really be able to do that again, but I would beg borrow and steal my way into the auditorium for this.
I'm a Star Trek fan. Some of us call ourselves Trekkies, and some of us call ourselves Trekkers (because let's face it, "Trekkies" sounds stupid). I'm not a Star Trek fan in the sense that I regularly attend conventions and have psychotically (but awesomely) retrofitted my living quarters into a replica of a set. In fact, I've only ever been to one convention, and I had to leave before Robert Picardo made his appearance (yes, one celebrity appearance, so obviously not a big one). I'm a Star Trek fan in that I've loved Star Trek for a long time. It's not just one or two of the series or movies that I love. I have a whole blog committed to the entire franchise.
Ten years ago it was a rotten time to be a Star Trek fan, or at least one the least bit attuned to the rest of the community. Star Trek Nemesis had bombed in theaters over the winter, and Enterprise was limping its way to a woebegone conclusion two years later. Fans talked more about what they hated than what they loved. It was my introduction to Internet culture. Everyone's too cool for the room, harvesting a cult of personality rather than insightful commentary. I'm more of an insightful commentary kind of guy.
And so when I talk about Star Trek, it's about the things I love, and I love Star Trek because there are many things I love about it. I don't spread this love around unconditionally. It just so happens that Star Trek has a hard time disappointing me. The last time I was disappointed with it, I pretty much stopped experiencing the offender, which is the pocket universe of the Pocket Books novels. I used to read those all the time. I guess the more filmed Star Trek there was, the less tolerance I had for work that I found poorly derivative. Although that's what the fans who hated the later filmed material said about that, too.
It's all a matter of perspective. And I'm coming back around on the books, by the way. I'll be reading a few of them probably later this year. Anyway, it's not such a bad time to be a fan these days. Star Trek was more popular than any other film in the series. It made buckets and buckets of money. We're only just now getting another one, but that only figures. I maintain to this day that the main problem a decade ago was franchise fatigue. The fans went from having a single series that had run for three seasons to a new movie every few years a decade later to another series and more movies to three more series for more than another decade...These fans found plenty of shiny new obsessions, and they had their fun elsewhere.
The reboot was something some of us had dreaded for years. There was such an interconnectedness to the previous version and all its incarnations, despite minor deviations here and there, it was for those who could follow it exactly like a given author's beloved epic cycle. But the reboot worked. It was immediately different from what had come before, but it put a new focus on some of the elements that badly needed attention in the original versions of Kirk and his pals, being a knowing examination of these characters. Kirk and Spock were already legends. Now the stories themselves explained why instead of just letting the fans extrapolate.
Some people say the J.J. Abrams version of Star Trek is missing the insightful commentary of its predecessors. I offer a counterargument that this Star Trek has that, in spades. It speaks about the human condition, using the main characters, and doesn't do too much to distract from that, other than all the spiffy whizzbang action that won Abrams a seat at the Star Wars table. Star Trek has always been about the human condition, from Christopher Pike being held captive by the Talosians to "Trip" Tucker deciding to sacrifice himself so his buddy Jonathan Archer could disentangle himself from the mess Shran made. Every incarnation of Star Trek has interpreted this basic mandate differently. The new movies are no different.
***
The remake I choose to spotlight in my unofficial participation in the blogfest is The Maltese Falcon.
Wait just a hot dog minute, The Maltese Falcon a remake?!? The classic starring Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre?!? Indeed, grasshopper. It's also based on a book!
Okay, maybe you knew that one. Dashiell Hammett's book was published in 1930. Someone in Hollywood figured it would make a great movie. The Maltese Falcon was duly released in 1931. And then Satan Met a Lady was released in 1936. Bogart's Falcon, "the stuff dreams are made of," came out in 1941. It was an instant classic, a masterpiece of film noir.
And just think, all those people who claim remakes are a terrible thing would have done everything possible to block it from ever being made given half a chance. What are they, a thug in The Maltese Falcon? I know, I know, they usually adopt this stance because they hate to see a treasured memory attempt to be replaced. Obviously most remakes aren't based on actual treasured memories. Except Harrison Ford's The Fugitive. Or Judy Garland's The Wizard of Oz. You get the idea. "Remakes" are the basis of storytelling itself. You only think it's about original ideas. A story is only a version of something that already exists. It's inspired, no matter how tenuously, on events whether fictional or real. Every single story ever.
I'd much rather live in a world where Bogart's Maltese Falcon exists, thank you. I love that Homer helped give us The Iliad, and The Odyssey. Those poems were composed centuries after the events they evoke. Stories based on stories.
For the bonus round of music, I'm going unorthodox again. As I recently stated, I'm a fan of the Beatles. For a few years, I collected issues of the British music magazine Mojo that included complete covers of Beatles albums, uniting various artists and their particular interpretations of the songs. My favorite remains Revolver Reloaded, based of course on Revolver, another of their formative masterpieces. It includes Mark Mulcahy's version of "She Said She Said," which is to my mind the definitive one. These Mojo albums were probably why I was able to enjoy the movie Across the Universe so much, because it features another collective effort to cover Beatles song. As far as I'm concerned, you can't go wrong with Beatles songs.
Plus we wouldn't have this without remakes.
And I really wouldn't want to live in a world where that wasn't possible.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
#584. Leo Five Thursday
(I'm a pretty big Beatles fan, though this one ends alluding specifically to a George Harrison song, "My Sweet Lord," after referencing a Beatles album, Rubber Soul, which is considered the first of their great work. It features "Drive My Car," "Norwegian Wood," "Nowhere Man," "Michelle," "Girl," "In My Life," and others. "Rubber soul" is a term I've adopted for myself, trying to figure out why it's so hard to find others like me. I've used it in my poetry. The Q&A format of this one comes from one of the books I'm currently reading, Rez Salute by Jim Northtrup.)
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
#583. Pop Fly Wednesday
Before we get to baseball, let me just continue to express my ongoing frustrations. I am not a pessimist, I'm a realist. People love to quote the affirmative that persistence leads to success. I'm sure it looks exactly like that from the other side, when persistence works. The truth is, persistence is only the act of repeatedly doing the same thing expecting a different result. Some people also call that insanity. Success is not inevitable. We cannot all succeed. Sometimes a story really is about failure. Since this post is in fact about baseball, statistically speaking in every game someone wins and...someone loses. There are other sports where ties are possible, but baseball isn't one of them. The team at the top of a division could very well have been at the bottom last season. That's how the Red Sox are. We members of the Nation lived through eighty-six years fully believing in the Curse. Great ballplayers like Carl Yastrzemski, Ted Williams, Carlton Fisk, Jim Rice, and Wade Boggs never saw Boston win the World Series as active players. And that's just the guys who played in the Majors. I remember watching a near-perfect game from knuckleballer Charlie Zink at a Portland Seadogs game. I was eager to see Charlie eventually succeed Tim Wakefield as the Sox knuckleball ace. That never happened. There was a Lisbon, ME recruit when I was in high school who entered the farm system and never amounted to anything. Even being exceptional isn't always good enough. Lewiston, ME boxer Joey Gamache was a local legend, but I'm sure most people have never heard of him.
This is not really about being famous or having a tangible sense of accomplishment. These are names that went pretty far, but by conventional standards still didn't go all the way. Persistence doesn't always lead to success. We all love success stories. Those are the true affirmations, but they might also be exceptions to the rule. If the Red Sox are doing really well this season, it means some other team isn't. We can't all be winners. This is merely a sobering message, not the musings of a quitter or someone forgetting their dreams.
***
The Boston Red Sox
As it happens, Beantown has dropped two spots. They're currently three games behind the Yankees. Since last Wednesday their fortunes have not been so great. Clay Buchhulz hasn't won another game. In fact, the only game they won in this stretch was on Friday against the Toronto Blue Jays, on the strength of Jon Lester's pitching.
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
These guys are still doing pretty miserably, ten games out of first place, although they won more games in this stretch than the Red Sox. Mark Trumbo is batting .264, Mike Trout .286 (first time this season he's been ahead of Trumbo?), and Albert Pujols .242 (which is slightly better than when we last checked in).
The Oakland Athletics
The A's had a couple of wins in this stretch. They're also a bunch of games out of first place. And Coco Crisp has been recently been on the disabled list! But it's okay because he returns today.
The St. Louis Cardinals
At least these guys are still leading their pack. (Remember that at one point, the Sox, A's, and Cardinals were all tops of their divisions, while the Angels were...the best team in Anaheim.) They won five games in this stretch. Go Cardinals! Somewhere the squirrels are really happy.
This is not really about being famous or having a tangible sense of accomplishment. These are names that went pretty far, but by conventional standards still didn't go all the way. Persistence doesn't always lead to success. We all love success stories. Those are the true affirmations, but they might also be exceptions to the rule. If the Red Sox are doing really well this season, it means some other team isn't. We can't all be winners. This is merely a sobering message, not the musings of a quitter or someone forgetting their dreams.
***
The Boston Red Sox
As it happens, Beantown has dropped two spots. They're currently three games behind the Yankees. Since last Wednesday their fortunes have not been so great. Clay Buchhulz hasn't won another game. In fact, the only game they won in this stretch was on Friday against the Toronto Blue Jays, on the strength of Jon Lester's pitching.
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
These guys are still doing pretty miserably, ten games out of first place, although they won more games in this stretch than the Red Sox. Mark Trumbo is batting .264, Mike Trout .286 (first time this season he's been ahead of Trumbo?), and Albert Pujols .242 (which is slightly better than when we last checked in).
The Oakland Athletics
The A's had a couple of wins in this stretch. They're also a bunch of games out of first place. And Coco Crisp has been recently been on the disabled list! But it's okay because he returns today.
The St. Louis Cardinals
At least these guys are still leading their pack. (Remember that at one point, the Sox, A's, and Cardinals were all tops of their divisions, while the Angels were...the best team in Anaheim.) They won five games in this stretch. Go Cardinals! Somewhere the squirrels are really happy.
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