Missing In Action

Let's get one thing straight right off the bat... I still love you. I have been remiss as remiss can be regarding posting an entry here, and I apologize to all, well, 4 of you that actually seem to read this. As you know -or don't- there's been some change in my life the last few weeks, and my mother was in town for 3 consecutive weekends as well. Free time has been at a premium. I've thought about popping in and saying hello to you, and then I get distracted, and... well, you get it.

I've come into the possession of a few new albums recently, so I thought I'd do some quick takes n said albums for your reading pleasure.

• Coldplay - "Mylo Xyloto" I kept hearing things being said that this album was a departure of sorts. Once I finally took my first listen, I thought the same thing. After a few more listens, this isn't so much a departure as it is just a "peppier" album at times, with a few really dance-y tracks. Are you a fan of the typical Coldplay sound structure? Are you a fan of how Chris Martin seems to have a thing for in-verse-repetition? Well, this album certainly won't disappoint you at all. I thought they'd have a tough time following up "Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends," which was possibly their best album to date. MX isn't as good as Viva, but I think it's a lot better than I expected it to be... new-ish sound or not. Stronger tracks include "Hurts Like Heaven," "Charlie Brown," "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall," and "Princess of China (feat. Rhianna)."
  
  
• Bjork - "Biophilia" I want to like this album more than I do. One of the things I've always loved about Ms. Guðmundsdóttir is her seeming inability to stand still and not grow musically. You could wait for a new Bjork record and know you'd hear something new. I just don't hear that this time around. Now, it's fair to say that Bjork has been in the business for over 20 years between her solo career and her time in the Sugarcubes (not to mention bootleg recordings in Icelandic from when she was a child), so maybe her time to be completely "out there" and "new" is done. That said, this isn't a terrible album, I just expected it to grab me more. Stronger tracks include ""Crystalline," "Virus," and "Mutual Core."
  
  
• Radiohead - "TKOL RMX 1234567" Sure, I loves me some Radiohead, but one thing I'm not always a fan of remix albums. These tracks (save for one) are remixes from the album "The King Of Limbs," released earlier this year. The original album is 38 minutes, so I was a touch surprised to see a remix album at 1:45. 2 discs worth of material with several of the tracks having numerous remixes. It's about what one would expect. Some of the mixes are very fresh, very innovative, very what I wanted to hear on the Bjork album. Some of the tracks are just... just... well, they're on the album, we'll leave it there. I'd suggest certain tracks, but mixes seem to be a very personal thing, so I'd just check out what you can. Overall, a positive review, but I think one disc's worth would've been fine.
  
  
• Tom Waits - "Bad As Me" Look, it's tough for me to "recommend" any Tom Waits album, as he's just so out there, and his voice makes Bob Dylan's sound like he's a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. But musically and lyrically, Waits is still at the top of his game. If you're into crazy symbolism and a guy who sounds like he just got done making love to a carton of Parliament Lights, Tom Waits is the guy for you. "Bad As Me" has many of the sounds we've heard in later Waits releases such as "Real Gone," and "Mule Variations." If you can only hear a couple of tracks, try "Chicago," "Get Lost," "Bad As Me," and "Satisfied."
  
  
• Erasure - "Tomorrow's World" I suppose there's a bit of a bias towards a band whose lead singer once hit on me when I was a wee lad (well, not "To Catch A Predator wee," but you know), so take all of this with a grain of salt. They're still making fun albums after all these years. There's sometimes when I want to listen to some deep stuff that makes me think, and sometimes I just want to bop my head. "Tomorrow's World" fits that bill beautifully. Enough of the Erasure sound that we've come to know and love to keep us interested, and some fun extras on the deluxe edition. Tracks of note: "When I Start To (Break It All Down)," "Be With You," "What Will I Say When You're Gone," "Just When I Thought It Was Ending."
  
  
• Haberdashery - "Tonight The Angels" Last entry had a little bias, this one has a ton of it. Local Chicago artist, and personal friend Stephen Pearlman is at it again with his 5th long-form release. Bias time: it's his best yet. He envokes so much of the artist we covered in the previous paragraph, but his lyricism is all his own. In this release, he's got messages to his daughter, songs about love, all sorts of things. Again, I'm totally biased, so all I can say is that you need to go to his site, www.haberdasheryinfo.com, and check out the new record. It's also available at CD Baby and iTunes. It's a great album, trust me, you'll love it. Best tracks include "Tonight The Angels," "Tonight Is Forever," "The Answer," and "You Save My Life." (Seriously, check it out).

Okay, I've given you enough to read and listen to in the next few days/weeks... you've got a lot of work to do. I'll hit you all again, soon.

Where Have I BEEN?!?!

Where Have I BEEN?!?!
Oh my, it's been 3-weeks since I've seen you, my internet darlings. No, no, no, I still love you. Internet issues and a busy schedule conspired to an inability for me to sit down and do this the last couple of weeks. Since there's a lot to get to, let's not waste anymore of your valuable and pretty time...

• Hey, look, the Bears are .500. The loss against the Saints was absolutely predictable. The loss against the Packers was also predictable, but I sort of figured they'd play a tighter game since that's how Bears-Packers tends to roll. I expected the offense to do better against the Panthers today, and they did to an extent. I adore the idea of Cutler handing off the ball to Matt Forte a lot more than I like watching him get slammed on his back by opposing linebackers. And it was nice to see Devin Hester look at himself in the mirror and remind himself "Hey, I'm Devin Hester," and have one of his patented "go-off" games. The problem is, you can't always rely on Special Teams to bail you out of sticky situations. The defense didn't really stop Cam Newton all that well, and if you take away Special Teams points, the Bears lose this game. I know certain teams have a specialty, they're known for offense, defense, a running game, whatever. If your #1 attribute is Special Teams, a facet of the game that might be on the field for 90 total game-seconds of an entire game, you're not going to win a ton of games. Of course, it's always nice to see a victory, so I can't complain too much.
• You know what I love more than the MLB Playoffs? MLB late-season collapses! Yes, I know, I'm a Cubs fan, and the 1969 Cubs had a September-swoon for the ages. That's the point, misery loves company. At least I know it's not always just bad for the Cubs when this happens. My own personal schadenfreude, if you will. Now, you know what's better than a MLB late-season collapse? 2 of them at the very same time! Both teams even had Boston connections. The Boston Red Sox blew something like a 9 game lead for the AL Wild Card going into September, and the Atlanta (formerly Boston and Milwaukee Braves) surrendered a similar lead in the NL Wild Card (Hey, Braves, thanks for surrendering that lead to the St. Louis Cardinals, allowing them into the postseason... jerks). The thing about the Red Sox is both a mystery and easily explained. Injuries had taken their toll, but they also just inexplicably had a bad beginning and end to the season. And that's what folks forget, here. If the Red Sox don't have a miserable April, they're in the playoffs. It's a reminder that it's a 162 game season, and even games early on count in the standings, and could help or hurt you in September. It's just amusing because they were preseason picks to represent the AL in the World Series, and now I've got more to do with my week coming up than they do. The Braves' situation is more of a mystery. They've been a ballclub on the rise for a couple of years, and looked so strong all season. Then, the wheels just absolutely came off. I will say this about the collapses, it made the end of the season -with divisions that weren't in doubt by week one of the month- ultimately exciting. It made the final day of the season unbelievably exciting. No playoff match had been decided, in either league, until the end of the 162nd game for each squad. That was unprecedented in the Wild Card era.
• Speaking of the Cubs and collapses (this one being IN the playoffs), I'd like to recommend the ESPN Films documentary "Catching Hell." It's a very in-depth account of the infamous Steve Bartman play in Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS. I have to say, it was slightly hurtful to see that play again and again and again during the documentary, but it was more hurtful to get actual accounts as to what was going on in the ballpark around that poor guy that night. I'd like to add my own story:
  I remember hosting 10 people at my apartment the night of that game. We were only a few blocks from Wrigley Field, and were ready to head to Clark Street if the Cubs won the game, punching their first ticket to the World Series since 1945. Folks started showing up at my place around 90 minutes before game-time, and the "imbibing" began around that point. It was a lovely, brisk October evening, and we were all ready for a fun night. I had AIM going with some folks who couldn't make the party, making it one of my first ever multi-media events. ;) Anyways, I'd say of the 10 people over, 5 were devout Cubs fans, 3 were "newbies," and 2 were guests of other folks who didn't give a shit.
  Cut to the 8th inning when it all goes down. The play happens, and everyone in my apartment went apeshit with anger, even the 2 people who didn't really care (they were just into the moment/drunk). Even in my slightly intoxicated state, all I could think was "that poor son-of-a-bitch." My friend Adam, the biggest baseball fan I know, sends a message on AIM that said the exact same thing. I spent the next few moments attempting to calm down my guests and tell them "he didn't do anything wrong, he was doing what anyone would do, and what several people around him were doing." Calming down my friends became harder and harder once Gonzo booted the ball at short, and Mark Prior began to shit himself like he was shooting a Pampers commercial. Even using that as my argument didn't work. "Hey, that dude in the stands didn't drop the ball at shortstop or throw the pitches that the Marlins hit into the outfield grass." The damage was done, and at the end of the inning, a 3-0 lead was an 8-3 deficit. On AIM, Adam was writing "this is it, right? This is when it all begins to end, right?" We had no way of officially knowing how the next night would go in Game 7, but we just knew it was over. I think by the time the final pitch was thrown in Game 6, only 2 of the original 10 people remained in my apartment, as folks knew the writing was on the wall and left in the top of the 9th. The 3 of us just sat there. To say a stunned silence permeated the room would be a grave understatement. We turned on the news to see footage of a yet-unnamed Steve Bartman being taken into the offices at Wrigley Field. My two stragglers finally spoke and wished awful things on the guy. I sat there internally hoping he was safe, and knowing his life had been inexorably changed. The Cubs really need to win the World Series in his lifetime to get him off the hook for the incident, and so he can resume a normal life.
• Well, we're finally past the Grammy Nomination period, it having ended on September 30th. Anyone think Adele could not sweep things? I still think she has it locked up, but I will say this... Tony Bennett's "Duets II" scares me a little bit. 85-year old debuts at #1 for the first time in his career, and the album contains the last recording of Amy Winehouse. That's a recipe for Grammy love. Let's just hope that the voters realize how forward Adele's album was in comparison to Bennett's rehashing old jazz songs with newer artists. And don't get me wrong, I loves me some Tony Bennett, and Duets II is nice. Adele is just a juggernaut that shouldn't be stopped this year. Not at all.

I think that's enough for now. If you're all very good and eat your vegetables, I just might put up a second post this week to make up for the lost time. You're all so pretty. So very pretty.