Random Play Friday November 6, 2009
Posted by Matt in Random Play.Tags: Ipod, random, shuffle
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My Ipod contains over 5,400 songs, so anytime I hit “Shuffle Songs” it is interesting to see what comes up. Because of the nature of my work, I am able to listen to music through headphones most of the time, so naturally I do so and I thought I would share with you what came up when I “shuffled” today. Enjoy.
The Avett Brothers – Distraction #74
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – The Last Song I Will Write
Arcade Fire – Crown of Love
Josh Ritter – Lillian, Egypt
The National – Green Gloves
Bruce Springsteen – Into the Fire
North Mississippi All-Stars – Keep the Devil Down
Cypress Hill – Cock the Hammer
Tom Waits – Eyeball Kid
Sonic Youth – Kissability
Iron and Wine – Naked As We Came
Phish – Wolfman’s Brother (live)
Deer Tick – Smith Hill
Steve Earle – Hillbilly Highway
Okkervil River – Black
Beastie Boys – Shake Your Rump
Led Zeppelin – In My Time of Dying
Thom Yorke – And it Rained all Night
Al Green – Sha La La
Band of Horses – Lamb of the Lam (In the City)
MGMT – Kids
Free Music Friday – Neko Case November 6, 2009
Posted by Matt in free music friday.Tags: Deep Red Bells, neko case, video
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After seeing her earlier this week, I just had to post one of her songs. Here is one from a few years back, “Deep Red Bells.” Enjoy.
Church with the Other JC November 5, 2009
Posted by Matt in music.Tags: Galloway Methodist, Johnny Cash, Lifelink church, Memphis, Mike McCarthy
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I just read this article in the Commerical Appeal and had to share it. Lifelink Church, a local Memphis congregation, recently bought the 100 year old Galloway Methodist Church building in midtown Memphis. The really interesting thing about this move is who they are looking to as an influence in their new home – Johnny Cash.
Johnny Cash’s first public performance was with a gospel band in the basement of this church in 1953 during a bake sale. The actual stage still stands and is stillin use today. The pastor of the church says that Cash’s life is an inspiration.
His is the Christian story. It’s about redemption. He wrestled with his demons and he eventually came back. that’s real life.
Local director Mike McCarthy is working with the church to film a documentary on Cash’s life and connection to this church, called “The Gospel According to Johnny.” It will include interviews with Cash’s sister, Joanne Cash, and people who witnessed that first show.
The church is building a recording studio next to the basement stage and are planning to erect a Johnny Cash exhibit on his life and faith.
Wow. That sounds like my kind of place.
A Night with Neko November 5, 2009
Posted by Matt in concerts.Tags: concert, Memphis, Minglewood Hall, neko case, Sarah Harmer
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Last night I had the opportunity to see one of the biggest acts on the alt-country scene, a siren of the southern gothic soul, Neko Case, and it was a good show.
The concert took place at Minglewood Hall in midtown Memphis. Though there have been several shows there that I really wanted to see since it opened, this was my first trip to newest mid-size venue in the city. I was impressed with the place, especially when you compare it to other similarly sized spots in town like the New Daisy. It had two bars, along with rows or seating and tables in the back half of the room. I stood for the entire show, which isn’t that easy for someone used to spending their days in a cubicle, in the floor area in front of the stage. I had a great spot, probably only 15 feet or so from the stage and had a perfectly clear view for the entire evening. The crowd demographics were different from most concerts I have attended, with most audience members obviously in the 30 and over bracket, and many couples dancing together throughout the evening.
The opener, Sarah Harmer, came on stage around 8:00 for a 45 minute set, during which time the room steadily filled in anticipation for the main event. Harmer played the entire folk music set on her own with her guitar as the only accompaniment. Though I had never listened to her before (even though I think I recognized her from WEVL or something), I was quite impressed with her organic sound as she sang songs of nature and love and other normal folk music subjects. Though I was not that familiar with her, there were several people in the crowd who obviously were fans and they called out song titles to her several times, asking her to play their favorites. In response, she seemed genuinely touched and said in a surprised tone, “You know my stuff!” Then she did something that I have rarely seen at any type of concert. She played their requests and, though I did not know of her beforehand, I am now a definite fan. You just don’t see that kind of appreciation very often.
Truth be told, I didn’t recognize Neko Case when she came on the stage around 9:15. I guess the pictures I have seen of her on album covers and whatnot have her more made up, with her long, fiery red hair flowing out and dressed in something not so casual, at least more so than the t-shirt and jeans she was wearing last night. Her appearance was earthier than any pictures I had seen before, actually causing her to look like the woman well into her 30’s that she is. I don’t mean to harp too much on appearance, but it really did surprise me. Then the band kicked into the bluegrass-sounding opener “Things That Scare Me” and I didn’t worry about her appearance anymore. It was her golden, soaring voice that mattered and it soon had me in its tight embrace. As I mentioned in passing before, I generally think of her songs as a southern gothic style, with dark and macabre elements, but still retaining their pop sensibilities, and this transferred pretty well to a live format. She went through several numbers from her last three albums, including songs like “Maybe Sparrow,” “Prison Girls,” “Hold On, Hold On,” “That Teenage Feeling,” “This Tornado Loves You,” “Deep Red Bells,” “I Wish I Was the Moon,” and several others that I can’t recall off the top of my head. There were technical problems throughout the night that seemed to frustrate her at times and by the end of the show they had shut their monitors down and were playing, in her words, “campfire style.” She spoke to the audience a fairly good deal, but her backup singer conversed with everyone even more, especially at the times when the technical problems were being attended to. Another thing that became clear during the show was that Case is definitely a perfectionist, seeing that she stopped two songs during their intros because of tuning problems – which, I didn’t think were as bad as she did, but, hey, she’s the professional.
In all, I thought it was a good low-key sort of show and I was really happy to get the chance to see someone that I have been a big fan of for such a long time. If you ever get the chance, I would definitely recommend her.
I Have a Better Idea, Let’s Not Rise Again November 4, 2009
Posted by Matt in Football.Tags: race, Ole Miss Rebels, To Dixie with Love, The South Will Rise Again, offensive sayings
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One item in our local news recently has revolved around the Ole Miss football games. Now this controversy has nothing to do with Houston Nutt’s oftentimes laughable playcalling or the team’s rapid fall from the top ten earlier this year or their supposed Heisman trophy-quality quarterback who seems to have forgotten to play. No, this problem involves the marching band. Yep, you heard me, the band. You know, the people who wear those funny outfits and march all around the football field while Ole Miss faithful are either gathering more beer or ridding their bodies of already consumed alcohol in the bathroom (or maybe just on the ground, I mean, this is Ole Miss we’re talking about).
Well, it turns out that the Ole Miss band plays the song “To Dixie with Love” at games and at the end of that song, Ole Miss fans are known to yell out “The South will rise again!”
Due to numerous complaints about the obviously racist connotations of this sentence, the university’s Chancellor has laid down the law and stated that, if the student body again participates in this chant, the band will no longer play “Dixie.” In its place, school leaders have requested that the students yell “To hell with LSU.”
Maybe the Ole Miss student body will see the Chancellor’s point and gladly change the offensive cheer. Maybe, just maybe, this will lead those attending the university in a new direction that focuses on tolerance and no longer builds walls along old racial prejudices. Maybe they can lead the way into the 21st century as a symbol of a New South that no longer has some weird inferiority complex when dealing with people in the North.
But then again, this is Ole Miss we’re talking about…
His Butt Hurts November 3, 2009
Posted by Matt in Memphis, basketball.Tags: Allen Iverson, Chris Vernon Show, Memphis Grizzlies, My Butt Hurts
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I’ve never been much of a fan of NBA basketball, but after I moved to Memphis 5+ years ago, I developed a passing interest for professional basketball due to the presence of a local team, the Memphis Grizzlies, who since that time have devolved into the worst franchise in the league. In an effort to boost sagging attendance and maybe improve the team, the Grizzlies brought in past All Star Allen Iverson, who at 34 years old is far past his great years. At the same time, he has long been known as a ball-hogging sort of player who gives the impression that he is entitled to a massive amount of shots in each game. According to the team, the purpose of bringing Iverson in was to provide a mentor for young players and to give them a scoring threat off the bench. A.I. missed all of the preseason and the first three games of the regular season with a hamstring injury, but this week he finally made his long-awaited debut…off the bench. As would be expected, his postgame quote was awesome:
I had no problems (with my hamstring) I had a problem with my butt sitting on that bench so long.
Today I was listening to Chris Vernon’s sports talk radio show, which, by the way, is hilarious on an almost daily basis, and they wrote a rap song dedicated to A.I.’s great quote. Check out “My Butt Hurts.”
A Space Vacation November 3, 2009
Posted by Matt in random.Tags: Galactic Suite Space Resort, space vacation, things to do when I'm extremely rich
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According to an article that I read today, a company is planning to open the first hotel in space in 2012. The Galactic Suite Space Resort will have capacity for 4 people and 2 astronaut pilots and will employ Russian rockets that will blast off from an island in the Caribbean.
During their stay, guests would see the sun rise 15 times a day and travel around the world every 80 minutes. They would wear velcro suits so they can crawl around their pod rooms by sticking themselves to the walls like Spiderman.
And the price for this excursion? $4.4 Million Dollars.
The End is Near? November 3, 2009
Posted by Matt in random.Tags: countdown, eschatology, rapture, rapture index
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In case you haven’t checked the Rapture Ready website lately, the rapture index is all the way up to 166. Of course this is down from an all-time high of 182 in September 2001 and it is lower than 2008’s high score of 170 when Obama won the presidential election, but, according to their indicators, we are still at the highest level possible, threat level “Hold On To Your Seat Belts.”
I can’t help but wonder at the mental state of people who take this stuff seriously.
Hang up the Phone! November 2, 2009
Posted by Matt in random.Tags: cell phone while driving, poll, texting
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According to a recent CBS News/New York Times poll, a vast majority of Americans think it should be illegal to use a cell phone while driving. The results of the poll are as follows:
Do you think it should be legal or illegal to use a hand-held cellular telephone while driving a car?
Legal: 17%
Illegal: 80%
Unsure: 3%
How about a hands-free cellular telephone, which you don’t have to pick up or hold to use? Do you think it should be legal or illegal to use a hands-free cellular telephone while driving a car?
Legal: 70%
Illegal: 27%
Unsure: 2%
Do you think sending a text message while driving, either on a cell phone or otehr electronic device, should be legal or illegal?
Legal: 1%
Illegal: 97%
Unsure: 2%
If illegal, should texting while driving be punished more severely than drunk driving, less severely than drunk driving, or about the same as drunk driving?
More Severely: 2%
Less Severely: 43%
About the Same: 50%
Unsure: 2%
What do you think?
2009 BCS Musings November 2, 2009
Posted by Matt in Football.Tags: Alabama, BCS Championship, Boise St., Cincinnati, FBS, Florida, Football, Iowa, NCAA, Oregon, TCU, Texas
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It is hard to believe that the 2009 college football regular season is already 2/3 of the way finished, but somehow time has gotten away and the finish line is quickly approaching. The third quarter of the season is well underway, the fourth is soon to begin and the field of competitors is narrowing. At this point, there are 7 undefeated teams remaining that are still in contention for a coveted spot in the BCS Championship game. So, as a service to you, I wanted to do a bit of handicapping so that you would know what to look for in the coming weeks.
1. Florida Gators 8-0
The Gators have beaten some decent teams, including then-#4 LSU 13-3, Tennessee 23-13, and Arkansas 23-20, but their win in the previous weekend against Georgia 41-17, was their first convincing one in weeks. Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow may have righted the ship against the Bulldogs and they should be able to coast through the next four games. South Carolina and Florida State may put up a fight, but neither is on the same level as Florida. The Gators can go ahead and reserve their spot in Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game.
2. Texas 8-0
I haven’t been a big believer in the Longhorns all season, despite their victories over a good Texas Tech team (34-24) and a talented but underachieving Oklahoma (16-13). This past week’s victory, a 41-14 trouncing of then-#13 Oklahoma St, has finally proved them to be contenders in 2009. Texas has a fairly uneventful stretch ahead of them, with the greatest possibility for upset probably being a regular season-ending trip to Texas A&M. With a weak North Division opponent to meet in the conference championship game, the Longhorns are almost a sure thing for the BCS Championship game.
3. Alabama 8-0
With the lone exception of last week’s close call against an improving Tennessee squad, Alabama has been exceptional this season, having posted convincing wins against then-#7 Virginia Tech (34-24), then-#20 Ole Miss (22-3), and then-#22 South Carolina (20-6). Next week’s matchup against #9 LSU will be a nice test for the Crimson Tide and their regular season-ending trip to Auburn could also prove to be problematic. They should be set for Atlanta, but they have a tougher road ahead than the Gators.
4. Cincinnati 8-0
With only one victory against a top 25 opponent, defeating then-#21 South Florida 34-17, the Bearcats have something still to prove in order to move up in the BCS rankings. Their schedule ahead offers what could prove to be tough games against West Virginia and at #14 Pittsburgh, so convincing wins in their last 4 games could help Cincy out some, but they really need one of the top three teams to slip up.
5. Boise St. 8-0
Yes, I know that Boise beat Oregon in the season-opener, but can you think of anybody they’ve beaten since then? With perhaps the exception of Tulsa (who they only beat by a touchdown), my guess would be probably not. Their remaining schedule consists of more teams whose presence would be more appropriate in a high school championship.
6. TCU 8-0
The Horned Frogs have looked great this season in the Mountain West, a strong second-tier conference. They’ve recorded victories against Clemson (14-10) and absolutely trounced then-#16 BYU (38-7). They still have a challenge left on Nov. 14 against #17 Utah, but besides that they should coast through the remainder of their regular season. They will need a lot of help to make it to a Championship game, though.
7. Oregon 7-1
The Ducks are the only team with a loss to make my list for a good reason – they are easily the best team in the Pac-10 Conference. Their one loss to then-#14 Boise State in the season-opener looms large as the Oregon faithful think of what might have been. The Ducks absolutely destroyed two top 10 teams, then-#6 California (42-3) and last week’s rout of then-#4 USC (47-20), so they deserve some kind of consideration. #23 Arizona is probably the only challenge remaining on the schedule, so I expect them to waltz into a BCS game this postseason.
8. Iowa 9-0
I can’t help but feel bad for the Hawkeyes because it is obvious that they are the big losers in this year’s BCS sweepstakes. They have several wins against quality opponents, including then-#5 Penn State (21-10), Michigan (30-28), Wisconsin (20-10), and Arizona (27-17), but because they tend to play down to the level of their competition and rarely record any blow-outs, the AP and Coach’s polls have really shafted the Hawkeyes, despite the fact that the computer polls rank them much higher. Their Nov. 14 matchup with #15 Ohio St will be the measuring stick by which Iowa will be judged. If they win convincingly, they deserve a shot at the title, but in our current system they will most likely be left behind.
Thoughts?
