I really want to write a little something more about Harry, which I will most definitely get to in the very near future, but for now I just wanted to jump in and say let's go Flyers. Which I will get to in a moment.

First, let me just reiterate from the other day: go out and get the new Superchunk EP, it's really great.

And now. Let's Go Flyers!!!

Post #400

I've been away for a few days for Pesach, and at the moment I have yet to fully process, and have no thoughts yet about, the 2-3 start, the scary starting pitching, the sputtering offense, or whatever it is the Mets think they're doing.

Instead, I just want to say how good it feels to have Superchunk back. All is right with the world.

Seven hours to go

First of all, congratulations to the Sixers for locking up a playoff spot. (I had hoped the Flyers would win and get in too - they could have clinched playoff spots on the same day for the second year in a row, wouldn't that have been something? Ah well, the Flyers will get in, barring some appalling series of wretched events.) Sixers, don't listen to the naysayers who urge you to lose on purpose to get a lottery pick; losing on purpose is the worst thing a sports team can do. It's why the Celtics will be my nemesis for the rest of eternity, the loathsome cheating villains. What would a lottery pick get you anyway? The #8 pick or something? Another year of rebuilding and trying to work a talented yet raw rookie into your system? I say get that #5 seed, beat the Hawks like the losers they are, and then figure out the second round when you get there.

I feel the need to reiterate: No one knows, so let's find out.

Meanwhile, I have little to say about the opening of the 2009 Phillies season, which begins in just about seven hours, other than the fact that I'm very excited and happy and optimistic. The Phils and I have been on quite an interesting journey since they got good a few years back, and it isn't ready to end just yet. They have the talent, they have the desire, they've got the whole city behind them, and they're the WFC, so if you're picking them to finish third or something, not that I'm naming names, Rob Neyer, well, we shall see won't we?

Last year I spent far too much of my time coming up with a Husker Du song to represent each player. This year, I decided to list the Opening Day roster alphabetically, and then use iTunes to just randomly assign a They Might Be Giants song to each of them. I have no idea what the point of this exercise was, other than to see if any of the titles would come out being even remotely relevant.

Joe Blanton: "See the Constellation"
Eric Bruntlett: "Love Is Eternity"
Miguel Cairo: "Lucky Ball and Chain"
Clay Condrey: "Letter/Not a Letter" (this is a pretty irritating song, sorry Clay)
Chris Coste: "Careful What You Pack"
Greg Dobbs: "I Can't Hide from My Mind"
Chad Durbin: "Even Numbers" (Durbin's uniform number is 37)
Scott Eyre: "Road Movie to Berlin"
Pedro Feliz: "Fingertips (What's That Blue Thing Doing Here?)"
Cole Hamels: "Dallas"
J.A. Happ: "Bastard Wants to Hit Me" (whoa! what?)
Ryan Howard: "Extra Savoir-Faire" (yes!!!)
Raul Ibanez: "Au Contraire"
Brad Lidge: "Heart of the Band" (this is a really terrible song)
Ryan Madson: "Fingertips (All Alone, All Alone, All by Myself)" (sorry Ryan)
Jamie Moyer: "Take Out the Trash" (?!?!)
Brett Myers: "Upside Down Frown" (hmm, maybe)
Chan Ho Park: "They'll Need a Crane"
Jimmy Rollins: "Fingertips (Who's That Standing by the Window?)"
Carlos Ruiz: "Anaheim" (will he be traded there, and replaced by Marson? Only iTunes knows for sure)
Matt Stairs: "Hovering Sombrero"
Jack Taschner: "We're the Replacements" (and indeed he is)
Chase Utley: "The End of the Tour" (good lord, I hope not)
Shane Victorino: "Toddler Hiway"
Jayson Werth: "Omaha"

Okay, that was an even bigger waste of time than I had expected. The off season and spring training was just way too long this year.

Time to play ball.

Go get 'em, champs.

We're here we will we can finish what we began

This is how good the Wire show at Johnny Brenda's was last night: I actually stopped thinking about the Phillies for an hour. A whole hour!

The legend of the 2008 Phillies continues to grow: Brett's three hits, Shane's spectacular leaping catch, and the team winning one for Mrs. Manuel. Meanwhile, I saw the game immediately after work (I literally ran across the street with some coworkers to the nearest bar) and they won just in time for me to head north for the aforementioned asskicking concert.

Game 3 is crucial. These series are all about momentum, and I don't want LA to get back into it with two more games at home. But everything is starting to look like it's clicking for the Phils, finally, so if Jamie and Joe have solid games, and if Ryan wakes up, then we're in good shape.

I'm seeing Phils hats and t-shirts everywhere, and I feel a new, unfamiliar, and totally fantastic wave of optimism in the city. I really do. Don't listen to the curmudgeons and negativists (a new word I have just coined). This team is for real and we're ready to believe. Lay it on me, Fightin' Phils.

Today's Game 2 start time leaves us no time to breathe or process what we just saw. I can't even reflect on Game 1, I already have to think about the next matchup. That said, I'm probably the one guy in town who's happy about the start time, because I have tickets to see Wire at 9:00, and I thought I was going to have to unload those tickets (Phillies in NLCS outranks veteran art-punks, I'm afraid). I get out of work five minutes before first pitch, so some coworkers and I will be running across the street to the nearest bar. Then it's up to JB's to destroy my precious hearing some more.

It's all about momentum. Happy Friday!

So, today my two favorite AL teams, the White Sox and Angels, got eliminated. Fortunately, I don't have time to care this year.

BEAT LA! It's so nice to be able to say that again. I mean I'm always sort of thinking it, so this just validates it. The picture above is from Game 2 - I'm just that far behind. Game 3 was dumb, let's never speak of it again. Game 4 was fantastic, a real joy to watch. Blanton really gave me hope for the rest of the way - if Moyer bounces back, that's four solid starters.

Just let me add a few words about Game 2, because I was there. Much has already been written about Myers' amazing at-bat against Sabathia but you really kind of had to see it to get it. I've never been one to put much stock in the effect fans have on a team - I figure if a team's good it's good, and could play in a vacuum (not literally) or in the desert or wherever and play roughly as well. (Bill Simmons is always going on and on about how the Celtics play better because Celtics fans are so incredibly great and wonderful, and you know how I feel about that guy and his lunatic opinions.) But I must admit, I really think the crowd urged Myers on - we weren't just going to settle for our crappily-hitting pitcher striking out on three pitches. He needed to foul some off, and he did. I don't know, maybe not. At any rate, I've seen pitchers get hits and RBI, I've seen pitchers hit home runs, I've seen pitchers hit grand slams - but I think it might have been the greatest at-bat by a pitcher ever.

Hey, the Phillies are in the NLCS, I'm allowed a little hyperbole.

I think we match up well with the Dodgers. I'd like to believe that if we can shut Manny down and get some timely hitting, we'll be fine. Maybe it's not that simple. Either way, we will play better than the Cubs did, I genuinely believe that. Stupid loser Cubs.

I just read that Game 2 will be at 4:00 on Friday, which is actually pretty awesome because it means I get to go see Wire at Johnny Brenda's after the game after all (I thought I was going to have to bag the show). Well, other than that, it's a wildly stupid and inconvenient time, but for once, national TV's total unwillingness to put the Phillies in prime time works in my favor.

Ears. Killing me.

I'm too old to not wear earplugs at shows. I realized that about two years ago, and yet I continue to give myself chronic, incurable tinnitus every time. Seriously, stop (I'm talking to myself). At any rate, I just saw Shudder to Think and they were spectacular.

I want to write about Game 2 and maybe a little something about Game 3, but it's late and I'm going to bed. Long story short: I feel good about it. Oh yeah, I probably have some thoughts on the other three series, but again, it's late.

I wish I was in Milwaukee with the boys. Or, better yet, in LA seeing Cascade Array. Speaking of which, drop whatever you're doing, catch a red eye to LA, and go to the Knitting Factory on Saturday night. You have no excuse!

Off to SFO

Just checking in for one last GO PHILS! and to wish a great weekend to all my fellow Phils fans everywhere. This is good stuff, my friends! Take care of them for me.

Also, if you're going to be in Los Angeles, CA on October 4, then go see Cascade Array at the Knitting Factory. I'm going to keep reminding you until you do it.

LET'S GO PHILS!!!

(and Eagles!)

"Oh well, he's not the first oily man to take Mom to the mat!"
-Trace Beaulieu

Slices of my life since the overrated irrelevance known as the All-Star Break: I bought an iPod; went on vacation to Rehoboth Beach, DE; built shelves for my CDs; more bike-riding and subsequent sweating; oh yeah, and the Phils went through a ghastly five or six week stretch where they never once made contact with a baseball and were shut out about 45 times in a row. Or something like that. One day, I was so horrified by their crappy play that I talked myself into believing that they should sell all their players off at the trade deadline and start over. I kind of overreact to things sometimes.

As of this writing the boys are still in first place, by 0.5 games, and there's a lot of baseballery still to come. I told you back in March this would be fun! I need to shut up and listen to myself more often.

Anyway, I missed a few roster moves so here are Husker Du songs for the guys that have arrived (and occasionally left) in my absence:

Mike Cervenak: "Dreams Reoccuring"
J.A. Happ: "Afraid of Being Wrong"
Joe Blanton: "Bricklayer"
R.J. Swindle: "Real World"

Also, the second draft of my novel is almost done, and when I say "almost", I mean there's still some work I need to do on it, and I'd much rather be doing that right now, so I'm off to do that. Let's go Phils, am I right?

The best part of Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs was the stegosaurus on the White House lawn. I almost started crying, that was so funny. Then I had to explain to Sharon why it was funny, and I couldn't. She's right, why is that?

Going to Mission of Burma tomorrow, which is good. It will be at the FU Church on the evening of a 92 degree day, and that's no good at all, because I'm an old man and good lord, does that place get hot.

We're not down

You know how I know that Pittsburgh sucks? Because after Mike Richards' fantastic shorthanded goal, they played "Don't Get Me Down" by ELO. And if there's one thing I simply cannot stand, it's "Don't Get Me Down" by ELO. I freaking hate that band and I really, really freaking hate that song.

I had to run upstairs and put on "Atlas" to cleanse it from my brain.

Anyway: the Flyers look okay. They've been great on the 5-0n-5, and, really, if they can just knock it off with the penalties I think we're on to something.

Should be a great third period.

GO FLYERS!!!

Birthday post!

I took a walk in the sunshine today at lunch, and headed over to aka where I found the first two Mary Timony albums, which I'd been looking for, just sitting there in the used section, right in front. I always find it weird when I find a CD I'm looking for just sitting there in plain sight; I feel like it was too easy and I didn't earn it.

But enough of my ranting, let's get to the sports!

4/23: Pistons [some score], 76ers [some considerably lower score]

Yeah. Look, you know and I know that the Pistons are the better team. I'm not stupid. Neither are Mo Cheeks or the Andres or anybody else. But, I prefer to just chalk this one up to "Well, the Sixers caught the Pistons off guard in Game 1, so they won, and then the Sixers maybe got the slightest bit cocky and forgot that the Pistons are much better, so they didn't play their best game and lost, and in Game 3 and beyond everything will even out". Also, I hope to never write anything so clumsy and artless ever again.

4/23: Brewers 5, Phillies 4

I love Cole, I really do, but he's gotta know that he can't just stay in every game for 9 innings and 130 pitches every time. Charlie, we have a good bullpen this year! Like, literally: they're actually really good! Use them! Hey, speaking of good bullpens:

4/24: Phillies 3, Brewers 1

It's always fun when you completely forget they're playing a day game, and then a coworker wanders by your office and says "Hey, the Phils won!" Judging from the box score, this was a solid pitching effort all around. I repeat: we have a good bullpen. Start scoring some runs consistently and nobody can stop us.

I have a stat counter now, so I'll know exactly when you people are here and where you're at. As of this writing, there have been two visitors since last night, both of whom looked at the blog for a total of 0 seconds. Yeah! Thanks for stopping by.

I know what else I want for my birthday, and it starts in 40 minutes.

GO FLYERS!!!

Roundup of recent professional athletic contests

I have a few hours today to work on my book and do other productive things which is really exciting. But first, here's all the games I missed:

4/10: Mets 4, Phils 3 (12 innings)

Saw the very beginning of this, and then I went out to a bar where I saw the middle of it (when the Phils tied it up) and then I missed the whole ending. I didn't see the play at the plate which Chris Coste has been complaining about, so I will abstain from that particular debate (except to say that the Phils are probably right).

4/11: Phils 5, Cubs 3

Missed this whole game too. The only part I really saw was on a bar TV where I saw Brad Lidge high fiving Carlos Ruiz; I figured at that point it was safe to assume that everything was okay.

4/11: Caps 5, Flyers 4

Yeah, I missed all of Game 1. I was out seeing a film at the Festival called You, the Living which was really cool and beautiful. I figured I could afford to miss at least one game. I saw Ovechkin's goal at the very end in the same bar; I also heard that they blew a two goal lead. Beyond that I am unable to speak intelligently about this game at all. In that sense, I have no idea why I'm making you read this blog, which at the moment is less a sports blog and more a not very interesting diary of a guy who does other things while sports are happening on the periphery of his life, except that I'm not telling you very much about what I'm doing, therefore it's pointless.

To make up for it, here's a great interview with the Kids about their impending tour (I'm seeing them at the Keswick on 4/30), with some fascinating revelations about how they work and a look back at some of their more notorious sketches. I always love hearing about the creative process of my favorite artists, particularly these guys, because I find it very thrilling and inspiring. Perhaps you will as well.

Speaking of comedyness, I got front row seats for Flight of the Conchords, almost certainly the most exciting thing that's ever happened, at least this week.

Finally - waiting with bated breath for the NBA playoff schedule - Andrew and I have tickets! Thus making the next few weeks of my life endlessly complicated.

Next: I'll be at tonight's Phils/Cubs game; Cole gets the ball. The Flyers will try to even up the series tomorrow afternoon; I'll probably get to see this one. Go get 'em, men.

4/8: Phils 5, Mets 2

What happened: What happened? Lots of great things, that's what! Here's a few: (1) The Phils won. (b) The Mets lost. (4) Good game from Jamie Moyer, and a very good game from the bullpen. (5a) They won without hitting any home runs, and I have this thing where I like when they do that, because it's good to know, once in a while, that they're not a one-trick pony. Come on guys, manufacture some runs! Run a little small ball! (On the other hand, if they're just gonna mash four home runs every day like they did on Monday, that's fine too. I'm not even sure what my argument is.) (vi) They get to 4-4, and they get the season series with the Mets off to a good start. I mean, it's just one game, on April 8, I'm not going to get that excited about it... there's still 17 more against these guys, plenty of time for them to figure out how to beat us, assuming they can. Heh heh. (F) Endy Chavez hit into a double play. Heh heh. (7.2.1) Today was my second day biking to work, and I feel great. Maybe it's some kind of placebo effect but I already feel healthier and thinner. I think I'll celebrate tonight with a burger and some beer. (₤) Flight of the Conchords are playing the Tower Theatre on May 5! No word yet on an opening act but... oh, can you imagine??? [swoon]*

Next: That the best you got, Mets? Bring it on!

*Sharon, feel free to just punch me in the head.

I wanted to post my 2008 Phillies preview this morning, before the game, but I’ve been struggling to come up with something. See, I’m not really a real sportswriter (truth be told I’m only barely literate), and while I’m fascinated by baseball stats I’m not enough of a stat geek to tell you whether or not this is the year. I will, just briefly, urge you not to listen to the pundits who have dismissed the Phils as a one shot deal, and want you to believe that the reloaded Mets, or even the quietly rebuilding Braves, are this year’s team to beat. Instead, listen to one biased phan’s opinion: all three teams are pretty great, and all three teams are pretty flawed. I decided not to make any predictions this year (well, I made them, but I’m keeping them to myself), but I will share one with you: it will be a three-way dogfight until the bitter end. Expect a different team taking the lead every week, maybe a bench clearing brawl or two. It’ll be fun. Come on, Phillies fans, it’s Opening Day, and we’re the defending division champs. Let’s roll!

In that spirit, and because I haven’t thought of anything better, I’ve decided to assign a Husker Du song to each member of the Opening Day roster.

Carlos Ruiz: "Ice Cold Ice"
Ryan Howard: "Divide and Conquer"
Chase Utley: "Celebrated Summer"
Jimmy Rollins: "Visionary"
Pedro Feliz: "Could You Be the One?"
Pat Burrell: "These Important Years"
Shane Victorino: "Flexible Flyer"
Geoff Jenkins: "I Don't Know for Sure"
Chris Coste: "You're a Soldier"
Jayson Werth: "Wheels"
So Taguchi: "Back from Somewhere"
Eric Bruntlett: "Indecision Time"
Greg Dobbs: "Do You Remember?"
Wes Helms: "It's Not Funny Anymore"
Brett Myers: "Perfect Example"
Cole Hamels: "Private Plane"
Jamie Moyer: "Keep Hanging On"
Kyle Kendrick: "One Step at a Time"
Adam Eaton: "New Day Rising"
Tom Gordon: "What's Going On"
J.C. Romero: "No Reservations"
Ryan Madson: "I Apologize"
Clay Condrey: "Chartered Trips"
Chad Durbin: "Don't Know Yet"
Tim Lahey: "Makes No Sense At All"
Charlie Manuel: "The Wit and the Wisdom"
Pat Gillick: "Blah, Blah, Blah"

Anyway: let's go Phils. 2008 ahoy!

Another thing of mine you can read

My friend Moira has been putting together a project celebrating the history of one of my favorite things: Philadelphia! I have contributed to it. So go read a short story of mine if you choose. It's pretty vague, but perhaps someday it will all be clear. For now, I leave it to you to work it out for yourself.

So moving on, the new They Might Be Giants children's album is really good...

2007 IN REVIEW!

This is late, but I’ve been dealing with some problems with the new house (currently being dealt with), sporadic Internet access, Mumming, etc. But I’m sure 2007 is still fresh in your mind, so let’s just get started.

THE YEAR IN SPORTS

The year in sports begins and ends with the 2007 Phillies. Nothing even comes close. What did you think I would pick, the Sixers signing Calvin Booth? The 2007 Phillies had it all: a typically poor start, hundreds of ridiculous injuries, feisty rookies, cagey veterans, the return of Jose Mesa, the unstoppable greatness of Jimmy Rollins, the distraction of a historic loss, Charlie Manuel threatening to kick Howard Eskin’s ass (thus becoming my hero to my dying day), the literal saving of some groundskeepers’ lives from a monsoon, the utter merciless domination of their most bitter rival, said bitter rival’s epic collapse, a hot streak to end the season, and of course, September 30, the greatest day ever. Phillies haters will point out the team’s awful choke against the Rockies in October, but hey, it happened. Nothing takes away the Phils’ spectacular September; every classic moment, every unbelievable win. (Besides, I’m a veteran and I know how to deal with Phillies haters at this point.)

The 2007 Phillies are the reason I follow sports. They were fun, plain and simple. Without them, I would remember 2007 as the year that sports became a giant conspiracy designed to entertain people who live in or near Boston, and that’s no fun at all. The 2007 Phillies ruled . . . and the best part is, I don’t think it’s over (but I’m not ready to talk about the 2008 Phillies yet, give me two months or so).

If I have to pick some other sports highlights this year, I will do so begrudgingly, because these have been pretty grim times for the other teams. So I will say the Flyers signing Danny Briere (among other excellent moves that will hopefully wash away memories of 2006-07 forever), the Eagles beating the Giants in the playoffs, and the Sixers playing surprisingly well after the Iverson trade, although they’re back to being terrible again, so I have no idea if it even meant anything. If you had told me in 2000 that one day the Phillies would be the best team in town, you would have blown my tiny post-collegiate mind.

MOVIES

As I get older, I find that I’m losing my ability to remember what movies I even saw in a given year. I have no idea why this is. It’s not that I don’t like movies, and I certainly have retained my ability to remember where and when I bought every CD I own. It’s just one of those things. So here’s a hastily assembled list of my favorite films this year:

8. The Golden Compass
7. Spider-Man 3
6. Grindhouse (I refuse to think of them as two separate movies, I don’t care what anyone says. It’ll always be Grindhouse to me.)
5. The Host
4. The Darjeeling Limited
3. Knocked Up
2. Zodiac
1. Hot Fuzz

See? My list makes no sense. I don’t even know. Just go get some movies and watch them. Anyway, there were a bunch of other movies I wanted to see, but I never got around to it. Oh yeah, I also saw “Sicko” and “The Bourne Ultimatum” and I liked them both but I don’t know where they fit. I also saw “Transformers” but it’s terrible, just really terrible.

TV

Well, in terms of shows that premiered in 2007 I obviously have to go with Flight of the Conchords, and no, loyal reader(s), not just because it introduced me to my new favorite actress. Conchords was a genuine obsession for me for a few weeks there; I didn’t even know what to make of it at first, this totally original and interesting and completely strange thing like nothing I’d ever seen before. I love the tone of the show: quiet, deadpan little teleplays, filmed like miniature Wes Anderson montages with singing. It’s a gentle, nonthreatening brand of surrealism: conversations go nowhere, punchlines appear at random, none of the characters appear to have any idea what’s going on or what anyone else is talking about, and the Conchords’ world feels self-contained, a tiny little New York that, hilariously, has no apparent continuity from one episode to the next. I guess what I love most is (despite its hipster street cred) how totally unpretentious and earnest and optimistic it feels; in the hands of a lesser show, a conversation about Fleetwood Mac with the exchange “Rumors?” “No – it’s all true!” would feel painfully corny, but when a bunch of weirdly stiff New Zealanders do it, it just makes me laugh and laugh to no end. I want the writer’s strike to end soon for two reasons: so my brother can get some work, and because I’m just dying to know what another 12 episodes of this thing can possibly look like.

But I will perhaps shock you by telling you it was not my favorite show of the year. Instead, I will go with a show that’s already been around for a few years, aired its fourth season this year in England, and which I got into a big way in 2007 (well, at least until Conchords came along): Peep Show, the funniest, most brilliant and bizarre and quotable sitcom in years. It belongs to that “cringing awkwardness” school of comedy, along with The Office and Extras and Curb Your Enthusiasm, but I will hereby declare that I prefer Peep Show to them all (as great as they are) – I don’t think any comedy has really captured the thought process of unconfident, confused people better. (“Am I going to do this?” Mark and Jez ask themselves right before doing something incredibly stupid and crazy – I can’t do it justice here, you have to hear it. It’s brilliant.) And rather than making the first person perspective a tacky gimmick, the show uses it to its fullest advantage, emphasizing the characters’ every action and making things like hugging and kissing feel like creepy acts that nobody should ever do. It’s so strange and beautiful, just go watch it. The show of the year!

I also got into The Office (US) and The Wire this year, but enough has already been written about them both in a million different places. They’re great. (I also finally saw Spaced this year!) So things are finally looking up for a medium I had given up on for a while there.

MUSIC

10. Tub Ring "The Great Filter": I’m only putting this here so I’ll have 10 albums on the list. Otherwise I’d have to put, I don’t know, that Mary Timony album I haven’t heard or gotten around to buying, and that makes no sense. Fortunately this is actually pretty good.
9. Maxïmo Park “Our Earthly Pleasures”: Kind of surprisingly depressing, but then the first one was too, so I’m not sure why I’m surprised.
8. Arctic Monkeys “Favourite Worst Nightmare”: I can’t really even figure out what I like about these guys. They’re actually kind of faintly irritating, and yet I went out and spent money on this album (on my birthday, no less), so they must be doing something right.
7. Rush “Snakes & Arrows”: And you know why? Because Rush is incredibly great, always have been, always will be. They will always sound exactly like themselves, and that’s what we need in these uncertain times, don’t you think?
6. Of Montreal “Hissing Fauna etc.”: I don’t want to be one of those guys that says “I knew them back in the day”, but I really did see this band back in 1997, opening for They Might Be Giants at the Mercury Lounge. Back then, Kevin Barnes was just this shy indie rock kid with hair in his eyes, playing incredibly earnest and adorable pop songs. I followed him from then on, always hoping he would make it, recognizing that he had the talent to do so – but never in a million years did I expect that I would one day see him on stage at a sold-out Trocadero, wearing fishnet stockings, playing dark, grim dance music to 17-year-old girls. I’m happy for him, even though I’m pretty sure he’s incredibly coked up these days.
5. Love of Diagrams “Mosaic”: My new favorite band, not just for this (quite excellent and addictive) album but for the promise of greater, future things I can hear beneath the surface.
4. Radiohead “In Rainbows”: You already have it. What can I say that you haven’t thought yourself already?
3. They Might Be Giants “The Else”: I’ll freely admit that I’m biased because I love everything they do and probably always will. But this one really is incredibly good – their best in over a decade. Keep it coming, guys.
2. Spoon “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga”: Overall it doesn’t top my two favorites, Girls Can Tell and Gimme Fiction, but – though I am well aware of the classic songs on both – “Finer Feelings” is now my favorite Spoon song of all time. Wherever I am, whatever I’m doing, I kind of wish that song was on.
1. Battles “Mirrored”: The soundtrack of my summer. Some albums just remind you of a certain place and time, and for years to come these amazing songs will remind me of driving up 611 with Shep and Matt, playing lots of tennis and basketball, and swimming in the Gallaghers’ pool. In 2007, I bought a house, I met Sharon, the Phils won their division, and Mirrored came out. What a year, man.

My Hanukkah gifts to you

First of all, please check out my good friend Shepard's new endeavor, Thrift Store Music. Really impressive and lots of fun. I hope to eventually help out with this in some capacity.

Second of all, one of my favorite bands has a new song, and I'm just in love with it. This is already my favorite album of 2008.

And finally, if you love the Phillies, and I know you do, you need to click on this.

Simply the best.

I saw They Might Be Giants at the TLA last night. Whatever I might have written in the past in this space about Sleater-Kinney or Rush or the Bobby Abreu Five, just know that TMBG trumps them all. Trumps! I would go see them again tonight if they were in town. I'd watch them perform their entire catalog at a 13+ hour show. I'd buy a new album from them tomorrow if I could. If they were selling their new album on vinyl only, available in exactly one record store in Vermont, I'd drive up there and wait in line. I'd do it today.

Last year, I think it was, I was at a Phillies game and between innings, for whatever reason, they played TMBG's song "Pleather" (written for a Dunkin' Donuts commercial). It's hardly the Johns' best work, but it was still thrilling beyond description to hear TMBG at a Phillies game. If they had been playing MST3K on the Jumbotron and handing out free Dr. Pepper, it would have been literally the greatest moment of my life. I wish that on all of you: to have two of your favorite things combined, completely at random, for one brief shining moment of serendipitous bliss.

Changing gears just slightly: in about 90 minutes the Eagles play the Patriots. I have a fairly good idea what's going to happen, but I'm not going to think about it. Instead, let me just say "Go Eagles" and leave it at that. Whatever happens, happens. Let's just get it over with and move on with our lives.

Go Eagles!