My Soundtrack - Winter '09

Have you ever listened to a song, band, or album that takes you back to a specific time period? Perhaps it brings back memories to what you were doing, or who you were hanging out with in the past when you hear that particular music? Well my wife asked me a similar question one day to which I shrugged off with a simple answer of "no". But I've later realized that it happens to me all of the time. Not neccessarily all music, but quite a bit will take me back to a certain time period when that music was like my soundtrack.

This brings us to this entry. In a few years, what albums will remind me of RIGHT now? I listen to a lot of records almost daily, but right now, there are a few that define these past couple, and present months in my life.

I'm going to share what has been striking my auditory senses recently.

1. Tom Waits - Glitter and Doom Live

I remember the first time I heard Tom Waits. The dark hideaway-bar sounding piano and guitar and the vocals of an old man that I figured had drank way too much whiskey and smoked way too many cigarettes. I loved his ballads of broken hearts and tales of transients and oddballs and his obvious appreciation for jazz and blues. Waits doesn't tour often, so tickets for the Glitter and Doom tour were a hot commodity for all fans. For a fan that couldn't make it out to one of the shows I'm lucky enough to be treated with this live cd. Backed by a band that compliments his vocals well, we get a nice insight as to what a night with the legend is like. Armed with a second disc full of stories and banter, it's a treasure for any Tom Waits fan. I've been spinning the cd in the car, and at home a lot since it came out a couple weeks ago.

2. Rolling Stones - Exile on Main St.

What can I possibly say about this record that hasn't already been said? I was always a huge Beatles fan, and only really knew the Stones' hits. I got a good deal on an old LP at work, so I picked it up. I remember hearing great things about this album from many people, and now I wonder why it took so long for me to pick it up!

3. Gogol Bordello - Live From Axis Mundi

This band is so energetic, raw, fun, and everyone should run to the record store and buy one of their albums. The band is led by Eugene Hutz, a Ukranian/Romanian songwriter who is so charasmatic and talented. The rest of the band is full of people from damn near every continent. The music is usually classified as "gypsy-punk" and is punk rock music with a hint of eastern European gypsy feel to it. The accordian and violin accent the music in a magnificent way. This release comes with a cd of different studio recordings, but shines with the live dvd of their songs.

4. Rushmore Beekeepers - Throwing Mud At Your Streetlight

I have had the pleasure of playing with Zach Fountain who plays under the band name Rushmore Beekeepers a couple of times, and will be again in a couple of weeks. Zach is a talented multi-instrumentalist that plays heartfelt folk songs full of stories. I bought this cd at his cd release show, and it is a nice collection of songs. Check him out at http://myspace.com/rushmorebeekeepers


5. Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain

Like the Rolling Stones album mentioned earlier, I picked this LP up on a whim. I own Bitches Brew, but to listen to it, I have to be in the right mood. It's a busy record. Sketches of Spain however is so relaxing and beautiful that I can't get enough of it. I don't know much about Jazz yet, but I'm starting to become a big fan. I've been picking up as many jazz records as I can afford.

Well, I think that's good for tonight. I've gotta be at work early in the morning!


-Joseph

United Football League - Premiere Season 2009

Have you ever heard of the new pro football league the UFL? If not, that's okay, a lot of people haven't. The United Football League is a new start-up league that had it's "Premiere" first season this year. It was a short season with a small amount of teams, and very little marketing. The UFL commissioner likened this season to a dress-rehearsal before the full launch next season.

There were four teams playing a 6 game schedule each for the premiere season. The teams being: Florida Tuskers (mainly stationed in Orlando), New York Sentinels (who played in NY and a game in Hartford), California Redwoods (San Francisco, San Jose), and the Las Vegas Locomotives.

Being a football fan in Las Vegas, I'll take any professional football I can get. I'll admit that at first, the team name Locomotives or "Locos" for short, striked me as pretty lame. But the name has grown on me a lot. The UFL got big name coaches, and a lot of players with NFL experience. Jim Fassell (ex-NY Giants head coach) was named the coach for the Vegas team. JP Losman (ex-Buffalo Bill) was named the Locomotives starting quarterback. The other teams had some familiar names and faces too.

After finding out about the league a few weeks before the inaugural game, I decided I'd follow the games and see how I liked them. The first game was the California Redwoods playing at Las Vegas. The game was fun to watch, and the Locomotives won the game 30-17.

Over the course of the short season, I became a fan of the local team and of the league in general. A friend from work, and I went to a Locos game against the NY Sentinels at Sam Boyd Stadium (which is the UNLV Rebels' stadium, but the Locos play there too). We were offered a VIP treatment from the league, and there were a lot of perks. We got to hangout on-field pre-game, they gave us concession vouchers, and we both got two free shirts and hats. Not to mention that we creamed the Sentinels 41-7.

At the end of the 6 game season, the top two teams met at the Championship at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. The final standings were as follows: NY Sentinels 0-6, CA Redwoods 2-4, LV Locomotives 4-2, FL Tuskers 6-0.

Florida had beat Vegas twice during the season, but they barely won the second game. That score was 27-24. A lot of people thought Florida was gonna sweep the perfect season at the championship game, set for the Friday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 27th.


My brother-in-law and I went to the championship game, and we had a ton of fun. The first 3 quarters were mostly a battle of defenses. But the 4th quarter was intense. And by the end of regulation, the score was 17-17. Overtime! Unfortunately, I had to be at work right after the game, so we were forced to leave before overtime for me to make it to work on time. Overtime in the UFL is different than the NFL due to the rule that both teams get a possession. A couple plays into Floridas first OT possession, their QB Brooks Bollinger threw an interception that set up Loco Graham Gano's Championship winning field goal. Las Vegas, with the home crowd behind them, pulled off the upset.




Now that the season is over, we wait for year two. The good news, is that year two is already guaranteed unlike the XFL, which folded days after their championship game. Two expansion teams will be added for season 2. New York might relocate to Hartford due to poor attendance. The UFL is trying to stay away from markets with an NFL team. Places high on the expansion list are Portland, San Antonio or Austin, Salt Lake City, and Omaha. We also get to look forward to color/uniform changes (each team used the same style uni and color palette), and local presence (which was lacking in season 1 due to LV/CA practicing in Arizona and NY/FL practicing in Florida). The league made it through the first year by not spending too many millions that were unnecessary. But the marketing should get better in year two, as well as team individuality.

Whatever happens, you can count on me being in the stands cheering the Locos on!

-Joseph