Music review: Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan
Highway 61 Revisited had been sitting my shelf for years, not being listened to after I didn’t really enjoy The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.
The opening and closing tracks on Highway 61 Revisited are outstanding. “Like a Rolling Stone” really needs no explanation from even someone such as myself who isn’t a fan of Bob Dylan. “Desolation Row” is the other outstanding track.
The rest of the album is rather forgettable. It matters nothing to me that Highway 61 Revisited is Dylan’s first album to be entirely recorded with a band. What matters is if I can still relate to the music that was recorded. Highway 61 Revisited was released in the same year as Rubber Soul (1965). I can easily see why Rubber Soul is considered a classic because in addition to making an impact at the time of its release and influencing many musicians, Rubber Soul also still makes an impact on people who had never heard the album until 30 years after its release (such as myself). I realize that Highway 61 Revisited is regarded as great album (a glance at Wikipedia has all 8 of their “professional reviews” giving it their highest rating), but two great songs do not make a classic album.
Rating: 4 out of 10.
How many teams have been to the World Series in the last 10 years?
In the last 10 years, 15 teams have been to the World Series, which is exactly half of all Major League Baseball teams. Those teams are as follows:
- Anaheim Angels (2002)
- Arizona Diamondbacks (2001)
- Atlanta Braves (1999)
- Boston Red Sox (2004, 2007)
- Chicago White Sox (2005)
- Colorado Rockies (2007)
- Detroit Tigers (2006)
- Florida Marlins (2003)
- Houston Astros (2005)
- New York Mets (2000)
- New York Yankees (1999, 2000, 2001, 2003)
- Philadelphia Phillies (2008)
- San Francisco Giants (2002)
- St. Louis Cardinals (2004, 2006)
- Tampa Bay Rays (2008)
It bears repeating: half of all Major League Baseball teams have played in the World Series in the past 10 years. No other major sport can boast this many teams in its championship in the past ten years.
TV review: Babylon 5 Season 4
Season 4 of Babylon 5 starts out by leaving some questions unanswered from the end of Season 3, but by no means does that affect the enjoyment of this season. Season 4 seems to move along at a rapid pace, with major developments in the overall story arc that were set up in season 1 being resolved only 6 episodes into this season in the episode “Into the Fire.”
Even as conflict with alien races gets resolved, tensions among individual worlds comes to the forefront for the remainder of this season. Plot lines dealing with the rule of the Centauri and Minbari homeworlds play a role in this season, as well as human conflicts on earth and mars.
Season 4 features several unique episodes. “The Illusion of Truth” features impressions of Babylon 5 as portrayed in the media. “Intersections in Real Time” is a gripping episode which is nothing but an interrogation. The season finale “The Deconstruction of Falling Stars” looks ahead to the future in what seems to be a fitting end to the entire series. I’m not certain of this, but I believe that when season 4 ended, no one knew if there would be another season of the show, so the storylines all wrap up nicely at the end of season 4. The season ends so well that it feels like the end of the series, despite another season subsequently being made.
I honestly do not know where the direction of the series will go in season 5, but I do know that I enjoyed season 4 immensely.
Rating: 9 out of 10.
Pine tar
Major League Baseball batters use pine tar to get a better grip on the bat. But they always put the pine tar half way up the length of the bat, and then touch the pine tar to apply it to their hands. Why don’t they just put the pine tar right on the handle where they grip the bat?
Book review: Star Wars: Clone Wars: Wild Space
I never know what to expect from new Star Wars novels anymore. After the highs and lows of the Legacy of the Force series, I was unsure how many more Star Wars novels I cared to read. Having said that, I gave Wild Space, a Star Wars Clone Wars novel by Karen Miller, a chance. Overall, I am glad I did.
The book is stated as being “inspired by the TV series” but other than knowing who the character Ahsoka Tano is, no knowledge of the TV series is required. The best parts of Wild Space are the ones that tie in nicely to the movies, specifically parts of the end of Episode II: Attack of the Clones. These parts only tie into approximately the first half of the book. Almost all of the second half of the book deals with a mission/adventure of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Senator Bail Organa, which while compelling at times, is not the best part of the book. The second half drags a bit towards the inevitable and somewhat predictable end.
Wild Space is an enjoyable book despite some ups and downs, though it is by no means an essential part of the Star Wars universe.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10.
El grillo by Josquin des Prez
“El grillo” by Josquin des Prez is another Early Music Gem. This frottola about a cricket is pure fun. The first line of the song translates to “The cricket is a good singer.” The Hilliard Ensemble conducted by Paul Hillier show the lighthearted nature of this song, proving it to be one of my favorites of the Renaissance. The up-tempo performance by the Hilliard Ensemble suites it perfectly. The only thing I need to say further about El grillo is that it puts a smile on my face every time I hear it.
Fnords
Ever since reading The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, I have been able to see the fnords. The general concept of a fnord is something that according to Wikipedia “subconsciously generates a feeling of uneasiness and confusion, and prevents rational consideration of the subject. This results in a perpetual low-grade state of fear in the populace. This in turn perpetuates the need for Government, because without fear, people don’t need Government… Fnords are scattered liberally in the text of newspapers and magazines, causing fear and anxiety in those following current events. However, there are no fnords in the advertisements, encouraging a consumerist society.”
A fnord is the use of fear by the media. Mainstream media, including tv news, uses fnords heavily. So much so that the purpose of mainstream media is to publicize fnords, meaning the purpose is to perpetuate a “low-grade state of fear in the populace” in order to justify not only the need for government but also the expansion of the powers of government. Think about the subtext of all of the news reports about crime. Why does the media feel the need to report on murders, robberies, burglaries, and other types of crime? The purpose is twofold. One is to spread fear. Two is to justify the expansion of government powers. If crime persists then the populace is more will to allow government to grant itself more power in order to fight crime.
Why is Bernie Madoff such a big news story? Again, the reason is twofold: to spread fear and to justify the expansion of government power. In this case, the fear is of investing in financial products that are not highly regulated, as the government competes with private investment products. Madoff is used as an example of government’s desire to expand its power to regulate financial services.
There are countless subjects and stories in mainstream media which use fear as a means to justify and expand government powers. Another recent example is healthcare reform. The justification for healthcare reform is the fear of losing your job and being without healthcare. The message from the media is that the government can alleviate this fear by further extending its reach into private industry by providing healthcare coverage.
The subtext of fear and expansion of government power can be seen throughout mainstream media when you are able to see the fnords.
Book review: Children of Dune by Frank Herbert
I found a great user review of Children of Dune by Frank Herbert on goodreads. The review is as follows:
The Dune series is remarkable in that each sequel gets progressively worse until it’s unreadable.
The first book is truly excellent. It’s mantra on fear alone makes it great.
The second book a very good sci-fi novel.
The third book (Children of Dune) is merely okay.
The fourth book is sub-par, but still interesting.
The fifth book is a pain in the ass to read.
The sixth book will leave you concerned about the author’s health, so terribad is the writing.
But hey, the first book kicks ass!
This sums up Frank Herbert’s Dune series extremely well.
Music review: The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance
The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance is the album of the decade. No other album is even close for me. Gerard Way and the rest of MCR have taken many of my favorite bands, songs, styles, and elements of rock from over the past 40 years and combined them all into The Black Parade. They have made Pink Floyd’s The Wall for the 21st century. From the opening song “The End” echoing The Wall’s “In The Flesh”, to lines in “Mama” sounding straight out of the “The Trial”, to the concept of the album about a man on his deathbed reflecting upon his life, the influence of The Wall is obvious. Mix in the musical styles of Green Day, Smashing Pumpkins, and a little bit of Queen and you get The Black Parade.
As is the nature of most concept albums, The Black Parade is one of those albums that demands to be listened to from start to finish, rather than picking out a few singles to listen to. Having said that, the song “Welcome to the Black Parade” stands out as such a great track that it deserves its own commentary (which I have previously written).
What separates albums such as The Wall or The Black Parade is the raw emotion that pours through the music. Most of the music that Roger Waters wrote between 1977 and 1992 (either solo or with Pink Floyd) resonates with such a range of emotions that I can’t help but be moved by it. The Black Parade succeeds in capturing that emotion in such a way that no other album has since 1992’s Amused To Death by Roger Waters.
So if The Black Parade is the album of the decade, why only give it a 9.5 rating instead of a 10? The only minor point I can make with The Black Parade is that it never seems to step out of the shadow of its influences. While all music is influenced by what has come before it, most times when listening to music I hear its influences during the first couple of listens. After listening to music more than one or two times, the best music becomes something all its own and you forget that the riff from “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is straight from “More Than a Feeling” by Boston. Even after repeated listens, I can’t help but think that Brian May himself from Queen is playing a guitar part in “Welcome to the Black Parade” or that the way the lyrics “You should have raised a baby girl/I should have been a better son” from “Mama” are sung sound like they were lifted straight from “The Trial” on The Wall. But the truth is that this quibble doesn’t distract from The Black Parade being a truly great album – the album of the decade.
Rating: 9.5 out of 10.
Smoltz, Maddux, Glavine and the Hall of Fame
The baseball historian in me would have liked to have seen John Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine all enter the Hall of Fame together in the same class. This would most likely have been the case if Smoltz hadn’t attempted to give it one more try when he pitched for the Red Sox this year. Maddux retired last year, Glavine was released before he ever pitched an inning this year, so both are eligible to be inducted in 2014. Now Smoltz has to wait another year, assuming he doesn’t pitch again next year.
Maybe some baseball writers will not vote for Maddux and Glavine on the first ballot with the intent to vote for them on the second ballot along with Smoltz.
