album review!!!

hi, i have decided to review my favorite album of the year so far, spoon's "ga ga ga ga ga." to accomplish this task, i have decided to synergize "spoon" with the concept of "college football," much as i did with college basketball.


and before i do this, i would like to say that i think that this is the best album that spoon has released. you may pine for "kill the moonlight" or "gimme fiction," but i believe that this album is packed quite tightly with quality song after quality song, to the point that songs like "was it you?," "paper tiger," and "back to the life" seem less meaningful in comparison.


and those were great songs!


while spoon was not as brave with their technique as last time, in some sense i feel that this album represents what happens when you have a more balanced perspective about art, life, and all of that jazz... each song doesn't have to be a tempestuous ballad or an emotionally-dripping soliloquy to be good. and that's something worth striving for. now on to the review.


1. don't make me a target.


mike hart, michigan.


by sheer will, mike hart has taken a team on his back, dragging them with his unbreakable desire to a place where anger meets mediocrity. allow me to present to you a group of tragic heroes: the 2007 michigan wolverines. let's win one for old lloyd, suckers.


don't make me a target. don't make me a target. NO, DON'T MAKE ME A TARGET!!!


2. the ghost of you lingers.


pat white, west virginia.


i still believe that louisville has the capacity to beat west virginia. maybe it's just a fool's errand, but i have to believe somewhere. still, when i listen to this song and consider the "cfb" simultaneously, i can't help but think of the slashing ability in the open field executed to perfection. and it scares me.


in the same vein, daniel and the gang execute this song to perfection, building tension through out with keyboard intensity and carefully-planned lyrics. touchdown, mountaineers.

**editor's note: this post was started before the 13th team in the sec, the south florida bulls, knocked off wvu on the friday nite. **


if you were here, would you calm me down?

3. you got yr. cherry bomb.

darren mcfadden, arkansas.

i consider mcfadden to be the next tomlinson. everybody in the tri-state area knows that arkansas is running the football, yet mcfadden manages to take the football to the house at an alarming frequency. he has embarassed sec defenses, which is next to impossible.

seriously, who was the last running back in the sec that was even close to being as good as mcfadden? was it joe addai? jamal lewis? brown/cadillac? emmitt smith ?!?!?!

it was the longest day that i had ever known.


4. don't you evah.


glenn dorsey, lsu.

one thing is consistent about sports: defense isn't sexy. when we revolutionize the idea of defense, defining it to be the last pure thing we've got, we'll be better off. dorsey epitomizes this idea, particularly when he's running around in the backfield terrorizing quarterbacks.

in the same way, spoon keeps constant pressure on the listener with this song, with a pace that clearly defines how daniel feels about love, relationships, and life.

don't ever need to worry, 'cause it's gonna feel all right.

5. rhythm and soul.

desean jackson, cal.

if you can't see jackson taking a punt to the house while this song builds to a pleasing climax, then i can't save you- it's already too late.

tract houses; square couches; short legs and square shoulders...

6. eddie's ragga.

andre woodson, kentucky.

the outstanding debate on my blog notwithstanding, this is my favorite song on the album. in particular, i am happy with two vocalists synthesizing their voices to create a richer sound, overlayed, of course, with tactful guitar and sensible lyrics.

by the way, i think that i'd like to see kentucky beat florida to avenge jared lorenzen and tim couch. that would be nice.

someone that i met but i hardly knew- he said everyone loves a defective heart.
he'd parted way with diction- this was late last night.

7. the underdog.

the usc trojans.

here is the spoon that we're familiar with and that we love. it would have been convenient to just throw south florida in here for the obvious title/reality comparison, but i think it's much more appropriate to compare the men of troy to this track, since we're really recognizing this song as a testament to sustained brilliance.

so grit your teeth and bear it.

and it may not be photo-op in the way that i spell it out.

8. my little japanese cigarette case.

colt brennan, hawaii.

we don't really know anything about the guy, but we do know that he can throw for a whole crapload of yards in an offense specifically designed for players like jeff george. now, here is a thought: how much do you suppose june jones loves hawaii?

as the song progresses in intensity, picture brennan and the rainbow warriors exploding for like, five touchdowns in the second quarter. then picture a nice luau.

break a mirror to my face.

9. finer feelings.

matt ryan, boston college.

if eddie's ragga is my favorite track, then this is a close second. and this guy is my personal choice for the heisman, because i feel that boston college is one team that has played well enough to vaguely deserve their ranking.

oh, wait, they played umass that closely? well, matt ryan is still pretty sweet.

one thing that daniel does particularly well on this entire album is tell stories without making the story the whole song, as does, say, colin meloy of the decemberists. i appreciate that, as i have sort of tired of the whole idea of grandiose. incidentally, on "picaresque," i tend to think that the best songs aren't the ones that make statements, rather, they are the slow songs that express love. so there's your "aside of the day."

i was dreaming in the drivers seat... when the right words just came to me... and all my finer feelings came up.

10. black like me.

brian brohm, louisville.

say what you want about louisville, but brohm has been remarkable again this year.

what's gonna get me out of this?

so there you have it.

musical commentary.

hi, this is courtesy of the flaming lips. it describes their song "a spoonful weighs a ton," off the soft bulletin.

This is where 'The Soft Bulletin' begins, as it immediately launches into two tales of science and confrontation of the unsolved. In 'Race For The Prize', two scientists who are striving to save the world by finding the cure to a disease. Can they cope with the pressure of expectation? Can they continue to operate at the vista of the unknowable and hold on to their ordinary lives as family men? Perversely, this is a totally driven and pure pop song, with the massive beats and driven piano playing providing movements of startlingly original bombast and forlorn empathy. 'A Spoonful Weighs A Ton' deals with some more scientists who are gambling with a planet's time by carrying out an unstoppable experiment with the sun. Flutes, strings, harps, drum machines, and perhaps the deepest bass you ever heard fire through the incredible stereo mix. The people are aghast at the risk, but the scientists forge ahead and their bravery finds them love, as their refusal to wait for the end saves the world.

poll.

which college team has a better chance of losing this week?

louisville at uk? or ohio state at washington?

justify.

predictions.

hi, i'm going to make some college football predictions.

michigan vs. oregon.


i think this is a nightmare matchup for the ducks, who would clearly like to fly under the radar for this one but now have to face the facts that michigan is playing for their program's life over the next few weeks. one thing that michigan can't have happen is another loss to a team that's not in the big 10, and so they're going to come out guns blazing. mike hart is going to be too much for the ducks, as he was for appalachian state.

but there's always the problem of defense, and michigan's d doesn't appear to be good at all. but you have to think that michigan will be play harder this week.

i'll take the wolverines against the ducks and the spread.

michigan 45, oregon 21.


notre dame vs. penn state.

let the jimmy claussen era begin now, and not a moment too soon. but penn state's defense is scary good, which is why you have to think that it will be a trial by fire. fire charlie weis now.

i think that anthony morelli is close to being at the level that his expectations suggest he should be at, which is bad news for notre dame.

the line on this game is right on par with what you might think should happen. vegas wants all the money on penn state to be above 17 points. this basically implies that they think the score will be either 28-10 or my personal hunch...

penn state 27, notre dame 10.

lsu vs. virginia tech.



this could be an lsu blowout, but virginia tech's defense won't give up more than 24 or 27 points so you have to think that va. tech has a chance. the fact that the hokies didn't score much last week has to be disconcerting.

so for va. tech to have a chance, they have to engage in ball control and score maybe a few touchdowns early. the danger is of course that on the road, when lsu finds themselves up 7-0, 10-0, that the dam bursts.

the line is 11.5, but realistically you have to think that the final should look like this:

lsu 24, virginia tech 7

miama at oklahoma.

now we enter the danger zone. miami has had one bad year, not two, not three, but one. and so now we're looking at a team that started the year off by blowing out marshall: a team that always recruits, is a clear underdog, and virtually is being written off by an oklahoma team that yes, blew out north texas, but doesn't have adrian peterson any longer.

so now oklahoma is favored, and they are at home, and miami is breaking in a new qb, but they are the hurricanes. and so you have to wonder if oklahoma thinks they have an edge. my guess is no: this is one of the hardest games on their schedule and they want to win a national title, and they should be focused.

i'll take oklahoma, but not against the spread.

oklahoma 38, miami 28.

washington vs. boise state.

boise state is a good team, but this is going to be a tough out for them. in fact, i believe that washington thinks they can contend right now.

the trouble for washington will be that boise state's offense is almost unstoppable, so they'll have to score a lot of points. i don't think they'll get there.

boise state 41, washington 31.

texas vs. texas christian.

either this is a texas blowout, or it's a texas loss. colt mccoy has been unimpressive and texas looked weak against arkansas state, but then again, tcu doesn't inspire awe for anyone.

texas 16, tcu 3.

and the rest....

beat the spread!

kentucky 35, kent state 14
alabama 28, vandy 13
auburn 21, sfu 10
wisconsin 38, unlv 14
georgia 24, south carolina 17
east carolina 24, unc 3

can't beat the spread!
arkansas state over memphis
nebraska by 4 at wake
ucla by 3 over byu
tennessee against southern miss.