Jacob Wrestled the Angel, and the Angel Was Overcome

Congratulations to Mr. Greg Grubb for correctly naming "Sequestered in Memphis" by The Hold Steady as the Friday Song of the Day.

Part XXIII (Luke's Response)

Makes sense. Now I'm wondering about the trend of this phenomenon. Historically, have we always been this way, or are we more so now? That is, in the early days of baseball, for example, was people's devotion as intense as it is now? It seems we've grown more attached to sports of late. There are probably a large number of factors that contribute to a culture's devotion to sports. An obvious one might be average income. If I have to work four jobs just to survive, I'm going to have less time and energy to devote to a sports team. But if I have a job that affords me some free time, I'm more likely to invest in my team.

I also wonder what the zenith of this phenomenon is. At what point (and because of what factors?) will our devotion wane? We'll always have some interest in sports, but when will it be at a trough?

The Time When New Media Was the Big Idea

One of my favorite running conversational topics with my Dad arises out of the following question, "Where do you hear about some of these bands?" In the end, the answer is not even really about music but has more to do with how my generation (Y/Millenial, I think) shares information as opposed to how Baby-Boomers (like my Dad) share information.

First, and as a bit of a digression, I should begin by saying that I'm not a member of the musical vanguard by any stretch of the imagination and do not take any great pride in listening to bands simply because no one else is listening to them. I'll listen to music if it is well done, regardless of the fact that it is perceived as popular or not, but as I said earlier, this really isn't about music. Instead, it has everything to do with the decentralization of the distribution of information.

Back in the 60's and 70's, if a band was really going to make it big, what did they need to do? First, they needed to all buy matching suits. Second, they needed to make an appearance on a show like "The Ed Sullivan Show". There are some bands, such as the Grateful Dead, that didn't take this route, and, in their own pot-addled way, rose to their own form of stardom, but for others, such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and countless other bands, they rose to fame through those set and established means of ascent.
There were set avenues of promotion and distribution, such as TV and radio, that had to be utilized in order to succeed. Everyone at school listened to the same music for a few reasons: 1. There was not anything approaching the musical variety that we currently have so you had to listen to the same bands, and 2. There was no way that you knew of some band that your friends didn't know about because you all watched the same 3 variety shows and listened to the same 2 or 3 radio stations playing rock and roll in your town.

Somewhere in between the 60's/70's and today, and I'm not quite sure where, those strictures opened up to provide greater variety in content and methods of distribution. I'm not sure if it was the fact that the musical community began to splinter and diversify at some point in the 70's or that the advent of cable television in the 80's created a greater reception for niche musical genres, or the rise of the internet in the 90's leveled the promotional playing field, but somewhere along the line, my friends could be listening to the complete discography of some band that I had never even heard of and vice versa, although I was probably still going to listen to Hootie and the Blowfish while everyone else listened to rap/Limp Bizkit.
Which brings me back to the question asked by my Dad: "Where do you hear about some of these bands?" As I said earlier, it's not even about the particular bands themselves, but about how people share information now. I'll see an embedded YouTube video on a friend's blog and listen to a group like The Hold Steady for the first time, I'll hear a band similar to other groups that I like on an internet radio site such as Pandora.com, or I'll look at a friend's Facebook page and see that they really like Ronald Jenkees (I'm looking at you, Lance Agan).

In a strange way, the cacophony of noise and information that has been generated by the onslaught of the internet and cable tv has caused us to return to a new form of word of mouth to get information on a variety of topics, whether it is politics or movies or bands or tv shows.

As the method in which we share information has been changed from a vertical structure to a more horizontal structure, the number of potential sources for new information has simply exploded. This, of course, does not mean that all of those sources are necessarily reputable or even authoritative, but that they are simply more accessible than ever before.

I've rambled a bit here, but if I've come to anything even approximating a coherent point, let me know what you think.

Where We Going to Find the Eyes to See a Brighter Day?

Congratulations to the lovely Ms. Amanda Pierce for correctly hinting at "Positive Jam" by The Hold Steady as the Song of the Day for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Due to its lyrical content, I like to think of "Positive Jam" as the lite/diet version of "We Didn't Start the Fire".

From pg. 340 of The Forever War by Dexter Filkins:

People asked me about the war, of course. They asked me whether it was as bad as people said. "Oh, definitely," I told them, and then, usually, I stopped. In the beginning I'd go on a little longer, tell them a story or two, and I could see their eyes go after a couple of sentences.

We drew closer to each other, the hacks and the vets and the diplomats, anyone who'd been over there. My friend George (Packer, of The New Yorker and author of The Assassins' Gate) an American reporter I'd gotten to know in Iraq, told me he couldn't have a conversation with anyone about Iraq who hadn't been there.

I told him I couldn't have a conversation with anyone who hadn't been there about anything at all.

The Street Sounds Like a Symphony

Congratulations to Mr. John Middleton for correctly naming "Rockin' the Suburbs" by Ben Folds as the Song of the Day for way, way back on Thursday, December 18, 2008. John, I'm sorry that I took so long in withholding your accolades, but you're a Chelsea supporter, and I can't really be expected to do you any favors.

Much like Fernando Torres on Saturday, I'm slowly working my way back into playing shape after the Christmas/New Year's blogging abyss.

Even though it's January 5, and even though I'm not normally a New Year's Resolution-type guy, I'm going to throw out a resolution to you, my dear readers, so that I will be held accountable in my pursuit of excellence this year.

What is that resolution?

Despite the fact that I have no guitar-playing skills whatsoever, I'm going to learn a little trick with that instrument that makes the ladies swoon. No, I'm not actually going to develop any particular skill playing the guitar. I'm just going to perfect the move that The Hold Steady guitarist Tad Kubler throws down at the 5:38 mark in this performance of "Most People are DJs".

Wish me luck, and take pity on the numerous guitars I will surely destroy in pursuit of my goal.

We Run Like a River to the Sea

Congratulations to the always lovely Ms. Amanda Pierce for correctly naming "Charlemagne in Sweatpants" by The Hold Steady as the Saturday Song of the Day.

Looking for a good deed for the day, my friends? How about finding a Cubs fan and giving them a long, warm hug. They might need a little encouragement right about now.

Also, just to be safe, you might want to take away their shoelaces and/or belt.

There are Many Here Among Us Who Feel That Life is But a Joke

A great column in today's NY Times by David Brooks on the 50th anniversary of Jack Kerouac's seminal novel On the Road. It seems that On the Road is one of those novels that should be required reading for everyone growing up in America, along with Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, and Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I'm pretty sure that might be the Mount Rushmore of novels that should be read by each American high school student, but I could be wrong on this one.

If anything, I've added On the Road to knock The Scarlet Letter off the required reading lists. I loved almost every book we were required to read in high school, but I would rather stick hot pokers in my eyes than sift through Hawthorne's dense prose. Also, simply because the song begins with the lyrics "There are nights when I think that Sal Paradise was right...", I'm giving you The Hold Steady's "Stuck Between Stations" free of charge.

On the baseball playoffs front, since the Rangers have once again left me languishing in the October cold (or in Texas currently, heat), I have decided to pick up a new team to support for the month. That team is (insert drumroll here) the Cubs!!!



I know, I know. I can hear you out there deriding my choice because, well, who wouldn't want to see the Cubbies end 99-years of misery and finally bring home a championship to the North Side of the Windy City? It's not that I'm trying to pull anything jumping on the Cubs' bandwagon, it's more that I feel as though I trying to prepare for my future with the baseball gods. Let me explain...

My great-uncle Beck was born in Tennessee. When he was a young man, the Volunteer State didn't have a major league club, so he didn't follow a big league team until he moved to Indiana after World War II. After moving to the Hoosier State, he began to follow the Cubs. Everytime we would visit Indiana, I would always watch a Cubs game on WGN with Uncle Beck and listen to Harry Caray talk about this and that as the Cubs ground out yet another unfulfilled campaign.

Now, Uncle Beck, Harry Caray, and thousands of other Cub fans who waited their entire lives to see their team take home the World Series title have passed to the great beyond. I feel as though when I cheer for the Cubs, I'm hopefully storing up points with some future baseball fan who will cheer for the Rangers to finally bring one home after it's my time to go.