My favorite music of 2012

Technically, this is a list. But it’s not much of one. Unfortunately, I was even less excited about new music this year than I was in 2009, and the same thoughts have returned. I had a number of questions all lined up, all asking some version of, What does this mean? But I’d rather get to what I liked, and why.

These are the eight 2012 albums I liked enough to feel like writing about. For me, there’s a clear top pick, and it’s a bit harder to differentiate the others. So, I didn’t. Lazy? Honest? A bold new direction? Your call. Undoubtedly, I’ll eventually discover other albums from 2012 that I enjoyed. (That’s how it works, and thank goodness for that.) But for now ….

1. Dr. Dog – Be The Void

I always think the newest Dr. Dog album is the best. Still do, it seems. What’s the ceiling for these guys? I don’t know, but Be The Void has to be close, doesn’t it? Effortless melodies that run circles around anything else I heard this year — it’s an unstoppable hit parade. It’s fair to be a bit wary of any band that gets praised for having a “classic rock” sound, but Dr. Dog doesn’t strike me as a band that wishes it was recording in the 60s or 70s. They never point to outdated recording techniques or cling to one specific style. Far from it. This bounces all over the place, never stepping wrong.

There are many standouts here, but “That Old Black Hole” is the showstopper, starting as a steady, lurking groove and somehow ending as a joyous, frantic romp. I’m still trying to figure out how they pull it off so naturally. And more than a few of the words remind me of “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart.”

Others, in alphabetical order:

Craig Finn – Clear Heart Full Eyes

Craig Finn didn’t just go and make an album that could have maybe been a Hold Steady album. He made a true solo album, which is respectable and only right. It wasn’t an initial standout, but a later return found it stuck with me.

Hospitality – Hospitality

Hospitality was the only new band I really cared for this year. Nothing flashy here, just well-crafted songs with depth. The many comparisons to Belle & Sebastian certainly have some merit, but they don’t tell the whole story. A band that kicks off with “Eighth Avenue” and “Friends of Friends” is not to be ignored. There are points later on where it can get a tad sleepy, but I’m quickly drawn back in. It’s all so charming.

Islands – A Sleep & A Forgetting

A collection of bittersweet lullabies. Whereas the synthy Vapours stripped away the overwhelming fullness of Arm’s Way, this goes further. It’s subdued, controlled, quiet. But right there in the thick of it all, there’s “Hallways,” for dancing the tears right off your face.

The Magnetic Fields – Love at the Bottom of the Sea

A sticker on the album cover declared Love at the Bottom of the Sea to be The Magnetic Fields’ best since the legendary 69 Love Songs, and you know what? I think I agree. Fifteen songs, the longest at 2:39, and plenty of high points, including “Your Girlfriend’s Face” and “Goin’ Back to the Country,” a classic country song in disguise. Speaking of disguise, it’s “Andrew in Drag” that shows Stephin Merritt in top form. It’s shake-your-head-and-smile clever. It’s also funny, sad, catchy, short, and sweet, and it’s one of the best songs of 2012.

The Tallest Man on Earth – There’s No Leaving Now

It’s not quite The Wild Hunt, but I get the feeling Kristian Matsson could appear on these little lists of mine for as long as he makes albums. Here’s hoping for a long career, with all of us lucky enough to have an expansive collection of TTMoE to enjoy on a future winter morning — tunes like “Revelation Blues” and “1904.”

M. Ward – A Wasteland Companion

Parts of A Wasteland Companion are very Him & She, which isn’t such a bad thing. The quieter last half of the album seems to fade out when compared to the start, but it grows on you with time. “The First Time I Ran Away” is like the spiritual successor to “Hold Time,” an easygoing wonder that packs emotional punch without any real punctuation or climax — it simply drifts away. An example of restraint as the perfect choice.

Jack White – Blunderbuss

I never seem to have enough interest in Jack White’s non-Stripes projects. I never felt much of a connection to most Raconteurs or Dead Weather stuff, though perhaps I haven’t really put in the time. Blunderbuss is as good as any post-Elephant Stripes album, which makes it more than worthwhile, of course. You’re never quite sure what to expect from track to track — he’s doing what he wants, which is what we want him to be doing.

Also, some songs I really liked:

Best Coast, “The Only Place”

Fun., “We Are Young”

Japandroids, “The House That Heaven Built”

Killer Mike, “Reagan”

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, “Same Love,” “Thrift Shop”

The Mountain Goats, “Amy aka Spent Gladiator 1″

Passion Pit, “Take A Walk”

Psy, “Gangham Style”

The Shins, “Simple Song”

Bruce Springsteen, “Death to My Hometown”

Waiting for October, Vol. 20

My youngest brother recently turned 16. I called to wish him a happy birthday, to ask him what it felt like to be that age, to ask what gifts he might want. He had other ideas.

“Let’s talk about the Pirates,” he said.

My response was short and obvious. “Why?”

After a blog introduction, the first thing I wrote on this site was about the Pittsburgh Pirates, and by extension, my youngest brother. I didn’t want to write about the Pirates again, not now, not after another collapse, not after the 20th straight losing season. (By the way, check the two comments at the end of that post. Relating to Pirate fans, by way of the Rangers, Orioles, and Nationals. In 2012: If only.) Especially since my last post on this site, in May, was about supporting another underachieving team, albeit a team across the ocean that I chose, not one I was born into. I also wrote about my most painful moments as a Pittsburgh sports fan. Enough is enough. I don’t want to be the guy who only writes to complain about his favorite sports teams. So, I’m writing to not write about the Pirates. This is me wiping my hands clean. The next thing I put on this website will be about the anatomy of armadillos. Or “Gardening at Night.” Anything but this.

It could have been different, of course. Without rehashing the too recent, too painful past, the Bucs were 63-47. And then, collapse. They ended the season 79-83, fourth in the NL Central. Do the math. How did that happen, you might wonder? Look it up. Figure it out. I told you I wasn’t going to rehash.

Still, we had fun this season. More fun than usual, at least for a while. Was it enough? My brother would send me “RTJR!” texts — “Raise the Jolly Roger!” — immediately after the last pitch of a Pirate win. Those came far less frequently in the season’s final months.

We had Zoltan. Fake Pedro. The semi-emergence of Real Pedro. The curious and improbable case of Garrett Jones. AJ Burnett. Neil Walker. And of course, Andrew McCutchen.

I got the MLB At-Bat app for my phone, and watched games whenever I could. I even got DirecTV’s Sports Pack the last month of the season. Due to MLB’s Official Crazy Blackout Rules™,  that’s the only way I can regularly watch the Pirates in Buffalo. That didn’t work out the way I planned.

In the end, though, my brother didn’t really want to talk about the Pirates. He only wanted to mention them, so I would hear it from someone else. He just wanted a brief connection — something that didn’t mean much more than, “Hey. Y’know? Man.” Something like this post.

Queens Park Dangers

How do you decide to become a fan of a team?

I’m talking about making an actual decision. A choice. Most of us are born into our fandom. Some of us become new fans of a college once we attend that school. And some of us just pick a team for some other reason and stick with ‘em. Those people are weird, aren’t they?

Well, when I was in elementary school, we all did that. Sure, I really liked the Pirates and Penguins best, but that was such a boring answer. (I honestly didn’t love the Steelers until middle school … I guess I held off for as long as I could before it hit me like a tidal wave.) And so, I had a bunch of “favorite” teams. The Detroit Tigers. The Philadelphia Eagles. The New York Yankees. The Montreal Canadiens. Looking back, it seemed to change every year. None of it ever stuck, because it wasn’t real. It wasn’t honest. I was trying to be different, just like everyone else. It was kid stuff.

But I knew a few kids who picked other teams and stuck with them into adulthood. For instance, a friend of mine was a huge Barry Sanders fan. He’s a Detroit Lions fan to this day. You can question his decision making, but you can’t question his commitment. It would be easier for him to just start supporting his hometown Steelers. It would be more reasonable and rewarding. But he went too far into the Lions den, and that’s where he stayed.

I started following the Premier League last year, and I really liked it. I’ve always loved soccer — played it for years and years, love to watch it — so why not follow what many consider to be the best soccer (yes, OK, football) league in the world? The world is shrinking, after all. It’s not hard to follow leagues overseas. And the Premier League didn’t present any language barriers. It was an easy call.

It was a fun starting point, but I didn’t really have a team. And all the Premier League fans I knew told me it was much more fun when you had a team. I had to pick a team. But how? How could it be natural? I have absolutely no ties to the UK through blood, and I’ve never flown across the ocean, either. Could I just pick a team off the board, as if I was selecting an ice cream flavor? I’m a true blue grown man fan, after all. A sports monogamist. This would have to be an ice cream flavor I could eat for the rest of my life.

I don’t believe in “second favorite” teams in the American pro leagues. People who pick an AL team and an NL team are bad enough. People who pick a second team in other leagues are even worse.

However, it’s different in college sports, where two teams might not play each other for decades. I suspect it’s the same for European soccer. Why couldn’t you support a Premier League team, and, say, a League Two team? Do European fans do this? If “Fever Pitch” is any indication, some certainly do. Anyway, I need answers.

Without going through all 20 teams, I only knew for sure I didn’t want to support Manchester United (too obvious and easy), Manchester City (the top bandwagon team of the moment; the Brits would call new fans of MCFC “glory hunters”), Arsenal (seem like they have enough fans already) and Chelsea (again, glory hunting). These were arguably the four best teams going into the season.

Plenty of other teams didn’t stand out to me for whatever reason. And that was that. Nothing against any of those squads, but I wasn’t going to force it. So who did stand out? Four clubs:

1. Liverpool

Love the history of the team, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” etc. But considering Liverpool is often referred to as one of the most storied clubs in England — if not THE most storied club, it seemed a bit too easy. Also, I really didn’t want to have to end up hating Everton.

2. Fulham

Based in London, which is a plus if I ever want to visit for a game. Cool kits. Very long history (founded 1879). American star Clint Dempsey. But you shouldn’t pick a team for one current player. Especially in club soccer, as he might be gone before the season ends. Fulham was a solid pick, but it just didn’t stick for me.

3. Everton

Everton seemed like the one. Love the kits, the history, the second-sibling rivalry with Liverpool, American Tim Howard (and, at times, Landon Donovan), the nicknames (The Toffees!) and other little things. But even though I gravitated toward Everton the previous year, I couldn’t quite commit. I didn’t know why. Some things can’t be explained.

4. Queens Park Rangers

They were coming back into the Premier League after winning the n-Power Championship (such a bizarre and confusing name for a B-league, by the way), so we’d be coming in together. QPR had a new, exciting owner who was willing to spend. I loved the uniforms, the London location, the charming bandbox home pitch at Loftus Road (with a capacity of 18,439, easily the smallest in the league) and of course, the amazing name. Queens Park Rangers! QPR! How cool is that? Of course, being a promoted team, the downside was a higher probability of relegation next season.

Another team that really stood out to me was Sheffield Wednesday. Love ‘em. Great nickname (The Owls), great history, kits (what’s with me and blue-and-white all of a sudden?), mascots that do this and of course, there’s a DAY OF THE WEEK in the club name. Which is awesome. The Wednesday!

Alas, Sheffield Wednesday started the season in League One, two steps below the Premier League. It’d take at least two years for the team to reach the top level, and I didn’t have the patience. At least I could have a League One team, as well, I thought, for whatever that was worth. (The Wednesday finished second in League One this season, guaranteeing promotion to the Championship. At this point, there’s a chance they’ll be squaring off against my eventual selected team next season. This was unforeseen.)

The season kicked off, and I was still a nomad, unable to commit to QPR or Everton. The two teams met in the second weekend of the season. It ended up being the second game for QPR and the first for Everton. QPR had just been smoked 4-0 to Bolton the week prior. Not making a good case for themselves.

Lucky for me, I got to watch the QPR-Everton tilt on TV. I could let the game decide for me. Since it was being played at Everton, it would have been easy to cheer for the home side, but I found myself rooting for QPR. I couldn’t explain why. Perhaps my heart was guiding me.

It was tied 0-0 in the first half. QPR got a bit of possession near the Everton box. And then this happened. I was all in.

That view from the QPR fans’ section shows Tommy Smith taking a pass and curling a low shot past Tim Howard for the Rs first Premier League goal — and win — since April 1996, when I was 13. (It had been that long? Maybe I didn’t think this through. Ah, but the heart wants what it wants.)

QPR won 1-0 and that was it. I had my club. Queens Park Rangers. The Rs. The Super Hoops. The ride had begun.

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What I don’t like about the Premier League:

It’s top heavy. Think of Major League Baseball to the 10th power. A few teams spend the most money, and they’re generally the best teams. Since there’s no playoff system for the league title, the small sample size series that can change the course of the title never happens. Only two teams — Man U and Man City — really had a shot at winning the Premier League this year. This happens all over European soccer to some extent. Those fans might not see it as a problem, but as an American sports fan, the complete disregard for competitive balance is an issue.

No instant replay. Another widespread soccer problem. QPR’s Clint Hill scored a clear goal against Bolton, but the refs didn’t see it that way. A one-minute review could have overturned the call on the field. QPR lost 2-1. I know you don’t want to interrupt the flow of a sport like soccer, but considering you’re already adding minutes of stoppage time … heck, just considering the existence of stoppage time, another minute isn’t a big deal.

Ease of watching games. Yeah, it’s much easier now than it even was a couple years ago, thanks to expanded coverage from ESPN and FOX, and the internet and so on, but I’ve got DirecTV and the Fox Soccer Plus channel is $15 a month. That’s egregious for someone who already pays for NFL Sunday Ticket and NHL Center Ice. Other cable packages make it much easier and cheaper than DirecTV, but that doesn’t help me right now. More of a DirecTV problem than a Premier League problem, really.

What I like about the Premier League:

The announcers. Honest and hilarious, and of course, they’ve got British accents. Why can’t NFL announcers be so brutally honest? Why do they have to constantly “sell the game?” YOU’RE THE NFL. YOU’VE ALREADY GOT US HOOKED. DON’T DUMB IT DOWN. STOP MAKING EXCUSES FOR MILLIONAIRES. BE HONEST. (For instance, I once heard Jon Gruden call John Beck “the best-kept secret in the NFL.” He should be held accountable for such nonsense.)  Premier League announcers are, by and large, the best.

Game times and scheduling. Almost always one game a week, sometimes two, played during mornings and afternoons in my time zone, only taking two hours from start to finish. Easy to follow and every game an important one.

Relegation and promotion. A race to escape the bottom can be just as exciting (if not more exciting) than the race to the top. The punishment for the worst teams, rewards for the best, teams switching leagues … everything about it is fantastic.

That being said, many American fans of European soccer won’t shut up about bringing relegation to American sports. It makes otherwise intelligent people sound silly. Please stop it. It could never happen and it will never happen. It’s not built into the sports. The whole system would need a total overhaul. You’d have to create lower leagues to even allow for this. MLB minor league teams are farm teams for MLB teams. And good luck convincing owners.

More importantly, it’s not built into the sporting culture. Could you imagine asking a Royals or Pirates or Astros fan to spend a season watching their teams play Lehigh Valley, Toledo and Pawtucket? No one would go. And why should they? Let some things stay foreign, and enjoy them as they are.

Cups and European Leagues. The FA Cup and Carling Cup allow teams struggling during their seasons a chance to win some hardware, while creating upset possibilities. Then you’ve got the best teams playing great teams from all over Europe in the Champions’ League and, to a lesser extent, the Europa League. The Premier League title isn’t the only one up for grabs.

Distance. Following afar makes it easier to avoid the off-field stuff. The most popular league here, the NFL, is inescapable. I love the NFL, but over time, I’ve gotten tired of all the off-field stuff and manufactured controversy. I know that stuff exists in the Premier League (have you seen English tabloids?), but because I live in the US, I don’t really see any of it. Fine by me. Just give me the games.

No league playoffs. Not saying I like it better, though it is probably more fair. It’s just different. I wouldn’t want it in every league I follow.

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QPR was decent for the first third of the season, hanging around mid-table. And then the wheels fell off. They plummeted to the relegation zone. They couldn’t score. They couldn’t defend. They fired their manager, Neil Warnock. And a lot of the flashy “name” players they brought in weren’t pulling their weight, most notably Joey Barton and Shaun Wright-Phillips. They brought in more guys. Taye Taiwo on loan. Federico Macheda. Samba Diakite. Djibril Cisse. Bobby Zamora. Results have been mixed.

(Taiwo’s been solid from what I’ve seen, Diakite OK. Cisse very good when he can stay on the field. The less said about Zamora and Macheda, the better.)

After losing a March 10 game to Bolton Wanderers (the Clint Hill game), I tweeted: “Might be the last QPR game I watch for a very long time. Not quite giving up (though I probably should). Just stating facts. So poor.”

It was bad. They just played so poorly for such a long stretch of time. And they played stupid. So many dumb red cards, game after game. Why was I getting up on weekends to watch an underachieving, undisciplined team play thousands of miles away?

I expressed these frustrations to my youngest brother, who said, “You’re not a true fan.” This coming from a 15-year-old who picked Everton as his team, and strangely, League One side Rochdale, who will be in League Two next year. Why Rochdale? Who knows?

After further examination, QPR was exactly the kind of team I’ve never liked. A bunch of mercenaries, losing their cool, not playing as a team, while fellow promoted teams Norwich City and Swansea City (both teams finished behind QPR in last year’s Championship season) were surprises. Those teams played together. They had heart. They weren’t going back down to the Championship. I didn’t see the same from QPR.

And some of QPR’s top performers during the season were often holdovers from the previous season: Guys like Heidar Helguson and Jamie Mackie, who some thought weren’t Premier League quality.

With QPR in very real danger of dropping back to the Premier League, I had some questions. Did I have to stay a fan? I’m not from London. My only connection to this team started this season. I could chalk it up to a false start and pick a new team next season. What was the point of taking on a lost cause? I’ve already got the Pittsburgh Pirates.

But the fact that I was upset showed that I cared. QPR had me. I couldn’t quit them. My tweet was just another heat-of-the-moment outburst from a fan. That’s what I was. A fan. I don’t know how it happened, but it did. I made myself care about the team, so I really did care about the team. Maybe there’s not much difference.

After that brutal loss, QPR picked themselves up and played … pretty decent, actually. Not great, but they were far from the worst team in the league. Since that Bolton loss, QPR has done this: W, L, W, L, W, L, W, L, W. And some of those wins have come against big boys, like Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. I guess the Hoops have some heart, after all.

Now we’re at the end. If the team’s form follows its current path, they’ll lose tomorrow at Manchester City. If Man City wins, they’ll win the league. QPR has virtually no chance.

Whether or not QPR stays up next year will likely depend on tomorrow’s Bolton-Stoke City game. If Bolton loses or draws, QPR stays up. But if the Wanderers beat Stoke, it’d require that miracle win over Man City to avoid relegation. Dicey stuff.

If QPR does go down, to face off against Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship, what will I do? Pick a new Premier League team for next year? A second team, if you will, that I could follow in the meantime? I’m not going to stop following the Premier League, so maybe I’ll pay close attention to both that and the Championship next year. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I really don’t. I can’t imagine how nervous the longtime QPR fans must be.

I would really rather they didn’t go down, because I don’t want to figure out what comes next. Come on, you Rs. Come on.

An Imagined Conversation Between Mase and Puff Daddy Regarding “Feel So Good”

In the studio.

Puff Daddy: All right, you ready to rip this track?

Mase: Um … about that. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.

PD: What’s up?

M: It’s about the song.

PD: This song?

M: Yeah. One line is really bothering me. Not even a line, really. A stanza. It’s in the breakdown.

PD: The bridge?

M: Yeah.

PD: You mean my verse?

M: Yeah.

PD: My one little, tiny, microscopic part? The only rhymes I’ve got on the whole track? That part?

M: …Yes.

Silence.

M: Ah, well, forget it.

PD: Mason. I said you could always come to me with whatever’s on your mind. You know that.

M: OK, this is my big solo debut single, right?

PD: Yeah?

M: Well, we get to that part, and it’s like, “Do Mase got the ladies?”

PD: Yeah, yeah.

M: Which is great, don’t get me wrong. And then, it’s “Do Puff drive Mercedes?”

PD: Yeah, yeah.

M: Which—hey, I’m fine with that. You do, indeed, drive Mercedes. But then, it’s like, “Take hits from the 80s?” and “But do it sound so crazy?”

PD: Too many questions?

M: No, that’s not it.

PD: Do it not sound so crazy?

M: Well, that’s debatable, but my issue is that three of those lines are dedicated to yourself, and only one is about yours truly.

PD: …I see.

M: Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful for absolutely all of this, and I definitely want you on the track. But one line to three? At that big moment? I’m thinking maybe we even it up, make it two for two? That’s fair, right?

PD: What do you suggest?

M: I don’t know. Maybe something like, “Do Mase got the ladies? Do Puff drive Mercedes? Take hits from the 80s? And do Mase act so crazy?” Something like that, maybe. Back to me at the end.

PD: Hmm.

M: Or “Do Mase got the ladies? Do Puff drive Mercedes? Do Mase act so crazy? And do Puff like Scorsese?” Trade off there, back and forth, me, you, me, you.

PD: Um.

M: You’re right, “crazy” doesn’t even rhyme in the first place, to be honest. It’s a stretch. How about the last two lines go, “They bunch like the Bradys? And they won’t go to Hades?”

PD: Mason, you do realize that 13 different people co-wrote this song.

M: Thirteen?

PD: Thirteen. And I didn’t even write my verse. I think I wrote a few lines in the second verse, maybe a few of the “bads.”

M: Oh. Well, as you always say, “Don’t worry if I write rhymes, I write checks.”

PD: I will put that in a song someday.

M: And you should. You should.

PD: Anyway, I’m glad you brought this up. I know you’ve been thinking a lot about this. It’s nice to know you care. But the verse is going to have to stay. It just fits. Trust me on this. Plus, if I make changes now, I’m going to have to hire at least three more songwriters.

M: Yeah. OK.

PD: But hey, I’ll tell you what.

M: What?

PD: I’ll let you sing on a track.

M: Really?

PD: Yeah, I know you always wanted to sing a bit. Last song on the album, you can sing your heart out.

M: Really?

PD: Yeah, we’ll have fun with it. Get 112 to sing backup and everything.

M: Wow. Thanks, Puff.

PD: Please, Mason. It’s Sean. You know that. Now what do you say we rip this track?

M: Sure thing … Sean.