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Well, I guess the moral of the story is that you don't want to head into the Sunday singles matches with a 10-6 lead.  That almost guarantees that you will lose.

Random and immediate thoughts:

- How important was Europe winning those last two matches yesterday?  Even if the U.S. can scratch out 1/2 point in those two, they probably get to keep the Cup on this side of the pond.

- How bad was our play at 17 and 18 today?  Well, watching it live it didn't feel that our guys played that badly, but the bottom line is that they didn't play well enough to win, and they'll have that hanging over their heads for a long time.

- Justin Rose's comeback against Mickelson was probably the epic moment of the day.  Mickelson didn't lose that match; Rose went out and snatched it away from him.  Magnificent play on the final two holes.

- Davis Love will be answering a lot of questions tonight and in the days to come about his captain's picks - both of whom he backloaded today and both of him faded in the stretch to, let's face it, give the Cup to Europe.

- Tiger Woods wins 1/2 point - adding to what will surely be the most negative [golf-related] component on his vita when they get to considering his career.

Certainly a deflating day in the history of U.S. Ryder Cup golf - folding in front of what was certainly the most rabid pro-U.S. crowd in the history of the event.

"The ghosts are a comfort to me"

You have to wonder if, when Patterson Hood scheduled the release of his new album "Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance" for September 11, he had any idea that two powerhouses were set to be released on the same day - Bob Dylan's "Tempest," which has had more written about it than any album in years, and "The Carpenter," the latest Rick Rubin-produced effort from rising stars The Avett Brothers.

What I know for certain is that when I visited Dimple Records to buy all three albums, two of them were very easy to find.  And I was lucky to find the last available copy of Patterson's new album, tucked into the middle of his very small section back in a remote corner of the store.

So it's not likely that "Heat Lightning" is going to make Patterson Hood a big star, or a household name, or anything remotely like that.  But after a couple of weeks of listening, it's possible that his album just might be the best of the three.  I say "just might" because Dylan's latest is clearly an epic effort, and it's more a matter of deciding how good it is - is it great, or is it the latest masterpiece in a career chock full of them? 

"Heat Lightning" is a modest album - musically, Hood is not trying anything that he hasn't tried before.  But perhaps because the album is, as he writes in the liner notes, the soundtrack for memories of his family, in particular his beloved Great Uncle George A. Johnson (whom Hood immortalized in one of his best songs, "Sands of Iwo Jima"), he has an emotional connection with these songs that lends even the most simple ones a level of depth and a level of commitment that surpasses even his best work with Drive-By Truckers.

The title track is the emotional centerpiece of the album, recounting a visit to the house where Mr. Johnson lived for so many years (he was 91 when he died) and the flood of memories that hit Hood as a result:

Holding on alone to the place you always held
As heat lightning rumbles in the distance
The night creeps slowly by as  hold myself together
Somewhere between anguish and acceptance

But that is hardly the only great song on the album - on "Disappear," on "Better than the Truth," on "Leaving Time" and others, Hood achieves a level of clarity in singing and details that he has rarely matched before.  Nothing loud, and mostly very simple, but enormously powerful and affecting.

Hood's work for what may be the best working band in America has left no doubt that he is one of the great songwriters of this era.  But what he achieves on "Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance" may be more impressive than that.  If you can find a copy of the new album, and of course there is always the Internet to help with that, you should snap it up.

Amenity

Not the worst I've ever had.  In case you can't tell, it's a tiny bottle of Crown Royal.

So tonight, we can toast the end of our long national nightmare, and savor the relief we will all feel at being able to boo the regular referees once again.

Andy Williams

To honor Andy Williams, I'm going to repost a piece I wrote in December 2006 about what I am convinced will remain his most enduring work: The Andy Williams Christmas Album.  Mind you, we're talking about what was the first of many "Andy Williams Christmas Albums."  Some were good, and as noted in the piece, some were complete garbage.  But the one to seek out is the one with the red cover, where Andy sings (among other songs) what are pretty darn close to being the definitive versions of "White Christmas," "The Christmas Song," and "O Holy Night."

The Andy Williams Christmas Album. For many baby-boomers, the name Andy Williams is probably synonymous with a series of saccharine Christmas specials that would appear, like clockwork, on an annual basis in the 1960s through the mid-1970s. The whole family would be there - wife Claudine Longet, the kids, the Osmonds, and a host of others whose names have been lost to history (at least, I can't remember them).

But even though Williams was no Sinatra, his Christmas album - his first, the one with the red cover - is better than Frank's. A lot better. Originally released in 1963, it was re-released two years ago by Sony Music in a newly remastered version that sounds as if it was recorded just yesterday. Of the thousands of Christmas albums that have been released over the years, this is the definitive easy-listening crooner holiday album.

Like many Christmas albums originally released on vinyl, the record is neatly divided between secular songs on Side One, and religious songs on Side Two. On the first side Williams tackles the two major classics of the mid-twentieth century - White Christmas and The Christmas Song - and fares just fine. It might be sacrilege to suggest that either is definitive, but he comes close enough to make it a moot argument. In the meantime, Williams comes up with two classics that, to this day, are probably more closely associated with him than with any other singer: the Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season medley, and It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. The side is rounded out by an alternative version of The Twelve Days of Christmas called A Song And A Christmas Tree, which I guarantee will prompt any child under the age of 10 to comment, "he's not singing it right." The side closes with Kay Thompson's Jingle Bells (in what I assume is a reference to the arranger; there are no liner notes on the original or remastered versions), a raucous, swinging version that can give Brian Setzer a run for his money any day of the week.

The highlight of side two is O Holy Night, but Williams also turns in terrific (and understated) performances on The First Noel, Away in a Manger, and Silent Night. The only stinker on the album is a song called Sweet Little Jesus Boy, which has a nice melody, but you don't want to listen too hard to the lyrics. My guess is that it's the only song in existence that refers to Jesus Christ as "sir."

Overall, a classic then and a classic now. A note of caution - there are many cut-rate discount CDs marketed under this title. Aside from the original, they are all terrible. Avoid them like the plague!

 

R.I.P.

Plea

"It is making it...hard to watch...every game."

- Mike Tirico

Come on, Roger Goodell.  You've lost.  You may be right, but you've lost.

It's time to take your head out of your arse and make a deal.

Please.

We've Been Having Fun All Summer Long

Since we were heading out of town for a couple of relaxing days on the coast, I didn't have a chance to properly wrap up the little summer project that turned out to be bigger than I expected.  95 songs is a lot to write about, and it was probably obvious on some days that my inspiration was a bit lacking.  But I made it through, and there are enough songs left over that you may be seeing "Son of 95 Songs of Summer" next June.

I also want to give special thanks to Michael Alatorre, my fellow blogger from down south, who supported the series through posts on Facebook and Twitter, and probably doubled the number of people who viewed it as a result. 

And for the sake of completion, an overview of the "songs of summer," by decade:

60s: All Summer Long, Like a Rolling Stone,  Harper Valley PTA, Honky Tonk Women, Sugar, Sugar, In the Year 2525, My Cherie Amour, Hey Jude, Ode to Billie Joe, Hot Fun in the Summertime, Israelites, Heat Wave, White Bird.

70s: We're An American Band, Keep It Comin' Love, Sweet Home Alabama, Third Rate Romance, Can't Get Enough, Play That Funky Music, More Than A Feeling, Rockaway Beach, China Grove, Don't Stop, I'm Still in Love With You, I Shot the Sheriff, Ride Captain Ride, Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Margaritaville, Cruisin', Magic Man, Get Down Tonight, The Bitch is Back, Coconut, Why Can't We Be Friends?, Best of My Love, Lookin' Out My Back Door, Three Times a Lady, Brother Louie, You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine, I'm Not Lisa, Spill the Wine, Rikki Don't Lose That Number, The Night Chicago Died, Mainstreet, Bad, Bad Leroy Brown, Racing in the Street, My Sharona, Rock Your Baby, Radar Love, You're the One That I Want, Brandy, Alone Again (Naturally), How Long, Kiss and Say Goodbye, Surrender, One of These Nights, I'm Doin' Fine Now, Baker Street, In the Summertime, Ball of Confusion, Kodachrome, Whatcha Gonna Do?, So Very Hard to Go, Live and Let Die, Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress, Jet Airliner, I'm Not in Love.

80s: True to Life, Ramblin' On My Mind, Burning Down the House, She Drives Me Crazy, Games Without Frontiers, Mirror in the Bathroom, Let My Love Open the Door, Let's Go Crazy, Only the Lonely, Seven Year Ache, Cruel Summer, Jessie's Girl, Kiko and the Lavender Moon, What's Love Got to Do With It, Emotional Rescue, Urgent, Every Breath You Take.

90s: Too Darn Hot.

00s: I Gotta Feeling, The Rising, Summer Days, Harvey Haddix, Summerlong, Crazy.

10s: I Love It, Split Decision, Ready to Start.

If you wanted to make yourself a playlist, you could do a lot worse than this one.

And that, folks, is all she wrote.

Terrifying Tee Shot

One of the great things about the 17-mile drive along the coast in Pacific Grove and Carmel is the view you get of some of the great holes on the great courses in that area.  You don't get to see Pebble Beach or much of Cypress Point, but you get some intriguing glimpses of the Links at Spanish Bay, Spyglass Hill, and the Dunes Course of the Monterey Country Club, which you see at left.  The long tee is to the right of this picture, and I can't even imagine hitting from there, especially on a windy day like the one when this pic was taken.

Shuttle Mania!

Mr. and Mrs. Blog just happened to be wrapping up a quick vacation on the coast this morning, and were lucky enough to join a hundred or so folks on Lover's Point in Pacific Grove to see something in person that I'm fairly confident we'll never see again.

It was fun to see it with a large group, even if it was about an hour late.

95 Songs of Summer, #95 - "All Summer Long"

And that's all she wrote, folks.  Done a day early, and hard to believe that this started almost 3 months ago.

And yes, we have indeed been having fun all summer long.

The Beach Boys, "All Summer Long."

95 Songs of Summer, #94 - "True to Life" (1982)

I finished my last final at Berkeley in mid-June of 1982, on a Thursday afternoon.  I went back to my dorm room, and put Roxy Music's "Avalon" on the stereo.  I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do with my life or what my life would become, but finishing that last final resulted in a state of carefree bliss that has been matched few times since.  And even though it's been more than 30 years now, that feeling comes back when I listen to this song.

Roxy Music, "True to Life," from the summer of 1982.

95 Songs of Summer, #93 - "We're An American Band" (1973)

What Grand Funk Railroad accomplished around the time this album (same title as the single) came out was similar to what they refer to in the movie world as a "reboot."  To be honest, I'm not sure what the band was like before then - I never listened to their records when I was a kid, and by the time I might have been interested, there were plenty of other bands to take up my time.  But paired with Todd Rundgren as producer, GFR became closer to something that you might call a "hard rock power pop band." 

Whatever you want to call it, this was a great, great single - just the right amount of noise, and the right amount of attitude, to appeal to a bunch of 7th grade boys who thought they were a lot cooler than they actually were.  Turn it up loud, annoy your parents...this incarnation of Grand Funk was perfect for that sort of thing.

Grank Funk Railroad, "We're An American Band," from the summer of 1973.

95 Songs of Summer, #92 - "Keep It Comin' Love" (1977)

I've always had a soft spot in my heart for KC and the Sunshine Band.  They were the epitome of a formula band, and that formula (disco, in case you hadn't noticed) was pretty narrow.  But they made the most of it, and had a great time in the process - running up a string of hit singles that lasted through much of the late 70s era when there was very little middle ground between loving and hating disco.

As for me, I've always subscribed to the theory that has been attributed at different times to Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, among others: there are two kinds of music, good music and the other kind. 

And besides - I own this song on a vinyl 45 (but that's not mine in the video below).  How many people can say that in this day and age?

KC and the Sunshine Band, "Keep It Comin' Love," from the summer of 1977.

95 Songs of Summer, #91 - "I Gotta Feeling" (2009)

If the Super Bowl halftime show counts, I've actually seen The Black Eyed Peas perform live.  Seeing it there, I thought it was fantastic - and was a bit surprised that the show got raked over the coals the way that it did.  I'm thinking that it's one of those "you had to be there" sort of things.

My familiarity with the songs that hit the top of the charts in this day and age...well, for the most part I have no familiarity with them, except to the extent that sons #1 and #2 would play them on their iPod.  But the appeal of The Black Eyed Peas is pretty damn universal, and I do know a great single when I hear one.  And this definitely passes the acid test of great singles, in that all you want to do when you hear it come on the radio is turn it up.

The Black Eyed Peas, "I Gotta Feeling," from the summer of 2009.

 

95 Songs of Summer, #90 - "Sweet Home Alabama" (1974)

Ladies and gentlemen, the song that introduced a southern band to the world - a band that in three short years would achieve iconic status, a status cemented by the tragic plane crash that took the life of leader Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines.

And make no bones about it, Lynyrd Skynyrd was a great band - I wish I could say that I'd seen them live, but never had the opportunity...and then it was too late.  And yes, I know the remnants of the band still tour together under that name, but it isn't the same.  The real Lynyrd Skynyrd went down in that plane in the fall of 1977.

And while the verse about Neil Young - "a southern man don't need him around anyhow..." is justifiably famous, my favorite part of the song comes at the very beginning, with Ronnie's spoken "turn it up."

OK, I think I will.  Lynyrd Skynyrd, "Sweet Home Alabama," from the summer of 1974.

 

95 Songs of Summer, #89 - "Like A Rolling Stone" (1965)

I was only five years old when this song was released, so I can't lay claim to it having produced a lot of memorable summer memories.  But on the other hand, it is the single greatest song in the history of rock music, and it was released during the summer, so it only seems fair to recognize it here.  After all, Greil Marcus wrote an entire book about the making of the song.

I don't think I will ever get tired of "Like a Rolling Stone."  There is always something new to discover - in the interplay between guitars, in Al Kooper's organ, in Dylan's vocal - and so it will always sound as fresh and vibrant as it did on the day it was released.

Bob Dylan, "Like a Rolling Stone," from the summer of 1965.

95 Songs of Summer, #88 - "Third Rate Romance" (1975)

The most fun thing about AM radio may have been the way that songs could bubble up from nowhere, from artists you'd never heard of, and take over the airwaves for a few weeks.  And then they'd bubble back under, and you'd never hear from that artist again.

"Third Rate Romance" was a song like that.  And while the band's Wikipedia page says that they hate being identified as a "one hit wonder," you can't really argue with the fact that this was their biggest (and only) foray onto the Top 40 pop charts.  And that's more than a lot of other bands can lay claim to.

Amazing Rhythm Aces, "Third Rate Romance," from the summer of 1975.