The Search presses on...

- The Alabama Crimson Tide are now 4-0 after a victory against Arkansas yesterday. I attended the game with my dad, and we had a great time watching the Tide roll. We have been playing well so far. Greg McElroy continues to be impressive and play like a true leader. Our running game was consistently shut down yesterday, which is a huge worry, but we were able to make up for it with strong defense and some huge, varied plays on the offensive side. I hate that we will potentially lose Hightower for quite some time, as he is an integral part of the team. There are some true tests coming up against Kentucky and Ole Miss on the road, followed by what will be a more than interesting homecoming game in Tuscaloosa against Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks. I am excited about the upcoming weeks, but I am preparing for at least one nailbiter out of the three, and I think every other Bama fan should do the same.

Bama vs. Florida International pregame:





Bama vs. North Texas:




My favorite images from the season so far (via RBR):








- In relation to my last blog post: The NY Times has a great piece up on the last days of Jim Carroll. If you're interested, check it out here.

- In relation to my well being: The job search in Birmingham has been difficult so far. My plan this week is to try and meet with one or more temp agencies. Hopefully I can do a better job of balancing temp work and my career search than I did over the past couple of years.

- In relation to writing: I need to do more of it. Lots more.

Playlist as of late:
Polar Bear Club - "Chasing Hamburg"
The Smiths - All
Morrissey - "Southpaw Grammar" and "Maladjusted" Remasters
The Jesus & Mary Chain - "Complete Peel Sessions"

Jim Carroll: 1950-2009

"I just want to be pure..."

After reading the unfortunate news of Jim Carroll's passing a couple of days ago, I started to think about my love for his book "The Basketball Diaries." I had no knowledge of Carroll's work before the aforementioned book was adapted for film in 1995, featuring soon to be megastar Leonardo DiCaprio playing the role of Carroll. I was 13 years old when the film reached the rental stores, and couldn't have been more intrigued by the scenario: a kid my age playing sports, going wild on the streets of New York, getting into all kinds of mischief, trying drugs, sleeping with girls, and keeping a journal recounting all of it. It was a glimpse into a world that was completely alien to me, complete with a soundtrack that featured Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.

I watched the film quite a few times, but my interest in it waned after I finally bought a copy of the book. It was so much more vivid than the film, and I was completely blown away by Carroll's straight-to-the-point style of writing. I felt as if I were reading letters sent to me by a friend who wanted me to know all of the exciting details he could never share with his parents and family. By the end of the book, I was concerned for that friend's well being; fearing that he would soon get into a brawl too violent to recover from, or take more drugs than he could handle, too young to learn any sort of lesson from his experiences. Thankfully, I was learning lessons from every page of Carroll's book. Learning of Kurt Cobain's drug abuse and eventual suicide (about a year, give or take, before the BD film was released) at my young age was a mortal wound to any later curiosity I'd have about drugs, but looking back, there's no denying that "The Basketball Diaries" served as a nail in its coffin. Many have and probably will continue to argue that works of this nature, be they music, literature, or film encourage young people to mimic the activities depicted in them. I'll continue to argue for the contrary. This book was a vital influence on what I consider to be some of the most positive decisions I have ever made...more so than any D.A.R.E. program lecture or "Just Say No!" button ever could have.

In addition to "The Basketball Diaries", I also read a collection of Carroll's poetry a couple of years later entitled "Fear Of Dreaming." That was all I could get my hands on in those days prior to every book you can imagine being a click away from arriving at your doorstep. Perhaps the only positive thing about the death of such an artist is that his work will hopefully be more widely recognized and available after the fact. I know I've got some catching up to do.

On Dylan, Vol. 1.

The 8th installment of Bob Dylan's official Bootleg Series releases, Tell Tale Signs, was released in October of last year, immediately met with glowing reviews from Rolling Stone and Pitchfork. This was no surprise to me, but what about those who don't worship at the altar of Mr. Zimmerman? My outspoken Dylan fandom has generally been met with either enthusiasm or extreme disdain in conversation over the years, but very rarely do I hear any hint of indifference when discussing his music with others.

The disdain is uniform. Example: "I can't believe that guy gets paid millions to sing! He couldn't sing a lick to save his life!" bellowed the gentleman in the cubicle next to mine one morning as I attempted to stir myself into a non-vegetative state with a particularly rousing live version of "Maggie's Farm" in lieu of black coffee. I didn't bother rehashing an argument I've had a hundred times before, so I just replied with a simple "Different strokes" and continued working. I've also had some excellent debates over which period of Bob's career was better or worse than another, defended songs from some his worst studio albums, and preached the gospel of the Rolling Thunder Revue to anyone who'd listen. However, I was totally unprepared for something that I heard in a conversation earlier this week.

During a late night viewing of Almost Famous, I was discussing Rolling Stone and Lester Bangs with some friends of friends. One of them commented that he had always found RS to be really pretentious and couldn't read it without getting angry. Standard fare. What came next baffled me. He said something along the lines of "I mean, they'll give Bob Dylan five stars for anything, even though he sounds just like he did in the 60's and hasn't experimented much." I did my best not to cringe, and couldn't believe that a guy who had just talked to me about Delta Blues and moderately obscure 60's and 70's rock for the past hour could be that misinformed about Dylan's post-folk output. I mean, this guy really knew what he was talking about, and our conversation could have gone on for hours had I not had to work in the morning. So instead of taking him to the verbal torture rack, I did my best to let him know that Bob has probably toyed with his musical output more in the past 20 years than most recording artists do in their entire careers (I really didn't sound like an asshole, I swear). He seemed genuinely excited at this discovery, and I gave him a few suggestions of albums to check out. My mind has been on this subject ever since. Do the majority of music fans, those who don't read reviews religiously and seek out every nerdy fact they can about their favorite artists, really feel like Dylan is just phoning it in these days and laughing all the way to the bank? If you subscribe to that school of thought, I implore you to dig a little deeper, because there's treasure underneath that Greatest Hits collection.

Tell Tale Signs is an excellent testament to Dylan's seemingly endless desire to reinvent himself and his songs. Take the alternate version of "Most Of The Time", an underrated song from the critically acclaimed 1989 album Oh Mercy. The original is a reflective dirge for a failed relationship. The lyrics are full of bravado, but the vocal tone is packed with remorse, sorrow and regret. Few could illustrate the mixed bag of emotions that go along with such a situation with this kind of simplicity. It's stuff like this that separates true art from something to hum along to. The alternate is a 3 and a half minute kiss off, just Bob with an acoustic guitar and a harmonica, two trusty companions that have never done him wrong. There might be a hint of regret here and there, but when he throws out the dagger of a line "I don't compromise or pretend / I don't care if I ever see her again / Most of the time" this go round, he sure as hell means it...and that's just one song. There's enough quality here to justify me handing this to somebody who's only heard "Blowin' In The Wind" or "Like A Rolling Stone" and be confident that they'd come away knowing that Dylan is not just an aging icon looking to make a quick buck before there isn't a record buying public anymore, but a genuine individual with a true and unadulterated love of American music, and a passion to keep playing it without compromise.

The Last Night @ 2237 & Cruise 2009

Last night I drove to Birmingham for a show at the new Cave 9 space. On the way there, I had several sentences run through my brain that would have been perfect starters for music related writing, something I have wanted to put my focus back on for some time. When I returned home, all of those perfect little column openers had vanished, and I was left staring at a blank MS Word document, defeated again. As an ode to my seemingly endless writer's block, I'm just going to post some photos from the past couple of weeks. Hopefully I will be able to update soon with some writing that I am proud of.

The last night @ 2237 Magnolia Ave:






Progreso, Mexico:








Cozumel, Mexico:




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Listening: Trap Them - "Seizures In Barren Praise", Mississippi John Hurt - "Last Sessions", Liz Phair - "Exile In Guyville", Bob Dylan - "Blonde On Blonde", Conor Oberst - "S/T", Neko Case - "Furnace Room Lullaby", Lucero - All.

Rest In Peace. 6 years already?

"I think we're going to have to forget about the radio and just go back to word of mouth."

Quick One

Alabama Vs. Ole Miss 2008

Deep Sleep @ Cave 9, 10/31/08


Cloak/Dagger @ Cave 9, 10/31/08

FC Five @ Cave 9, 10/31/08


Highway, 11/1/08

Interstate, 11/1/08

Cade's 1st Birthday Party, 11/1/08

Gulf Shores, 11/2/08

Gulf Shores, 11/2/08

Playlist:
Bon Iver - "For Emma, Forever Ago"
Fleetwood Mac - "Rumors"
Van Morrison - "Astral Weeks"
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - "I See A Darkness" and "Lie Down In The Light"
Alabama Crimson Tide 35, Arkansas State 0

Three From The Vault

- I am having one of those days where whatever music I put on doesn't feel right. I'll get two or three songs into a record and then turn it off. I hate when this happens.

- It has been raining for three or four days straight, and it isn't expected to stop until Friday. I'm not used to this. It makes me feel tired constantly. I guess I couldn't make it in Seattle.

- I am now the proud owner of a pair of Vans Rata Plus, as pictured here:
They are the first pair of Vans from the surf line I have ever owned in a decade of Van wearing. I knew I had to have these as soon as I saw 'em. They are sort of in the Wallabee realm, but infinitely cooler. I wore them for most of the weekend and they are really comfortable, but too warm for an Alabama summer. I'll just have to wait and rock them constantly in the fall.

- I went to check out some GCW wrestling this Saturday with several friends. Ric Flair was doing a meet and greet but I opted out of meeting The Man to save some cash. Despite that, I had a great time. We were some of the only people there who were "in the know" so to speak; starting tons of chants, making signs, etc. A lot of the matches were really sloppy but as far as I can tell it is a relatively new promotion and most of the talent is local. I'll definitely hit up another one of their events soon to see if it improves. The great Mick Foley is supposed to be working with them in November.

More recent photos soon...