My favorite music of 2011

This year, I have clearly not have not had as much to digest all the music of 2011. So, for the first time – maybe ever – I have a unranked list of albums. Mostly, these are some things I’ve listened to over the year that I thought were especially good. You can judge for yourself.

The Weeknd – House of Balloons/Thursday: I’m likely in the minority here as I like Thursday more than I like like House of Balloons, but the Weeknd seem to have filled that gap left by the fact that Portishead took over a decade to release the same number of albums that the Weeknd released in 2011 alone. (By the way, they’re free – along with a third new album that I haven’t even had a chance to hear.)

From Thursday – “Birds Part 2″

From House of Balloons – “High for This”

Jay-Z and Kanye West – Watch the Throne: Maybe I am a sucker for Jay-Z, but I got into Watch the Throne more than any Kanye album. I still can’t get over the fact that Kanye just isn’t a good rapper, sorry.

Urge Overkill – Rock & Roll Submarine: I might have listened to this as much as I did more out of nostalgia than the quality of the music, but UO came back after 15 years and did what they do best: rock out.

“Effigy”

Boston Spaceships – Let It Beard: Speaking of rock, this might be my favorite Robert Pollard project in years.

“Make a Record for Lo-Life”

Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost: A late entry, but a lot of fun. Very much in the “we love Brian Wilson” school of indie.

“Magic”

M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming: Pretty much a decent album buoyed by a truly excellent song.

“Midnight City”

Alvy, Nacho and Rubin – Interpretan a Los Campos Magnéticos: Sure, it is an album of covers of Magnetic Fields songs, but whatever, they did them well.

“Sí, Oh, Sí”

TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light: Hard for me not to like an album by these guys. This one was a rebound (at least in my opinion)

“Forgotten”

Beirut – The Rip Tide: The same could be said for Beirut. I found Rip Tide a little less stuffy than The Flying Club Cup, which is a good thing for the band to not get buried in baroque.

“The Rip Tide”

Horrors – Skying: Not the sort of quantum leap that the band made between its first and second albums, but in order to do that, you’d need to be following the Radiohead trajectory.

“Still Life”

St. Vincent – Strange Mercy: My sister said it best: “she’s like Bjork, but you can actually understand a word she’s saying”.

“Chloe in the Afternoon”

Mastodon – The Hunter: I did get more into their back catalog this year, but The Hunter was a good showing.

“Black Tongue”

Jens Lekman – An Argument with Myself EP: And honestly, what year would be complete without the inclusion of Jens Lekman on these lists?

“An Argument with Myself”

March 30, 2011

in Baseball, Predictions, Red Sox
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An array of random 2011 MLB prognostications!

Yes, it is that time of the year again: baseball season. In years past, I have used all manner of device to try to pick the “winners” for the baseball season and they have all ended in tears (except that one year I picked the Phillies to win the World Series … and they did! That was awesome).

So, here I am trying to make these wild accusations about most team’s performance, which will be mostly wrong. To make this more fun, I think I’ll compare each time to a U.S. president so you can get an idea what the level of success we might have, where the gold standard is Abraham Lincoln or FDR and the bottom of the barrel is, oh, I don’t know, Andrew Johnson?

We’ll start in the National League, shall we?

NL East

Philadelphia Phillies: 93-69: Ronald Reagan – A president that made it seem that disaster was around every corner … yet somehow avoided it.
Atlanta Braves: 90-72: Bill Clinton – Of course, it could just be the accent.
Washington Nationals: 81-81: Harry Truman – Without Strasburg, everyone will be claiming Dewey wins.
New York Mets: 79-83: George H.W. Bush – Strong legacy, no charisma.
Florida Marlins: 70-92: Franklin Pierce – Unremarkable man who has a small public college named after him. Marlins won’t even get that.

NL Central

Chicago Cubs: 91-71: Andrew Jackson – It took a couple tries, but Ol’ Hickory made it to the White House.
Cincinnati Reds: 89-73: Woodrow Wilson – I couldn’t find any president who removed arms like Dusty Baker, so Wilson’s League of Nations seemed close enough.
Milwaukee Brewers: 87-75: Grover Cleveland – Good enough to win two non-consecutive terms, but not enough to be a great president.
St. Louis Cardinals: 81-81: George W. Bush – Thrust into history, but ultimate not enough there to keep it together.
Pittsburgh Pirates: 68-94: Gerald Ford – Couldn’t even beat Jimmy Carter.
Houston Astros: 58-104: Chet Arthur – I’m guessing some sort of horrible scandal will come from the sale of the Astros. Chet would be proud.

NL West

San Francisco Giants: 93-69: Thomas Jefferson – Is the whole Bonds thing like Jefferson owning slaves?
Colorado Rockies: 90-72: Lyndon Johnson – You almost feel bad that no matter how good they are, no one really remembers your accomplishments.
Los Angeles Dodgers: 85-78: William Howard Taft – Hey, the wheels didn’t come off the country, did they?
Arizona Diamondbacks: 72-90: Calvin Coolidge – A whole lotta nothing, but it could be worse.
San Diego Padres: 66-96: Richard Nixon – Not to say the first term was bad, but the second term is a disaster.

American League!

AL East

Boston Red Sox: 97-65: Dwight Eisenhower – People seem to think that the Sox will be walking on water. Eep.
New York Yankees: 93-69: U.S. Grant – He served two terms, was well loved but was mostly an old drunk.
Tampa Bay Rays: 88-74: Teddy Roosevelt – 2011 might be the baseball equivalent of the Bull Moose years.
Toronto Blue Jays: 78-84: Pierre Trudeau – I’ve probably offended every Canadian reading this, but he was the only Canadian PM I could remember.
Baltimore Orioles: 70-92: Jimmy Carter – So much optimism with so little to be to really optimistic.

AL Central

Chicago White Sox: 90-72: John Adams – Ozzie might be the only MLB managers that could start an X, Y, Z affair via Twitter.
Minnesota Twins: 86-76: James Monroe – Mostly so I could mention the Morneau Doctrine, which I think involves keeping Michael Cuddyer out of his locker.
Cleveland Indians: 82-80: James K. Polk – Clearly, the darkhorse here, just like Polk.
Detroit Tigers: 77-85: Martin Van Buren – He tried so hard to be President but never really got it right.
Kansas City Royals: 72-90: Rutherford Hayes – Now, if ever there was a caretaker roster, it is your 2011 Royals. You’d be lucky to see 10% back for 2012-13.

AL West

Texas Rangers: 95-67: James Madison – The War of 1812 might be like losing Cliff Lee, but it probably helped the country unify.
Oakland A’s: 85-77: William McKinley – In which I suggest that Oakland provoke war with San Francisco in order to move to San Jose.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: 82-80: Herbert Hoover – Things started off so promising from Mike Scioscia, but the Depression looms.
Seattle Mariners: 68-94: Barack Obama: Last year, I picked the Mariners to win the AL West. I was high on the unbridled enthusiasm about their plan to cultivate defense and pitching to win games … and then they sucked like you wouldn’t imagine. Yeah, that about sums it up.

Playoffs:

ALDS

Red Sox over White Sox
Rangers over Yankees

NLDS (* COL wins tiebreaker over Atlanta)

Philadelphia over Colorado*
Chicago over San Francisco

AL/NLCS

Boston over Texas
Chicago over Philadelphia

World Series

Boston over Chicago

Yet again I make the Homer pick.

Some Awards!

AL MVP: Dustin Pedroia (2B Boston) – Everyone says Adrian Gonzalez, so I’ll be different
NL MVP: Carlos Gonzalez (OF Colorado)
AL Cy Young: Jon Lester (SP Boston)
NL Cy Young: Roy Oswalt (SP Philadelphia)
AL Rookie of the Year: Hank Conger (C LAA) – This will only happen if they fire Scioscia, which they won’t.
NL Rookie of the Year: Freddie Freeman (1B ATL)

Enjoy … !

January 25, 2011

in Baseball, Predictions, Red Sox, Speculation
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The state of the 2011 Red Sox Roster

Over the last year or so, I haven’t done a lot of blogging over here on the Intellectual Thicket, mostly because I’ve been busy with (a) being a junior faculty member and (b) blogging about volcanoes. However, whenever baseball season is around the corner, I start to get that itch to write/think/obsess about baseball, so I have to do something about it. Last year I joined way (as in waaaay) too many fantasy baseball leagues, which didn’t really end up being very productive. This year, I might try writing about baseball here on the Thicket instead. So, to steal liberally from Lookout Landing’s post on the state of the Mariners roster in 2011 (admittedly, a much less static target than the Boston Red Sox), I’ll look at the Sox for 2011.

Death-grip mortal locks – position players

1B Adrian Gonzalez
2B Dustin Pedroia
3B Kevin Youkilis
CF Carl Crawford
LF Jacoby Ellsbury
DH David Ortiz

This bunch was easy, except for maybe Ellsbury, whom I briefly hesitate to put as a mortal lock but then came to my senses.

Death-grip mortal locks – starting pitchers

Jon Lester
Josh Beckett
John Lackey
Clay Buchholz

So, not much drama in starters 1-4

Death-grip mortal locks – bullpen

Jonathan Papelbon
Daniel Bard
Bobby Jenks

I suppose all three of these guys could take over each other’s roles, or possibly get dealt at some point, but none would conceivably be left off the Opening Day roster.

Battles – starting position players

SS: Marco Scutaro, Jed Lowrie (and in the shadows Jose Iglesias): Tito has already said that Scutaro is the starter for Opening Day at SS, but after his shoulder troubles in 2010 where he ended up moving to 2B in September, you never know. I get the impression that Theo would love to have Jed Lowrie start at SS and Scutaro moved in a deal, but Theo can’t do everything (at least I think). Jose Iglesias likely needs more AAA seasoning in the hitting department, but hey, stranger things have happened.
RF: J.D. Drew, Mike Cameron, Ryan Kalish: You have to image that J.D. and Cammy are the top of the heap for RF – if only you could take all their working body parts and merge them into some sort of Frankenfielder, then we might be onto something. Now, if they both break down, which given their age/track record isn’t unimaginable, we might see the return of Ryan Kalish to start in RF. This is a walk year for both J.D. and Cameron, so hey, maybe they’ll find the fountain of youth.
C: Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Jason Varitek (and in the shadows Mark Wagner): Going into Opening Day, you have to expect that the Sox will give Salty every opportunity to start, oh, maybe 5 days a week with ‘Tek someone’s personal catcher (Beckett?) It could have been a much more interesting positional battle if the Sox hadn’t lost Max Ramirez on waiver to the Cubs, but Theo love to rifle through players like so many used books that we barely knew Max existed.

Battles – starter

The #5 slot: Diasuke Matsuzaka, Felix Doubront, Tim Wakefield: Nothing like an exciting battle for the 5th roster spot, eh? Again, considering the money involved, unless a trade happens, I would expect to see Daisuke as the #5, tantalizing/terrorizing us as much as he can. Hopefully, 2011 will allow me to see anyone on the Red Sox start a game I attend beyond Daisuke (unlike 2010). However, if Daisuke collapses or is moved, I might expect to see Felix in the #5 spot unless Tito gets nostalgic and slots in Wakefield.

Battles – bullpen

LHP: Rich Hill, Felix Doubront, Adam Miller, Hideki Okajima, Randy Williams, some other guy who throws left handed: Theo is taking the “throw against wall/see what sticks” method for getting someone, anyone, to be an effective leftie out of the bullpen. Now, rather than spend money on this, Theo just has a bunch of hard and soft throwers that may or may not work. Curt Young, best of luck!
Other bullpen arms (3): some combination of Matt Albers, Scott Atchinson, Robert Coello, Dan Wheeler, Jason Bergmann, Brandon Duckworth, Tim Wakefield: My hunch is that Dan Wheeler is close to a lock, followed by Matt Albers and Scott Atchinson. Wakefield is likely the longman.

Battles – Bench

Utility Infielder: Marco Scutaro, Jed Lowrie, Yamaico Navarro : I suppose this isn’t too much of a battle considering the loser of the Scutaro/Lowrie SS fight will end up here.
4th OF: Mike Cameron, Josh Reddick, Ryan Kalish, Darnell McDonald, Daniel Nava: With Drew and Cameron sharing a spot, Cammy is likely a lock. The Sox will likely want Kalish to play fulltime, so he’ll be a AAA, leaving Reddick and McDonald to fight it out. Nava will likely be on the Providence Shuttle if needed too.
Backup C: Jason Varitek, Mark Wagner: The backup job is ‘Teks, ideally to tutor Salty, but if Varitek goes down, Wagner is next.
Utility: Drew Sutton, Nava, Reddick: Sutton is the most interesting here, although he is only a NRI but has a lot of versatility.

So, the roster looks like:

Starting position players (9): Pedroia (2B), Drew/Cameron (RF), Crawford (CF), Youkilis (3B), Gonzalez (1B), Ortiz (DH), Saltalamacchia (C), Scutaro (SS), Ellsbury (LF)
Starters (5): Lester, Beckett, Lackey, Buchholz, Matsuzaka
Bullpen (7): Papelbon (CL), Bard, Jenks, Hill, Wheeler, Albers, Wakefield
Bench (4): Varitek, Lowrie, McDonald, Cameron

There ya go. Less than 3 weeks until pitchers and catchers report!

December 18, 2010

in Music, Nerds, Reviews, Rock and/or roll
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My favorite music of 2010

It is that time of year again to review the music of the year. Now, I’ll remind you of my usual disclaimer: I make no claim to know what is good music, but I know what I like, so you’ll have to live with that.

So, without much further ado, here is 2010 in Review (curious what 2008 or 2009 looked like?)

Some honorable mentions that just missed: Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy; Typhoon’s Hunger and Thrist; Caribou’s Swim; Vampire Weekend’s Contra and Robyn’s Body Talk. Kanye always impresses me at first but I’ve been burned by the staying power of his stuff. Caribou released what I had hoped that Hot Chip’s One Life Stand was while Robyn’s inclusion is highly weighted by what might be my single of the year “Dancing on my Own“.

20. Dealing in Antiques by Cats on Fire – Sure, might be rarities/demos but I love this band.
19. Surf Noir EP by Beat Connection
18. Magic Chairs by Efterklang – More Scandinavians. Sorry.
17. Fur Dich Immer Noch Fanta Sie by Die Fantastichen Vier – Quickly, they’re becoming, in my mind, the most important non-English-speaking act out there.
16. Fight Softly by the Ruby Suns
15. II by Crystal Castles – Shouting and synths. I still follow that siren song.
14. Halycon Digest by Deerhunter – Many people will gasp, but dang it if Deerhunter is still uneven.
13. High Violet by the National – In a sense, the opposite of Deerhunter: too even.
12. Trans-Continental Hustle by Gogol Bordello
11. Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager by Kid Cudi – After Lupe Fiasco, probably the most daring mainstream rapper out there (Sorry, Kanye and Jay-Z)

10. Hidden by These New Puritans – Like the Horrors in 2009, These New Puritans’ sophomore album annihilates their so-so debut.

9. Transference by Spoon – This might be the first time Spoon has ever made one of my “best of” lists. I have honestly no idea what this Spoon album clicked with me while every other one hasn’t.

8. Memphis by Magic Kids – Sorry, it is sticky sweet, like XTC 2.0, but better and much much younger than they should be.

7. All Day by Girl Talk – I still can’t shake the feeling that Girl Talk doesn’t deserve to be this high, but you have to acknowledge the fact that I can’t stop listening. I still feel dirty in a postmodern way.

Check out the mashup deconstruction of All Day.

6. Grinderman II by Grinderman – I know some like the mellower side of Nick Cave, but I do appreciate the badass side, too.

5. My Best Friend is You by Kate Nash – Honestly, she should be one of the Doctor’s companions, right? Right?! (Steven Moffatt, I hope you’re listening).

4. The Suburbs by the Arcade Fire – They’re R.E.M. or something now. You might have heard of them.

3. Lisbon by the Walkmen – Sometimes I think the Walkmen are the best true rock band in existence. Maybe that is why I would have been a poor music director at a radio station and a much better petrologist.

2. Treats by Sleigh Bells – Back in the mid ’90s, I proclaimed that Atari Teenage Riot was ahead of its time. I think time has caught up.

1. This is Happening by LCD Soundsystem – I’m not 100% sure, but I think James Murphy’s albums topped my lists every year he released one. Bastard. Honestly, “Dance Yrself Clean” is absolutely monumental, like the Colossus of Rhodes but extant.

There you go … now have it.

December 7, 2010

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The “5 Tools” of Academics

So, I asked this question on Twitter earlier today, but I thought I’d make the discussion easier here on my personal (non-volcano) blog. Here’s the gist:

We are currently running a search for a tenure-track professor and it got me wondering how to evaluate candidates. In baseball, players are ranked (especially young players) based on the 5 tools:

1. Running speed
2. Hitting for contact
3. Hitting for power
4. Fielding ability
5. Arm strength

These are seen as the 5 most important, fundamental aspects to playing the game of baseball. Players are rated by scouts on a scale of 20-80, where 20 is poor and 80 is truly exceptional. For example, a player with a 80 rating for hitting for power will knock out the lights in the stadium like the “The Natural” while a 20 will barely hit it out of the infield.

So, I started thinking, can we define the 5 tools of academics – the 5 most fundamental pieces needed to succeed in academics, either at a big research school or a small liberal arts (or everything in between). What are you thoughts? What are the skills and what score would you give the best R1 or SLAC professors in each of the tools? Do you think this is an effective way to impartially assess candidates or is there no way to pull that off? Lots of things to ponder, hopefully some of you will join the discussion.

October 28, 2010

in Politics, Rant
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As the election approaches…

Been quite on the blog, but as the 2010 Midterm elections approach, I have a simple message.

Folks, don’t vote for a party, vote for a person. Actually find out about candidate and make an educated choice based on what they stand for, not some silly notion of a party “winning” or “losing” Congress. Congress is yours, not the Democrats’ or Republicans’. Don’t be afraid to vote for the Republican if you’re a Democrat if you think he/she would do a better job. Don’t be afraid to vote for the Democrat if you’re Republican for same reason. Better yet, don’t even look at the party affiliation, just look at the person. You and the country will be better for it.

That is all.

March 23, 2010

in Baseball, Speculation
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My 2010 MLB Predictions

Ah yes, Opening Day is around the corner, so as I do most years, I will make my prognostication about the 2010 MLB season. Now, sometimes I employ simulations, sometime I make wild guesses and sometimes I do a little of everything. This year I’m employing a system called Player Ranking and Evaluation for Season Standings, or PRESS. What does that mean? Not much beyond looking at the depth charts, assigning some values, adding short columns of small numbers and voila! I have predictions. Enjoy at your leisure…

American League East

New York Yankees: 102-60
Boston Red Sox: 98-64
Tampa Bay Rays: 93-69
Baltimore Orioles: 70-92
Toronto Blue Jays: 61-101

After finding out that Shaun Marcum will be the Opening Day starter for the Jays, I feel like 61 wins is generous. Also, it sucks to be the Rays in the AL East.

American League Central

Minnesota Twins: 81-81
Chicago White Sox: 80-82
Detroit Tigers: 74-88
Cleveland Indians: 67-95
Kansas City Royals: 63-99

The land of AL mediocrity. Again.

American League West

Seattle Mariners: 93-69
Texas Rangers: 84-78
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: 70-92
Oakland A’s: 69-93

I worry I am blinded by the fact I really, really want the ‘Ners to win the West, because I’m fond of them and I like a lot of their players. I’m also concerned that the Angels might be undervalued here, but here, what is the fun of predictions if you don’t go out on a limb?

National League East

Philadelphia Phillies: 99-63
New York Mets: 92-70
Atlanta Braves: 83-79
Florida Marlins: 77-85
Washington Nationals: 63-99

I would have to assume that the Mets winning 92 games is predicated on Omar Minaya being bound and gagged for most of the season and every member wearing a magic amulet to keep them healthy. But yeah, the Phils win the East again.

National League Central

Chicago Cubs: 86-76
St. Louis Cardinals: 85-77
Milwaukee Brewers: 83-79
Cincinnati Reds: 78-84
Houston Astros: 75-87
Pittsburgh Pirates: 71-91

Maybe, just maybe, things will break for the Cubs. Maybe.

National League West

Arizona Diamondbacks: 94-68
Colorado Rockies: 93-69
Los Angeles Dodgers: 91-71
San Francisco Giants: 85-77
San Diego Padres: 73-89

Last year in this space, I bolding predicted the Dbacks would win the West … and they promptly sucked. This is a message to Josh Byrnes: please, don’t suck again.

Playoffs

ALDS