VAGUE SPACE

Random Music Friday

2012-02-24T08:56:00-05:00

Song:  "There are Some Remedies Worse than the Disease"
Artist:  This Will Destroy You
Year: 2006
Album:  Young Mountain

Download This Will Destroy You - "There Are Some Remedies Worse Than the Disease".mp3

I saw the doctor yesterday, 11 weeks after my toe surgery, and I'm definitely no better and for the first time, he showed some concern that I was still having pain -- and this specific type of pain -- and cautioned that there's a chance I suffered nerve damage from the surgery, or "low-grade" RSD, which based on my quick Internet research (and my friend whose sister is a nurse) is just about the worst thing that could have happened short of death, well that and the bone not fusing all the way. Which it hasn't. I do start physical therapy this morning and there is some hope that will help with the pain, and the doctor still thinks the bone will fuse eventually and is not too concerned that it isn't yet fused at 11 weeks. Based on other stories, 3 to 3 1/2 months is not uncommon for this type of surgery and I'm a few weeks away from that. And for a few days this week, including yesterday morning, the foot did feel much better than it had been. Of course, I was resting it intensively and not doing much on it and any extensive walking or driving still hurt. So the short story is I still have to wait, we can't know if the fusion was unsuccessful yet so we can't know if the pain and complications are still part of the healing/ fusion process or something else. The long story is I've probably never been this upset in my life and I realize now (well, I've realized this for weeks) that I never should have had this surgery... I'm not yet at the pain level I was at before the surgery and I would do anything just to get back to that level, let alone be completely pain free, which seems like a 100-to-1 shot at this point. All over a fucking toe. So yeah, this isn't really a "random" music post and I wish I had better news. I wish I were writing about my new MacBook Pro laptop that I'm writing this on but I'm not really in the mood to celebrate anything. And I'm still on Percocet for the pain at night so I can't even get drunk to forget about this all. Hopefully the physical therapy helps, at least a little. That's really all I've got at this point.

Makers

2012-02-21T13:02:40-05:00

It's been a couple years since I read Cory Doctorow's Makers, and I don't remember the plot entirely but I do know there were several plots taking place over the course of 20 years or so in the near future and things start with the widespread use of 3D printers to make products and conclude with people living in shantytowns while nostalgic rides are built in empty Wal-marts by these now discarded 3D printers that helped to, basically, destroy the world. What the novel was about - largely - was technological innovation and invention and the boom-and-bust business world that takes advantage of it, but the device at the heart of these particular innovations and the eventual collapse of our economy is what fascinated me the most. So it was with some surprise that I saw on the front page of USA Today's Money section an article about the growth of 3D printers. And nowhere in the article is any mention of the downside of this growth. But I will address the issue here. Is the end really near?

A 3D printer can create a 3D product -- which is, you know, an actual thing you can hold and use, by simply placing the raw materials (typically plastic or metal) into the printer (instead of ink), loading the product's design, and then watching as it creates itself. In the novel, there is some sort of special "goo" that is used in place of plastic or metal and can make anything (I think) but in reality, these printers are becoming more and more commonplace, making things from toys to clothing to ear buds to specialized parts in Boeing airplanes. Industrial-purpose 3D printers can cost upwards of $500K but personal ones can come fully assembled for as low as $1300 and allow a small businessperson to create a design and sell products without hiring personnel to actually make the products. Which is all pretty great and exciting. But in the novel, the whole point becomes (a) what happens when the 3D printer cost and performance reaches a level that most things that are produced -- manufactured or assembled or "made" -- no longer requires human beings to make them? This is in some ways an extension of robotics or machinery currently used today but if even small businesses can afford to make products without workers, does all that work disappear? And then the next logical step, the step that really drives the plot of the novel -- what if 3D printers become a commodity that everyone can afford? Then do we really even need the businesses to make them for us? What happens if Black & Decker doesn't just need to do without low-level production employees to make their coffee makers or toaster-ovens (toasters were a key commodity that no longer needed to be purchased in the book) but what if they don't even need their accountants and lawyers and salespeople and CEOs? Because anyone with a home 3D printer who wants a toaster-oven just downloads the design for free on the Internet, buys the cheap raw materials, and makes his own. What happens when our economy no longer depends on selling products anymore? In the novel, shantytowns and abandoned Wal-marts happen. But really, wouldn't our economy just completely collapse? And if 3D printers are already in use (I thought Doctorow invented them in the novel, but apparently they have been around), how long before every "simple" or basic product no longer needs to be bought, but can simply be made by you on your own 3D printer? 10 years? Less? Black & Decker isn't the only company that would be going out of business. It's sort of a scary thought when you look at it that way. Not to be a Luddite or anything, I'm sure I'm overreacting and presumably hi-tech stuff like computers or iPhones would still need to be put together by poor Chinese laborers but in the novel, the 3D printers eventually were able to create new 3D printers making the one industry that thrived as the result of the invention -- the 3D printer industry -- obsolete. That's somewhat ironic, I guess. And a product that initially helped everyone ending up bankrupting everyone. Even the inventors.

If you want a good read, check out Makers. And if you want to be scared, just think a little bit about what it all means.

Fourteen Defining Characteristics of Fascism

2012-02-21T08:52:00-05:00

From 2003... It's not hard to see the exact connection between this list and current conservative Republican orthodoxy but I've highlighted the most obvious examples. It's pretty shocking.

Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each ("Fascism Anyone?," Free Inquiry, Spring 2003, page 20):

1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays. Editors' Note: Remember the Flag Pin Debate? The "Mission Accomplished" banner. The very existence of Fox News graphics. This is on page 1 of modern Republicanism.

2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc. Editors' Note: OK, Obama hasn't exactly closed Guantanamo. But he did act to end torture as a national policy, which was instituted for the first and only time in American history by the last Republican regime.

3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc. Editors' Note: That's pretty much on page 2 of the modern Republican handbook.

4. Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread

domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

5. Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.

6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common. Editors' Note: only FoxNews and talk radio apply here to modern American society, the rest of the media is more controlled by profit motives not some seeking of a fascist state.

7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses. Editors' note: what ever happened to those color alert levels by "Homeland Security" in the Bush administration?

8. Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.

9. Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite. Editors' Note; These last 2 could almost be the first two tenets of a platform for the GOP in 2012. Santorum fighting for #8 and Romney for #9.

10. Labor Power is Suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed. Editors' Note: Oops, add #10 from the platform of Republican governors in Wisconsin, Ohio, Florida, Michigan, etc.

11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked. Editors' Note: Again, this is like Modern Conservatism 101.

12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders. Editors' Note: Good job, Brownie. Although admittedly, Obama and every other president has appointed friends and associates to upper positions and corruption at the upper levels affects both parties. But only Bush had the audacity to combine cronyism and corruption with outright incompetence. Bravo, sir!

14. Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections. Editors' Note: I think we can all agree that our election system is completely broken. Both sides attempt to game the system. Republicans are trying to perfect it. I won't even mention the Supreme Court awarding the presidency to George Bush.

Is It Time to Worry About the Orange?

2012-02-19T18:01:49-05:00

Syracuse is now 27-1 on the season and 14-1 in the Big East after winning at Rutgers on Sunday by a final score of 74-64, matching the point spread exactly in a sloppy game that was within 2 to 6 points for almost its entirety until Scoop Jardine hit a crushing 3-pointer late and the Orange held on to win at the RAC. I was at the game, in the handicapped section because I'm still having severe unending pain in my surgically "repaired" foot and I was wearing the boot, and it wasn't pretty. Neither the play of the Orange or me limping around the RAC in a boot. I know Rutgers plays tough at home regardless of their record and we've often struggled to win there through the years, regardless of how good we are, and they executed very well on offense, particularly inside, but still... we barely beat 12-14 Rutgers. Is it time to worry? They spent all game pumping it into their big white guy -- #55 -- who was scoring at will and with ease whenever he was on the floor, which fortunately was not much at the end of the game as he was suffering from cramps or dehydration or something and kept having to go to the locker room in the last 10 minutes of the contest. Which might be why the Cuse held on to win. And when you are being destroyed by Gilvydas Biruta, you are probably not exactly ready to make the Final Four. So that's disappointing. And for a team that seemed on a roll toward history for most of the season, things have gotten derailed quite a bit since Fab Melo first missed a game at Notre Dame (and the team got its first loss). They've kept winning, but it's been ugly, and with the exception of last Saturday's game against UConn, I haven't once felt this was one of the best teams in the nation. Before Fab went out with "academic issues", I never had those doubts. Fab's back now. And playing great (although not on Sunday, on defense). So what the hell has happened to this team?

The Orange offense has bogged down in the grinding Big East schedule, where the zones of Georgetown and Louisville largely shut us down in the half court and the opponents' solid ballhandling (except by Peyton Siva at the end of the Louisville game -- thanks Peyton!) has limited turnovers and fast-break opportunities. What once was a smooth fluid offense has turned into a dichotomy of highlight reel alley-oops, dunks, and blistering cross-overs turned into layouts juxtaposed with a complete and utter lack of ability to shoot the ball from outside the lane. Kris Joseph is still making 3's (and singlehandedly won the Georgetown game on his outside shooting) but Dion Waiters, Brandon Triche, and James Southerland -- all strong 3-point shooters for the first half of the season -- are not contributing much from outside anymore, if at all. Dion is probably the biggest issue, as his offensive game has cratered, scoring in double digits in only 2 of the last 7 games -- the last 7 games starting with the Notre Dame loss without Fab. His confidence is completely shaken and while he was our best and most reliable scorer for most of the season, now he just seems to drive the lane, throw up a miracle, and hope for a foul. But Boeheim has settled into a regular rotation of Dion - Scoop - Joseph - CJ Fair - Melo, so Dion is in there all the time, regardless of his play, leaving Brandon Triche on the sideline in the second half of most games. CJ Fair has been a stud -- he was the best player on the court in both the Louisville and Rutgers wins -- and Joseph has generally continued to play well (although his defense and rebounding still disappear too often) but without Dion contributing much and with Triche and Southerland on the bench, the offense is falling too much on Scoop, which wasn't the case for the 1st half of season. Scoop is playing well, but Scoop is still Scoop and his shooting is erratic (he went 8 for 9 against UConn and followed that up with 0 for 7 against Louisville), plus he's still good for at least 2 Scoop-id plays a half that have you pulling your hair out. Right now, though, I'd rather he have the ball in his hands at the end of the game than Dion. And that's pretty fucking scary. Scoop had the ball in his hands at the end of the Marquette game in last year's NCAA tourney. That was our last game of the year.

The defense has been generally strong, although the rebounding remains an unending disaster, and defense is the strength of the team. But when the offense is clicking, this is a title contender. Unfortunately, the offense cannot click it appears without Dion Waiters. Not Dion playing like this. Triche even on his best days -- and he doesn't find the court enough lately to find his best days -- cannot touch Dion at a high level, the Dion from earlier this season. As well as CJ is playing and as great as Fab has been since his return (the Rutgers game excepted) and as surprisingly stellar Scoop has been in certain games and as steady and strong as Kris Joseph has been, this team is not going to the Final Four without the Dion Waiters we saw early in the season, when I was pretty sure he was coming out for the NBA. I guess on the bright side, if he continues this poorly, we'll see him again next year in an Orange uniform. But I would trade a Final Four for that any day. Come back, Dion, we miss you.

Scoop to CJ in the 2nd half of the Rutgers game... CJ is playing like a superstar right now.

Random Music Friday

2012-02-17T08:58:00-05:00

Song: "Drown"
Artist: Smashing Pumpkins
Year: 1992
Album: Singles Soundtrack

Download Smashing Pumpkins - "Drown".mp3

According to Wikipedia, this song was a minor alternative hit in 1992, peaking at #24 on the alternative radio charts, but in 1992, pre-Siamese Dream, I'm not sure I knew of the band. Although I would come to love Gish probably more than their chart-topping mainstream success that was Siamese Dream, I'm almost positive I didn't own it until after 1993, when I became, briefly, a huge Smashing Pumpkins fan. It didn't last very long -- I convinced myself I liked the bloated double album Mellon Collie but they definitely lost me with 1998's Adore to the point that I don't really listen to them anymore, not even the old tracks on Gish or Pisces Iscariot that I used to listen to rather nonstop in 1994. Which brings me to "Drown". Back in pre-Internet days, we discovered music largely through something called the "radio", and I remember hearing "Drown" on the radio, it had to be after Siamese Dream because otherwise I wouldn't have really known the band, and I know I hit "record" on the cassette tape I used to have on my stereo cued up so I could tape any song on the radio I hadn't heard but might like. I know it sounds primitive now, but that's how we discovered new songs, and that's how we played music, particularly when we were younger and didn't have any cash to buy CDs. And I distinctly remember having "Drown" on a mixtape, minus the first 5 or 10 seconds, from a radio recording -- probably after the DJ said something like "here's a track from Smashing Pumpkins that you may not have heard." And I hadn't. And I freaking loved it. Probably as much or more than any track on Siamese Dream. But for at least a year or more, the only time I ever heard that song was that single radio appearance and on the cassette I fortunately caught the track on. By then, I'd bought Gish and the B-sides and outtakes collection Pisces Iscariot, but it wasn't on them, it wasn't on anything they'd released as far as I could tell and again, pre-Wikipedia, pre-Internet days, I had no idea where to find this magical, wonderful hidden track by my one of my favorite bands at the time.

Singles the movie came out in 1992, a comedy with a bunch of romance set in Seattle in the early '90s, and Matt Dillon - I think, wow, it's been a long time -- was in a band with members of Pearl Jam appearing in the film and a bunch of soon-to-be grunge superstars showed up on the soundtrack, including Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and of course Pearl Jam. The movie also featured two solo tracks from Paul Westerberg, his first ever solo releases, and I was at the time a huge, huge fan of his just-broken-up band The Replacements. And I loved his new solo songs. And in 1992 -- the year of the release of Ten -- I became a huge Pearl Jam fan too. But I was in college and broke as shit I guess -- I think I got most of my music by taping my friends' CDs -- and I never bought the Singles soundtrack. I'd seen the movie, I know I'd seen the movie and I liked it, but still. You know, it's like $10 for a CD, which was 5 beers on $2 Tuesdays at the Knight Club and I turned 21 in 1992 so... yeah. I never heard "Drown" then, even though it was in the movie. I must not have noticed, or forgotten it, but a year later I would be playing it nonstop. I never heard of Smashing Pumpkins at the time.

Fast forward to 1994. I was visiting my old apartment where my old roommates still lived but I was out of school then (they were younger than me, not taking longer to graduate) and I remember we were all just hanging out in the vast expanse of our shitty living room and Singles was on some cable channel and we were all watching it, intently, for some reason. Actually I think most everyone in the room was high. Anyway, at some point in the film, "Drown" comes on. And I start flipping out -- in my mind at least -- I thought maybe I was hallucinating or something but no, there it was, this magical song that I'd loved for some time but didn't ever hear anywhere outside of a fraying cassette tape I'd made in my bedroom a year earlier. I didn't have a job yet, that I remember distinctly, so I didn't have any cash still but at some point not too long in the future, I eventually bought the Singles soundtrack and found "Drown" on there, in the last position, after the Pearl Jam and the Soundgarden and the Westerberg and the Screaming Trees. And at 8+ minutes long, it was one of the first really long songs I'd ever liked (long songs have since become a passion of mine). So even though I don't really care much for the Smashing Pumpkins anymore, there's still something magical about that song. And my memories of it.

No matter where you are, I can still hear you when you drown.

The Fault in Our Stars

2012-02-14T08:21:00-05:00

Cancer books normally scare me off. Hell, I bought this novel based on my previous love for John Green's writing and rave reviews for his latest and I still didn't want to read it once I had it home. Even though every review said it isn't really a cancer book, it isn't sad or maudlin or depressing. But still: Cancer book. Who wants to read that? Well I'm glad I did and I'm here now to try to convince you to do the same. This is an amazing book. I recommend it highly.

The narrator is a 16-year-old girl named Hazel and she's got cancer. Terminal cancer of some form that is described in minor detail that I won't bore you with now. But Hazel is funny. Not like laugh-out-loud funny but full-on sarcastic, I'm going to die but I'm cool with it and the world kind of sucks, funny. You know, funny. She's an incredibly appealing narrator who becomes even moreso when she meets Augustus, a cancer kid in remission who finds her at a support group at her church (which is the victim of some well-earned barbs). What starts as mostly a cancer story becomes a love story, something else I don't particularly care for in my reading but these two characters are so damned appealing that I couldn't help myself. I couldn't help but love the story being told. Hazel's parents and Gus's parents and Isaac from support group who is partially blind from the cancer are all perfect supporting characters and there's a wonderful connection to a book by an author in the Netherlands but I won't spoil with any more information other than to say that every character comes to life, no matter how minor, and everything in the story serves an eventual purpose. The cancer angle is there throughout -- how could it not be -- but it's not an overwhelming presence, and even your attachment to the characters doesn't quite make you sad about their fate in life because they've accepted it, they are bravely facing it, so you as a reader go along. As you must. And John Green's magical writing takes you wherever he wants to. I couldn't put the book down, I read it in just a few hours over a couple sittings. And I would suggest that anyone -- even someone turned off by cancer stories or love stories or stories about teenagers or anything else -- would love it too. Please give it a read. You won't be disappointed.

Buy The Fault in Our Stars

New Moonface!!!!!!!

2012-02-13T08:59:00-05:00

Is that too many exclamation points? I don't care. This has easily been the shittiest past 2 months in my life since like ever and now that I'm walking around again and able to drive (but still in fucking pain) I was out of the house when I read the Pitchfork tweet about a leak of the first song of the forthcoming Moonface album and I really couldn't contain myself (sorry, people at Jiffy Lube!). And then I got home and took a listen and I'm still freaking out. Moonface -- for those new to this blog or this planet -- is Spencer Krug's latest band incarnation in the wake of his self-imposed shuttering of Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown, 2 of my favorite 5 bands of all-time. And Moonface, he announced, would be a catch-all for a bunch of different recordings he'd be making in the coming years. The first 2 releases -- a 20-minute single-song EP titled Dreamland followed by a full album of five 8+ minute songs that won the Vague Space 2011 album of the year, Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I'd Hoped, were significant departures from his work with WP or SR, heavily organ-based (obviously), more instrumental, no guitars, all keyboards, machine percussion, and a unique but intrinsically thrilling sound that took a while to get into but ultimately was wonderful. This latest Moonface release -- coming April 17th!!! -- is a collaboration with the Finnish instrumental band Siinai, whose members opened for Wolf Parade years ago when they were in a different band, and it's titled Heartbreaking Bravery. I don't know anything about Siinai, I might have listened to one or two of their tracks but I tried to keep from hearing too much while I awaited this collaboration, which Spencer promised to be a return to a heavier rocking sound than the previous Moonface records. And I can confirm that now. This first track is definitely a rock song. A beautiful, perfect, stunning, catchy, and way-too-damn-short track. No slow build like Dreamland or "Fast Peter". This is instantly full of hooks and roaring guitars and smashing drums and... fucking Spencer's perfect fucking voice. Just wow. Fuck. There's some of what I would call futuristic sound effects layered throughout but it's mostly a straight ahead pop song that doesn't sound at all like Wolf Parade and not really much like Sunset Rubdown and nothing like Moonface to date, but it's wonderful. Spencer, unsurprisingly, does it again. And already we have a challenger to Shearwater's "You As You Were" for 2012 song of the year.

You looked so beautiful then. And you look so beautiful now.

Download Moonface - "Teary Eyes and Bloody Lips".mp3

Go to Jagjaguwar for more details. No pre-order up yet.

Random Music Friday

2012-02-10T08:00:00-05:00

Song: "The Reasons"
Artist: The Weakerthans
Year: 2003
Album: Reconstruction Site

Download The Weakerthans - "The Reasons".mp3

How I don't know how to sing
I can barely play this thing
But you never seem to mind
And you tell me to fuck off
When I need somebody to.
How you make me laugh so hard.
How whole years refuse to stay
Where we told them to, bad dog,
Locked up blindly in a word
Or a misplaced souvenier
How the past chews on your shoes
And these memories lick my ear.

I know
You might roll your eyes at this
But I'm so
Glad that you exist.

How we waste our precious time
Marching in the picket lines
That surround those striking hearts,
And the time is never now
And we know who we should love
But we're never certain how.

I know
You might roll your eyes at this
But I'm so
Glad that you exist.

I know
You might roll your eyes at this
But I'm so
Glad that you exist.

I know
You might roll your eyes at this
But I'm so
Glad that you exist.

Syracuse 23-1

2012-02-08T08:44:00-05:00

Well Fab is back. And all is right with the world. After 3 games without the sophomore center in which the previously undefeated Syracuse Orange lost to Notre Dame and struggled to beat Cincinnati and West Virginia, Fab Melo's academic situation was resolved and he returned to the lineup on Saturday in Madison Square Garden against St. John's (not "at" St. John's as the majority of fans in the sold-out arena were rooting for the Orange). Fab's presence was pretty immediate and an early blocked shot led to a fast-break like we hadn't seen since he'd been gone and the Cuse took control to win, running away, 95-70, dominating like they had for nearly the whole season -- the previous 3 games excepted. Admittedly St. John's is small and they do not match up with Syracuse well at all and their "home" game wasn't exactly any kind of advantage but it was really great to see the team back to its soul-crushing ways, cruising to the victory against the talented (but freshman-laded) Johnnies. We're getting into the meat of the schedule, though, starting tonight against Georgetown, a stretch of late-season challenges including 2 against Louisville and 2 against UConn after tonight's battle royale with our hated rivals. So I have a feeling that close games are going to be the norm again, and hopefully the experience of struggling without Fab helped to train these boys how to win the tight ones for when it really matters. And it really matters starting tonight. A season-record crowd of 33,000+ is expected. Georgetown is really, really good, as usual. And they're not really afraid of the Dome. We need everyone to play and play big. Especially Mr. Melo.

With Fab back in the middle, the defense is dramatically improved, partly because his shot-blocking presence forces other teams to alter shots when they're around the rim even when he doesn't swat that shit away but also because his backline existence allows the guards to take more risks, go for steals and generally pressure the ball harder, knowing that if they get beat Fab is still there to clean that shit up. So much of their success this season has been built around steals and turnovers and blocked shots leading to fast breaks -- where they are simply dominant -- but without Fab, the defense wasn't able to turn the game around, suffering through grinding half court games on both sides of the court where they weren't nearly as effective. They didn't shoot well with Fab out, largely because they needed to rely on making plays on the half-court and they struggled, particularly from beyond the arc. At some point this season, the team was shooting well from outside but they've been around or under 30% from 3-point range for the past 7 games and are near the bottom of the Big East in 3-pt. shooting percentage -- even as they lead in overall FG%. Fast break layups and dunks from Dion Waiters and Kris Joseph, along with CJ Fair's deadly midrange jumper, make up for a lot of misses from outside the arc. But all of that only happens when the team is running. And it's tough to go running if your defense isn't creating chances. Without Fab inside, the defense isn't creating chances. And this is a much worse team.

So we'll see what happens from here on out. Fab had a career-high 14 points on Saturday but honestly, the only thing we really need from him (besides not getting into any other academic "situation" that leaves him on the bench) is to stay out of foul trouble, stay on the court, and dominate on defense like only he can on the team. If you were to tell me last year at this time that Fab Melo -- the in-over-his-head laughable load of a freshman center -- would be the most important player on the team this year and the #1 reason we were 23-1 and #2 in the nation -- well, I would have asked what drugs you were on and if I could get any. But this year has been a strange, wonderful ride, and Fab has been the catalyst. We'll see what this team is made of over this last stretch of games heading into the Big East tournament. Personally, I think we're looking at the best team in the nation. As long as Fab is on the court.

New Music Tuesday

2012-02-07T08:12:00-05:00

In today's post, we have a 2nd track from the forthcoming Bowerbirds album The Clearing, which I have to say is getting me more and more excited; we have a new track off a new Woodpigeon EP For Paolo that is pretty damn awesome; we have a couple tracks that I like from bands I don't know much about, some that I know a little more about (Said the Whale, Damien Jurado), and we have the "slow version" of Superchunk's absolutely brilliant 2009 B-side "Blinders", the origins of which you can find here. And just in case you missed it last week, I'll kick things off with the best song of 2012, a song that every other song released this year will be hard-pressed to match.