Static and Silence

Explanation of picture: I received a request from a member of the mafia that I was, uh, upsetting the family by not having included a picture of the mafia in the blog. Typically I’m a little hesitant about fulfilling requests but a) these guys know where I live and b) while my knees aren’t in the best of shape they can definitely be made worse. So, here is a sizable portion of the good old mafia at Gabriel and Ale’s wedding.

(And yes, this marks the first time that I’ve posted a picture of myself where you can actually see my face. Of course, I’m not going to mention which one I am in the picture just so I can hold on to at least a shred of mystery.)

There’s one news story out today that I just have to comment on and that is J.J. Reddick being pulled over on a DUI charge. Yes, J.J. shows once again that he is only a three point shooter with no idea how to drive. To make matters worse, if you check out his mugshot he is wearing a polo shirt with half of the collar popped. Now, wearing a polo shirt is bad enough but if you’re going to pop the collar it is an all or nothing deal. It’s just that type of indecisiveness that has caused Duke to underachieve in March the past few years. But, it just goes to show what Zima will do to you.

(Thanks to Deadspin for all of the info and jokes on this today. This just makes it tougher and tougher for me to workout while wearing a Duke basketball t-shirt. Seriously, it is just embarrassing right now. I have to now couch myself by saying that I support the old school Duke squads, back when all you had to do was deal with how much of a dick Christian was half the time.)

I have one other bit to write about tonight. As you know, the random CD project is well underway and I’m sticking to my promise that I will not repeat a CD in my car until I have listened to every disc that I own. Well, that means that today marks the last time I will listen to a Sundays CD in my car for a very long time and that is worth a special mention.

You may or may not remember the Sundays, a British band from back in the heady days of Alternative Nation. You’ve almost certainly heard them as their cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses” was used in a Budweiser commercial for years. The one with the female singer with the mystical voice. And that is what is memorable about the band, Harriet Wheeler’s almost otherworldly voice. It’s what causes me to still play the discs from time to time.

But what I really want to mention is how this ties back into what I wrote about Jeff Buckley a few weeks ago. The Sundays had what might be the tiniest but most significant careers of any band that I have followed. They recorded three albums and then Harriet decided that she would rather be a mom than a musician. But those are three perfect albums that hold up more than a decade later. They didn’t have a huge stadium tour, they didn’t outstay their welcome, they didn’t end up playing state fairs, they just recorded their music and moved on. Sometimes it is best to leave people wanting more, that way they never forget you.