Monthly Archives: September 2011

Album review: Tedeschi Trucks Band – Revelator

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I have been meaning to review Revelator since before it came out earlier this summer, and I was excited when my vinyl/CD package finally arrived a couple weeks ago. Revelator is the Tedeschi Trucks Band’s first album, though it’s hardly the first release for any of the eleven members of the band.

To understand this band and this recording, you have to know that the named members of the band, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, were independently successful musicians before they got married in 2001, a matrimonial match made in music heaven. Tedeschi sang the blues with soul and fire as a solo act. Trucks, the nephew of Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks, has been wowing audiences with his guitar since he was a child, later joining his uncle’s band and leading his own outfit, the Derek Trucks Band. The two did collaborate over the last ten years. The DTB didn’t add a permanent lead singer until Mike Mattison joined for 2006’s Songlines, and Tedeschi sang a track on 2002’s Joyful Noise and 2009’s excellent (and Grammy-winning) Already Free. The two also joined their guitars with Eric Clapton’s as a part of Slowhand’s Crossroads tours. Although they followed the wedding ceremony, these and other collaborations were like musical flirtations or dates between the two, who largely appeared to live separate, if overlapping, professional lives.

Revelator, though, represents the marriage. Keep reading…

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Lion: A tale of two teams?

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The NFL’s as-yet-unabridged preseason finished up last weekend, and the Detroit Lions turned in another dominant performance, posting a 4-0 record and notching an especially impressive win over the New England Patriots. Analysts and commentators repeat the common mantra that the preseason doesn’t mean a lot, but in the same breath, many of them are pointing to this year’s Lions as a team that could be a surprise success.

While it’s hard to see any strong statistical correlations between performance in the presesason and regular season– mostly because the team has been consistently bad in the regular season and bad overall– a few observations are possible. The most obvious one is that the last time Detroit went 4-0 in the preseason was 2008, a historically bad year in which the Lions became the only team to go winless in a 16-game NFL regular season, also therefore setting the record for most losses in a single season. Moreover, they won more preseason games (10) than regular season games (8) over the last three years.

What to make of this? The Lions haven’t been above .500 since 2000, when they were 9-7 (2-2 in the preseason), and they haven’t been to the playoffs since 1999, the year after Barry Sanders abruptly retired, so it’s tough to believe the popular predictions of greatness this year. It does feel like a lot more pieces (on the field and sidelines, and in the front office) of a winning team are in place this year, but many fundamental ifs remain for a team playing in the same division as the defending world champions. Predicting which Lions team– the successful preseason version or the perennially disappointing regular-season version– will show up this year may be even more difficult than predicting which Eddie Murphy will show up to host the 2012 Oscars.

S-E-C! S-E-C! S-E-C!: That inescapable chant and the “new” southern pride (via Grantland)

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When I first heard the chant, I was sitting in the Rose Bowl with a Mangino-sized scowl on my face. My Texas Longhorns had gotten their legs (and arms) broken by Alabama. Crimson Tide fans — thousands of them in white button-downs and khaki pants — were hugging each other and laying their cheers on us: “We’re gonna beat the hell out of you!” That’s when I heard the chant. “S-E-C! S-E-C! S-E-C!” … Read More

via Grantland 

Summer of Mailbag V: Passing the Buck (via Grantland)

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Basically, the Tigers give up five runs per start unless Verlander is pitching. They’re 21-8 when he starts and 54-54 when he doesn’t. Fourteen times, he’s followed a Tigers loss by winning the next game. He’s pitched at least six innings in each of his 29 starts. He’s thrown 104 pitches or more in every start. He’s first in wins (20), WHIP, strikeouts, innings pitched; second in ERA (trailing Jered Weaver by just 0.10) and WAR (trailing only Bautista). You can only pick him apart because he’s pitched half his games in a pitcher’s park; that’s why his ERA+ is only 168 (barely ahead of Weaver’s 164). By pure numbers, Bautista’s season is a little more impressive than Verlander’s season, which is why the WAR differential (8.0 for Bautista, 7.3 for Verlander) makes sense.

Then you consider the pressure Verlander faced for five months (and counting) as the ace of a mediocre team. Every time he pitched, he HAD to go seven or more, he HAD to save their bullpen and they HAD to win. What it’s like to fall asleep every night knowing that every teammate, coach and fan is counting on you, that you’re basically holding an elaborate stack of Jenga blocks together by yourself, that you can’t escape, that you can’t have a shitty day, that you can’t check out, that you can’t do anything other than keep pitching at an extraordinarily high level or your team’s entire season is going to fall apart? Is there a bigger responsibility in sports? If Bautista had been “average” this season, Toronto’s fortunes wouldn’t have changed. If Verlander had been “average” this season, Detroit would be headed for fourth place and total obscurity. Instead, nobody in his right mind wants to see Justin Verlander in a seven-game series right now. … Read More

via Grantland

Short week in ALDLAND

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Back in the saddle after a long, exciting weekend of college football. A post on that should be up this afternoon. In case you were tv’d out by the time Labor Day finally rolled around, know that you missed something uglier even than Auburn’s performance for 98% of its game against Utah State or Notre Dame’s weather-extended and not unexpected defeat at the hands of South Florida:

Friday (almost) from the road

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Yesterday marked the close of the first month in ALDLAND, so it’s time to make like Texas A&M and up the ante.

As promised, this site and its various outlets will be covering college football’s opening weekend live(ish) from Nashville, where Vanderbilt hosts Elon tomorrow night. In that spirit, here’s today’s Friday jam, which happens to include appearances from some folks featured here before (Bruce Hornsby and Jerry Garcia):

The college football season starts tonight, and ALDLAND takes you to the action this weekend

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High schoolers have been at it for a couple weeks, and now it’s the undergrads’ turn. Conference play doesn’t begin for a few weeks, but opening weekend of college football has its share of high-profile matchups.

It all starts tonight, when in-state basketball rival Murray State kicks off in Louisville at 6:00 pm. Two top-25 teams, Wisconsin and Mississippi State, are in action against unranked opponents on a busy Thursday as well. Two more games are scheduled for Friday night, when Youngstown State heads to East Lansing and TCU scoots down to Waco to face Baylor.

College football is all about Saturdays, and Saturdays in the fall are all about college football. This Saturday’s schedule has a number of highlights, including Oregon against LSU in Arlington, TX, Boise State in Athens to face Georgia, and Rice against Texas for the visually challenged debut of the Longhorn Network. 

Vanderbilt hosting Alabama in 2007

The big game on Saturday night is in Nashville, though, and ALDLAND staff will be in Vanderbilt Stadium as the Commodores open the James Franklin era against FCS/I-AA powerhouse Elon. This game has been thoroughly previewed at Open ‘Dores and Vanderbilt Sports Line. As the 6:30 pm (central) kickoff approaches, check here, twitter, and flickr for multimedia updates of the gameday atmosphere.

The rest of the week one schedule includes two in-state pairings on Sunday– Marshall at West Virginia and SMU at SEC-to-be Texas A&M— and an interesting-because-they’re-in-trouble game in College Park, MD on Monday between Miami and Maryland, which got questionable back-to-school outfits this year.

Check out the full extended weekend schedule, including broadcast availability, at http://espn.go.com/college-football/schedule.

Mark 2011 as the year the Lord took on NFL player contracts

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It is said that the Lord works in mysterious ways, but this summer, He has been stepping out a bit more, seemingly bearing a new cross for those who praise Him. The Almighty has tackled public works projects before– the Great Flood, liberation of his people from bondage in Egypt, urban renewal in cities like Sodom and Gomorrah, descending to Earth in human form, etc.– but this campaign feels different, perhaps because of its apparently limited, if no less public, scope. Mark 2011 as the year the Ancient of Days took on high-profile NFL player contracts.

Yahweh’s first target was in the Arizona desert, where He helped Larry Fitzgerald secure an eight-year, $120 million deal with the Cardinals. After Fitzgerald’s new contract became public, Chris Johnson, holdout running back for the Tennessee Titans, praised the Everlasting Father for His accomplishment: “Congrats to Larry Fitzgerald. God is good.” Indeed.

Luke, the Gospel writer, tells us that there is more rejoicing in Heaven when one sinner repents than there is for ninety-nine other righteous people who need not repent, and so it should come as no surprise that the Wonderful Counselor would take the case of the once-disgraced, now-redeemed Michael Vick (f.k.a. Ron Mexico). Just this week in the City of Brotherly Love, Vick signed what his head coach called “a beautiful contract,” which may or may not be worth $100 million. In response, Vick said, “I want to thank God for the opportunity that I’ve been presented.” And so we can assume he did.

Numerically, if there’s a digit more biblically favored than four or seven, it would have to be three, and so we should expect Elohim to be involved in at least one more blockbuster deal before the season starts next week, and the smart talents are on Johnson himself. Johnson believes the Titans should compensate him on a scale comparable to the highest-paid players in the league, and not merely as the highest-paid at his position as the team has offered to do. On Wednesday, Johnson said, “I like to thank everyone who have me in their prayers thru my situation, it’s much needed.” It just might be.

Can the Holy Spirit reach this man on behalf of Chris Johnson?