My allegiances are being tested

All year long I've said, Bears vs. Colts in the Super Bowl.
Ask around the office. It's a dream come true for me.
The big question though is who to root for.
I've been a Bears fans since I was born. Walter Payton is one of the most influential people I've ever not met. Determination, the will to do your job the best you can, be a good man, contribute to your community, and understand the importance of the team and not the individual are values Payton lived.
The Bears were terrible when I was a little guy, that is until about 1984 when they started to get good, then came the '85 Bears and the Super Bowl Shuffle, and the annhilation of the 'Pats in Super Bowl XX. The Bears have been my team.
Backtrack a bit ... When I was nine, in 1984, the Colts moved to town. Our own pro team. A new stadium goes up, and the first game to be played in the dome ... Bears vs. Bills in exhibition. We were there ... I only remember screaming for Walter Payton when he ran on the field, but I still have the ticket stub.
The Colts were terrible .. God awful and an embarrassment. The Dolts were their nickname for a while. I didn't really follow them until the mid-90s when Harbaugh, The Comeback Kid, was behind center. Slowly, the blue in my blood was turning to a brighter shade and my Colts fantaticism began to show. When the Colts played the Steelers in '96 I remember the missed endzone catch that was oh, so close for a trip to the Super Bowl. Peyton Manning came to town and now, the Hall of Famer gets what he's been after - a chance for a title ... against my OTHER favorite team.
Anyway, I'm pretty balanced on both sides of the ball for this one. Honestly, Sunday, I was more excited for the Colts to make it to the Super Bowl than I was for the Bears.
My loyalty this morning lay at 51 percent Colts, 49 percent Bears.
My aunt (my favorite aunt) says I should stick to my guns and that the Bears are my team.
I agree. The Bears are MY team. April is my wife ... and the Colts are my little hot action on the side.
So, Bear Down Chicago Bears. But if the Colts win, I'm OK with that too.

-DJr-

Gettin' jazzy wih it

I dig jazz.
It's not an artform that I know a lot about, but like physical art istelf, I know what I like.
I like the funk of a Hammond organ jam, the wail of a trumpet that's so intense I can picture myself in a dark, smokefilled club with red candles burning on the tables and a good chianti breathing.
I dig the soulful playing of a guitar strum or the schintzy sounds of drum brushes on a pair of cymbals. The thump of an upright bass gets me thumping in rhythm on the keyboard at work.
I can pick some jams out of albums without reading the liner notes, but musicians is something I'm learning.
I like Coltrane, Miles, Hampton Hawes, Dave Brubeck, Thelonious Monk and the more modern funk driven Medeski, Martin and Wood.
Why jazz when 10 years ago I dismissed it as formless noise? I don't know. It's something April doesn't really dig. My mom kinda likes some jazz, Dad's an Elvis man, so jazz isn't there either. It's like visual art, I know what I like when I see/hear it, and I'll stick to it.
-DJr-

Best of 2006 - part two (electric boogaloo)

You saw the first ten, now here are the final nine.
I know ten and ten would have made more sense, but when does that matter to me?

11: "You Can Make him Like You," The Hold Steady - A little more polished than prevous albums, but damn, what a great album. Rock with a piano in the background is infectious and a great hook on the chorus.

12: "Incinerate," Sonic Youth - Thurston Moore and company make one of their finest albums in a long time, but don't hold back on their hipness. Keeping the raw sound that made them famous, they smoothe it out a little with what could be mistaken for a radio hit.

13: "Joker and the Thief," Wolmother - The band the world couldn't get enough of is for real. . A solid guitar solo intro, a rockin' '70s metal feel and a synthesiser make me excited to see what these guys can come out with next. Think grungy Sabbath and you'll know what I mean.

14: "A Certain Romance," Arctic Monkeys - England's MySpace phenoms can rock, but they can keep you interested with playing a tiny touch of dance hall upstroked guita as well.

15. " Parade," Pretty Girls Make Graves - Two ladies front this band of five and floor me with simplistic drum beats and strong vocals. Lyrics are repetitive and easily get stuck in my head ... in a good way.

16. "Fraud in the 80s," Mates of State - Fuzz box recording sounds like it was done on an old four-track with a moog synthesizer playing through a torn speaker ... but this fuzziness is good and makes me feel like dancing - or thinking about dancing.

17. "Adlai Stevenson," Sufjan Stevens - This track apparenlty wasn't good enough for his 'Illinoise' album? He's nuts. Banjo, horns, drums, strings and woodwind instruments with Sufjan's soft breathy vocals keep this peppy track in constant rotation. Second best concert of the year for me too.

18. "Let's Impeach the President," Neil Young - Plenty of people thought it, others sung about it, but in a metaphorical way. Good ol' Mr. Young gets right to the point complete with presidential fan fare horns and a recording that was done in a matter of days.

19. "Thunder on the Mountain," Bob Dylan - A late entry, but a better opening track to an album I've not heard in a long time. Dylan is getting better with each album. A nice slow drawl and some solid boogie woogie playing. Dylan wonders where Alicia Keys should be, I'm wondering why I didn't see him on this last tour.


Anyone who would like a copy of these 19 tracks, please let me know. I gave one away today without a track listing, but I swear, I'll get it done soon.

-DJr-