Beck - Odelay

I loved Mellow Gold, and "Loser" is a great single, but even with such a big hit, I thought Beck was a weird young guy we'd probably never hear from again. Who knew he'd be one of the smartest artists to emerge in the last 20 years. He is a pioneer and he is not afraid to take chances. He's an avaunt guard Sinatra.

With Odelay, weird and interesting became genius. There are a lot of styles on this record and one of the greatest lines ever, "I got two turntables and a microphone." It is Beck's most consistent record to date and if you only have one of his records in your collection this is the one to have.

A Good Walk Spoiled by John Feinstein

I have heard a lot of people say golf is boring to watch on TV, so a book about golf should work better than Lunesta, right? Well not in this case. A Good Walk Spoiled is a great rebuttal to Mark Twain's often quoted quip about golf. It is a gripping and insightful look at a year on the PGA Tour. The only drawback is that the book is a little out of date. It was written in 1995 back when Nick Price, Paul Azinger, Greg Norman and Nick Faldo were the biggest names on the tour and $2 million was a big purse for a tournament.

As a history lesson it is amazing to see where the tour was only 12 years ago and how much Tiger has changed things. The book chronicles the passing of the torch to Tim Finchem as the new head to the PGA Tour. One of his first crisis's is John Daley saying there are a lot of drug abusers on the tour, and he should know. Here we are all this time later and they are still debating a drug testing policy.

The biggest change however is the amount of money that is flying around. It's almost funny to read about Greg Norman breaking the $1 million mark in earnings for one year, when the 100th ranked guy on tour makes more than that now. Back in 1995 only the top few golfers had private jets, now when a tour player flies commercial with his family on holiday, the kids want to know why other people are on their plane.

I wish Fienstein would right the 2008 version of this book, but I doubt he will get access to the players like he did back then.

Liz Phair - Liz Phair

Liz Phair's first record sure doesn't sound like a first record. I did a little investigation and it turns out this is technically not her first. She had several tapes doing the rounds for a while under the name Girlysound that the record company picked the best songs off and got her some high brow production help on. That said, the rawness of her sound and her lyrics are still there. And of course everyone loves her dirty mouth.

This record shows the full spectrum of her sound from rock goddess to folkie. While I think she has put out at least two other really good records and her best singles may be on other records, this is the definitive Liz record. This is the record that launched an ocean of imitators.

Welcome Finlay

We have a new addition to the family. Please welcome Finlay, which is Gaelic for white warrior. Quite ironic since he is a timid little guy. He came to us from a rescue shelter up in Washington. A breeder had abandoned him, but he has a happy home now.

We had a meet and greet with him yesterday and he and Brodie got along so well that we decided to he would be a great addition. They have been playing and running around together ever since. He is also very affectionate, he likes to be petted and sit on your lap. He is a small little guy, about 2/3 the size of Brodie, but he looks even smaller. We are not sure how old he is, but we are guessing between two and four.

He looks forward to meeting you all soon.

The Decemberists - The Crane Wife

For a band from Portland, I have to admit I was not as early an adopter as I should have been with the Decemberists. It wasn't until this, their fourth record, that I really got into them.

This is one of the few good news stories of a band doing their best work on their first major label release. Usually this is where the long time fans turn against them and the talk of a sell out begins. Not so with Crane Wife. It has gotten huge critical praise and has been by far their best selling record.

Everybody loves this record because it has something for everyone. It's a pop record that has a couple of tracks that could easily make it into high rotation on Top 40 radio. The lyrics are very high brow and intellectual, so critics and the NPR set get to look smart recommending it. Musically the record is complex yet easy to listen to. And lastly, it allows me to get something new into the top 100.

Mariners Game

We had a fun trip to Seattle this past weekend, that included our once a year trip to Safeco Park to see the Mariners. It was not planned but we saw the Seattle debut of Daisuke Matsuzaka the Boston Red Sox new star pitcher from Japan. Needless to say a lot of the PNW Asian community turned out to see him and Ichiro Suzuki the Mariner's star player go head to head.

We got to the game early, which was a good thing as it was a sell out and all the other ticket holders were thinking the same thing. Luckily we were able to get seats in the Bullpen Cafe, which is a great place to watch the players warm up and eat one of their pulled pork sandwiches. They also have awesome nachos, but that and a beer will set you back $20 a person.

Once the game was about to begin we moved to our great seats (thanks Tish), where Barbara got to sit next to the angriest man in Seattle. For a while it looked like Boston was going to easily close out the game, as they were leading 4-2 into the seventh inning stretch and the only offense Seattle could muster was two solo homers by Beltre. Barbara and Tish were getting restless, so we decided to take off at that point.

Once we got to the car Seattle had scored again and the game was now 4-3. Boston failed to score in the top of the ninth, so the Mariners had one last chance to tie or pull ahead. The Sox got two quick outs, but then they walked two and Beltre was at the plate again. The announcer said, "The crowd of 46,000 is on their feet, no one has left the park." Well against my protestes, we had left and were now missing all the drama. The Mariners were one hit away from leading the wild card race.

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) Beltre popped up and the game was over.