Monday, October 12, 2009

The Eels - Hombre Lobo

Tremendous Dynamite



My Timing Is Off



That Look You Give That Guy

Papelbon - Mr. Fastball

No Red Sox fan should be surprised about Papelbon's meltdown. The closer has basically become a one-trick pony. When his fastball is lacking movement and isn't locating, it's curtains. All season, he has lived on the edge, throwing his fastball over 80% of the time.

Remember, here's a guy who used to throw a slider, a splitter and even a curve when wanted.

For 2009, Fangraphs has him throwing fastballs 81.5%, sliders 9.2% and splitters 9.3%.

And, to add to the mix, Papelbon's previous shoulder issues may be exacerbated by secondary pitches. A catch-22?

As an aside, didn't Daniel Bard look exceptional?

Yo La Tengo - Nothing To Hide

From their latest release Popular Songs. It's not my favorite, but still a strong album.

Still partial to I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One and Fakebook.


Embryonic - The Flaming Lips New Release

Embryonic will be released tomorrow. Pitchfork, BBC, Spectator and Hurst all give positive reviews. Slant does not. Too experimental...???

No matter, hard core Lips fans will be pleased with Embryonic. It seems like they are getting a bit back to their roots. Commercial success? That's another story...

There's a raw directness to Embryonic that's been largely absent from Lips records since the mid-90s. For the first time in years, they've made an album that actually sounds like a band playing live together in a small room.

Musically, too, Embryonic leans heavily on the Lips' formative 60s/70s psych-rock influence (like In a Priest Driven Ambulance's "Take Meta Mars" before it, Embryonic's formidable opener "Convinced of the Hex" grooves heavily on Can's "Mushroom"), but never before has the band recorded an album so unwaveringly sinister, or so devoid of pop-song levity.

Lionel Pincus, R.I.P.

Hopefully the antics of Pincus's money grubbing girlfriend won't overshadow his impressive life achievements.

Warburg Pincus and the National Venture Capital Association, which Mr. Pincus helped found, played a central role in negotiating with the Labor Department to revise regulations that had inhibited investments in those asset classes.

As a result, vast amounts of new capital flowed into private equity and venture funds.

Mr. Vogelstein recalled Mr. Pincus as brilliant but also able to delegate. “He was the senior partner, and yet he did not stifle creativity, but encouraged it,” he said. “It meant that investment thinking was quite broadly spread, and we could attract talented people.”

Friday, October 9, 2009

Lonesome Dove

Lonesome Dove