Crimson Sundown

Maybe we can bring back the light

While my initial intent will stay, and I will live blog the NBA draft tonight, I must say something before I do.  I would like to send my prayers and thoughts with the families of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett.  Both were icons of their generations, people who changed the world through their actions.  They had such an amazing impact on our lives, and I just want to say thanks to them and to say that it’s sad to see them go.  Everyone do yourself a favor and listen to some Michael Jackson, and look at some pictures of Fawcett soaking in just how beautiful she was.  I know I will be doing both.

Now, with that said, there is more things that I must talk about before we even touch on the draft.  Currently we have 10 minutes before the draft and we have been hit with a barrage of NBA trades today.  The big one, that is taking up the most of the day’s writing space and that would of course be Shaquille O’Neal to the Cleveland Cavaliers to play with Lebron James.

To say that this trade is huge would be a fantastic understatement to say the least.  We are talking about Shaq, being one of the greatest centers to play the game, being paired with Lebron who is arguably the best player in the league right now at the age of 24.  This trade makes Cleveland one of the favorites to win it all next year, and causes everyone to start to wonder just who is going to be able to win it all for 2010.

Not to be out done, Vince Carter has been trade from my beloved New Jersey Nets to the Orlando Magic to play with the runners up in the 2009 finals and their superstar Dwight Howard.  This opens up their offense a ton, giving them the ability to jump shoot, drive to the hole, and to pound in the paint.  They are going to be very dangerous.

This doesn’t even take into account how the San Antonio Spurs practically stole former Net Richard Jefferson from the Bucks for next to nothing.  That solidifies their team and makes them younger, meaning that they have a good chance to cause havoc on the Lakers out in the Western Conference.

Basically we are seeing a lot of teams realize that if they want to win now, this draft class doesn’t have big movers and shakers.  So if you want to go, then you have to trade for big time players.  Add on a bunch of teams who are trying to cut costs because of the recession, and you have a lot of willing trade partners.  This upcoming season is going to be insane.

Before they play the season though, they have to do the draft, and what follows are my reaction to the draft pics.  If you don’t know the players involved, don’t feel bad … I don’t really either.  Geez college basketball sucks.  =)

7:31 – Waiting on ESPN to start their coverage.  In only a few minutes, the Los Angeles Clippers are expected to take Blake Griffin, the college player of the year, as the #1 pick.  If you want to know how I feel about the Clippers getting Griffin, I think it’s fine.  But Blake … seriously read this column (you too!)

7:32 – David Stern is now starting his opening statement.  The New York crowd loves and hates him at the same time.  I love the guy.  He’s honest, and he’s a smart business man.  I wish he could be in charge forever.

7:34 – Clippers are officially on the clock, not that it really matters.  We know who they will take.  really it comes down to who is taken after #1.  That’s where the drama will come.

7:39 – #1 is not a surprise, and Blake Griffin is your new Los Angeles Clipper!  Congrats to Blake, it’s a really impressive feat to get into the NBA.  Tons of hard work, dedication, and skill.  He’s a very strong forward and he’ll need all of that with playing against the big boys of the hardwood.

7:42 – Of course the second question out of everyone’s mouth is how he feels about being with a terrible team.  Oh the past is the past, and we are looking towards the future.  You know what the future is going to be?  Griffin being traded or immediately leaving at the very first opportunity that he can.  Whether or not he’s a success, that does’t matter.  I hope he is, but he’s out of there as soon as he can.  No way does he make the cursed Clippers a contender in a few years.

7:45 – Memphis Grizzlies are now on the clock and their pick is now in.  Will they take the Thabeet from UCONN for shotblocking?  The answer is … yes they will.  Hasheem Thabeet is now a Memphis Grizzly.  Good news is that he is the first Tanzanian player to ever come to the NBA.  Bad news is, he is playing for the Grizzlies.  He’s a raw talent, much more there for defense rather than for offense.  Can he be any sort of help on the offense end?  Probably not, nothing more than cleaning up the garbage, but hey what else can you do?  Jay Bilis is right though, this guy is scrawny.  For 7’2″ dude, he has no muscle.  267 pounds?  Shit that’s nothing!

7:50 – This is where things get interesting.  The Oklahoma City Thunder now have the #3 pick and this is where people can start to get a bit jumbled.  The Thunder have Westbrook, Durant and Green which is an amazing core of young players.  I personally think they should take Ricky Rubio from Spain since he is a pure Point Guard, but he may not be the best available player.  Their choice?

Whooooooooa this is a bit of a shocker.  Thunder go James Harden from Arizona State, a 2008-09 All American player.  It’s a bit of a surprise to me, but I’ll listen in to what he offers me.  This dude looks pretty stocky … has a decent ball handling skills.  I think what they are going for something where Harden would drive into the paint, and then kick out to other players who can shoot like Durant and Green.  From that standpoint, it’s a good pick.

From what the indicators are, he has a very high basketball IQ, and honestly that is worth a lot.  While he does have a basketball IQ, he doesn’t have a fashion IQ … blech to the bowtie!  Though he does have the Baron Davis beard, and that my friends, is hot shit.

7:56 – The Sacramento Kings are on the clock and they suuuuuuuuuuucked so bad.  They needed the first pick and got the fourth.  Sucks buddies.  This is a pick though that makes the crowd happy as they take Tyreke Evans from Memphis.  This kid can flat out play.  He is a strong, fast, and good all around.  What worries me about him, is that he’s a Freshman so he’s young and immature.  that being said, he played at Memphis which is a fantastic college program, and his style of play really will fit in the NBA.  He attacks the basket, and then shoots or dishes depending on what is needed.  Hopefully he doesn’t ball hog a lot, which is possible.

8:01 – I like what the Timberwolves have done here, which is the next team to pick.  They have the #5 and #6 picks, not to mention that they also have 18 and 28, then 45 and 47 in the second round.  In order to get the fifth pick they got rid of Randy Foye and Mike Miller and traded them to the Washington Wizards.  To me, this isn’t a big deal.  Miller was never going to resign and they need to trade him for something.  Also Foye is ok, but he needs to be with other stars, not try to be the star himself.  Foye is good as a compliment, not the main guy.

8:03 – Here comes their pick.  I hope they take Rubio from Spain … yay and they did!  He can flat out handle the basketball.  This kid is an amazing point guard and I can’t wait to see him play.  He won a silver medal for Spain last summer as a 17 year old.  SEVENTEEN people.  He played well against the best players in the world at the age of 17.  How can you not love this kid?!  Give this kid Kevin Love and Al Jefferson down low in the post?  Oh yeah, this is an awesome pick.  He’s scrawny as hell, but hell they will buff him up.

8:09 – Minnesota is now picking again.  The Draft is in NYC and they are hoping they don’t take Stephen Curry … and they don’t, they take Jonny Flynn from Syracuse.  Not really a fantastic pick since they JUST took Rubio as another Point Guard.  I’m guessing that they are going to pair the two together and let them go fast together.  They just stated that Flynn has a 40 inch vertical leep.  40 INCHES!  That’s 3 and a half feet.  Are you kidding me?  That’s insane.  I will have to see him and Rubio play together, but right now I’m intrigued by the prospect.  Timberwolves are going to play faaaaaast.

8:15 – Right now the Golden State Warriors have 5 seconds left to make their pick.  We have a stadium filled with people hoping they don’t take Stephen Curry.  Pick is … NOOOOOOOOOOOO Curry gets to go to Oakland.  So many booing Knicks fans!  Even Curry doesn’t look happy, he looks so sad right now!  I feel for the kid.  You always have a team that you would love to go to, and for him that was the New York Knicks, but alas he didn’t get to.  And damn I didn’t realize that he was the son of Dell Curry who was my favorite shooter of all time.  Man that’s an amazing thing that I didn’t know, I’m happier now.  Still, I wish he was in New York right now.

If nothing else, we know that Jonny Flynn can play and he has stamina.  He was apart of that amazing 6 overtime game this past year in college.  He played 62 minutes in that game.  This kid is ready to rock!

8:20 Now the question is, what will the Knicks do.  With the Nets being gutted beyond all holy hell, I need something to root for.  Can the Knicks be that team?  Let’s see what David Stern has to say … Jordan Hill from Arizona.  Power Forward with a wingspan of 7’1″ so that’s impressive.  What scares me is that the first thing they say about his offensive game is that he has only been playing organized basketball for a few years.  His basketball IQ is not that big therefore.  He needs to improve his post moves but his rebounding is solid and he can shoot a little bit.  I will say that he has an amazing dreadlock thing going on so I’ll be totally ok with that.

Listening to him talk really doesn’t look like he feels comfortable here in NYC.  The good news for him, is that he is playing for Mike D’Antonio, so therefore since Joran loves to run the floor and is athletic, he should fit right in.

8:26 – Now Toronto is picking and they take DeMar DeRozan and this is where I’m starting to check out.  Well looks like he can dunk … good for him.  Jay Bilas would like to remind that he really can’t shoot well but that he could upgrade that.  Well to be honest, I am not jazzed by the pick, not because of how he plays, but because I’m bored now.  I will stick around though until my lowly New Jersey Nets make their pick.  After that I can’t take anymore dissapointment.

Commercial break … with Shaq being interviewed in one hour.  Maybe I’ll keep watching after all …

8:33 – Milwaukee Bucks take Brandon Jennings who decided to play in Italy rather than play in college for a year.  I actually like that a lot, because he plays with better competition I feel.  He plays against men and not boys while in Europe.  While he’s a project, which is a scary prospect, but hey I like it.  Seems like a tough kid with a chip on his shoulder.

8:37 – My stupid New Jersey Nets.  I knew they were going to trade Vince Carter, but it still stings.  I love Devin Harris, but it’s so hard to do all of that on his own.  I want some help for the team, and I don’t want them to move to Brooklyn.  Impress me boys … Another forward?  Terrence Williams from Louisville.  I like that he is a senior from Louisville, so he got a degree.  From what Bilas is saying, he has a good balance of strength, vision and defense.  While he has to improve his shooting, doesn’t everyone?  Looks like a very high character kid, which to me is something that should be applauded.

He gets one question?!  That’s it!  Man they must really want to talk to Nets President Rod Thorn.

Well I have exhausted myself and honestly, after the Nets picked, I don’t care anymore.  will continue to watch, but for now I will leave you patient souls who have read all of this.

Have a wonderful night, and prepare for me to talk a lot of Basketball while I wait for October to come back.

I promised tQ a proper Tuesday post, and for the most part I am a man of my word!  What transpires below, is something that I have been thinking about for awhile now and finally just wanted to get off my chest.

In 2004 when American Idiot was released, it was a calling out to the country.  A declaration that the country was in a bad spot, and it took a gang of punks in order to let this generation know about it.  The themes were obvious;  the war in Iraq, a President and leadership specializing in fear mongering, and the youth of the country falling into waste and ruin.  No one can question how good the album was, nor will I spend any part of blog trying to tell you how I feel about it.  You all know that I feel like American Idiot is one of the best albums ever made.  The question now becomes … was it really necessary to make ANOTHER rock opera immediately after such a perfect album?

Green Day has just released 21st Century Breakdown their follow up to Idiot and a completely new rock opera narrative.  You won’t find old Whatshername coming back to make a cameo, nor will St. Jimmy be magically brought back from the dead.  No Jimmy is still dead with a gunshot to his head, but what we have in Breakdown are the characters of Gloria and Christian.  Whereas Idiot was content on talking about the problems of raising a family in the era of the “W” and Iraq, watching as communities are torn apart by children not coming home (whether it be the army or via drugs), Breakdown takes a more active approach at spitting venom at modern technology, prescription drugs, and organized religion to name a few.

The subject matter has changed a bit, but the style in which Green Day tells the tale is pretty much the same.  This is where my first issue with the album comes in.  It’s not exact, but it’s damn close enough.  The opening song is essentially filler, but it is followed by the title track, a 6 minute song that changes styles as you go on, describing the world that we live in.  Sound familiar?  It should, it’s what they did with “Jesus of Suburbia” on Idiot.  The rest of the album is filled with songs that don’t sound the same, but fit the same build as songs on American Idiot.  They even seem to come in the same order, so therefore you are stuck making direct comparisons to the albums.

Idiot talked about hard drug use, whereas Breakdown talks about abuse of prescription drugs and over diagnosing.  Idiot attacked the government, and Breakdown attacks the catholic church.  The back and forth with the similarities continue throughout and while it’s not a terrible thing, it feels very cookie cutter.  It might just be that I have listened to Idiot too much, but I don’t think I’m alone in that.  I’m sure others have noticed that at similar points in both albums, as you are listening you might be expecting them to go in a different direction, but they take the safe route instead and give you something similar to what you heard in 2004.

Musically Green Day have really hit their stride though.  They sound good, and are incorporating their full arsenal of additional performers.  Violin’s, acoustic guitars, timpanis and much more can all be heard in full effect.  That’s the good thing, but unfortunately Billie Joe Armstrong decides that the album should have a song dedicated to one topic per additional instrument he uses seemingly.  If the album was just shots against the things that I have mentioned above it would be similar to Idiot but at least it would be focused.  Not so on Breakdown.  The album hits religion, politics, the war, drugs, detorating conditions in major cities, and the nasty influence of mordern media and technology.  That’s a lot of songs to get through, and it would be fine if it was just a normal album.  Green Day though wanted Breakdown to be a rock opera and as a narrative, there’s just too much stuff that they are talking about at once.  The storyline starts to breakdown (haha, get it?), and as a result you either forget about Gloria and Christian or simply don’t care by the end.

Finally, the last problem that I personally had with the album is the timing of the album’s release.  This is a two pronged complaint.  From an easy spot, I mean it’s the next album after Idiot.  Breakdown brought upon a direct comparison and unfortunately it’s almost impossible to make a better rock opera back to back.  I don’t care how talented you are it’s tough to keep that momentum up.  Not even The Who did that, instead elected to follow up Tommy with Who’s Next, one of the band’s biggest commercial successes.

The last part of the problem is the timing with where the country is right now.  In 2004 the country, specifically young democrats such as myself were still in college and needed an anthem to rally behind to show their displeasure with not only George Bush being re-elected, and not only with the Democratic party giving us no good candidates, but also with our friends fighting in Iraq.  American Idiot was that album, as it stood for everything that we wanted to say to those in charge.  All I remember is playing the album in my dorm room with Katie, Pedro and Sundeep with me.  What started as harmless background music while we talked, turned into an epic listening party as no one said anything after the second track in an effort to absorb all that was coming out of the surround sound.  All we could say at the end was … “wow”.

With 21st Century Breakdown the problem lies in that right now Green Day want to spit some more venom at the world, but the things they are yelling at I don’t necessarily feel like we have to be campaigning for so much.  Sure the economy is in the tanks, but we have a new President in office and love him and hate him it’s a time of change and hope.  Now we don’t need to be hearing about every single one of our problems with no suggestions for what can be done.  Instead now we know the issues, and we want to tighten our belts and get to work.  Unfortunately for Green Day they want to start a revolution, and the revolution was already started.  It ends up sounding like they are late to the party.

Does this mean that 21 Century Breakdown is a bad album?  Not in the least, it’s a very good album.  Green Day just shot themselves in the foot by making such an iconic album before hand.  It’s a tough legacy to live up to, and one that they don’t ultimately make.  I can listen to selected tracks off of Breakdown but if Green Day was hoping that I would get goosebumps after every song like I did with American Idiot … well I’m sorry to disappoint guys.