Better Than Nothing
It’s been a busy week, so I will give you my shortest piece yet, “Better Than Nothing.” Haha, that title alone must captivate you into reading further. Well, whatever, I GOT A REAL JOB!
Sixers, what is there to be said? We’re back into a crappy slump. The Bulls game was another nail-biter that ended up being pulled from under us. You never want to put yourself in a situation where a 3-pointer is sending you into OT, but if you are stuck with that route, why not have a good 3-pointer shooter take it? Iguodala put up 2 airballs in the final minutes of Monday’s game, so why on Earth is he taking the last shot? Adam made a good point. Everybody knows we dish it to Lou for the clutch shots so they double team his tiny ass and we turn it over. It makes sense to change that formula, but don’t give it to the guy that’s been cold all night.
We play the Celtics tonight. I actually see us winning this one. A little agility and youth will fare well against an old, wrinkly, aging team. Confidence boosting abound.
Between Darren Williams 57-point game and Kevin Love’s 42-point game, there has been plenty of talent to watch outside of Philadelphia. I actually watched about 90% of Kevin Love’s 42-point game and I was blown away. That dude needs way more publicity. He’s getting All-Star love, all that, yada yada, but the big man has a long-range game that’s unreal. He has no arc to his shots, but they fall, so whatever. The Trailblazers aren’t the best team in the world, but it’s not like their defense is anything to sneeze at. Love was doing some insane stuff.
I finally got around to listening to the new WZRD album. If you aren’t familiar, Kid Cudi has a side project with “Dot Da Genius” which consists of the two making somewhat ‘alternative’ songs that incorporate some synth and singing. Cudi has proclaimed sobriety from all drugs, I believe alcohol, and has dedicated himself more to singing. A friend on Facebook put it pretty well: “I can’t tell if the new WZRD album is complete horseshit or sleeper genius.”
I’ve listened to it for about a week now and I still can’t figure out how I feel about it. There are certainly those times that I’m listening to him sing melodies of dumb lyrics that sound terribly off-key with almost no effort and I start cringing. It’s a tough pill to swallow. There are, however, some songs that his voice and melody sounds particularly bad-ass over a nice synth and I fall in love with them. I don’t find myself “wishing he would rap” over certain songs, because really, none of the instrumentals really necessitate it, so that’s nice.
I tried to listen to this album as if I were listening to a new group, without any preconceived opinions, and it truly is hard to put your finger on. If it was a new group without any fame and notoriety to latch onto, I would think this would fall ambiguously with all the other experimental “gems” that never get heard. He’s just not that good of a singer. He sings good hooks. I’m glad the album exists, because I can take away some stuff from it and enjoy it. All I know is when you make a song like “High of Life”, preaching sobriety, there ain’t no swag. Simply put.
Good songs – The Dream Time Machine, Efflictim, Upper Room, Live & Learn
Bad Songs – Love Hard (although the instrumental in the middle is sick), High Off Life, Brake
Alright, that’s it for me. Awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!