The New England Borings

There's talk of the New England Patriots being boring now. Sure they're 16-0, and pretty much have a championship all sewn up, barring a loss somewhere in the playoffs, but they're winning without much fanfare. I guess just winning is not enough for some people. Doing things in the team-first concept makes you... uh, boring. This sort of talk reminds me of the San Antonio Spurs and their championship runs of late.

Sports pundits have always described the Spurs as being a boring team, but all this doesn't not really surprise me. I've always seen the Patriots and Spurs as franchise siblings. Both teams have won championships with this, new fangled thing called a "team-first" concept and led by a not so glitzy leader, Brady and Duncan, respectively. During their runs, neither team had a sexy, me-first star. Until now...

About a month ago, I told my brother that the 2007 version of the New England Patriots, with Randy Moss, are like the San Antonio Spurs if they had acquired Kobe Bryant. Moss up to this point in his career has been like a Kobe Bryant, but has finally who relinquished his me-first attitude for the sake of winning championships. While with the Oakland Raiders, all one heard from Moss were complaints. Well... duh! He opted to play for the money and that got him nowhere. But all of a sudden, he has this epiphany and wants to win. Sheesh...

New England could've won without Moss, especially since they picked up Wes Welker, who's putting up some gawdy numbers of his own. But the rich got richer this year. And another thing. Did they really need to cheat to win? In two words: heeeeeell no!

Recipe for a Favorite

Anytime I get asked for my favorite song, I always have a hard time deciding which one is my favorite-- I usually cannot come up with one... ultimate favorite. A question of my top 10 songs was posed to me a while back, perhaps as long as a year ago, but I could not stick to a list of 10. Needless to say, it was more like 30 or 40. Now if I could narrow the field into several musical categories, maybe I have a shot of giving one my favorite heavy metal song, my favorite piece of classical music, or even give one my opinion of the best Beatles hit. Maybe.


But what makes a song great in our mental soundtrack? What makes it special for us? Does it move us, emotionally or even physically? Does its transport you back to a specific place and time? Does it remind you of a certain someone? Or does one like the way the music is put together? Well, all these questions are valid ones and any answer will suffice, because anyone's favorite is their own.

For me, it boils down to this-- when listening to a song, if I get the chills, it's a good song. I don't know why it happens, but if a song gives me a nice case of the goosebumps, it's a keeper. This morning however, Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin, moved me beyond mere goosebumps and head-bobbing. This piece had me up and around my bedroom, waving my arms like a crazed conductor, singing to the beautiful notes of the french horn and forceful rhythms of Gershwin's magnum opus.

I don't know why it happened, but I can now say Rhapsody in Blue is my favorite piece of classical music. I think it has everything that a classical song should have: sweet melodies, gorgeous accompaniments, and powerful staccato textures, all overlaid upon a piano solo- it is a piano concerto for orchestra if you want to get picky. It tells a specific story, that of New York City and you can essentially hear the hustle and bustle of The Big Apple Gershwin put to music. It's not split into movements as it's a stand alone composition. One will hear the subtle intonation of the woodwinds, most notably the clarinet at one point, and then it's balanced with a vigorous and robust finale.

From a personal standpoint, when listening to it, it brings back particularly pleasant memories. I once listened to it on a trip to Mexico back during my undergraduate days. I can see Monterrey's Cerro de la Silla in my mind. And then I remember the time when I watched Fantasia 2000 with my daughter when she was a toddler. Each is a treasured memory.

Prior to this reckoning, I've said that Stravinsky's Rite of Spring was my favorite classical song, if you will, with the first movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony right there as well. But haven't spent the day thinking about it, I am quite satisfied with Rhapsody in Blue being my favorite classical song.

It's Beginning to Sound a Lot Like Christmas

The weeks and days leading up to Christmas is probably my favorite time of the year. The weather starts to get cooler and one begins to reminisce about the years past with family and friends. However, nothing gets me in the mood like Christmas music.

There are radio stations around that start to play holiday music just as the calendar turns over to November. But you won't catch me listening to them until maybe mid-December at the earliest, otherwise I get burnt out. That happened once and by the time Christmas came around, I was ready to for the holidays to be over. Music and movies... everything. So it's all about moderation for me.

Anyhow, here are some of my favorite Christmas albums of all-time:

Harry Simeone Chorale's Little Drummer Boy:
It's not Christmas unless I've heard this album. It is my numero one all-time favorite. It's full of traditional songs and these are my favorites from the album:

1). Go Tell it on the Mountain
I've always thought James Earl Jones sang this tune because the guy who does has the coolest baritone. Of course, I always have to sing along with it in the lowest voice I can muster.
2). O Holy Night
We once tried to sing this at a Christmas mass several years ago, but thought better of it because the girls in the group couldn't hit some of the notes. Though us guys could in falsetto, hence why we nixed the idea.
3). Little Drummer Boy
I've always had a certain affinity to this song, because I too, was a little drummer boy at one time. Maybe I'll give my favorite all-time drummers one of these days.
4). God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Though part of a medley, it's only a short version of this song, but it's long enough to make an impact.

Bing Crosby's White Christmas
I think this is my mom's favorite, and since it's listed here, it's also one of mine. These are the classic standards of American Christmas music. My faves:

1). White Christmas
Who doesn't like this song? Like I mentioned in a past posting, this song has an all new different meaning to me after having witnessed a "white Christmas" in my hometown, down near Corpus Christi, in 2004.
2). I'll be Home for Christmas
This used to be my mantra for the time after finals and before I went home for the holidays. Now, it's just another Christmas song since going "home for Christmas" is not necessarily a feasible thing to do every year.
3). It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas
Classic.
4). Mele Kalikimaka
Apparently, if you spend your Christmas in Hawai'i, this is what they'll say to you. Thanks Bing for the heads-up!


George Strait's Merry Christmas Strait to You
Another family favorite. My dad is a huge George Strait fan, and so am I to a certain extent, and he has always said that George is his twin. Of course, that's debatable, but my dad's a handsome dude, so I'll give him that much. Among my faves here:

1). There's a New Kid in Town
A country twist on something like, O Little Town of Bethlehem.
2). The title track is a 2-step dancin' type.


Rebecca St. James Christmas
This album consists of updated, rockin' versions of many famous Christmas standards. I totally dig these:

1). Happy Xmas (War is Over)
This song seems to be sung by anyone who has any musical talent and St. James' version is quite good.
2). Come, O Come Emmanuel, O
3). One Small Child
4). O Holy Night
An up tempo version of this Christmas classic, replete with back beat. I would have never thought I'd say that O Holy Night could rock, but it does.

Sarah McLachlan Wintersong
She is one of my all-time favorite musical maidens, and she does a fairly good job of doing Christmas music. Check these out:

1). What Child is This?
2). River
3). Although it's not on the Wintersong album, I love Sarah's featured voice on The Barenaked Ladies version of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings.


Okay... after having written all this, now I'm ready for Christmas music!

Spurs - Scola = Rockets?!?

Okay, can anyone tell me why Luis Scola is playing with the Houston Rockets this season after having been a draft pick with the San Antonio Spurs? For the longest time the Spurs had the rights to his contract, but after some contract snafu he's playing for the Rockets. How did this transpire? Better yet and more importantly, why is he playing for a division rival?

That dude can play with the best of them. He's a future all-star. I love his hustle and hard work. He kind of reminds me of Eduardo Nájera, but without the fouls and dirty play. Don't get me wrong, I like the Houston Rockets and their roster with Scola on it, but I don't like that he's playing for a team that could beat the San Antonio Spurs come playoff time.