Top 20 DMB songs
A couple of guys have been counting down their top twenty Dave Matthews Band songs on Twitter the last couple of days. Since I’m easily persuaded, I let them talk me into making my own list. To wit:
Honorable Mention
The Stone
Tripping Billies
Spoon
If I Had a Boat
Old Dirt Hill
Rhyme and Reason
Halloween
Louisiana Bayou
Bartender
When the World Ends
Don’t Drink The Water
JTR
Big Eyed Fish
Dancing Nancies
Satellite
Typical Situation
What Would You Say
20. Ants Marching
19. The Song That Jane Likes
18. Why I Am
17. Pig
16. Two Step
15. Crush
14. Warehouse
13. Grace is Gone
12. #27
11. Cortez the Killer
10. Raven
9. #41
8. Recently
7. Granny
6. Jimi Thing
5. One Sweet World
4. Long Black Veil
3. Grey Street
2. All Along The Watchtower
1. Lie In Our Graves
On Barry Larkin
Yesterday, my favorite baseball player was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Barry Larkin, of course, played for the Cincinnati Reds his entire career. I watched and listened to a lot of Reds games during those years, and Larkin was simply a joy to behold. He should have been elected to the Hall of Fame two years ago, but we’ll take what we can get.
For some reason, my most enduring memory of Barry Larkin came in Game 2 of the 1990 World Series. The World hadn’t really been fully introduced to Larkin yet, but Reds fans were already beginning to realize what a special kid we had playing shortstop. In Game 2, the A’s had taken the lead in the top of the first when Larkin stepped to the plate. Two pitches later, Bob Welch (that year’s Cy Young winner) had Larkin in an 0-2 hole.
I’ll never forget that next pitch; it was a fastball and it’s no exaggeration to say that the ball was eye-level. Inexplicably, Larkin took a mammoth swing and hit a ground-rule double. By the end of the inning, the Reds had taken the lead and my confidence that the Reds could actually pull off a victory was restored.
I guess the reason why I remember that play most was that it was so unlike the Larkin I came to enjoy throughout his career. Larkin was a guy who did the little things correctly; he was a great fielder, an excellent base-runner, he took a walk. On October 17, 1990, he hacked at a pitch, and I’ll never forget it.
Anyway, I’m happy for Larkin, and I’m glad I got to watch him play. (Below are a few pics I snapped of Larkin at Great American Ballpark a few years ago.)
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- Barry Larkin
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- Barry Larkin
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- Barry Larkin
Virginia basketball vs. Miami — 2012.01.07
I thought I’d post some photos I snapped at Saturday’s Virginia – Miami game at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville (click on the individual picture to embiggen):
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- Mike Scott
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- John Paul Jones Arena, The University of Virginia
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- Mike Scott
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- Jontel Evans
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- Mike Scott, Akil Mitchell
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- Mike Scott, Malcolm Brogdon, Assane Sene
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- Assane Sene sets a screen for Sammy Zeglinski
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- Tony Bennett
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- John Paul Jones Arena, The University of Virginia
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- Sammy Zeglinski
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- Mike Scott
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- John Paul Jones Arena, The University of Virginia
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- John Paul Jones Arena, The University of Virginia
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- John Paul Jones Arena, The University of Virginia
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- John Paul Jones Arena, The University of Virginia
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- John Paul Jones Arena, The University of Virginia
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- John Paul Jones Arena, The University of Virginia
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- John Paul Jones Arena, The University of Virginia
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- John Paul Jones Arena, The University of Virginia
“Weekend Update” Anchors: Worst to Best
So, I tweeted that Kevin Nealon was the worst anchor in the long history of Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update” segment (yes, I forgot Colin Quinn). That inspired an enthusiastic and inane discussion about Weekend Update, and which anchors were the best and worst.
Not willing to leave well enough alone, here are my completely subjective rankings of all the Weekend Update anchors. It may include anchors from the “SNL Newsbreak” and “Saturday Night News” segments, I may choose to exclude anchors who didn’t spent much time behind the desk, and I may or may not rank certain co-anchors together or separately. It’s my list and I’ll cry if I want to…or something.
And, as always, these are my opinions only, so please: no wagering.
14. Kevin Nealon: the guy can’t even read a teleprompter. Funny in other roles on SNL, but go back and watch him on Weekend Update. Simply brutal.
13. Colin Quinn: Sticking to my guns since I made such a declaratory statement on Twitter, but there’s an excellent argument that Quinn was the worst. Terrible anchor. Great on “Remote Control” though.
12. Charles Rocket: no thanks, although he does receive points (or have them deducted, I’m not sure) for being the only cast member to utter a profanity on the air.
11. Jimmy Fallon: I feel like I have him ranked too high. Got sick of Fallon pretty quickly, and the “I can’t stop laughing” schtick didn’t work.
10. Brian Doyle-Murray: completely forgettable in every way, except for having a funny brother.
9. Brad Hall: he’s married to Elaine. That’s cool, right? Right?
8. Amy Poehler: Poehler is brilliant on “Parks and Rec” but she was just meh on Update.
7. Tina Fey: big gap here. Seems like I have Fey ranked too low. Consistently good, and she carried Fallon (and, to a lesser extent, Poehler). Plus, she’s a fellow Wahoo.
6. Jane Curtin and Bill Murray: good duo, and consistently funny. Of course, that was the point in his career when Murray could do no wrong.
5. Seth Meyers: yeah, probably ranked too high, but I’m a big fan. Meyers has that sly delivery that works well with the fake news. I think he’ll be regarded well in SNL history, though his tenure with Poehler was not as strong as the solo years.
4. Chevy Chase: the original, and always funny. Generalíssimo Francisco Franco is still dead.
3. Dan Akroyd and Jane Curtin: the “Point/Counterpoint” gag remains one of the highlights in SNL history. Never really cared for either of them in anything else (except Ghostbusters), but together they were brilliant. Curtin, in particular, is underrated.
2. Dennis Miller: great in every way. Obscure references, witty rejoinders, and a perfect delivery. At one point, I couldn’t imagine anyone could do Update better, until…
1. Norm Macdonald: ask me again next week, and I’ll probably flip Miller and Macdonald in the top two positions. Both were brilliant. I have Norm at the top here because I was a huge fan of his standup — and that deadpan delivery — before he joined SNL (that was the golden age of standup), and he never disappointed on Update. By the way, did you know the Germans love David Hasselhoff?
Wow, I had way too much time on my hands today…
My assessment of the UVa football program…
They stink.
That is all.
UPDATE (12-22-2011):
Ummm…yeah. I was wrong. Mike London is a coaching genius.
I wish I had written this.
I very rarely discuss my job online, for obvious reasons. Tonight, I deviate only because I just read something that struck me as profound. I could have written this, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a better description of the way I feel personally about the law:
But like my hero Billy Beane, I know deep down that I should never have enrolled at Harvard Law School, which will forever live in my heart as the educational equivalent of the New York Mets — not intrinsically evil by any stretch, but a constant reminder of making lifelong commitments for all the wrong reasons. And like Billy, my only realistic option going forward is to try my hardest to succeed on somewhat contrarian terms in a line of work I wish I’d never embraced as my own.
That last sentence sums up my entire career.
Ten Second Movie Review: Cyrus
“Cyrus” is a film that I had intended to watch last year, but never seemed to get around to it. Wish I hadn’t waited.
Here’s a bold statement: John C. Reilly is one of the best actors around. There, I said it; he’s superb in every film in which he appears. Of course, he’s joined by Jonah Hill here, and I continue to wait desperately for Hill’s fifteen minutes of fame to expire.
Surprisingly, however, he isn’t bad as the son of Reilly’s love interest (Marisa Tomei). The relationship between mother and son, which is unique, is thrown for a loop with the introduction of this new guy. Reilly doesn’t seem like he has much going for him (and, well, he doesn’t) and things take a strange turn very quickly. The film turns into a bizarre love triangle, for lack of a better term.
It isn’t really funny, and it isn’t really heart-warming, but it is a compelling story from beginning to end.
Four stars out of five.
Oh, Virginia
The Hoos should have won this one. So very disappointing. Virginia will break your heart every time.
What an awful way to end what could have been an exceptionally special season.
Ten Second Movie Review: Midnight In Paris
Midnight in Paris
Director: Woody Allen
Writer: Woody Allen
Stars:Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates
I saw this film one week ago today, in Richmond, VA, and perhaps the best way to describe Midnight in Paris is to say that I haven’t been able to quit thinking about it since.
I’m a confessed Woody Allen-phile (to coin a term), but his recent efforts have certainly been mixed. Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Match Point stand up to anyone’s best work, but while I enjoyed films such as Scoop, Melinda and Melinda, and Whatever Works, no one is comparing any of those to Annie Hall.
I won’t compare Midnight in Paris to Annie Hall, because that’s not fair — Annie Hall is the best romantic comedy that has ever been made — but Allen’s latest is a brilliant film in its own right. Owen Wilson stars and, while I may have made a different casting choice here, he is better than you would expect as the hack screenwriter who dreams of literary success and becomes intoxicated by Paris. Rachel McAdams is lovely, as always, as Wilson’s fiance, and Marion Cotillard is perfect as…well, she plays Adriana, and I won’t reveal too much about her character.
The most memorable performances are by Alison Pill, as Zelda Fitzgerald, and Corey Stoll, as Ernest Hemingway. That should give you an idea of the direction this movie takes, and it absolutely works. It’s a reflection upon nostalgia versus living for the present. That certainly isn’t a unique theme, but Allen has put together one of the best films I’ve seen in a while. It’s proof that Woody Allen remains capable of moving work.
Five stars out of five. Must see.
ACC Baseball Tournament starts today
UVa will play at noon today against Boston College in the ACC Baseball Tournament. The Hoos, of course, are the top seed in the tournament. This should be fun, since the ACC tourney is where Virginia’s magical run began last season.
From Old Virginia has a preview of the tourney here. Go Hoos.
