Goodnight, Shea Stadium

First, as a Mets fan, days like today are never easy.  I want to say that there’s a silver lining in this season (think back to when Willie Randolph was fired, look at all the injuries) and celebrate the accomplishments rather than the shortcomings, but the Mets hung around (and looked so good) for so long that not making the playoffs equates to failure.  It’s not just that they didn’t win today (and how many eerie similarities between the final games of the last two seasons – like 2006 and 2007 combined for one nightmare souflee) but more that they fell short so many times this season.  As I tweeted after the game, The Mets simply didn’t play like a playoff team the last month, and thus deserve the same view that I’ll have – TV.

That being said, the end of the baseball season is always melancholy; I love the playoffs (and will still watch even though my team won’t be playing) but I’m saddened by the loss of baseball from my day-to-day life.  No more Baseball Tonight, fantasy message boards, or random mid-week games on TV (let alone having SNY to turn on a few times a week too).  I love baseball in general, in addition to just my team.  This is why I have a hard time identifying with those who perpetually root against other teams (see: “my two favorite teams are X and whoever beats Y”) or those who don’t understand how I can sit and watch a Reds-Pirates game in April (seriously – that ballpark in Pittsburgh is beautiful.)

This season’s end is a bit more bittersweet as Shea Stadium closes its doors and prepares to become a parking lot for the brand new CitiField.  Sure, Shea was a dump – aesthetically bland, behind the times, and always dingy – but it was my dump (well, Met fans’ dump, you get the point).  I’m eager to attend a game at CitiField in the spring (I’m not sure I’ll be able to afford the inflated price for opening day) and after seeing some of the newer ballparks (Citizens’ Bank Park in Philadelphia is a marvel – I went by myself with a standing room ticket and had a blast walking around the park, watching from every conceivable angle, sampling the different food and drink, and even ending up the game 8 rows behind the first base dugout) I’m eager to see my team in a state-of-the-art facility.  That being said, Shea’s immanent implosion caused me to reflect back on my memories at Shea.  My first MLB game came when I was in 4th grade – I went with my friend David and his dad ON A SCHOOL DAY (how the hell that happened I don’t know – thanks Mom and Dad!) and the Mets played the Expos.  It was MetLife duffel bag day and I used that tiny, Snoopy-adorned bag for years afterward.

I remember going to a game or two each summer my last few years in college – in particular, I was at the game when Tom Glavine brought a no-hitter into the 8th inning.  After a few innings, I sat in silence like Glavine (who ended up being one of my favorite players over his tenure with the team) was my teammate.  Poor Megan received nothing but one word answers as I desperately tried not to jinx Glavine’s game (and cringed as the guy behind me and his daughter kept talking about it).

I also went to Mike Piazza’s final game as a Met – sitting on the field level by the left field foul pole, getting choked up during the video tributes, and not quite understanding why Piazza was lifted in the 7th inning when he could have had one more at bat.  I was also lucky enough to be at the first game Piazza played after leaving the Mets, being awestruck at the resounding ovation the fans gave an opposing player.  It was also the first (and only) time I’ve ever called in to a sports talk show – I was on the XM baseball channel talking about the game around midnight that night, sitting in my car parked in front of my house.

I remember the year that I bought a ticket package and started driving to the games – six different games in the upper deck.  I went to opening day and a few other games that summer, but the best game (and the lasting image of Shea in my mind) was the Friday night game against the Yankees.  We were stuck in traffic and arrived late only to see the Yankees and Mets rough up each others’ starters in the first inning.  This was the first night game I’d been to at Shea, and when we walked out into the stadium the lights and the dew on the grass made the field look like it was glowing.  Then, a few seconds later, the greatest player of my generation (Alex Rodriguez) came up to the plate.  It was a perfect moment.  The game remained tied until the ninth, when the Yankees brought in Mariano Rivera and the Mets managed to scrape across a run (the image of David Wright knocking the ball over Johnny Damon’s head still remains) causing the stadium to erupt (and yes, as many have noted this week, the stadium does shake a little bit when the crowd gets into it – surreal).

So while I’m excited for the new stadium, Shea will always hold a special place in my life.  At the end of tonight’s broadcast, Gary Cohen told everyone to “raise a drink and shed a tear” for Shea Stadium.   Tonight, I’m lifting my mug to my favorite dump – a place that saw plenty of history (lest we forget that the Beatles introduced themselves to America at Shea Stadium) and countless personal moments.

Oh, and be sure that in the spirit of the Mets, I’ll be rooting for the underdogs this postseason – go Cubs, Brewers, and Rays!

Back to the Left of the Dial Again?!

So way back in the beginning of May (what seems like a lifetime ago, and in some ways was), I thought that I had hosted my final college radio show.  I guess this is another one of those “never say never” things; I found out that WQAQ alows alumni to host shows and were gracious enough to give me a timeslot on Saturday mornings again.

So starting up again tomorrow morning, I’ll be on the air (officially) from 9 – 10 AM every Saturday morning, but I will likely be on early each week, so tune in after 8:30 tomorrow morning and keep me company.  Head over to the Left of the Dial site (the old one, I’m having a problem with my domain name) for listening and contact info.

I promise that my show is better than Saturday morning cartoons.

Everything You Wanted to Know About Michael Stipe’s Lyrics, but Were Too Afraid to Ask

While I’m logged in to WordPress, I wanted to pass on that Matthew Perpetua’s wonderful Pop Songs 07-08 project experienced its completion and rebirth this week.  Matthew finished writing about all of R.E.M.’s pre-Accelerate songs with an excellent reading of (appropriately) “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine.”  Just as his readers started to ponder life without his periodic posts, Matthew announced that Michael Stipe would be answering reader submitted questions about lyrics and intentions on the Pop Songs blog!  Before I could come back to Earth long enough to think of a question (I’m leaning towards one about the “laquered thirty” line on “Little America”), Stipe already answered two batches of questions about songs new and old.  Head over to Pop Songs to check it out.

So far, two answers stuck out to me.  The first for its inherent comedy:

[Q:] In Rolling Stone you and Mike made oblique references to New Adventures in Hi-Fi having a theme of alien abduction – especially “Electrolite” – can you say anything more about that or themes on that album?

[Stipe:] any reference on record, like “new adventures is about alien abduction”, or “it sounds like two oranges being nailed together” probably means the interviewer or situation was somewhere between not good to wretched…and we were having a laugh as ricky gervais the extra would say. There is no alien abduction theme on new adventures, to answer your question.

And the second for the questions it raises:

[Q:] Which fan song interpretation has surprised you the most compared to the song’s original meaning?

[Stipe:] sweetness follows, the one I love, why not smile

Certainly, the tongue in cheek nature of “The One I Love” has been discussed before (seriously, look at the lyrics and try to tell me what kind of couple wants to hug over being “a simple prop to occupy my time”) but both “Sweetness Follows” and “Why Not Smile” seem fairly straightforward.  I wonder if he’ll clarify.

Of course, this makes me think of intentional fallacy, one of my favorite literature professor’s (himself an author) central beliefs about literature – namely, that interpretation lies in the text rather than in what the author has to say about it.  Stipe acknowledges this himself in one of his responses:

i’m fine with any and all interpretations that arent manifested in real life as harmful, hateful or violent.

So while I’m incredibly fascinated to see Stipe answer these questions (and the responses often are quite interesting), I’m also hoping that he doesn’t accidentally crush one of my favorite songs by introducing an idea I haven’t considered prior.

Paul Westerberg Continues his Ryan Adams Impression

This afternoon as I caught up on articles in my Google Reader (which I recommend you use and if you already do, suggest that you subscribe to my blog with the link in the top right corner), I saw that Paul Westerberg has another song for download.  This one – “Bored of Edukation” – is for $.99 on Amazon right now.

However, I’ve noticed something somewhat odd – blogs mention (often favorably) Westerberg’s low pricing for his music and then proceed to host a link to the mp3 for free.  I guess these blogs must have more faith than I do that people will buy it if they like it.  I’m definitely not criticizing – I’ve been known to sample music without donating to the tip jar, if you catch my drift – I’m just pointing out that is seems kind of strange.

Regardless, Consequence of Sound has “Bored of Edukation” if you want to check it out, and I am Fuel, You Are Friends has “5:05.”

Back to School, in More Ways than One

So, the Summer of Brian came to an end – in short, it was extremely relaxing, emotionally invigorating, and in some ways, eye opening.  It was everything I needed it to be.

I can’t remember (and I’m not going to go back and look) if I explained why this summer was so significant to me.  I finished a two year masters’ degree program, with the last year including a stint as a full-time long-term substitute teacher and a full-time graduate student.  While it wore me out, it led to me getting a job teaching English to high school freshmen and sophomores.  I ended up getting the job the Thursday before Memorial Day so I had the entire summer to relax and go to a whole bunch of concerts.

The first week (well, four days of school and countless professional workshops, meetings, etc) have gone well and the transition has gone as well as I hoped.  Hopefully, once things “get back to normal” (whatever that means), I’ll start writing more often.  Today, I have two quick things to share with you.

The first, appropriately, brings me back to when I was in high school.  I was amused this morning when I saw that Ben Folds Five will be reuniting to perform 1999’s The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner for a one-off engagement.  First, I think it’s safe to say that my opinion of Ben Folds peaked around this time.  I didn’t get the chance to see him with the Five, but I remember the second time seeing him perform solo being really excited when he played a bunch of old songs (and Elliott Smith’s “Say Yes”).  It’s not fair to say that I think Folds has lost the plot with each subsequent release (I was into Rockin the Suburbs), but rather that I’ve become less interested as the ballads became blander and the humor moved further towards bawdy banality from biting subversion.  That, and I think his collaborators Darren Jesse and Robert Sledge made the arrangement more interesting.

I haven’t listened to Reinhold in ages, but I think I might give it a spin tonight to see if I still enjoy it.  I’ll let you know.

The second item of note (more of a postscript, really) is that I’m writing this in Google’s Chrome browser.  So far, it seems quick, especially with Google’s products (Gmail, Calendar, Reader, etc) and offers lots of browsing space due to its minimal design.  It will be interesting to see if it runs faster on an older machine (like my school issued laptop).  Let me know if you try it.