Monthly Archives: December 2015

WGOM Videos

Julia Holter – Have You In My Wilderness

Video 11 Comments

It pretty much came down to a tie between Ms. Holter and Joanna Newsom for album of the year.
Both were records I had eagerly awaited and neither disappointed. Just incredibly lovely music.
A stripped-down version of the beautiful closer to Have You In My Wilderness
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd94q_jHblA
I saw Joanna on Thursday night at The Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, my first visit that venue. Gawd, what a dump. 🙂
In all seriousness, truly one of the best concerts I've ever seen--and I've seen a few in my day.
This baroque country western(?!) number from Divers was one of the many highlights.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTOREKA4DiA

Best of 2015
1. (tie) Julia Holter Have You In My Wilderness
Joanna Newsom Divers
Gorgeous genre-defying, dare I say, masterworks. Seriously. Both sound timeless to my ears. Well done, ladies.
3. Kurt Vile b'lieve i'm going down<
Another artist who has quietly become a favorite of mine. Mellower than anything he's done, this one didn't grab me like some of his earlier records but it grew on me big time.
4. Giant Sand Heartbreak Pass
Like a letter from an old friend. Cult artist Howe Gelb has been recording for over 30 years and this is one of of his best. Sadly, but not surprisingly, slipped under most folks radars.
5. Sleater-Kinney No Cities to Love
Northwest power trio returns with a more mature sound that still takes names and kicks ass.
6. Beach Slang The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us
Cut from the same cloth as Japandroids, but with a heavier Replacements vibe than the latter's Husker Du leanings. Still, it scratches that same itch.
7. Destroyer Poison Season
Dan Bejar releases a record, I'm in.
8. Sufjan Stevens Carrie and Lowell
Full disclosure, I'm a longtime fan but I only listened to this one a few times before setting it aside. I just found it way too sad for me to enjoy at the time. I also heard enough that it will likely become another important record in my life. Giving the guy the benefit of the doubt.
9. Kendrick Lamar To Pimp a Butterfly
Picked up because both Ms. Holter and Ms. Newsom have cited it as a fave. Still digesting, but headphones are quickly proving them right.
10. Floating Points Elaenia
Like Bitches Brew Miles Davis fed through somebody's laptop and reconfigured as dance music for replicants.

6 votes, average: 8.17 out of 106 votes, average: 8.17 out of 106 votes, average: 8.17 out of 106 votes, average: 8.17 out of 106 votes, average: 8.17 out of 106 votes, average: 8.17 out of 106 votes, average: 8.17 out of 106 votes, average: 8.17 out of 106 votes, average: 8.17 out of 106 votes, average: 8.17 out of 10 (6 votes, average: 8.17 out of 10)
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Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Seventy-five

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MINNESOTA 6, BOSTON 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, July 5 (Game 1 of doubleheader).

Batting stars:  Jimmie Hall was 2-for-4 with two doubles, two stolen bases (his fifth and sixth) and a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-3 with a triple and two walks, scoring three times.  Bob Allison was 3-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI.

Pitching star:  Dave Boswell struck out eight in ten innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks.

Opposition stars:  Tony Horton was 2-for-4 with a home run, his second.  Lee Thomas was 1-for-3 with a home run (his fourteenth) and a walk.  Bob Duliba struck out two in two shutout innings, allowing two hits and a walk.

The game:  Hall had an RBI double in the first inning, with Oliva scoring from first, to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  Oliva circled the bases on a triple-plus-error in the third to make it 2-0.  Horton homered in the fourth to cut the lead in half at 2-1, but Zoilo Versalles delivered an RBI single with two out in the bottom of the fourth to give the Twins a two-run lead again.  It was still 3-1 in the sixth when a single and two walks loaded the bases for the Twins with one out.  Harmon Killebrew drove in two with a single and Allison singled in another to give the Twins a 6-1 advantage.  Thomas homered in the ninth and the Red Sox put two on with two out, but Russ Nixon grounded out to end the game.

Of note:  Versalles was 2-for-4 with an RBI.  Killebrew was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.

Record:  The win put the Twins at 47-28, in first place, and a game ahead of Cleveland, which lost to the White Sox 3-1.

Notes:  There were no doubleheaders on Sunday, July 4, but five of them on Monday, July 5...Hall raised his average to .314...With Allison back in the lineup, Killebrew returned to the fourth spot in the order, but Oliva moved up to second, with Hall third...Earl Battey returned to the lineup as well, going 2-for-3 with a walk and a run to raise his average to .303...Largely forgotten now, first baseman Tony Horton was a pretty good ballplayer.  In 1965, as a twenty-year-old, he would hit .294/.361/.485 in 163 at-bats for the Sox.  He went back to AAA in 1966 in favor of George Scott, had an outstanding season there, started 1967 with Boston, and was traded to Cleveland in June, where he spent the rest of his career.  In almost four seasons with the Indians, he hit .269/.316/.439, numbers that don't sound like anything special now but were pretty good for the time.  He was an extremely intense player, a perfectionist, and eventually the pressure of playing major league baseball got to him.  He had what was termed a nervous breakdown in late August of 1970 and never played professional baseball again, his career over at age twenty-five.  He apparently had a successful business career and at last report was living in Pacific Palisades, California.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 19

Ford Frick (1894)
Al Kaline (1934)
Tony Taylor (1935)
Walt Williams (1943)
Rob Gardner (1944)
Geoff Zahn (1945)
Kevin Stanfield (1955)
Stu Cliburn (1956)
Stan Cliburn (1956)
Tom Lawless (1956)
Clay Parker (1962)
Bill Wegman (1962)
Mike Fetters (1964)
Chito Martinez (1965)
Russell Branyan (1975)
Rafael Soriano (1979)

Ford Frick was the president of the National League from 1934-1951 and commissioner of baseball from 1951-1965.

Clay Parker was drafted by Minnesota in the twenty-first round in 1984, but did not sign.

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WGOM Videos

Bad Bad Hats – Midway

Video 7 Comments

And here you were probably expecting Courtney Barnett.

I decided it would be nice to feature something that's not been played at the basement before. After AMR referenced Bad Bad Hats (I keep wanting to add a comma after the first "Bad"), this song caught my attention and compelled me to check out the rest of their new album.

You can download the entire Psychic Reader album here for free (or purchase it in vinyl) if you're so inclined.

4 votes, average: 9.00 out of 104 votes, average: 9.00 out of 104 votes, average: 9.00 out of 104 votes, average: 9.00 out of 104 votes, average: 9.00 out of 104 votes, average: 9.00 out of 104 votes, average: 9.00 out of 104 votes, average: 9.00 out of 104 votes, average: 9.00 out of 104 votes, average: 9.00 out of 10 (4 votes, average: 9.00 out of 10)
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Friday Music Day

FMD: Sweet Emotion

50 Comments

Lately it seems like people in the nation have been mentioning songs that serve a specific emotional purpose. “Songs for a breakup” and “get drunk and sing along,” etc. I once put together a mix for the songs to play when I was feeling melancholy. It seems we’ve all got them. Songs for hitting a precise emotional state.

So I’d love to hear what songs you love to hear when you’re feeling happy? Sad? Wistful? Angry? Like you keep falling short? Like you’ve worked hard and succeeded? So on, and so forth. If there’s a specific mood that a song has helped you identify, toss that out there too.

And we might as well drop our lists while we’re at it, right?

WGOM Videos

Gloryhammer – Rise of the Chaos Wizards/Legend of the Astral Hammer

Video 6 Comments

As per usual, I listened to a lot of new music this year. Only problem is that it was only new to me. But! I did listen some stuff actually released this year. I definitely had a year of somewhat cheesy power metal, so my favorite from the past 12 months was the second album, Space 1992: Rise of the Chaos Wizards, from an awesome band I recently discovered:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kChfb8uNmRg

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5 votes, average: 6.40 out of 105 votes, average: 6.40 out of 105 votes, average: 6.40 out of 105 votes, average: 6.40 out of 105 votes, average: 6.40 out of 105 votes, average: 6.40 out of 105 votes, average: 6.40 out of 105 votes, average: 6.40 out of 105 votes, average: 6.40 out of 105 votes, average: 6.40 out of 10 (5 votes, average: 6.40 out of 10)
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Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Seventy-four

MINNESOTA 5, KANSAS CITY 2 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Sunday, July 4.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer, his twelfth.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his fourteenth) and a walk.  Don Mincher was 2-for-4 with a run.

Pitching stars:  Camilo Pascual pitched only 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk, before coming out of the game due to injury. Johnny Klippstein struck out five in four perfect innings of relief.

Opposition stars:  Ed Charles was 2-for-3 with a triple and a stolen base (his eighth), scoring once and driving in one.  Don Mossi pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing one walk with one strikeout.  Starter Fred Talbot pitched 5.2 innings, allowing three runs on four hits and a walk with two strikeouts.

The game:  The Athletics took a 2-0 lead in the fourth when Charles hit a one-out RBI triple and scored on a squeeze bunt.  The lead held until the sixth, when Oliva hit a two-out three-run homer to put the Twins in front 3-2.  After Charles' triple, the Athletics did not get a man on base the rest of the game.  Killebrew added a two-out two-run homer in the ninth.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch and a run.  Sandy Valdespino was 1-for-4 with a run.  Jimmie Hall was 0-for-4.

Record:  The win made the Twins 46-28 and kept them tied for first with Cleveland, who beat Baltimore 4-2.

Notes:  Bob Allison was again out of the lineup, with Valdespino taking his place in left field...Hall's average fell to .311...Earl Battey was out of the lineup, too, with Jerry Zimmerman taking his place...Pascual continued to battle an injury.  He had not pitched since June 24 and would not pitch again until July 20.  He made three more starts in July, throwing only 11.1 innings, before missing the entire month of August...Given how many Sunday doubleheaders there were, one would think everyone would play a doubleheader on Sunday the Fourth of July.  In fact, there were no doubleheaders played that day.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 18

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Ty Cobb (1886)
Dick Coffman (1906)
Gino Cimoli (1929)
Moose Skowron (1930)
Zoilo Versalles (1939)
Steve Hovley (1944)
Drew Coble (1947)
Roy Howell (1953)
Jim Clancy (1955)
Scott Bailes (1961)
Willie Blair (1965)
Joe Randa (1969)
Jose Rodriguez (1974)
Byron Buxton (1993)

Drew Coble was an American League umpire from 1982-1999.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to cheaptoy.

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