Quiet Friday, Ruminative Friday
Circumspect Friday, Gauze Friday

Said the Gramophone, which you need to bookmark, posted a Julie Doiron tune, which pleased me to hear and reminded me to remember her more often. Here's a favorite, Gone, Gone, and here's her website where she's generously posted many mp3.


I know, you can't help think Nick Drake when Alexi Murdoch sings, but don't let that stop you listening to Murdoch's music. And here's NPR's recording of Murdoch in concert.


And Damien Jurado. The wondrous return of Sparklehorse. And Mojave 3.

And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead

Late Lunch Updates:

Julie Doiron and the Wooden Stars




Alexi Murdoch




Sparklehorse




Damien Jurado




Mojave 3

And, Happy Birthday, M:

I Am Not Afraid of You
and I Will Beat Your Ass

Released this coming Tuesday!


Goodness, listen to THIS.


Goodness, listen to THIS.

Chicago 3, DCU 0

Didn't see it. Couldn't see it.

The Post says Donnet scored a goal that was disallowed for unexplained reasons, while MLSnet says Dyachenko scored a goal that was disallowed for an "apparent" offsides. Nowak was quoted in the Post piece saying

"The officials today won the game for the Fire," Nowak said. "Instead of 1-1, we had 2-0 and the game changed considerably after that."

which is loser talk. And while I can't comment on what I didn't see in terms of this specific game, I think I can safely say that Chicago is the one team that's inside United's head, and with two regular season games left and perhaps an Eastern Conference final at RFK between the two teams, United had better figure out how to attack Chicago's thuggy defense AND how to win - or at least draw - the mental game.

Giving up a goal within seconds of having a goal disallowed, then taking reds and yellows for retaliatory and frustrated fouls? The head coach bitching about the refereeing in a game lost by three goals? These are signs of a team perhaps dangerously close to collapse.

Karl Rove, Mad Genius

Karl Rove has built his reputation by identifying his opponents' strengths and attacking them. Rather than diddle with perceived weaknesses, spending time and money on what others emphasize for free, Rove focuses relentlessly at undermining just those assets the opponents think give them an edge. Think of John Kerry, whose military service (with medals to verify) should have given him a decided advantage over the callow, shallow frat boy whose privileged upbringing allowed him to drink away his Reserve stint. Rove zeroed in on Kerry's heroism and made Kerry pay for those bullets he took for his country. Brilliant!

Now, in a move of groundbreaking political strategy (necessitated as all great innovations are by desperation), Rove is taking his own candidate and, in a jujitsu of logic, is running that campaign not by attacking the opponents' strengths but by emphasizing his own candidate's screaming weaknesses!

Bush today admits that, nevermind what he said before, there ARE secret CIA prisons. In a speech yesterday, Bush repeatedly evoked the words of Osama bin Laden, reminding Americans that he has failed miserably to catch or kill the man he's sworn to capture or kill AND giving OBL valuable PR-love in the US-hating world. Bush has said that as long as he's president the US is no-way no-how leaving Iraq. Why, I can hardly think of better reasons to vote Democrat come November.

Rove's campaign strategy: Admit we're incompetent, gladly loudly often. Admit, gladly loudly often, that enemy number one is still out there taunting us, scheming against us. Admit we lied about secret prisons and torture, gladly loudly often. Admit we don't have a plan for success in Iraq, and will continue to sacrifice American blood and treasure in a low-grade civil war for the endless future, gladly loudly often. Admit we're further from winning the war on terror than we were on 911, gladly loudly often. Admit that all they got - all they got - is a promise that Bush will be an even bigger incompetent, bigger liar, bigger dullard than he's already been, but more than that, he's going to be a bigger and badder asshole than ever before, really gladly, really loudly, really often.

That's the plan. If Rove pulls this one off, his genius tag will be truly legendary.

Workday Frippery is Not Belew Me

Chivas 1, DCU 2

Maybe, if United captures the Supporters Shield and runs deep in the playoffs, maybe winning the MLS Cup, maybe people will look back at the thirty seconds between Chivas' penalty kick and Gomez' brilliant run and goal and say those thirty seconds saved the season.

The last 20 minutes felt like a Chivas goal was coming, what with Moreno and Gomez out with a tweaked knee and severe cramps respectively and a pretty good (!) Chivas team attacking and a referee who couldn't seem to find yellow except to show it to United. I thought DCU would need a third to get the points (which Gomez almost got twice), and a tie would have felt like a loss, chippy as the game was. The defense looked full of holes, even with Gros pulled back, and without anyone confident on the ball United couldn't hold possession. (And Chivas, in the 59th, had a two-on-goalie, breaking the offside trap, and jamilwalkered it.)

But DCU got the three points, particularly crucial since Boswell and Eskandarian and Gros and Gomez have been yellowed and (Gros) redded out of next Saturday's game v RSL. Adu looked hurt, tentative and ineffective, and Donnet (pronounced Daw-NETT by the announcers) looked as lost on the field as you'd expect a newbie to look, so if Moreno's knee is significantly sore, who will run what offense next Saturday? That game suddenly looks more dangerous than I'd ever have imagined.

It's especially a shame that Gomez yellows out now, just when it looked like he was ready to claim this as his team. The best performance by a DCU player in I can't remember how long. He was urgent, passionate, inspired. He looked like he took personal responsibility for winning the game. That's why he's the MVP of this team and a top MVP candidate in the league. It doesn't matter that the second goal should have been stopped by Burpo Chivas - Gomez made the run and took the shot. I can't count how many times this year I've shouted, Shoot the effing ball! Gomez took it on himself and shot.

No corners have been turned. Any assumptions that this victory marks a return to form are misguided and wishful thinking. Chivas ran crosses against the defense all day, and Perkins, not the defense (especially Freddy v Garcia in the first half), kept it to one goal. The last twenty minutes were dreadful, offensively; DCU could not string passes together when they desperately needed to maintain possession.

But it was a gutty win against a decent if dirty team at a time DCU needed a gutty win. A tie would have reopened old wounds. A loss would have inflicted new ones. DCU desperately needed an effort like they produced, and that the game was nasty and chippy AND they got the three can only help the refocusing of energy and urgency they need to achieve their goals.

And lastly, a note to Facundo Erpen - if you're going to kick punkassbitch Ante Razov in the head, KICK! him in the head so he doesn't get back up.

No, wait, one more note: it's going to be very very easy to hate Chivas very very soon.