Formal Attire

This vintage Swingster Celtics jacket is a great "Sportscoat" for getting dressed up for a formal event. It was for sale over here at ATC for all you C's fans but unfortunately sold very quickly to another Celtics fan who was a bit more interested in being the man than you. Stay Fly...ATC represent!!!

The Beauty of Human Error

Did anyone else feel a bit disturbed during the night of, and the days that followed Umpire Jim Joyce's blown call a few weeks back? If your not a big baseball fan, basically in short, pitcher Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers was one out away from pitching a perfect game. That is a game with no hits allowed, no walks allowed and no errors allowed. What should have been the final play of the game, was a missed call at first base by long time Major League umpire Jim Joyce. I'll tell you why I was and still am disturbed. It has nothing to do with being upset that Gallaraga was screwed out of pitching a perfect game, it had 100% to do with my disgust in the response he was given by sports fans.

No one should be ridiculed about a mistake they made that was completely an honest mistake. Also, we can all watch a replay over and over again in super-slow motion and talk about an umpire or referee's call and think he was an idiot. When your on the field and that play is live, and you have the pressure of knowing the importance historically of a Perfect Game, there is a lot of pressure to not miss that call. A call like that is missed about as often as every other game in baseball. The only thing is, that it often is irrelevant because its earlier in the game and/or no record is on the line. What ever happened to the beauty of human error? Sure, a blown call can be frustrating and in big games its nice to get a call turned in your teams favor, but man, its a sport. I have always felt that umpire's are part of the game and their missed calls are part of the beauty of the game. Its getting to the point with all the new rules in NBA playoff games with replay and the reviewing of plays in the NFL and so forth, that I said to my brother a few nights back, why even have people officiating games? You can just have some guy working in a booth with cameras or computers deciding calls. At least the way pro sports function you'd think that's their next step. Sometimes I find a blown call beautiful and hilarious because of the commotion it causes amongst fans. It disgusts me that people said awful things to not only Jim Joyce, but his family as well. I also think the drama that sports media creates around a scenario such as this is awful. It shouldn't be a big deal whatsoever. The people whom watched the game all know that he pitched a"perfect game", and it will be remembered probably more than any official perfect game, due to the result. Something is wrong with individuals that are willing to torture people for mistakes, especially those involved in sports. People like Steve Bartman, and Bill Buckner's lives have been altered tremendously, and some would even say ruined because of ignorant sports fans. In the big picture these mistakes are about as minimal as it gets in life.

The Bird and the Bee

My brother turned me on to a new album of all Hall & Oates covers last night. The album is called Interpreting the Masters Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates, and was recorded by a group called The Bird and the Bee. I gave it the first listen last night, and I literally couldn't decide if they butchered the duo's hits or if it was one of the best set of covers I have ever heard. Since I awoke this morning I can't put this album down. Its such a great sound, and this group has put an alternative twist on some classic songs. Even though some might think Hall & Oates' career has been a humorous window of music, my brother and I grew up with a deep appreciation for them. This album is fresh, so check it out.

Just Some Thoughts

So, I haven't been able to stop listening to the song "Losing My Way" by Justin Timberlake off of FutureSex/LoveSounds. By now your probably saying why has Jon brought up Justin Timberlake multiple times on this blog. I'm not too proud to say I really like Justin Timberlake's solo music. This album was so great, and this song has been on repeat for the past 3 days for me. He takes it to the next level when he has a gospel choir sing the chorus over the last minute or so. The song is also very well written. Its about a person with drug addiction whose life has fallen apart, and he has lost all connection with what he once knew. Even though JT has written this song geared towards people who have had these issues, but while listening to it, it can apply to any struggle in anyones life. I'm a sucker for soulful music, but I am hoping you can enjoy this as well.

Thoughtful Sampling

My favorite thing about hip-hop is the art of sampling music. I've always enjoyed discovering when someone sampled an older song. Often it is a careless process and artists will sample a piece from a song that is not unique, maybe too fresh in our head from its original piece, and overall not very creative. The type of sampling that I enjoy most is when you hear artists sample a piece that is very subtle and takes many listens to discover its origin. I think within a genre of music that doesn't rely on traditional instruments, its really important to test your creative abilities, and step your creativity game up a notch. Hip-Hop is often dismissed because many think it is not creative, due to its lack of traditional instruments. I feel that the people whom dismiss hip-hop completely are overlooking what exactly goes into quality of production in that genre of music. A lot of what goes into creating a beat for a hip-hop/rap song is more in the style of researching older music of all genres and piecing together something unique. If you are patient enough to filter out the abundance of bad hip-hop out there, there truly are some gems. Some songs that I love that have used great samples are..

"Forever Begins" by Common, off the album Finding Forever. The drum line from this song is from Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover". I love samples of like this because it is two artists from such different styles and the producer was able to use music of a completely different genre and turn it into hip-hop art.

"It Ain't Hard To Tell" by Nas, off the Album Illmatic. I guess you could consider it the chorus of this song, when you can hear Michael Jackson's voice sampled from his song "Human Nature". Right away you can tell that the sample is Michael Jackson, but its such a small piece that it doesn't give away the actual song that is sampled instantaneously.

"Gone" by Kanye West, off the Album Late Registration. The piano and backup sampled Vocalist is Otis Redding from the song "It's Too Late". These are just two incredible songs, and Kanye did such a great job in not over doing the sample. Many artists will more or less record over an original song, adjust it very slightly, and act as though it was a sample, when I would call it something more like theft.

Sorry for my absence over the past two weeks. I'll step it up and get more articles out. Thanks for reading!!!

Song of The Day

"Carry Out" Timbaland ft. Justin Timberlake, off the album Shock Value II.

Yeah, yeah, yeah , What are you gonna tell me? Its "Too Commercial" ? "Its a pop song"? Shut up!!! I've always hated that phrase, "Too Commercial". Its great to be all high and mighty about being alternative, but when music sounds good, it sounds good. This is a great song, and this duo always makes it happen. Their songs are always upbeat and often hilarious. Timbaland turned Justin Timberlake into a much funkier artist with more of a dancing sound to complement his great vocals. If you need a boost or something to uplift you out of this long winter, I would recommend throwing this song in.

Song of The Day

"Don't Forget Me" by Red Hot Chili Peppers, from the album By The Way.

This is a great song among many other solid tracks on this album. I think of all the albums that they released this is definitely one that was overlooked. I always have liked the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but when I heard this album was when Anthony Kiedis' vocals really got me on board. Prior to this album, other than Blood Sugar Sex Magik I never gave them enough good listens. This entire album is great. Check it out!