Quoted

Clown

“I didn’t even make it to class clown. I had nowhere near that amount of notoriety.”

Recap

‘Born to Run’ and the Decline of the American Dream

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of its release, Joshua Zeitz, writing for The Atlantic, reflects on Bruce Springsteen’s breakthrough Born to Run in the context of the era in which it was released:

But the story of the ‘70s is much more complicated. Far from being an era of complacency and narcissism, the decade gave rise to social, political, and cultural debates that built on and even surpassed the era of Kennedy and King. Some issues, like civil rights, the sexual revolution, and Vietnam, belonged as much to the ‘70s as to the ‘60s. Others, like feminism, abortion, gay rights, busing, the tax revolt, and Christian Right politics, seemed altogether new.

Considered in this context, Bruce Springsteen’s phenomenal breakthrough in 1975 can only be understood against a backdrop of profound dislocation and urgent activism, particularly in the working-class communities that absorbed so many of the decade’s economic and cultural shocks.

See also: Rolling Stone’s heretofore unreleased transcript of a 2005 interview with Springsteen on the making of Born to Run. (via Shawn King from The Loop)

O&F
Quoted

Emotional Reservoir

“That process of filling up your emotional reservoir has always been a mystery to me. I don’t know how it works.”

Duly Noted

Water From This, Water From That

Hot on the heels of that asparagus water brouhaha, the man behind Bulletproof coffee gives us FATwater. Food Republic gives us the rundown:

For almost $4, a bottle of FATwater contains water, two grams of fat and the sweetener xylitol, according to Time. Flavors include berry, lemon, orange and, well, just plain water. The product also comes in water form or as a concentrated gel that you mix into water. You know, for all you DIYers out there.

Food Republic also previously provided a nice rundown of WTRMLN WTR cold-pressed watermelon, which at first sounded like something I would hate myself for loving.

Quoted

Transference

“We’re not wanting to build a program with a lot of transfers. But if it’s a guy in the right spot, it has become a good thing for us.”

Locally Notable

The Heritage Flag Company

Large scale manufacturing and retailing might still rule the economy these days, but the maker and shop local movements are growing leaps and bounds every second that passes. The Heritage Flag Company is masterfully crafting beautiful wood flag art pieces, and it’s just down the road in Southern Pines, NC:

All of our flags are hand made in North Carolina. No two flags that leave the shop are identical. We take pride in maintaining the character of the original wood, so colors and finishes may vary.

Their flags are called The Full Barrel, The Half Barrel, and The Small Batch. I’ll give you two guesses where the wood comes from.

TIDNTKIL

Cool Off with a Nice Cold Glass of Asparagus Water

Already battling a pricing scandal, sliding sales, and decreased investor confidence, Whole Foods had to deal with a mini-controversy last week when a customer posted a picture of a product on the shelf that many thought had to be a joke: asparagus water.

If the mere thought of that grosses you out (me too, and I actually like asparagus), then stop reading now because it gets worse. This so-called asparagus water was a bottle of water with three stalks of asparagus in it and it was priced at $6! Maybe that’s fair market price (how much is a bundle of asparagus these days?), but that just doesn’t sit well with me. I can’t imagine in a million years that I would like that – and thankfully, the whole things appears to be a “misunderstanding” – but if happened to try it and I did like it, I think I would hate myself and I would go broke. And that’s why asparagus water qualified for this installment of #TIDNTKIL.

Field of Play

Building From the Back: The 2015 EPL Season Cometh

Ladies and gentlemen it’s that time of year again. Enjoy those early Saturday mornings where you make that awkward but appropriate decision to crack open a beer before your kids are up. The English Premier League is back and continues to hold its place as the most competitive league in the world. Top to bottom there is no better collection of teams capable of knocking each other off on any given day. It may no longer boast the best teams in the world, but every game is an adrenaline charged showcase of pace and power. I am not going to give the entire rundown, but I am going to pick the Top 6 and those teams that will be cashing in their balloon payments next year.

Top Four – European Glory

1. Arsenal
This seems an odd choice given their recent run of disappointment, but I think they finally have the team to do it and more importantly, they have to be due for some good luck. The addition of Petr Cech is huge and I think they have one of the best defensive midfielders in the game in Francis Coquelin (my favorite non-Red Devil). They may have issues up front, as do most teams in the EPL this year and it’s their solid backbone that leads me to believe they will just nip #2…

2. Chelsea
Chelsea were dominant last year without looking dominant. They have done little to strengthen a side that struggled down the stretch last year. There is no more organized side in the EPL, but they rely too heavily on the finishing of jazz hands Diego Costa and I don’t think he will be able to replicate his run of decent health this year. I also wonder if there will be a greater focus on the Champions League this year as Abramovich is desperate for more European glory.

3. Manchester United
Crazy to think with all the money they have thrown around that they won’t rise any higher than third, but I just think this team is a bit short. The transfer saga around world class keeper David De Gea also disturbs me greatly. He is the only thing that kept LVG from an awkward off season still in search of European football. I love the addition of Morgan Schneiderlin to eventually take the reins from Michael Carrick who is still the most important piece of the puzzle for United. I think Memphis Dupay will provide the creative spark they have lacked and take some pressure off Sir Rooney. Either way, they will be fun to watch and I think there is a very real possibility they are the last team left in Europe making it all the way to the semi-finals. I think they are a year away as a true threat, but I hope I am wrong.

4. Manchester City
Interestingly, they have a better finisher in Sergio Aguero than the three clubs I have tabbed to beat them out, but they also have the weakest spine with an aging Kompany and Toure. It’s also hard to shake the feeling that Manuel Pellegrinni is not a ‘dead man walking.’ All in all, I just don’t get that feeling from the citizens this year.

Almost There

5. Tottenham
I feel like they are a feisty bunch and they may be putting together one of the best defenses in the EPL. Pochettino has had time to embed his philosophy of possession and attacking. They have the talent, but not enough to push for the top 4.

6. Liverpool
Yikes, I just don’t know. I feel like they shock and challenge for Top 2 or it all goes to shit and Rodgers is out before Christmas. Either way he has no clue on the defensive end, but there is enough dynamism offensively to keep them out of too much trouble. Will it be enough for a hungry fan base? The title run in 2013 may have been the worst thing to happen to crazy Mr. Rodgers.

The Bottom…

18. Aston Villa
19. Watford
20. Norwich City

It is going to be a long year for Villa who lost most of the crucial pieces to a squad that was already suspect. Everton and West Ham could struggle to stay out of the drop this year, but will ultimately survive. It will be a long year for the newly promoted sides and I think ultimately, only the exciting Bournemouth survives. Until next year, enjoy the ride.

Audible

Ryan Adams Covers 1989

I see every tweet about Natalie Prass, pinball machines, and cats, but somehow I missed the tweets that Ryan Adams is recording/covering every track from Taylor Swift’s 1989. Thankfully, Paste Magazine came to my rescue by breaking the news in their daily newsletter.

Swift, being the social juggernaut that she is, caught the news and seems excited. Stuff like this is exactly why every artist should have their own record label – or, at the very least, the freedom to do these types of things. If Adams doesn’t end up releasing this in some way I am going to be most disappointed.


  1. Tweasing = tweeting + teasing.  ↩