Marching to Indy

I feel sorry for anyone who doesn't follow college hoops, especially at this time of year. I mean, what does March mean to them? Is it just a 'tweener' month between winter and spring? Are they upset that CBS has nothing but sports on for three weeks? Can they not understand why other people in the office are too busy to talk about seedings and picks than the bottom line?

Well, I follow the NCAAs, and it's brilliant. Even follow at the detriment of work. A few years ago, CBS took the groundbreaking (and smart) move of offering ALL tournament games online for free. March Madness on Demand is both a blessing (for us mortals) and curse (for 'the man')...they even have a button to click so you can bring up a fake spreadsheet while in actuality, watching overtime between Wake Forest and Texas.

Speaking of wake, I had to wake up at 5am for a call to America today, and decided to stay up. This means approximately nine hours of March Madness. Yes, that's a work day's full of Gus Johnson, Tim Brando, Jim Spinarkle (great name) and of course, the dough-y Greg Gumbel.

The games yesterday were memorable, including a buzzer beater from Murray State I stuck around at home to watch. OU beat Goergetown, Wake somehow pulled it out in OT and UW had what I'd like to call a 'feaux buzzer beater.' Here's hoping the next three weeks are just as exciting...and the Buckeyes follow my prediction and make the Final Four!

A few other thoughts of my 20+ years of watching the madness of March basketball:

Each venue, with its different announcers has its own unique flair. I wonder how they decide who goes where. OK, Tim and Jim...you work well together and like the Pacific northwest...off to Spokane! Jim Nantz, you're our golden boy...go wherever you please.

Why is the 'NCAA' in the logo off-center?

When living in cold weather, is there any better promo than for the Masters? It's like, yes, we're almost there!

Big upsets are great, but in alot of ways, you don't want to see the little guys go too-too far. OK, I may sound like Mr. Ohio State here, but perfect example is George Mason a few years ago. Great story, but you just KNEW they were going to lose their next game. Momentum was lost.

They really, really, really shouldn't expand in the interest of amighty dollar. It really is a perfect number of teams, perfect seedings, perfect amount of time. Don't let hoops become bloated, it's the one college sport that does it right.

What happened to 'One Shining Moment?' Jennifer Hudson singing now? It's become too cheesy and polished. I think that montage peaked in '91-'92.

The best is when a seemingly one-sided game becomes a classic in the final minutes. The worst is when that game ends without one team getting the potential tying or winning shot off.

Fave announcing duo: Bill Raftery and Verne Lundquist. Least fave: anyone with Gus Johnson or Kevin Harlan.

Best ever upset pick: Princeton over defending champs UCLA in 1995. Pete Carill, backdoor pass, Toby Bailey goes home unhappy. On that note, why wasn't Toby Bailey a bigger star? Had such a good start.

Favorite buzzer beater I saw live: maybe Murray State this year, or Scottie Reynolds and Villanova last year. Least: Laettner, '92...you know.

Here's a 'One Shining Moment' from the early 90s. OK, maybe this is a little cheesier than I thought, but still great ending to a fun few weeks.

Slanted and Enchanted

I like when bands don't feel the need to grimace for the camera. Note, Malkmus in full whatever mode.



Pavement are one of those bands that, if leader Steve Malkmus had died somehow in 1997, they'd be revered as a legendary, groundbreaking 90s alt band that had so much potential in the years to come. Well, they sorta did die in 1999, seven years after their breakthrough album. And they did gain wide cult popularity over time. The first time I came across 1992's 'Slanted and Enchanted,' my friend Jeff was loaning it to my other friend Alex. Since I generally trust Jeff's taste in all things music, I uploaded it to my Nano, and learned to love the mix of heartfelt pop tunes mixed with slacker flippance.

Fast forward four years later, and Pavement is back on the road. Not with a new album, but just for the sake of, whatever. If you have a chance to se Steve Malkmus in person, he seems like a very 'whatever' sort of person. During their two-hour show at the Enmore Theatre in Newtown, Malkmus smirked, feaux shimmied and made faces to suggest that he really didn't care or has been a perma adolescent through the age of early-40-something. That said, the band charged through a series of their hits and fan faves.

Along with the music of course, what I enjoy about going to shows like this is to see the mix of Gen Xers, who may have seen Pavement in their early-mid-late 90s 'prime' and those of us who only heard about them in the last decade and now have taken the opportunity (and plunked down $73) to see an influential band live. The venue is also pretty interesting: tucked away on the south(?) end of Newtown, the Enmore is an old-style theatre, complete with a balcony and standing room only on the floor. They even have a little bar right at the door, probably where the popcorn used to be.

On this rainy night, the boys from Stockton, CA primed themselves for a North American tour, including what is now a cliche'd reunion stop at Coachella. Never have seen the band outside of promo photos from the 90s, one member who stood out was Mr. Bob Nastanovich, whose name is a mouthful, as is his voice. First of all, he reminded me of a mix between Will Farrell and Jason Segal's character in 'Freaks and Geeks.' I suppose you can describe his job in the band as 'percussionist,' but he was really there to play dual drums with Steve West, shake the tambourine and scream into the mic when it called for. Other than looking older, and in West's case, much hairier than the 90s pprmo poster outside the Enmore, the members looked and played like it was 1994. Still the same seeming tension, where it looks like Malkmus is ready to not give a crap or just walk off the stage entirely and leave the band standing there without a singer. But hey, that's the fun of rock n roll, right?

For anyone who may not be familiar with Pavement's work, here's a few clips for Cut Your Hair, a hit song from their '94 album, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. When Malkmus sings "I don't care, don't care, I really don't care,' I believe him 100%. Somehow, Jay Leno invited them to a Tonight Show taping, and probably never invited them back.



A more coherent version of the song is the music video, which I'm sure had some good rotation on weekly episodes of 120 Minutes. An aside, but that show should really exist again, or at least make the rounds on MTV Classic.


Finally, check out the Spike Jonze clip of 'Shady Lane,' from the band's 1997 album, Wowee Zowee. Good track, plus anything from Spike is worth seeing.