The Sens play tonight! Almost forgot that again. 7:00 PM EDT, ESPN+, game’s in Boston against the Bruins, Sens are big underdogs. Would make a helmet video all the sweeter.
In other Sens news, I might finally resubscribe to The Athletic, because Ian Mendes did a big piece exploring all the wild things that happened in Ottawa during the Eugene Melnyk era, and I can’t pass up reading that before bed tonight when I should be going to sleep. More to come.
Remember Chili Davis
The Cubs also play tonight (8:40 PM EDT, Regional TV), and I didn’t forget about that one. Hard to forget facing your team’s former best player, who is now a didn’t-fully-pan-out star playing out some time for the Rockies, which was a great decision for a guy who 1) didn’t seem fully comfortable in an environment with a lot of negativity 2) wanted a nice place for his family to live for a good while and 3) can hit dingers. Love Colorado for Kris Bryant.
Still, it’s sad, and something I hope all Cubs fans remember is that Kris Bryant didn’t ruin Kris Bryant. Nobody did, really—sometimes MVP-level players become merely good players—but if we want to be mad at anyone for Bryant not being in Year 8 of a Hall of Fame career in Wrigleyville, it should be Theo Epstein and Joe Maddon for bringing in Chili Davis in 2018. That was a terrible, terrible decision, and I don’t know how affected Bryant was specifically, but he sure didn’t get better after 2017. We can love Epstein and Maddon (I do!) and still acknowledge that this decision was an unmitigated disaster of which we’re probably still feeling the effects.
Bangers!
Ok, bangers thoughts.
I’ve been listening to every song before choosing which to vote for, usually while out on walks, and it’s been a great week vibe-wise. Accidentally got all you who nominated songs to create a playlist that rocks, and for that I’m grateful. Also grateful for being reminded how good some songs were. Songs that are more lit than I remembered:
- Turn Down for What
- Give Me Everything
- Thrift Shop
- Can’t Hold Us
- Blow
- F**kin’ Problems (actually it’s just as lit as I remember it, but that song is so lit and I’m still bummed it lost)
- Rolling in the Deep
- Born This Way
- Super Bass
To be honest, Fancy disappointed me upon re-listen. That song was so good when it dropped but it falls a little flat now. I’m not a huge fan of All Of The Lights, and Shut Up and Dance got overplayed and lost its fastball. Among great songs that might not quite be bangers, Royals is still so good, but it’s just in some category beyond “banger” and “bop” that I can’t quite name. Airplanes is way better than I remembered it being, but I’m also not positive it’s a banger. I love Take a Walk and was sad it lost. That song soars. Used to listen to it on the Sonos back in Minneapolis while lying on the carpet in the high rise on sunny winter mornings. Would feel like I was floating.
I’m always interested in how much people’s votes deviate from my own tastes and from my own perceptions of their tastes, and I’ve been excited that I Love It’s gotten so much love. That song is an absolute banger. Epitomizes what we’re all about. Hard second round draw—Can’t Hold Us, as mentioned, bangs as well—but always fun to have it brought into your life. When I was 18 my friend (redacted) led something he called “The Movement” through the hallways of our building, doing things like shaking up beer cans and punching holes in them with keys and throwing them fizzing and spinning into the rooms of friends, and they were blasting I Love It on at least one of the nights, and The Movement was many things and one of those was lit. Chaos factory of a song, and we love chaos factories.
Taylor Swift’s an interesting one with the category of bangers, because she’s got a lot of bops and she’s got some really beautiful music but there isn’t a ton that full-on bangs. 22 and Blank Space are both such good songs, and each does provide that complete emotional release you look for in a banger, while Shake It Off is a go-nuts-for-certain-passages party hit, but if you’re going to be a banger purist, I’d understand going full anti-Swift this round. I personally voted for 22 and Blank Space but went with Wrecking Ball over Shake It Off.
If I were handicapping this thing, I’m really not sure who I’d name the favorite. Wake Me Up was the top nominee, but the nomination process is different from the voting because nominations are about agreeing a song is a consensus banger and the bracket itself rewards songs that are exceptionally bangin’. Levels is popular with the masses, but those who connect the song to its title are lower when the song’s title isn’t named in the song, and while you only need 50% of votes, plus one, Levels has a tough path. Honestly, the favorite’s probably one of the Kesha songs, and of those remaining I’d favor Timber over We R Who We R and Die Young because Timber also has Pitbull on it and I can think of no two people more lit from 2010 through 2014 than Pitbull and Kesha.
Regardless, I’m excited for the field to narrow to 16. As a little insider info to reward those of you reading these notes: There won’t be voting again until Monday after tomorrow morning. Second round ends tomorrow morning, we take the weekend off, and then we blitz through next week, with the championship either Thursday or Friday depending how consistently I can get myself out of bed and on to work before my dog wakes up. That’s a key factor determining how late in the morning stuff comes out on this site.
Thanks for being here. Bang on. Bark.
