Them Crooked Fortunes

Dear Seattle,

I am sorry for the dismal luck you have had with your most beloved, specifically the Sonics and Grunge. As if things aren't bad enough just thinking about what could've been, I can only imagine how its been a tough past week for you.

First, Dave Grohl was front and center during this last episode of Saturday Night Liveas a the drummer of a band reuniting. This was after he was behind the drum kit just killing it for the sake of killing it. I'm sure there is some consolation in seeing Dave actually playing some hard rock and having long hair again, but its probably very small if its there at all.

Then just last night the Team That Could Have Been (KD and the Boys) made a visit to your little brother (Portland). Not only did he have a game (33 and 11) but he reached a milestone only two other players in recent history have hit. He has now scored 25+ points in 25 straight games. Only The Answer and Air Jordan have surpassed that feat. I won't mention that they are in the playoff picture, pushing for home court, and have won 6 straight.

You might want to stay away from your TV's and computers this weekend with the All-Star game approaching. If Kobe isn't playing, KD is the front runner to get the MVP and has an official coming out party. You're going to want none of this type of news, especially if you're already rock bottom after last night in Portland.

Again, I am sorry things have worked out this way. You can only be excited about Pete Carroll for so long.

Sincerely,

Charlie T Hustle Jr.

More Potential Than You Were Ready To See-atle

Thump.

That was the sound the Magic made when OKC rolled them last night. Fine, there were some injuries- VC (but who's to say he wouldn't be hitting the OKC Post Office anyway? He has played well, but can we really hit reset so soon?) and Rashard Lewis. But what team is at 100% these days?

So, if you're a once-and-always-but-still-sadly-"former" Sonics fan, how does it feel to see the team that you grew up with, that you watched through thick and thin, all of the sudden show a real glimpse of (forgive me) GetItDoneAbility. Where does it fit on our Parallels To Nirvana scale?

It might be a little like:



Watching that first Foo Fighters video- the one that's a Mentos commercial spoof. You know, you're happy that Grohl is making it; of course you are, you knew he had it. It just feels a little...a little sooner than you were ready. And it's lacking the punch that Nirvana had and why is he being so easy-funny instead of ironic-funny like Kurt liked? But- whoa, wait, that's funny. And the song is kinda good. But it's just not the same.

Oklahoma: Come As You Are

Oooooooooooooooooooooklahoma has spoken. And, according to Tulsa World, the State of Oklahoma's Rock Song is....

DO YOU REALIZE?? by the Flaming Lips.



Now, a few things have to be considered:

- Does Oklahoma have the fewest Flaming Lips fans per capita? Or would that be North Dakota? I'm guessing this all happened because The Lips got their non-Okie fans onboard- street team, myspace, facebook, the text generation.

- Does that fact make it any less awesome? Come on. A song that says "Everyone you know someday will die" is a state's song? Somewhere, Chuck Palahniuk is dancing a jig.

- How great are the comments at the end of the Tulsa World article? I love the discussion of real rock songs. Seriously, read them. You'll get gems like "Would The Rolling Stones sing about Pink Robots?" (No, sir. But they would make crappy records once the 80s hit. And, for the record, Bowie would.) And how can these commenters- on the one hand- try to dismiss The Lips' worthiness because "they're stoners" and then- on the other hand- commend guys like J.J. Cale, WHO WROTE THE SONG "COCAINE." His Okie-nominated song also contains the line "we gonna chug-a-lug and shout." The logic and consistency on web peanut galleries rule.

- Why didn't they just steal something from, say, Hendrix or Pearl Jam or Nirvana or Screaming Trees? Worked for the Thunder.

No (Seattle) Depression

Its time I got off the "OKC Hatin' Bandwagon" just because of a few management decisions. Truth is, besides the one big, elephant in the room sized decisions, they management has done quite well. Actually they have done really well.

The trio of Durant, Westbrook and Green is just beginning to take shape. They each scored over 20 points last night against the Jazz prompting this post as their coming out party.

3 is a magic number. You can't get it done with two, unless you are named Jack and Meg, and four is too many. (just ask the Celtic's this year with their supposed BIG 4 and a really rough stretch recently) Imagine how much better Almond Joy's or Reese's Peanut Butter Cups would be if they came in packs of three instead of two.

Imagine if the Thunder had stayed in Seattle. We would be comparing these guys to the previous terrific threesome of the Northwest. Nirvana. Durant could be our Cobain. Westbrook our Dave Grohl. Green our Novoselic. It would've been great. Until the Cobain parallel played out completely.

This is where the positive spin of them moving comes in. We have saved ourselves from adding one more to the 27 Club. Now we can compare the trio to another up and coming young group from southern Illinois, just a stones throw from OKC.

Uncle Tupelo was a pioneering band in the early 90's, just like Nirvana. They were playing a little different beat but just as groundbreaking. Featuring two musicians who went on to form two different bands who have garnered success in their own right, the roots were laid in UC. Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) and Jay Farrar (Son Volt) were some of the pioneers of the alternative country scene, playing with energy and enthusiasm a la the OKC3.

To be determined later is the inevitable break up. You know its coming. They will find a way to not be able to keep all 3. One will go off to Chicago (a la Tweedy) and be the most successful. The question is which one.

Either way there is reason for No Depression in OKC.