Happy Easter, a NEW Top 5

Happy Easter everyone, sorry I haven't posted yet this weekend, school work and work itself have consumed most of my time. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys the day and checks out the blog for today's new top 5 topic: Songs by The Who

So, recently, we have ranked the top 5 rock n' roll bands of all time. We began our top 5 series with the number 1 artist, the Beatles. Today we continue with the number 2 artist, and my favorite, the Who.

Here's the list:

5. Who Are You? (Who Are You, 1978)-Many may now know this song as the C.S.I theme, along with a few others from the list this afternoon, but Who Are You is the "theme song" of the Who. Written after the Who had reached their "peak," they were still powerful enough to deliver this classic song. The album, on the other hand, does not stack up well with the Who's "big 3" of Tommy, Who's Next, and Quadrophenia, but it stands it's own ground nonetheless.

4. Pinball Wizard (Tommy, 1969)- The biggest hit of arguable the Who's biggest album, Pinball Wizard shows Townshend at his wittiest and catchiest. From a classic acoustic guitar riff, to the break-out vocal performance by Daltrey, Pinball is classic Who songs many die hards are actually getting sick of, that's how popular it is. Tommy took the band to new heights, and this song propelled the album that propelled the band into stardom.

3. I Can't Explain (Single, 1964)- The Who's first song, first hit, and opener of nearly every concert, I Can't Explain sits at number three on the list of top five Who songs. Townshend admittedly ripped off the Kink's "You Really Got Me," guitar riff while writing Can't Explain. Nevertheless, this song speaks about teenage love---something Townshend rarely expressed. A simple three chord tune, the original Who standout in this song alongside then "session" guitarist Jimmy Page, who played the guitar solo on this track. Quickly a fan favorite, this rocker holds the record as the show opener at many Who concerts.

2. Baba O'Riley (Who's Next, 1971)- "How dare anyone open an album with a synthesizer?" These were the words from critics at the time Baba O'Riley first hit airwaves in 1971. Pete Townshend, already ahead of his time, did the unthinkable while opening a rock album with a synthesizer-based song. This tune was named in part after Meher Baba, an Indian guru that Townshend idolized, and Terry Riley, a musician Townshend also idolized. Baba lead off the Who's most successful album of all time, Who's Next. The funny thing is, Townshend envisioned an even greater album titled "Lifehouse." Lifehouse fell apart, and Who's Next came together. Not bad. From the opening synth riff, to the thundering bass, piano, drums, vocals, and finally power chords, Baba O'Riley sits second on the Who's all-time list.

1. Won't Get Fooled Again (Who's Next, 1971) And here we have it, the Who's greatest song of all-time. Another track from the Who's Next album, this one delivers the most punch of any Who song before or after. Arguably the national anthem for rock and roll, Won't Get Fooled Again is Townshend at his very very best. Many themes from the failed Lifehouse project resonate in this song, as well as in the before mentioned Babe O'Riley. All four Who members are at their peak in 1971, and it shows on this tune. Moon's drum solo rivals any to this day. Townshend's chords and cry for a revolution pierce the ears of rockers nationwide. Daltrey and Entwistle deliver their best performances as well. Won't Get Fooled Again, and all of the top 5 Who tracks, will stand the test of time, as will the second greatest band of all time--The Who.

Knicks season ends....finally!!

As I woke up on the morning of April 17, 2014 I realize one thing: My basketball team is finished. No playoff games, no May excitement, and certainly no championship. A team with a near $100 million dollar payroll, 3 perennial all stars, and a superstar player, could not seal the deal in a lost season. Many analysts and radio personalities have voiced their opinions about why the Knicks' season went to terribly wrong. Listed below are the top three reasons, in my opinion, that a 2nd seed potential team turned into a 9th seed over night: 

1. Mike Woodson- It's hard to put one man as the top reason for this disaster of a season. Having said that, Mike Woodson is the number 1 villain. From lack of rotation management, to players calling out his defensive system, Woodson had a lost year. It's not easy to forget about the great job he did in 2012-2013 when the team won 54 games and an Atlantic Division crown. As much credit as he deserves for the success of 2012-2013, is the same amount of blame he deserves for the season that was 2013-2014. Players were just not buying into his system and that's not acceptable. Clearly, Woodson knows he failed. I expect a firing to take place anyday now. 

2. The back court play-The combination of J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Raymond Felton, and Tim Hardaway Jr. is very talented. A former 6th man of the year and a defensive wizard help make up the back court foursome. The thing is, each player, besides the rookie Hardaway, had their worst season to date. Felton had a career low in points and assists. J.R. Smith was so inconsistent for the first 60 games of the season. Shumpert was just lost. There is no better word to describe Iman's regression in 2013-2014 than the word "lost." While his defense was up to bar, his offense was non existent. Of course, Woodson did his usual terrible job of managing Shump's minutes, but still this is no excuse. A 3rd year player in th prime of his career should not have regressed this much. Hardaway was the rare exception in the group. And Felton, well we won't even go there. 

3. Tyson Chandler- The 2013-2014 Knicks season is going to be known as a defenseless one. This adjective solely falls on the shoulders of former defensive player of the year, Tyson Chandler. The Knicks 3rd member of their "big three" had one of his worst seasons since becoming a starter in the NBA. During just the fourth game of the season, the oft-injured Chandler bit the dust again and missed 20 games. During this span, the Knicks dug themselves a hole they would never climb out of. While he got himself into a groove later in the season, as did J.R. Smith, it was too little too late. With one year left on his contract, Phil Jackson will look to trade the big man in the off season. 

Top 5: Songs by the Beatles.

A few nights ago I ranked, in my opinion, the top 5 greatest rock and roll bands of all time. Of course, the Beatles charted at number 1. Tonight we dive into the Beatles' storied career and do the impossible by  rank their top 5 greatest songs of all time:

5: Ticket to Ride (HELP! 1965): It's opening guitar riff can be heard throughout generations. It's music video, taken from the movie "Help!" has been viewed by generations. This song, coming in at number 10, proves the Beatles can rock. The middle of the song features a jazzy breakdown only the likes of Paul, John, George, and Ringo can conjure up. Truly a catchy, beautiful, fun, and witty song, Ticket to Ride is a rockin' ride for anybody.

4: Revolution (The White Album, 1968): Revolution, recorded acoustically and then again with a distorted guitar, features John Lennon at his best. In 1968, the world was in a "revolution." The Vietnam war was in full swing, and many protestor's voices were being heard. Lennon could not have come up with a better song for the time period. Acoustically, the song is a plea for a revolution to take place. With its up tempo hard rock style, the song is a demand that a revolution will take place. The Beatles rocked harder than ever on the White album, even if it was the "beginning of the end" for the fab four.

3: Hey Jude (Single, 1968): Like Revolution, Hey Jude was recorded at a time when the Beatles had begun breaking up. Though this song did not appear on  the White Album, it was recording at the same time. Hey Jude features Paul McCartney's best vocal work, in my opinion. The song has brought generations together, and will survive the test of time. The music video depicts a teenage audience singing the refrain of "na na na na" with the group. The song also features nifty drum work by Ringo. All in all, Hey Jude, coming in at roughly seven minutes, is a timeless classic.

2: A Hard Day's Night (A Hard Day's Night, 1964): The title track from the movie, "A Hard Day's Night," features the Beatles at their catchiest. Maturing form their earlier 2 minute singles, the Beatles come through with a rocking' song that features an incredibly groovy bridge. The famous line "it's been a hard day's night, and i've been working like a dog," flows through every American blue collar worker's veins. The movie, album, and song became a huge success.

1: Let it Be (Let it Be, 1970): Another title track to an album, Let it Be is the Beatles' greatest song. Paul was at his song writing peak in late 1969, resulting in two outstanding albums (Let it be and Abbey Road.) The Beatles were all but broken up at the time the song was written, and Paul dreamed of his mother Mary, who he lost at age fifteen, coming to him whispering words of wisdom, "Let it be." The song features the famous fifth Beatle, Billy Preston, on organ. George showcases one of his greatest guitar solos of all time here, and Paul dishes out maybe his greatest vocal work to date.

And there you have it, the top five Beatles songs. Do you agree?...

Thoughts: Titanic anniversary, Lincoln's death, another tragedy

Good afternoon all. My early class was cancelled today, allowing me to "sleep in" until 12:00. It's great being young isn't it? Anyway, for the first time since starting this blog we will talk about world news. Yesterday was April 15th. Not only was it tax day, but it was the anniversary of a couple of tragedies, and unfortunately, now a new one. On April 15th, 1912, the Titanic met her doom on route to New York City from England. Nearly two and a half hours after striking an iceberg, the Titanic, along with 1500, perished into the sea. For those of you who know me personally, the Titanic story has been an obsession of mine ever since I was six years old. The famous Titanic film, made in 1997, depicted the disaster in a way that grips your soul. I can remember all the attention the movie received in 2012, the 100th anniversary of the sinking. April 15 is just a reminder of how precious this life can be.

For  American history buffs, April 15th also rings a bell. On this day, in 1865, Abraham Lincoln was pronounced dead. Many of you know the events leading up to this tragedy, so I will not hold a history lecture today. Instead, we will honor one of the most influential presidents in this country's history. Unfortunately, Lincoln would not be the last president to be shot and killed.

Lastly, a current event that made its way onto the news around 8 PM or so eastern time, was the sinking of a South Korean passenger ship on route to a nearby island. The vessel was holding 450 passengers, mainly high school students. When I woke up this morning, or afternoon since it was 12:00PM, I immediately checked the news. It occurred to me last night while this ship was sinking, that it occurred exactly 102 years to the day that the Titanic sank. The reports this morning from Fox News stated that over 300 people remain missing, and as many as four are dead. I have yet to come across a report stating exactly what happened to the ship, allowing it to list so severely. We will stay tuned for more information on another tragedy that occurred on April 15th.

Thoughts on MLB: instant replay, attendence decline, lack of names.

Following our NBA topic earlier in the day, we turn our attention to Major League baseball as a business. Popular belief has now turned into reality. Baseball has clearly lost the ratings war to football in recent years, and appears to be surrendering to the NBA on a national level. This is America's pastime, yet poor attendance, poor ratings, and poor participation have our beloved sport's back against the wall. Oh yea, steroids didn't help. Or did it? That's a debate for another day. Today we will focus on the top three reasons I believe baseball isn't nearly garnering the attention it did even 10 years ago:

Instant Replay: For years now, fans and critics have expressed their desire for Major League Baseball to "get with the times" and adopt an instant replay policy. Many felt baseball was stuck in the past and too stubborn to make any changes. Of course, baseball has turned a blind eye in the past haven't they? Well, I believe it was in 2011, or 2010, baseball decided to employ an instant replay scenario involving only home-runs. While this certainty helped get many calls right, fans still wanted more. Here we stand today, with "full" instant replay on anything other than a strike. In fact, managers now have challenges, much like football. I won't sit here forever going over the rules because quite frankly we'll be here forever. Two weeks into the baseball season, instant replay has felt like a success. So whats the problem you ask? In this world today where we need instant feedback and instant decisions, instant replay isn't so instant enough. Baseball is a long and drawn out game, and the replay system isn't helping one bit.

Attendance Decline: Add in the arrival of beautiful HD TVs coupled with the ticket prices of various ballparks in big cities such as New York, L.A., and Chicago, all come out to one thing: attendance decline. Now I haven't ranked my list in any particular order, but this may be #1. Sure, every sport has had a decline in attendance, but Major League baseball's has hurt the most. Hockey and Basketball play in 15-19,000 seat arenas. You have to be really bad not to fill an arena more than half of the time in an NBA or NHL season. For football, the once-a-week element of a game, coupled with the absolute rabbid fan bases in major cities, equates to sold stadiums all over the country. With only 8 home games a year, a fan is more willing to spend their money to see a game. In baseball, the lack of success from many big market teams, such as the Mets, Angels, and Cubs, has not helped bring down attendance. In the end, many factors come into play, but baseball stadiums are way too big to have 30,000 fans a night.


Lack of Names: Baseball is very much an individual sport. When you are in the batter's box it's you vs 9. Unlike the other three major sports, single baseball players, not teams, are what has made this sport so popular. Ever since the so called "steroid era" has quieted down, so have the home runs. Pitching is back on top in the baseball world, and quite frankly, that just does not hold a person's interest. Names like Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Manny Ramirez captured the attention of an entire nation in the late 90's and early 2000's. Gone, for now, are the home run races. They have been replaced with 20 game winning, sub 3.00 ERA pitchers. Names like Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, and Yasiel Puig have helped baseball in recent years, no doubt, but I don't feel like there are enough big names in the sport today.

Good morning, my rant, NBA news, joke of the day.

Good morning friends, family, enemies, and so on... 

As I write this, I sit in a humid, sticky, and lifeless classroom, as I listen to my professor lecture on identity theft. As I hear the professor in one of my two ears, the other focused on the annoying chit chatter coming from the student adjacent to me, I take in all the information regarding a growing problem in this country. Identity theft is on the rise, and it's scary. Some people live there lives care free, paying their bills in a timely manner. What's so scary about that you ask? Well, when it comes time to get a bank loan, car loan, home loan, a red flag is risen. Suddenly, it is brought to someone's attention that their identity has been stolen and they have accumulate debt beyond repair. Now THAT'S scary. Point being, be careful when swiping debit cards, filling out online surveys, and paying you bills. You just never know who's watching...

Anyway, I wanted to talk some basketball this morning. On my mets blog, I focus entirely on baseball. This blog will give me a chance to voice my opinion on another sport I love deeply. The playoff picture is clearing up after a near 82 game marathon that is the NBA season. The Miami Heat, Indianna Pacers, San Antonio Spurs, and the OKC Thunder sit at top the NBA hierarchy for a third year in a row. My beloved NY Knicks are in need of a deeper repair than my first ever truck needed. And believe me, that truck was a mess. Realistically, I believe only three teams are capable of brining home an NBA trophy. These teams are the Heat, Thunder, and Spurs, respectfully. Brooklyn and Chicago will make a run, as will the Rockets and Clippers out west, but REALISTICALLY it comes down to three teams. 

Joke of the day: "that reminds me of an old country song titled, 'If you leave me can I come too?'"-Jerry Lawler 

Top 5 greatest bands of all time

Since my first post centered around my love for classic rock, and since I knows this will bring a great debate from my friends and family, let's look at my un-biased top 5 rock and roll bands of all time. How should bands be ranked? Album sales? Longevity? #1 hits? Popularity? All four are used as measuring sticks to measure who the greatest of all time are, past and present. Taking all four into account, here's what I've come up with:

1. The Beatles

2. The Who

3. The Rolling Stones 

4. Led Zeppelin

5. The Beach Boys