a music hyperlinked poem
               after and for wl


                                           
                                            big name latin swing                 pounds of fleshpence to shag
                                           
                                            prospect plunder for              the piss ant percent increase to
                                           
                                            win - now - wired in the blood           the slick rush of the deal
                                           
                                            when bus bored scrap stares          from scratch-n-dent sales
                                           
                                            his card a kid sticks in spokes                    has gun will travel,
                                           
                                            admirably duels                        briefly, a sweet phillie paladin

keystone game state 
               for taco pal
                 7/18/2011
      Cubs 6, Phillies 1
                The oddity,   the overheated  Megadeus  -  sidelined  after  5,  is what most  remember  most,  as if the sweat  turned steam from a face  flushed  like the muted  glow  of drop forged steel cooling  branded  memories more than the novelty.    And the familiar arm who beat the Big - Bot?  Some, thru Salem eyes, gleaned an Eskin-memed scrub demon, its forked tongue hooks and off speed grifts Phillies bats deceiving. With 13 days to trade,   they shook fists over the air and in facebook frenzies pimped aspirant pig iron for marginal upgrade overpays.  Others saw an average arm avenge an unbrotherly goodbye when these new blue pinstripes once ran red.   With 13 days to trade, they held  fast to the future and  praised  this display of blood wrung  from the rusty veins of scrap heap claims as another way to boost October odds.   One brick of 162  is still a brick is a brick is a brick;   not until brick upon brick upon brick,  brick next to brick next to brick, will a season take shape.  Some stairs.   A walll.   A walk.   A bell  curved arch  -   a data  backbend  spanning a city's hope compressing,  its backbone  history bearing  -  with any brick a keystone. 

R. Lopez's numbers were calculated minus his two relief appearances.

Thanks to all the blog lords and contributors for all their hard work this year in not only covering and analyzing all things Phillies, but promoting a community that reflects how this game is stitched into our everday lives like the seams of the very ball it's played with.  Art, poetry, statistics, philosophy, politics, fiction, history, economics..this a more than a fan base, it's a culture and one so well maintained by unrepentant snobbery and snark (I mean really, where the fuck else could I post this shit) that all I can say is, baseball friends.   

To the Good Phight and the Phillies :   Light, more light.  - Goethe 

"Liner" Snark Notes - [In order of apprearance. Each song has been linked again to the same link in the poem that it corresponds to.  If more than one version of the song  exists,  an alternate link is provided in case the poem's link fails]

from paladin

Gratitude  (2:24).   Labradford,  Prazision LP.  1993,  Kranky Records.   Robert Donee (bass),  Carter Brown  (keyboards),  Mark Nelson  (guitar/vocals).  Ambient, analog junkies originally from Richmond, VA. At one of their shows I swear I levitated.  Thanks to WL for paving the way for the right brainers in this little corner of the Phillies sabermetrics universe.  

Suicide By Star (4:38).  God Is An Astronaut,  All Is Violent, All Is Bright.  (2005), Revive Records.  Michael Fenton (drums), Torsten Kinsella  (vocals/guitars/keyboards),  Jamie Dean (keyboards/synthesiser),   from 2002-2011 Lloyd Hanney (drums/synthesiser). Instrumental/post-rock band from Glen of the Downs, Co.  Wicklow, Ireland. This song stops time.   (Alternate link iincludes a nice Ironman movie montage)

Unresolved Kharma (4:40).  Don Cabellero, Singles Breaking up (Vol. 1).  (1999),  Touch & Go Records.  Damon Che (drums), Pat Morris (bass),  Mike Banfield (guitar),  Lee Hollihan (engineer).  Instrumental/post-rock band.  One of pioneers of the math rock genre from Pittsburgh, PA.  I hope it's clear now how little Pence's addition improved our chances in the post season. This is not a knock on him, he's a decent player - it's the volatility of the short series relative to his cost that is the issue.

Good Morning Captain (7:40).  Slint, Spiderland.  (1991),  Touch & Go Records. Brian McCahan (guitar & vocals), David Pajo (guitar),  Ted Brashsear (bass),  Britt Walford (drums & vocals).    Post-rock band from Louisville, Kentucky.  Southern Gothic post-punk  dramacore but with a bluesy, noise rock edge to keep it  from de-evolving into a high school  soap opera with vampires.  Although Slint on a Twilight soundtrack - not far fetched but just as likely to show up in True Blood as well.  It's very Romantic in a indie/fanboy  kinda way: Romeo and Juliet  meets Roy Batty and Pris meets Joker and Harley Quinn  meets Sid and Nancy meets Richie and Margot Tenebaum, meets Sabr Geek and Toolsy Prospect....(Alternate link)

Elephant (4:26).  Shellac, Excellent Italian Greyhound.  (2007),  Touch & Go Records.  Steve Albini (guitar/vocals), Bob Weston (bass/vocals), Todd Trainer (drums).  Post-hardcore, noise/math rock trio from Chicago.  Noise rock guitar god-geek and wunderkind producer, Steve Albini of Big Black  and Rapeman fame is supposedly a baseball fan.  If indeed a fan, then this song's criticism of anti-intellectualism suggests he'd most likely fall on the anti-Pence trade side of the tracks if he rooted for the Phightins.  And if Steve Albini lives and dies with us, I'd fucking feint. Mo' SAID.

Wingwalker (5:01).  Shellac, Uranus.  (1993),  Touch & Go Records.   How RAJ are these lyrics I  ask you. "And now I got an engine / A big perverted engine / It runs on strength of will.... / Who could deny me the right to fly? /  You know, it's my art - when I form my body in the shape of a plane...I'm a plane!"  Scene: RAJ on phone annoyed,  Hunter running around the office like he's  a plane.  Or vice versa.  ( Alternate link is a fan made video with the song as a sountrack to a fighter plane video game.  Unfortunately it's the only other decent version of the song.  The recording is quite good,  however the video game sound effects can be heard)

Unsung (3:57).  Helmet,  Meantime. (1992),  Interscope Records.  Page Hamiliton (guitars/vocals), Peter Mengede (guitars), Henry Bogdan (bass), John Stanier (drums). Post-hardcore, noise metal outfit from NYC. Ride the riff. Unfortunately tagged as the fathers of alternative metal, which was more a function of exposure and timing, Helmet also influenced the noise and math rock aesthetic with it's stripped down tight sound and use of irregular time signatures and frequent time changes. Hamiliton also introduced larger audiences to extreme experimental noise music in his collaboration with German guitarist Casper Brotzmann, son of the free jazz saxophonist Peter Brotzmann from the noise rock, jazz super group Last Exit.  (Alternate Unsung link)

Building Steam From A Grain Of  Salt  (6:42).  DJ Shadow,  Endtroducing.  (1996), Mo' Wax Records.  Josh Davis (mix/production/engineer). This record broke barriers in the hip-hop and electronica/house genres as masterpieces often do. If this song doesn't make you move, you must re-examine your life - something is missing. It's my Jimmy Rollins walk up song. (Alternate link -traveling thru wormhole video)

San Pedro (3:25).  Mogwai,  Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will.  (2011),  Sub-Pop Records.  Stuart Braithwaite (guitar), Martin Bulloch (drums), John Cummings (guitar), Barry Burns ( guitar & keyboard),  Dominic Aitchison (bass).  Instrumental post-rock band from Glasgow, Scotland.  Don't feed them after midnight.  Great video. (Alternate link)

Glenn (6:11).  Slint, EP.  (Recorded, 1989 / Released, 1994),  Touch &  Go Records.  Indie vampire Bonnie and Clyde robbing a bank song, or that thrill of the chase right before you hook up with someone.... Some of the best drum production I've ever heard. 1:36 into the song - OMG. (Alternate link)

Every Man For Himself / Trains (3:53, 2:35).  Articles of Faith, Give Thanks / In This Life. (1984, 1986). Reflex Records / Lone Wolf Records. Vic Bondi (guitars & vocals), Bill Richman aka Virus X (drums), Dave Shields (bass & vocals),  Dorian Tajbakhsh (guitar), Joe Scuderi (guitar). Hardcore band from Chicago.  AoF easily occupies a spot in the top 5 hardcore bands of all time.  True visionaries.  They were post-hardcore years before the genre had even developed.    Vic Bondi - historian, activist ,  punk poet - our Cesar Vallejo. The link consists of 2 songs from 2 different albums but it was the best version of Every Man For Himself and it included Trains which just happened to work with the minor league theme on that line in the poem (life spent on less costly, considerably slower transportation).  (Alternate links: song 1 and song 2)

Shining Through (5:09).  God Is An Astronaut,  Age of the Fifth Sun.  (2010),  Revive Records.  This what a William Turner painting sounds like.  Patience with this song will be rewarded...just like baseball.  There's a beauty to these numbers, take time to get lost  in them.  (Alternate link for Shining Through)

from keystone game state 

The Big O.  (Battle Scene between Big O and Big Duo).  Big robot anime.  In the show, a robot is referred to as a "Big" or a "Megadeus".  The Big O crushes shit like Roy Halladay. The songs in the anime clip:  Sure Promise and The Holy

Youngblood (7:34).  Russian Circles, Station.  (2008),  Suicide Squeeze Records.  Mike Sullivan (guitar), Dave Turncrantz (drums), Brian Cook (bass), Morgan Henderson (double bass).  Post-metal, math rock band from Chicago.  27-28 year olds have less balls dying at the warning track because those hits leave the yard more often. (Alternate link)

\m/