I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me [003]
Stuck in my head: "Bitter Sweet Symphony"
Verve
Urban Hymns
... but did you know..?
Also... Ashcroft got his groove back.
Fun fact #1: Until three minutes ago, I kept writing the song's title as "Bittersweet Symphony", but in recent years, I kept seeing it as "Bitter Sweet Symphony". In the effort made to compose this entry, I checked my original CD from the nineties, and... fuck if it isn't "Bitter Sweet" and not "Bittersweet". It's bittersweet, a compound word... but it's also artistic license, so I guess I'd better get used to it. You win this round, Richard.
Fun Fact #2: I refer to them as "Verve" instead of "The Verve". As in many cases, someone sues, forcing a band to change their name. No change, I can change, I can change.
If you've never been to a Seahawks game, or never noticed it on television, "Bittersweet Symphony" is the theme for the team's introduction onto the field. I started noticing it during games in the mid-2000s... maybe in 2004? I know I heard it by the 2005 Super season.
To date, I'm unsure why they use a song from a little band from Wigan, Greater Manchester, as opposed to the litany of local nostalgia music. It seems Paul Allen was a fan of Verve and that was basically it. Decision made. License Paid.
I encountered a thread on Reddit where fans clamor for the use of Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child" for the team's introduction, though one user dutifully point out, "Can't do that Janie will want to get paid".
Succinct, and correct... but let's examine that for a moment: yes, Janie Hendrix is the legal heir to the estate, herself being Jimi's step-sister. Like it or not, she calls the shots. Attempting to use any Hendrix music would incur substantial fees, and the Seahawks aren't in the business of paying out if the need isn't there. Case in point: remember how texas a&m sued to stop them from using "The 12th Man" right around Super Bowl XL? The Seahawks would license the name and pay a fee to the university to use it until this guy showed up. The language changed from "The 12th Man" to "The 12s"... which has since been trademarked as an intellectual property of the Seahawks, leading to a change in the agreement with the univeristy.
Half the fans keep referring to "Jimmy", anyway, so perhaps there's a Jimmy Hendricks song of which I'm unfamiliar.
Unfortunately, the thread also refers to using songs by nirvana, pearl jam, soundgarden, etc... more Pacific Northwest Gen-X nostalgia stuff
Look, nirvana is still a contentious issue between the members of nirvana LLC (grohl, novoselic, love, and Primary Wave Music, who purchased twenty-five percent of love's interest in the catalog in 2006). Do you REALLY want to deal with that?
Also, kurt blew his own head off. Not a good look.
pearl jam is famous for their "not selling out" shit... but don't they still use Ticketmaster?
soundgarden? Vicky Cornell versus the band.
Also, chris hung himself. Not a good look.
alice in chains? layne junked himself. Not a good look.
One redditor even mentioned using Sir Mix-a-lot... fucking really? Are you crazy, or just stupid?
Richard Ashcroft is still alive. Plus, I fucking love Verve, and have since that bastard DJ got me i to them back in... '98? Great band with several albums worth of wonderful and innovative material for the time. I understand radio overkill, but people also say they don't like Rush for Geddy Lee's vocals, which seems like an invalid criticism to me for a band that was together over forty years.
Of course, what else can you expect from a fan base that still wants to see uniforms from when the team absolutely sucked? The nostalgia for when the team was less popular is stronger than the team being GOOD, proving once again that local fans would rather everybody hated the team than actually do what it takes to achieve victory.
Why do you fear victory?
(Awful dude, that DJ. Also, trust me, I'll get into my feelings on local northwest music history soon enough.)
For the sake of ease, I often tell people that I became a Seahawks fan when I managed to beat my cousin at Tecmo Bowl, Seattle @ Dallas. It adds a certain je nais se quois to my fandom. The truth is, as usual, a lot more murky: I'm pretty sure it's around the same time, and I do recall playing Tecmo Bowl with Joey, but when and the surrounding circumstances remain a mystery to my memory.
I vividly recall liking the colors, though. Blue is my original favorite color, and the hometown/state team in Dallas only ever wore their road whites (for whatever reason) - I figured if I was gonna like football, I'd like a blue team.
Blue. Blue. :)
As the eighties became the nineties and as Bum Bright sold the team to Jerry Jones, it became exceedingly difficult to get news on any other team other than Dallas; remember, there was no "innernets" in them days. After all, Dallas was winning Super Bowls and doing blow, Houston - THE HOUSTON OILERS - wasn't exactly at that level, and the Seahawks were in the throes of the Behring ownership, leading to a 2-14 record which still stands as the worst season in club history. How the hell was some dumb kid growing up in Texas supposed to get news about a loser bitch team so far away?
As the nineties wore on, I started focusing on learning how to play music, learning how to drive, getting into college, and sports just... didn't seem terribly interesting. By the time 1997/98 came around, I found myself being somewhat metro (and I'm sure we'll come back to this at some point... stay tuned) and not giving too much of a fuck about things I equated with uber-manliness. If nothing else, it had been reinforced that girls liked being around me when I wasn't being a butt-scratching, uncouth horndog, and I made better connections with them when we drank wine, did each other's nails, and talked about boys.
Yep.
If you know me personally, think about that image of me in nail lacquer, eyeliner, well-dressed, and not burping in your face. If you've seen me play music, live, you've seen the influence in constantly being in suits, or hear it in how I speak, or how I write. I may not be as refined today as I assume I once presented, but I meant it then and I carry bits of it with me now...
... but, I digress... we can come back to this another time.
One day, LSDJ Beckito X (yep.) came to my flat out of concern. I offered him a glass of merlot, and... okay, so I gave up alcohol a while ago, but I did manage to see the light of day a couple of years after that: why ride the merlot train when you can call a cab?
"Hey, we need to talk."
"Sure - would you like a glass of wine?"
"Yes, please."
"What's on your mind?"
"Well, I was speaking with [censored] while we were out shopping, and it occurred to us... we've been acting kinda gay."
"Oh... okay. What do you propose?"
"We think we should do something manly."
"Like what?"
He smiles widely and says, "We should watch a football game."
A note on gayness.
IT'S OKAY FOR ANYONE TO BE GAY.
Language used in the time frame surrounding 1997/-8/-9ish should not be taken as homophobia as of this writing. Many years have passed and many lessons have been learned and many friends and loved ones have been made, maintained, or lost to circumstances dramatic and tragic.
You will always have me in your corner if you need me.
I remember watching the Baltimoe Ravens one weekend, so it was after 1996, when the original Cleveland Browns relocated.
I also have a hazy recollection of Kevin Dyson trying as hard as he could to s-t-r-e-t-c-h his right arm out... which places the timeline at January 2000. Coincidentally, this one image is where my hatred of the rams begins.
Well... I wonder what happened to the Seahawks.
I relocated to Seattle in July of that year, and found myself alone.
Come September, I didn't have much else to do, so I started tuning in... except the Seahawks were subject to the NFL's Blackout Rules, which as I recall, prevented a team from broadcasting their games on local television if they weren't selling out their in-person games.
Well, shit.
The Kingdome had been demolished as the result of an implosion in March 2000, so the Seahawks were playing in Husky Stadium while their new home was being built. Like me, they found themselves in a strange new environment.
Like me, they kept trying to get people to come out and have fun, but nobody would come to their parties.
In 2002, they moved into a new place - what was originally known as Seahawks Stadium - and they changed their look to try and win people over... like I had.
In 2003, they were trying so hard to do something good and it just wasn't panning out; they wanted the ball and were gonna score, but as always, life had differnt plans... just like I'd had such a hard time getting stable, and would get closer and closer, only to have the rug pulled from under my feet.
(That game also cemented my distaste for the fucking green bay packers... bastards.)
In 2004, they were JUST SO CLOSE, but inner turmoils prevented them from reaching new heights... just as I'd felt on the daily... if not hourly.
In 2005, my life settled to a great degree, just as the Seahawks hit a 13-3 record and reached new heights that propelled them to a Super Bowl... loss.
Fuck.
Man, fuck the pitsbirg stealers.
Things were good for a few years, until the recession hit in 2008, right as the team turned to total shit. Mike Holmgren resigned as head coach, Jimmy Mora took over for a ghastly 2009, and I got laid off in early September 2010... right when Pete Carroll took over.
At that time, I had two vivid memories of Pete Carroll: the first is Vince Young beating USC to take home the college football national championship (#HookEm), and the second being in early 2010 when Seahawks fandom absolutely resented the fact that "Mr. Happy from USC" was going to come coach the hometown team. The nostalgia for when the team had favorite candidates for head coach is stronger than the team being GOOD, as is the case with Dennis Erickson or Jimmy Mora, proving once again that local fans would rather everybody be local than actually allow the team do what it takes to achieve victory.
Why do you fear victory?
Nobody the hell else was gonna take the job, and I don't think people seriously bought into Pete Carroll until this moment:
Though I knew things might be rough for a while, being unemployed, my team in a total rebuild... I still knew that everything was gonna be okay. To that point, my team had never lied to me, had been the one constant friend throughout my first ten years in the pacific northwest, and was always there when I needed them.
Of course, on January 19, 2014... my faith was rewarded:
On February 2, 2014... my fandom was changed forever.
I wasn't as excited for the Super Bowl as I'd been for the NFC Championship Game. The Broncos were garbage and we showed the world that was the case. I knew we had it won from the moment pay-tun man-ing had that snap go over his head.
When the game ended, I remember sitting down pensively and asking my buddy, "Now what? We've been Seahawks fans for years and we've reached the pinnacle. Now what happens?"
He responded with one word: "Dynasty."
Loyalty to any one sports team is pretty hard to justify, because the players are always changing, the team can move to another city. You're actually rooting for the clothes, when you get right down to it. You know what I mean? You are standing and cheering and yelling for your clothes to beat the clothes from another city. Fans will be so in love with a player, but if he goes to another team, they boo him. This is the same human being in a different shirt; they hate him now. Boo! Different shirt! Boo!
--Jerry Seinfeld, Seinfeld
January 18, 2015.
Life is... not great.
It had been an odd season. Despite the 12-4 record, I'm faced with the reality that the Seahawks may not have an opportunity to repeat, or Re-Pete, or #RePete, as Super Bowl Champions. The bastard packers have us dead to rights... or do they?
The team makes a spectacular comeback, and while I'm happy they won, I can't help but shake three very distinct notions:
1.) Is this the real Russell Wilson?
2.) Everybody's high on Jermaine Kearse, but this asshole almost cost us the game! What a buncha fuckin' husky homers!
3.) This was luck... and we're living on borrowed time.
Russell Wilson... the golden boy. The chosen one.
The mystery man.
The man whose agent attempted to renegotiate his contract after his rookie season in 2012, a violation of the NFLPA CBA. Link.
The man with a baseball agent, itself a stupid-ass business model. Link.
The man who had his starting cornerback yell at him, "YOU FUCKING SUCK!" Link.
The man at the center of drama between his other teammates. Link One, Link Two.
The man who holds the ball too damn long, takes ridiculous sacks when trying to force the big play downfield. Link.
The man who sounded as if he didn't want to throw his offensive line and front office under the bus, but did so, anyway. Link.
The man who threw this:
Like life, football is a complicated game, where either everyone is at fault, or nobody is; the game where every piece is so interconnected that it becomes difficult to assign blame to one party because everything affects everything else... but Russell Wilson doesn't make it easy to be so diplomatic.
So now what?
People assume that criticism is equivalent to a lack of support. I love Pink Floyd, for example, but are you really going to sit here and tell me that A Momentary Lapse of Reason is just as good as Wish You Were Here? Sure, maybe you like it (I do), but it isn't the band at its best for a multitude of reasons, the greatest being that Roger Waters isn't in the group any longer and David Gilmour doesn't totally know what to do. It doesn't mean I don't live and breathe "Pink Floyd", it means they put out a record that doesn't match the expectation of Pink Floyd-quality.
As Roger Waters put it, "It's a pretty fair forgery."
Right now, that's how I feel about my life, and about the Seahawks. It's been a time of self-reflection, and being honest about successes and failures, and what I can do to be a better person to my friends, family, my neighbors, my coworkers, the public whom I serve, and most importantly, to myself. I think it's also time for the organization to reasses itself and be honest about what needs to be done to get back to being a threat to the other thirty-one teams in the league.
A facebook "friend" uttered, "If you're not going to support them, why even watch?" They should probably read this entry. Life isn't always happy fun good yay up times. In the words of Butt-head, "You gotta have stuff that sucks to have stuff that's cool."
I love my team, and I'm in it for as long as I live and breathe. I was before they got good. I will be once they aren't good anymore. They stuck with me when I needed them, and it's my turn to stick with them as they need me.
Warhawk.
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