It Happened Today

I just read the news about R.E.M. deciding to call it quits after 31 years of music. I don’t know why this is shocking me like it is but I am truly shocked. I can’t exactly say that I’m close to physical tears but it’s certainly affecting me emotionally. A band ending is inevitable, really, so I’m not sure why I’m having a hard time digesting this. Then again, I guess I do understand. It’s been a long, long road and I’ve been quite the diehard fan since 1985. I guess all that history between us is just choking me up a bit. I actually feel like I need to give a moment of silence or something like that in honor of them.

The first song I ever learned to play on guitar was R.E.M.’s “Driver 8”, in fact, they were a huge reason why I learned to play in the first place. I worked on that one song for weeks prior to being able to even come close to doing what I’d call “playing” it. Learning that one song essentially gave me enough knowledge on the instrument to start writing my own material. Over the past 24 years, I’ve played that same song countless times and I still make minor adjustments to how I play it, even just recently adding yet another touch that’s even more true to the original. I know and play probably 40% of the R.E.M. catalog. I think I play at least one R.E.M. tune each time I practice guitar. We’ve basically been like family all these years.

I was just commenting not more than a week ago how amazing it’s been having them around all this time. They’ve been one of the few bands that, in my opinion at least, have always been true to what they originally stood for and have always put out content that was up to par. Not every R.E.M. album is flawless, mind you, but I think the band has always tried to do something fresh, a little bit different, and of a higher caliber than most bands that last even half as long as they have. They also never strayed into “success la-la land”, as I’ll call it, when extreme success can sometimes severely alter the very core of a band and its’ members. Somehow, R.E.M. has managed to always keep it realistic and I’ve had nothing but the utmost respect for them in regards to that.

R.E.M. will surely be missed. It surely is the end of an era (even if their actual ‘era’ ended quite awhile ago). I think it’s ironic that a band like R.E.M. disbands while others like U2 insist on continuing, even though they sold out who they were back in 1987 (and yet went on to bigger stardom because of it…go figure). Even in disbanding, R.E.M. stays true to form and display nothing but class, offering multiple statements in regards to thanking their fans rather than trying to act like it’s all been about them. Classy right to the end. They simply ‘get it’ when so many others don’t.

And so, with that, I hand it right back to the band. Thank you, R.E.M., for all the great music that you’ve brought into this world and shared with us. You’ve been one of the biggest musical influences of my life, if not the biggest, in more ways than one. Thank you for everything.

Now might be the right time to start that R.E.M. tribute band after all.

C'mon!!!

It was all quite ironic and a bit of déjà vu. I had just gotten finished discussing how I no longer cheer for Serena Williams due to the bad attitude and poor sportsmanship she’s displayed over the past few years. I had also mentioned how I personally can't stand the Serena “c’mon!” yell that she'll sometimes do after making a particularly good shot. It was only about an hour later that one of those very “c’mon’s” got her into yet another tirade directed at the officials of the US Open.

Taylor Dent did some of the broadcasting this year for some of the US Open matches and he was remarking on how he dislikes Tsonga’s thumbs up dance jig when he wins a match. Personally, I don’t mind that half as much as the Serena “c’mon”. First off, I don’t get the “c’mon”. I mean, what does it mean? Is she talking to the ball, her opponent, or the audience? Many people use the phrase ‘c’mon’ when they feel like they’re being mistreated. Does she feel that the ball has something personal against her? Or, perhaps she’s using it more like an “alright” or “oh yeah” sort of positive vibe, but then why doesn’t she just say one of those phrases? The kicker, though, is how she yells it at the top of her lungs out of nowhere and then, in a true Jekyll and Hyde sort of manner, immediately turns back to being completely stoic, as if the noise actually came from someone or somewhere else. I just don’t get it.

I used to really like Serena back in the day. I used to like Venus as well and still have slightly more tolerance for her versus her sister. Both sisters have shown a definite increase in attitude over the years, however, and it’s hard to overlook. It’s even incredibly obvious during the pre-match interviews where they both don their best fake smiles while their eyes glare at the interviewer with a look of “you truly annoy me”. It’s just hard to look past as a spectator.

Serena Williams at the US Open 2011, apparently 'expressing' herself

Serena’s blow up two years ago was beyond belief to me. Now, admittedly, I started watching tennis post the McEnroe era so I’m not really accustomed to athletes completely losing it on the court. Still, Serena that year literally threatened an official…on the court…in front of millions of viewers. Who does that?!

And then, just as viewers were starting to forget about that incident, she creates a whole new one just as bizarre as the former. In yesterdays match, Serena yelled out one of her bizarrely ferocious “c’mon” yells but this time before the point was over and prior to Samantha Stosur having a chance at returning the ball. This is a definite no-no. Chair umpire Asderaki very correctly gave the point to Stosur, giving her an early break in the second set, rather than awarding Serena the winner. Well, the feud was on. I’d call it road rage except there wasn’t any road in sight.

The match had swung completely in Stosur’s favor up until that point and so it’s easy to understand Serena’s frustration in general. However, the call was correct and very obvious in the replay and so taking it out on the umpire was completely uncalled for. Still, had it stopped there, I think it would have been fine, but no…Serena had to throw in a few choice comments directly at the umpire. “Aren’t you the one that screwed me over last time here? Yeah, you are.” Well, no, chair umpire Asderaki wasn’t, and, um, the issue last time didn’t actually involve a chair umpire either. It was instead involving a linesman but that’s evidently beside the point in Serena’s eyes.

Damage was clearly already done but she unfortunately didn’t stop there. After the change over, Serena walked back to her seat past the chair umpire and loudly said, “I hate you.” This landed her a code violation and a verbal warning from the chair umpire.

Looking shocked that she received a code violation (go figure), she then continued: “A code violation because I expressed who I am?! We’re in America last time I checked. Am I gonna get violated for a water? Really, don’t even look at me.”

And then, a bit later, there was even more: “If you ever see me walking down the hall, walk the other way. Because you’re out of control. Totally out of control. You’re a hater. You’re unattractive inside. Who would do such a thing? And I never complain. Wow.”

I think it’s pretty clear who was out of control here. To anyone with small children, does any of this sound a bit familiar? Again, it’s simply a rule in the rulebook stating that a player cannot interrupt the playability of a point of an opponent. Everything that happened after that was just Serena “expressing herself”, albeit incorrectly. I mean, c’mon.

How Serena was able to say that she doesn’t ever complain with a straight face is beyond me. And yes, ‘wow’ is right. If I was chair umpire Asderaki, I think I would have busted out in hysterics. And “you’re a hater”? What on earth did she mean by that? I’m a bit afraid to ask so I won’t.

So, no, I don’t cheer for Serena any longer for pretty much the same reason that I don’t cheer for Roddick; they’re both a couple of stuck up whiney cry babies. I don’t care if they’re the American players or not. With those top choices, I’ll gladly cheer for the mild mannered Aussie who’s just thrilled to death to even be playing let alone win the US Open. What’s sad is that Serena and Roddick are the top American players and have been for quite some time, and they pretty much represent all of us on the courts around the world. Perhaps that will change in the next few years with the young American up and comer’s that we have. One can only hope.

It’s even more ironic that Serena’s latest tirade took place on the 10th year anniversary of 9/11.

I know that many conservatives of late have really been touting how we need to reduce and perhaps eliminate what they term as “entitlements” from our government. In my opinion, though, it’s this sort of American attitude entitlement that we should really work to rid ourselves of since it gives us all a black eye.