Album of the Week: The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's second studio album, released in May 1963.

Tracklist:

1. "Blowin' in the Wind" – 2:48
2. "Girl from the North Country" – 3:22
3. "Masters of War" – 4:34
4. "Down the Highway" – 3:27
5. "Bob Dylan's Blues" – 2:23
6. "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" – 6:55
7. "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" – 3:40
8. "Bob Dylan's Dream" – 5:03
9. "Oxford Town" – 1:50
10. "Talkin' World War III Blues" – 6:28
11. "Corrina, Corrina" (Traditional) – 2:44
12. "Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance" – 2:01
13. "I Shall Be Free" – 4:49

Why I chose this:
A wise man once told me to get into Dylan so here I am. I wanted to start with something from his early period so this album seems like a good choice. Nothing much to say until we've heard it, so.... off you go.

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- Lee

Album of the Week: SMiLE

SMiLE
Brian Wilson

Smile is a solo album by Brian Wilson, with lyrics by Van Dyke Parks released on 28 September 2004 on CD and two-disc vinyl. Wilson, Parks and Darian Sahanaja completed the legendary unfinished album project, started in 1966 for Wilson's former band, The Beach Boys.

Tracklist:

1. "Our Prayer/Gee" - 2:09
2. "Heroes and Villains" - 4:53
3. "Roll Plymouth Rock" - 3:48
4. "Barnyard" - 0:58
5. "Old Master Painter/You Are My Sunshine" - 1:04
6. "Cabin Essence" - 3:27
7. "Wonderful" - 2:07
8. "Song for Children" - 2:16
9. "Child Is Father of the Man" - 2:18
10. "Surf's Up" - 4:07
11. "I'm in Great Shape/I Wanna Be Around/Workshop" - 1:56
12. "Vega-Tables" - 2:19
13. "On a Holiday" - 2:36
14. "Wind Chimes" - 2:54
15. "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow" - 2:27
16. "In Blue Hawaii" - 3:00
17. "Good Vibrations" - 4:36

Why I chose this

Well a few weeks ago I picked Pet Sounds, the classic brainchild of Wilson and long time favourite of mine. All were impressed and since then I have been listening to it's spiritual follow up SMiLE. I think that anyone who loves Pet Sounds will also love this and I really want someone to share the album with, because every time I hear it, it grabs me even more. I can't say much more without actually partially reviewing the different aspects of the record, but I love it and everyone should hear it.

- Eden

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Life's Lessons Learned in League

A few weeks ago I wrote about the rollercoaster ride I have had supporting the Roosters. It was fun recounting the build up to the 02 premiership and a little less fun remembering the 7 years of disappointment that followed. Sharing my story was therapeutic, and the best thing to come from it was to read the responses. I don’t mean the ‘Roosters deserve all the crap they get’ stuff (I’m used to that by now), but the fans from all different teams detailing their own stories of supporting their team through the harsh reality of losing. I could relate to my fellow Rooster fans. I took inspiration from the steely Dogs fans who struggled through 2008. I felt for fans of teams like Cronulla, Parramatta, Souths and St George who are long overdue for a premiership (well, maybe Souths can wait a little longer).

So although I had promised myself that I wouldn’t go through with the stress of attending another match this year, I was inspired by the other fans to get out to the final match against the Cowboys. It was also Fitzy’s last match so I felt obliged, beyond any desire of avoiding the Spoon, to see off this great clubman. I cancelled a shift at work and then asked my brothers and my Dad if they wanted to come. However, they had long abandoned the thought of more pain, adopting a see no evil, feel no evil mentality.

I scolded them not being true fans and it was becoming apparent that, after almost 10 years of seriously attending matches, I would be going to my first game alone. I thought of calling one of my friends to come with and make a fun afternoon out of it, but they were both busy*. Instead I decided to make it like a lonely pilgrimage - proving myself as a fan (I know, just a touch melodramatic). So after a 40 minute train ride and a short walk from Central I arrived at the Football Stadium. I had come to terms with the horror season and was there to show the team, and myself, that I still believed.

Although we could still overtake Cronulla on the ladder, I didn’t even feel we deserved it and doubted that a team with Jonathon Thurston would lose to us. I had no expectations of winning, which was a liberating mindset. Usually I would be full of unwarranted confidence or nervous excitement. But the game kicked off and the small crowd of around 10,000 had such an energy that the team responded. It rivalled the noise and emotion of the 34,000 at the Tigers-Eels blockbuster I was at two weeks earlier. Despite my earlier Zen state of not needing or wanting victory, I had been sucked in. I wanted it more than ever.

We raced out to a 16-0 lead on the back of strong defence and some decent attack – two things we lacked all season. However, the calling card of the 2009 campaign was our inability to play 80 minutes, and after playing 35 minutes of decent football we crumbled and Thurston pounced. It started with a try before halftime and then a two more quick ones after the break. We stayed in it for a while but I, and the other fans at the game, could see the writing on the wall. We crumbled with 10 minutes to go, losing 32-16.

Sitting through that final 10 minutes was tough but I had never left a game early and this was no exception. Especially since I was there for Fitzy first and foremost. It was an emotional send off to a legend. A sad way to farewell his service – another loss and the Spoon to boot. I thought about the terrible referee display. But instead of blaming the refs again I decided to take the view that the team should be able to bounce back from poor decisions. We shouldn't finish the match focusing on negatives. Focus on the positives and the chance to improve. That what the best teams do. And after 80 minutes we weren’t the best team. After 26 rounds we were the worst.

In spite of all the disappointments of the day and the season I had a bittersweet feeling. I could understand the bitter, but why the sweet? I guess I felt liberated that I had witnessed the worst possible scenario. This was as bad as it gets. It’s still hard to explain but I now feel closer to the club, and not in the unhealthy, obsessed way. I have experienced the highs earlier this decade and now I know the true lows. We’d gone through it together and in the end, as George Harrison says, “All Things Must Pass.” I got that Zen mindset back.

Now I am all for learning from all aspects from life, and sport and RL has never been short of an inspiration to me. It displays fighting spirit, pushing physical boundaries and the use of instincts and tactics, but I never expected to find such a refreshing flavour in spoon fed humble pie.

So here I am soaking up the action of one of the best finals series I have witnessed, glad to be a fan of Easts and of the Greatest Game of All.

- Eden

*Joke provided courtesy of Lee Sullivan © Sullivan Jokes 2004

Anger V Happiness

"Anger - an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured." - Seneca

I don't have an explosive temper, nor do I spend long periods of time being shitty, but like all people, I do get angry. Being angry is something which will always happen and to learn to control it and get over whatever it is you're angry about is a battle. I suppose you could call this article a continuation of my post - Learning (I suspect there will be many posts on the subject of learning). There are so many sources of anger, so obviously I'm only going to talk about some of them and how I'm learning to react to that anger.

Having a difference of opinion with someone can lead to anger and an argument if you let it (this generally happens with those closest to us, with others we often keep our mouths shut). To argue with someone and to continue an argument with someone, even after both parties have gotten their points across is really just an attempt at domination. Both people want to be right, to have the other person know that they're right. I've argued with Brooke before and thought to myself after a couple of minutes of angry silence that I want so badly to not be angry, but this desire in me to have her agree with me and win this argument is so strong. I've only recently acknowledged anger and the resulting arguments for what they are, and realised that its not worth being angry at someone you love, or anyone for that matter, in order to win and argument (which is joke in itself because you can never 'win' an angry argument).

Money is a major source of worry and anger. Whether we have too much or not enough most people are never really satisfied. When I pay too much for something I generally feel angry about it, I feel as though I've been ripped off - really I feel like a fool. No one likes to be made to feel or look foolish. The thing about money is that it cannot make you happy and it should not make you angry. If you spend too much money one week, or you've paid too much for something, try to think - in a couple of weeks time, I will have been paid again, will I actually care about that money I spent? Will I even still remember? Probably not. Perhaps that’s too simplistic, I don’t think it is because it seems to works for me. Being angry really is silly because what you're angry about has occured. The time has passed, you cannot do anything about it, if you could you wouldn't be angry.

In the end, all anger does is delay your happiness. It's fine to get angry at things, but to be able to realise and accept that the world isn't perfect and that not everything will go how you'd like is key.

- Dogman

Why College Football is Awesome

Something amazing happened to me during the fall of 2006; I experienced my first taste that is college football. I had been hearing about how exciting it would be to study at Michigan State University during the fall semester, because that was when football season would be played. I really didn’t pay much attention to it when I first arrived as there were so many other new sights, smells and tastes that come along with studying at an American college.

One beautiful afternoon whilst I was looking out my dorm room window at the squirrels chasing each other up and down a tree, I decided that I would buy season football tickets to see the Spartans play; it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. So the first game day rolled around, and I was brimming with excitement. Not only was I going to see my first American football game, but it was on campus with an estimated crowd of 70,000 people in attendance (and this was only for the season opener in which Michigan State played a much weaker Eastern Michigan). Despite the Spartans being heavy favourites, the buzz surrounding this game was like no other.

Let me paint you a picture of what a typical football Saturday at college is like. To begin with, the game can be on as early as 12pm, therefore in order to make the most of it you get up early. So at around 8am the beers are opened and the good times are beginning. If the game is on at 3:30pm or even later, that leaves the whole day to ‘tailgate’. For those who are unaware of tailgating, basically the idea comes from everyone having a bbq (or ‘grilling’) out of the boots (or ‘tailgates’) of their cars; often in the parking lot at sports such as football and baseball.

On game day at Michigan State, families from all over head to campus to set up their tailgates at parking lots all over campus, and make a day of eating and drinking. But for the younger, more party inclined folk; there are tailgate parties that go to another extreme. The same principle applies, but there are tailgate parties with often hundreds even thousands of people in one area. This concept is so big that ESPN goes on the road every Saturday during football season to host a show called College GameDay, often at large football schools such as Florida and Ohio State.

The above pictures are of the third home game that I attended, between Michigan State and Notre Dame - a fierce rivalry. Around 80,000 people crammed into the stadium for that game, and even though I was drunk and couldn’t find any of my friends, I made my way into the stadium and found a seat (I should say position because no-one sits down during the entire game) amongst the students and enjoyed Michigan State head to a 31-14 half time lead over a red-hot Notre Dame side. At half time I miraculously found my comrades, only to watch one of the greatest comebacks I’ve ever seen in any sporting game, with Notre Dame grabbing an interception that led to the winning points, in the dying seconds to win the game 40-37.

Another great aspect of college football that entices me is the passion. When you play professional sports there is certainly plenty of passion involved, however once a player makes the NFL they are often guaranteed million dollar contracts whether they win or lose; so the drive to succeed could be for different reasons altogether. However, athletes in college aren’t paid a dime for playing sport; sure they receive full scholarships, but they also have to go to class like every other student. Therefore when they are out there in front of 80,000 screaming fans, in a stadium that is on the same campus which they take lectures, the desire to win is not for a pay-check; it is for the pride and respect of their peers.

Passion also grows from rivalries amongst teams. Every year teams will pretty much play the same teams during a regular season, and considering there are only a handful of games, each clash is met with so much importance on the win. The way NCAA football works, is that the country is split up into conferences, such as the Big Ten or SEC conferences, and these teams play mainly each other. Before a game is even played the top 25 teams are ranked based on pre-season form and calibre of team. The larger schools such as Florida, Texas, and USC are always going to field better teams than smaller football schools, therefore they are ranked higher. However, if one of these teams loses, it can pretty much say goodbye to the chance of playing in the national title (the BCS Championship game). The only hope would be to play in one of the other 4 national bowl games, namely the Rose, Fiesta, Sugar and Orange bowls.

The very fact outlined above is why when the season is in full swing, and teams such as the University of Michigan play Ohio State University (also known as The Game, and ranked by ESPN as the greatest North American sports rivalry), often both teams are either undefeated or have only lost 1-2 games each, the hype and importance of such a game is enormous. Coupled with the actual importance of the result is the history behind college football. The earliest college football games were being played around 1870-80, years before most major international sporting rivalries even begun. You can already imagine the honour players receive when they have the opportunity to play in games such as these, especially when many are still teenagers.

One of coolest things I like about college football is the crowds. You can be guaranteed that for most decent games the stadiums will be full. And even if the two teams that are playing aren’t even from the state in which the stadium is located, a large crowd will turn up. For example, round 1 of the 2009 season saw Oklahoma play BYU (a team from Utah) at a stadium in Texas and it drew a crowd of 70,000+. But the best crowds are home crowds. There are 4 college football stadiums that have capacity for over 100,000 people, and often they are sold out. University of Michigan’s stadium (appropriately nicknamed ‘The Big House’ has a capacity of 106,000 people); incredible really considering the town that the college is in, Ann Arbor only has a population of 114,000.


I wasn’t sure whether my love for college football would whither once I returned to Australia, but you can take the man out of football but you can’t take the football out the man. It does suck in some respects being over here when I can’t go to any games, but having Foxtel is such a beautiful thing when ESPN play all the big college football clashes; and best of all, the big Saturday night games stream live at a leisurely 11 a.m on Sunday mornings.

If you ever get the chance to go and see a college football game in the States, take in the experience because it is something not to be missed.

- Russell