Shudder to Think New York Knicks Could Ever Go Under the Cap

The Future: After all that, I still haven't mentioned how Allan Houston, Jalen Rose, Maurice Taylor, Shandon Anderson, and Jerome Williams will count $60 million dollars against the cap combined next season. Why is that not a bad thing? Because all of it can disappear after next season. That's right, the New York Knicks have a chance to save $60 million dollars to get their payroll down to around $70 million. That is still over the cap, but its a much more manageable figure.
-taken from nbadraft.net

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Its damn scary to note that anytime Isiah has an expiring contract he trades it for another crappy old veteran with $50 million still left on their contract. With that many players in their final year, GMs around the league are lining up to rip off the Knicks yet again. Isiah must go, then fire Brown, then trade Curry. This is the only hope for the Knicks to ever return to the playoffs. Isiah has proven worse than any Layden could ever have managed. His record speaks for itself, its time to hold him accountable for this team he created.

Article on Van Gaalen

Here's an interesting article on Chad Van Gaalen from Nerve.com.
I saw him play at Mercury Lounge back in February, but was unable to score his album Infiniheart until today, when I saw it in the used bin at Other Music. Their used bin may not be as big as J&R's, Park Ave CD's or AKA's, but it is nevertheless a high quality used bin, just a bit pricy. Today I splurged on some new music. Other acquisitions from Other include the new Man Man, Six Demon Bag and two more used bin finds:
Matt Pond PA Several Hours Later
Jose Gonzalez Veneer
Yes, NYC record store used bins are good! But I had to get the hell out of there before I spent more, I saw all kinds of stuff I wanted (some new, some used), and its just best to avoid such places during times of limited funds.

Jersey City: Only the Strong Survive

Reading someone's rant about jersey city-who may not even live here- was refreshing in that it made me realized just how far I've come into a blissful ignorance about all that is wrong with this area, constantly reminding myself that it is going to get better.

SOFT CURRY OFFERS KNICKS LITTLE HOPE

I would agree with Mr. Willis on most counts but I add here that Channing Frye, Jackie Butler and David Lee are the most important young knicks, not Curry and Robinson. Curry, like Isiah Thomas, has proven nothing since coming to New York, and it may be time to move on past both of them. The man doesn't have a heart problem, the problem is he's got no heart!

I was at last night's game, the final game of the season at MSG, and let me tell you, it was embarrassing watching some scrub euro center dunk all over Curry and he even went so far as to stare him down after it! I felt like getting on the court myself after watching that horse manure transpire. One thing I'm not too keen on is week, goofy, skilless euro-league centers and to see sorry-ass Primoz Brezec and Jake Voskuhl act all tough in the Garden made me sick to my stomach. To use Charles Barkley's line from inside the NBA, "Patrick Ewing must be rolling over in his grave."

note: One might question my calling Jake Voskuhl a euro scrub as a misnomer. That was no mistake, I have no respect for his game and see no difference between him or any other of the other softie crap centers in the league that made it into the NBA after having good college/euro careers. He's another Christian Lattener, Rasho Nesterovic, Cherokee Parks, Michael Doeleak, Martynas Andriuskevicius, Zarko Cabarkapa, ect. 5'9" Nate Robinson will have better career rebounding totals than him when its all said and done.

signed,

a clearly frustrated, angry, but nevertheless loyal Knicks fan

Tips For New Bike Commuters

taken from the transalt NYC pamphlet:

Ride with traffic, not against
Bicyclists must obey all traffic laws
ride 4 feet from car doors
Bicyclists have the right to occupy a whole traffic lane
By law cyclists must have front and rear lights and a bell
Wear a snugly-fitting helmet.
Pedestrians always have the right of way
Never ride on sidewalks
Look and Signal before turning
Watch for street hazards
Lock the frame and rear wheel of your bike to a fixed object when parking
Check your brakes before you start your ride
pump your tires to the recommended pressure etched onto the sidewall of the tire -use a gauge to measure pressure!
Do not ride with headphones
Dress for weather and safety

more photos

The demolition of old Journal Square continues -hopefully good things are to come of it! I hear there is some kind of mall to be built, although that's not the good I had in mind.
Fuji Track just off the Astoria stop in Queens. For some reason there is only a rear brake on this fixie. What gives? Hopefully not the lockring.
Desert at an Astoria bakery -how does their staff stay so thin in such a place?
Eleventh Dream Day did kick ass at mercury lounge this week, but not as much as American Princes at Maxwells on Tuesday (sorry no pics of the princes though we did get to meet them).
Yo La Tengo looks on as their pals from Chicago, Eleventh Dream Day play their guitar heavy set friday night. Regard Georgia's rain boots. Unfortuantely they did not get on stage to collaborate with Eleventh Dream Day, as I had once thought they would.

quote of the Day: Mike Patton

If music is dying, musicians are killing it. Composers are the ones decomposing it. We are as responsible as anyone--although we'd love not to admit it. We lash out at "The Industry", blaming things like corporate structure for our shitty music--but we are the ones making it. We open the box they've given us and jump in, wrap ourselves up, and even lick the stamp. Why? Insecurity--the need for acceptance--maybe even money. We're not thinking about our music, just how it looks. One would rather have the warm tongue of a critic licking his asshole than the tongue of his spouse. It gives him a sense of validity and power. He seems to defy gravity. Maybe it is because he doesn't know what the hell else to do. He sees it coming--but freezes with panic like a deer in the headlights. Don't laugh--I've done it and you probably have too. And it has undoubtedly effected out music. (But have we learned anything form it?) We know that we are mostly a lot of slobbering babies who need constant stroking. We realize also in the moral order of society, we occupy positions similar to the thief, pimp, or peeping tom. We know that even if one has the pride of a bull, it is hard enough just to remain focused in this world. It gives us milliona upon millions of images--distractions--all saying the same thing at the same time: DO NOT THINK. If your fantasy and desire give you migraines, how easy it is to forget them when there is so much to look at. Our creations die quickly when abandoned like this. Do we realize that we are eating our young? It seems the passion that moves us is accompanied by an incredible urge to squash it. It is as quick as a fucking reflex--a conditioned response. It it a sexual problem? A puritanical one? The most intense and convincing music achieves a sexual level of expression, but what we normally feel is frigidity and limpness. It is just too easy for an artist to 'socialize' his desires when life tells him cardboard is OK. You should be ashamed of yourself! What is your fucking problem? If you don't come out, sooner or later you will die in there. Use chunks of yourself. Bodily fluids. Look left and right. Sift through others' belongings. Borrow. Steal. And try to achieve some sort of pleasure while doing it. This excitement should increase and intensify when you visualize it being shared by a number of people. Think about it. If it comes from inside you, it is automatically valid--it just may or may not be good. Because if it is not communicating in some way, its pleasure is as short-lived as a quick fuck in the back room. It doesn't mean shit. The labor of many composers is to construct elaborate walls of sound--but we often forget to leave a window or door to crawl out of. ow can we survive in these clever little rooms? We must eat our creation or we will starve. At this point, we have heard what we wanted to hear--our ears have shut down. We've resigned as slaves to our own gluttony. But if we have boarded up our learning environment, our only way out is to teach what we know. Will they listen? Why should they? Because they need you as much as you need them. You can save them from being swallowed up by the world--they can save you from being swallowed up by the world. Young and old players should be seeking each other out and using each other. They should develope a healthy exchange of smut--and learn to wear each other's masks. In this kind of environment, incredible things can happen. Music can emerge that is athletic and personal. Music that is riddled with contradictions--impossibilities. And that is the shit that can defy gravity.
-Mike Patton
taken from Arcana: Musicians on Music

Karate broke up?

So I'm looking for shows to attend the weekend of the five boro bike tour and I come across a Geoff Farina show at knitting factory may 5th. In parentheses beside his name, it reads "ex karate"! Apparently Geoff developed an ear condition that was pretty serious, more here.
Sounds quite similar to what happened to the guitarist from Mission of Burma -it took thems decades to reunite once Roger Miller's ear was feeling better (they sounded really loud at siren a few years ago). Wear your earplugs kids! I assume the Geoff Farina show will be acoustic or at least low volume. I have a great recording of Karate when I saw them perform at Mercury Lounge back in 2002. Great band. Oddly enough, both Karate and Mission of Burma are from Boston...

What goes around comes around

Hey Wally World, remember that dirty pick you set on Stephon that ended his consescutive games played streak and solidified his being traded this off season? Payback's a @#$%*, isn't it?

Knicks Sign Ime Udoka

from the D league.

duke spirit

this band duke spirit sounds a helluva lot like PJ Harvey.

they just finished some shows here last month, yet they've got a few more shows here coming up in the nyc:

SAT 15TH NEW YORK CITY, NY: TISWAS CLUB

THUR 20TH NEW YORK CITY: SKYLIGHT STUDIO (FILTER MAGAZINE PARTY: WITH THE WALKMEN)

tom vek

I know I promised to review my recent purchases on here but I just wanted to note that as much as I really do like Tom Vek's lo-fi garage collage of layered textures, I can't hear certain tracks (try track four, A Little Word in Your Ear) without thinking of Mark E Smith from The Fall. I don't know if Vek cites such influences as the Fall, but it would be hard to believe that his vocal style wasn't at least partially derived from Mark E Smith's original vocal style. I only mention it here because I bet there are many out there that do have this album and find it to be genius, but are nevertheless unaware of The Fall's existence, and that would be an indie rock shame.

Thanks, Larry, for the worst season in Knicks history

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