Deerhunter-Revival/Memory Boy

During my recent trip to Florida, I went to an Orlando Magic-New York Knicks game at the Magic's brand new arena. My friend had a hook up for suite seats, so we had an amazing view. I had gone to many games in the old arena with my father (including the first one ever), so it had added meaning beyond being a really great match-up of my two favorite NBA teams. Two favorite, you say. Sounds like a conflict of interest! Well, sports allegiances can be a tricky thing. Thankfully, my friends and I have figured out an extremely intricate tier system to clear up any ambiguities that might arise. The system goes as follows:

Tier 1 Teams: Teams you have absolute allegiance to. They include teams that a) you have rooted for your entire "sport fan" life, b) you are an alumni of the school, c) you have a very close personal connection to, or d) represent the city you have lived in for the majority of your life. My tier one teams include:

NY Mets: I rooted for the team since I lived in New York in the 80s, which happened to be both the beginning and end of their rather abbreviated dynasty-that-never-was-because-the-majority-of-the-best-players-were-hopped-up-on-drugs. My dad, who, being completely immersed in the arts since a young age, knew NOTHING about sports, made an admirable effort to learn about the Mets. His favorite player was the rather dorky and completely unglamorous singles hitter Dave Magadan, whom he took to calling "the thinking man's hitter." Magadan is now the offensive juggernaut Boston Red Sox's hitting coach. Guess Dad knew what he was talking about with that moniker.

Florida Gators: I went there (chomp chomp).

Orlando Magic: I lived forty-five minutes from Orlando when they were awarded a franchise, and went to many of their games with my father.

Miami Dolphins: I didn't really get into football until I moved down to Florida. Dan Marino was the Dolphin's quarterback, so of course I rooted for them and not the perennially horrific and "I'm a loser orange"-clad Tampa Bay Bucs.

Tier 2 Teams: Teams you have followed closely for an extended period of time, but don't have absolute allegiance to for one reason or another. You can root for them unless there is a conflict of interest with a tier 1 team, such as competition for a playoff spot or, of course, a direct matchup. My tier two team is:

New York Knicks: They were my tier 1 basketball team when I lived in New York, and when I lived in Florida before the Magic franchise came into being. It is fairly unprecedented for a tier 1 team to be usurped, but going to many Magic games in the first year, following the franchise very closely since inception, and living forty-five minutes from Orlando brought me over. I still got love for the Knicks though! (unless they're playing the Magic)

Tier 3 Teams: Teams you root for, but while you want them to win, it doesn't really pain you on any visceral level if they lose. Fandom is oftentimes brought about by geographical relocation. My tier three teams include:

Golden State Warriors: They're a fun team to watch, I get tons of exposure to them living in the Bay Area, and there's barely any conflict of interest with tier one or two teams due to Western Conference placement.

San Francisco Giants: Same as the Warriors, except NL West Division instead of Western Conference, which brings about slightly more frequent conflicts of interest.

Tier 4 Teams: Similar to Tier 3, but with slightly less appealing teams. My tier four teams include:

San Francisco Forty-Niners: When they're on and not playing the Dolphins I want them to win, but let's face it, this ain't the 80s. They're a fairly consistent snoozefest the past few years.

Tier 5 Teamss: Similar to Tier 4, but with even less appealing teams. It's almost a pity tier. My tier five teams include:

Oakland Raiders: When Al Davis kicks the bucket, maybe I'll bump 'em to four. The working man's Bay Area team, and it would be nice to see a classic bad*ss franchise return to at least a(n) (Art) shell of their former self.

Oakland A's. They used to be four, but watching baseball games in the Coliseum lately is like that scene in 28 Days Later where the guy walks around post-apocalyptic London. DEPRESSING.

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By the time I got to the Magic game, I had driven about six or seven hours around Florida. That might sound bad, but it's actually pretty mild for me. One of the records from my year-end downloading frenzy that I enjoyed the most was Halcyon Digest by Deerhunter. I've listened to Deerhunter in the past, and while I liked them, the album I heard (Cryptograms) just didn't have a ton of staying power. This one will hopefully have more replay value.

I'm still digesting the album, so I'm not sure which songs will ultimately stand out to me. Right now I'm really digging "Revival" and "Memory Boy." "Revival" has a fun, bouncy feel to it, with fuzzy guitars and cool harmonies. "Memory Boy" sounds like they're channeling Olivia Tremor Control channeling summery 60s pop. I'm digging it. There's a few interesting down-tempo songs on the album, too, but I need a little more time with them. Yay for good new music!