#44 Tenanation: Iowa Legend

The '08-'09 school year is done with and looking back at my first two years at Iowa State I feel blessed to have cross paths with a Connecticut native by the name of Nick Tenan. He will be transferring back to a school closer to home, but in his short two years in Ames, IA he quickly developed a legendary status and it was truly an honor to have met such all around amazing athlete, competitor, and most of all friend. For all of you unfamiliar with the intensity of Tenanation, watch the clip below.

NFL Draft '09...Raiders off to a running start

Today was the start of the 2009 NFL Draft and the big story of the first day had to be draft decisions made by the Oakland Raiders inept, decrepit owner Al Davis. Their first round pick was Maryland wide receiver Darius Heyward-Bey, who by all accounts is a one trick pony. And his one trick is he can run the go route really fast...4.3 40 speed. Thats about it though. The second round got even more comical: University of Ohio safety Michael Mitchell, who by all accounts is a late 6th-7th round player. But he ran a good 40 time at his pro day...thats about all it takes for the Raiders to select a player. Watch out for the Raiders to have quite the track team this fall. As for the music front, I've got to recommend the newest Silversun Pickups album. They're second album, Swoon, continues the 90s alternative, Smashing Pumpkins-like sound of their first album. Here's the video to their first single:

"Panic Switch"-Silversun Pickups

New Kids on the Block...still hangin tough...15 years later

So I had a bargain with my older sister that if she took me to see an Oasis concert, I'd go with her to a concert of her choosing. Well last Monday I had the privilege of seeing the boy band legends New Kids on the Block. I, of course, went into the thing thinking "I just can't wait to lose my hearing due to middle aged women screaming their lungs out." But in the end, I actually had a fairly enjoyable time. Yes, there were middle aged women everywhere losing their minds and yea there were times where I felt like I was slowly becoming a gay man, but damn it...it was an entertaining show. Even if I wasn't a big fan at all coming in, I respect New Kids for throwing together a 2 hour high energy show. In fact the only regret I had after the show was not getting my sorry self out my seat to dance to some GaGa.

Chanel CC: Rising rap star.

So I've been tuning into Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory every Sunday on MTV and if you haven't noticed yet, his gangsta rap receptionist, Chanel aka CC, is about to take the world by storm. This girls rhymes are mad dope and she has even inspired me to start getting my rhymes on paper. Watch this video...she not only a great rapper, but she fine too.

Trent Dilfer: Best NFL analyst ever to end up on ESPN

Why is Trent Dilfer, the former Buccaneers and Ravens quarterback, such a great football analyst? He explains football in a way that would make sense to anybody, probably even Clinton Kelly of TLC's What Not to Wear. I'd probably compare Trent's analysis of football to a politician's stump speech heard all around the country during election time. No real specifics come from his mouth, but the people learn about the basics of football that should please of all fans... i.e. the team with the most points wins the ballgame. Trent also offers a little bit of humor to his analysis, which is always great. Last night he explained that when trying to win a snowball fight, one must always attack with the largest snowball that can be obtained. With Dilfer anchoring the NFL analysis and Dr. Lou anchoring college football, we football fans will be satisfied ESPN viewers for years to come.

Santogold hype

I was one who never thought I'd start getting in on all the hype around Santogold, the stage name for Santi White, but it looks as if I'm coming around on her. She mixes a lot of different genres into one such as electronic, dub, indie rock, new wave, etc. Usually I'm not one to listen music with a strong electronic influence but most of her songs still have a catchy pop feel to them that make them accessible. Decide for yourself what you think of Santogold.


Santogold-"Lights Out"

Living with a slob...

I've had to live with a disgusting slob of a roommate this entire semester and have seen a lot of weird things but nothing compares to what he did a couple of minutes ago. Here is a simulation of the act that just transpired...

Best of lists

Just about all the major music publications come out with their best-of-lists this time of the year and they really help people discovered some of the lost gems of the year; i.e. #40 Jonas Brothers- A Little Bit Longer. Rolling Stone also guided me into immediatley downloading the #19th best song of 2008, which to that point I'd never heard...Kid Rock's "All Summer Long." Lets be real: These lists are about as laughable as a time when a kid argued with me that Aaron Rodgers was a top 5 NFL quaterback without ever having started a game. I'll save that topic for another day, but here are my top 10 albums of 2008.

1. Oasis- Dig Out Your Soul
2. Bon Iver- For Emma, Forever Ago
3. Blitzen Trapper- Furr
4. My Morning Jacket- Evil Urges
5. Sia- Some People Have Real Problems
6. The Hold Steady- Stay Positive
7. She & Him- Volume One
8. City and Colour- Bring Me Your Love
9. The Duke Spirit- Neptune
10. The Whigs- Mission Control

The Whigs- "Right Hand on My Heart"