Un miercoles de puta madre…futbol por favor!

Hey friends, thought I’d check in with yall, you know, make sure you have everything you need, make you a sandwich, rub your back, like a good boyfriend would. My ongoing romance for you, shallow-minded and sexually desperate readers, continues to haunt my every move, and like a drunk hookup, I will keep bothering you at all hours of the day until I get what I want. What is it I want you ask? Well, simply, a smile, a laugh, and the oft over-the-pants-hand-j. So with that in mind, how about a recap of the week’s events, and a look into this weekend’s games.

Big day yesterday in Munich. Bayern Munich beat Manchester United 2-1 in what I thought was a pretty dominate performance. They were clearly the better side, and if it weren’t for Edwin Van der Saar’s absurd performance in front of the ole’ onion bag, the Red Devils could have lost by way more. Wayne Rooney, Neil’s favorite cheeky bloke, scored in the first 65 seconds of the match, and it wasn’t until the 77th minute that Bayern was able to net one, with a Franck Ribery free kick deflecting off the aforementioned Brit and past the lanky Dutchman in goal.

Ernst Stavro Blofeld?? No...Franck Ribery

Then, in the 3rd minute of stoppage, Bayern’s Ivica Olic rifled a strike by Van de Saar after a sloppy clearance by Man U back Patrice Evra. 2 weeks from today the two will meet again at Old Trafford, in what is sure to be a classic. Man U has to score early and not allow Bayern a single goal, or all will be lost. Echos of the 1999 Champion’s League Final between these two ring loudly with Sir Alex Ferguson, and Man U hope to make another historic comeback to move on to the semis.

Olic sends home the winner

Lyon and Bordeaux also played on Tuesday with Lyon handing the French League champs  a 3-1 defeat at the Stade Gerland with a pair of goals from Portuguese striker Lisandro Lopez. With a two goal advantage, Bordeaux will need a miracle at home to move on.

Today’s main event is Barcelona vs. Arsenal in the first leg of what should be a beautiful display of football. Barca remain the heavy favorites, but Arsene Wenger’s side is always tough in European competition. The most pressing question is the health of Arsenal captain, Cesc Fabregas. The Spaniard, who came up through Barcelona’s youth system before being sold to Arsenal at 16, bruised his knee in Saturday’s match against Birmingham, but is expected to play. I highly doubt a competitor like Fabregas will sit out this epic encounter. Also on tap is Inter Milan versus CSKA Moscow in what should be a good match. Inter are the favorites, but don’t expect CSKA to just bend over and take it. Former Barca star and Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto’o has warned his team that CSKA may be better than their last opponent, Chelsea. Now, I have to disagree with Sam here, but CSKA plays tough, fast football, and have earned their way to the quarters after eliminating a very strong Sevilla squad in the last round.

So, if you are in the mood for football like I am and can’t watch the games on TV, make sure and check out http://www.rojadirecta.com/ for links to a bunch of web streams for both of today’s games. Or if you are at work, follow the gamecasts at http://www.uefa.com. They start at 2:45 eastern.

Well, big weekend coming up. The Final Four, which means only one thing…HOT LINES. That’s right plebs, later this week Neil and I will bring you an analysis for the games this weekend with our picks straight up and against the spread. So, if you’re in the mood to lose money, make sure and check us out. That’s all for now, see yall soon.

Ὀδυσσεύς Bombay

Real Madrid beats Athletico Madrid 3-2 in thrilling derby

Friday Cup o’ Mead

Good day plebeians, weak-minded minions of WBPT. I write to thee from New York, once again returned to this fateful isle in search of gainful employment. As I scour the steely landscape, I yearn for a bright ray of opportunity to shine through the grayed, light-polluted haze. A paycheck and health insurance my holy end, grilled cheese and Campbell’s soup my beggar’s reality. As lovely dames provide me roof and warmth, my months of unemployment bring annoyance and even resent, rightfully so says this wayward leech. I call, write, and then call again, hoping someone will take a chance on this brown-haired rouge, and open their minds to my open mouth. As I sit here in this corporate coffee shop, a weak espresso my only shield to frigid nor’easter winds, I must write, prose the only antidote to this seemingly endless cycle of despair. Yet as desperate I may seem, an appearance veiled; determined I continue, a trait better advertised.

That’s right plebs, I have to keep at it. I can’t let the letdowns get me down, or else I will never get up. So I push on. Being back in the city is great, after two weeks in Huntsville, I was beginning to feel a little worthless. But now I’m back to shaking hands, and hopefully will land some good interviews sooner than later….Ok enough. I’m guessing you probably don’t care about all that, but I had to get it off my chest.

Anyway, we have been pretty shitty lately about keeping yall up to date on March Madness, so I’ll just recap some things real quick. First off, 2010 has to be the year of the White Boy. Northern Iowa, Cornell and Duke really prove this, so big ups to their parents for bringing the orange slices and Capri Sun’s during halftime. Secondly, number 1 doesn’t mean shit. Syracuse and Kansas both get bounced before the Elite 8, both by small schools. Thirdly, the Big East was who we thought they were! At the moment there is only one Big East school left, West Virginia, who thanks to Huggy Bear’s track suits and late night Johnny Walker sessions have made it in to the final 8. Also, if you didn’t stay up to see the end of the Xavier v. K-State game you really missed out. Incredible performances from everyone on the court, and gutsy play calling and shot-taking from the underdogs. Not to sound cliché, but it was one of those games you just hope never ends. Also, Kentucky put on a show against Cornell, slipping up a little in the 2^nd, but reaffirming my belief that they are by far the top team in the tournament. Oh yeah, and Fuck Duke.

Since I haven’t given yall any juicy links to check out lately (ok in forever), I thought I’d list some of the more interesting stuff I’ve been reading lately. Peace.

Real Madrid wins thanks to two wunder goals from Ronaldo and a splendid pair from Higuain.

If Women ran Wall St.

http://nymag.com/news/businessfinance/64950/?imw=Y&f=most-viewed-24h5

How Haiti saved America

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/03/21/how_haiti_saved_america/?page=3

Boston Globe’s the Big Picture Blog: Record Setters

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/03/record_setters.html

Ὀδυσσεύς Bombay

Music MANday

Hey…yeah…I’m sorry…are we weird yet?

Awkward? Yes. Hot as F? Yup.

WBPT and I have had some time off. We are weirdly awkward and apprehensive around each other, troubled lovers adrift on different paths… alas, we must come to terms.

Without going too far into why we haven’t been around lately, it’s just been a fast moving, and especially busy month or so for the both of us, and blogging has taken a backseat to other endeavors. Since, plebs, I am in Huntsville for a while, I thought I would roll out a terribly written, smarmy, and otherwise hollow Music MANday. Good to be back.

This week, Music MANday will highlight a local artist out of Tuscaloosa via Huntsville, an old friend of mine and Neil’s, Grant Willis aka White Noise, and the only male in the world to ever be the music and the MAN in Music MANday. Grant, as a solo artist and with various groups and collaborations, has provided somewhat of a college soundtrack for many of our friends. We’ve all had a wine-soaked candlelight dinner with Del or have had our Heads Blown at some point. With that in mind, I thought we should interview him here on WBPT and let those who haven’t heard his music, well, listen to it. Ahead of his forthcoming move to Chattanooga, Grant was nice enough to sit down with me and Neil. We met, somewhere along the Georgia-Alabama border, a Hardees.

An evening to remember (or not)

Odysseus: Hi, good to see you again, slut.

WHITE NOISE: You don’t call me a slut, asshole. How have you been?

Odysseus: Wonderful, but still unemployed (rubs WHITE NOISE’s back).

WHITE NOISE: Hmm. Why does Neil have his hand in is pants?

Odysseus: Don’t mind him. Tell us about your music?

WHITE NOISE: I won’t ask why you phrased that as a question, but sure, yeah. I would describe it, simply, as crunkalicious, get your sex on, party-time music.

Odysseus: Ah yes, a lovely genre. Being out of the country I’ve missed so many of you new shows, but thanks to the magic in my computer I was able to listen online.  Where can we go to check it all out?

WHITE NOISE: You can check me out at various places actually. Check out my Sound Cloud for new tracks. Also, make sure and join my facebook fan page.

Odysseus: So tell us about Chattanooga. What are your plans, goals up there?

WHITE NOISE: Well, even though Chattanooga is normally thought of as a rock and country city, there is an upcoming electronic scene, with a big monthly party called Banger’s Ball, which I played recently. Also, The New Deal just played at 412 Market up there, and I had the opportunity to close for them. So to see a big monthly thing like that, and better known electronic groups finally making it down south, is badass. As far as goals go, I guess what I aim to do is continue to play in places like ATL, Nashville, Huntsville, Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, while maintaining a home base up in Chattanooga. It’s actually pretty close to all those places, so that helps.

Odysseus: How much do you hate Widespread?

WHITE NOISE: Hahaha, I don’t hate Widespread…No, I like them better now with Jimmy Herring, but that’s just not my thing really. Although have you ever noticed how every time anyone talks about a Panic show, it’s usually not about the music, but about how fucked up they got?

Odysseus: I agree. It seems like a lot of people go to shows in general, just to get fucked up, and the music almost takes a backseat. Widespread fans, even the hardcore ones, always seem to focus on the drugs and alcohol. But I guess we are all guilty of that at some point. Anyway, moving on, will you still play in the Tuscaloosa or Huntsville areas, or are you trying to spread it out more right away?

WHITE NOISE: Yes I will continue to play in Huntsville and Tuscaloosa, but be expecting to see more of me in more places, more often. Obviously I want to make Chattanooga a reference point for people wondering where I am at, but spreading it out is just natural really.

Odysseus: Well, we love your music. So make it happen. How have you enjoyed playing with artists such as Eliot Lipp, Pretty Lights, etc? And do you feel it helps bring you recognition?

WHITE NOISE: Yeah for sure. I mean, it’s fun to just go up there and have the crowd react the same way to you as they do to bigger acts, and its always encouraging and surprising. As far as the recognition thing goes, its kinda funny sometimes actually. I was in ATL for STS9 and some kid hollered out “White Noise!” as I was walking by the Tabernacle, and just to know that people in other towns appreciate your music is pretty cool.

Odysseus: Health Care?

WHITE NOISE: Do it.

Odysseus: Do me

WHITE NOISE: I don’t bang sluts.

Odysseus: Fair enough. What was it like playing in T-town during the National Championship run?

WHITE NOISE: Pretty amazing actually. The shows were one thing, but house parties really got crazy. This one party I did during the LSU weekend was ridiculous. I did about a 3 hour DJ set at a party my friends do called “Ole Sloppery” after the Pretty Lights show at the SAE house. Lots of debauchery, tits, and a “FUCK LSU!” chant on top of some drum and bass.

Odysseus: Roll Tide. So I hear you’re working on a proper album. What of it, and when are we gonna get our grubby hands on it?

WHITE NOISE: Yeah, I’ve been working on some tracks for this all original new album. It’s going to be a bunch of 70’s funk/soul/love music samples mixed in with orchestrated strings and stuff like that, and of course hip/hop and rap elements, samples from Gucci Mane, Nas, Lil Wayne and a bunch of others. After I get some help on the engineering side, mixing down and mastering them, then hopefully by this fall I will have about 8-9 tracks down. My plan then would be to tour to promote the album.

Grant at Banger's Ball in Chattanooga

Odysseus: So, what about tonight? (Grant played at Crossroads in Huntsville the day of the interview)

WHITE NOISE: Well I’ll be playing before Zoogma, and be on the lookout for some new tracks.

Odysseus:  That’s what I wanted to hear. Thanks for all your grace under pressure and your great firm handshake. We admire that in our musicians. This interview has been awesome, and I think that says a lot about me.

WHITE NOISE: You’re right, and you are the best interviewer since Dr. Ruth.

Odysseus: Thanks. Do you want to go get some Bellacino’s?

Huge thanks goes out to Grant for the interview and pre-interview inspiration (a subtler wink ne’er wink-ed). For all of you who haven’t experienced Grant’s music, stop being a butthole and grip his newest stuff. That’s all for today, but don’t worry I’ll be back tomorrow or Sunday with some new material and a bunch of interesting links.

Here are some more links to Grant’s stuff, and make sure and check out all his videos on his Facebook fan page.

Blow Your Head Promo:

http://vimeo.com/8904130

A little taste of Grant with Del, playing some Talking Heads:

http://vimeo.com/8411494

Grant profiled on Banger’s Ball and here

Oh…I had to throw this pic in…

Ὀδυσσεύς Bombay