NBA Predictions 2024-2025

Last year, I correctly predicted the Boston Celtics to win the NBA Title.  Let's see how this year goes!

Eastern Conference:

1.       New York

2.       Boston

3.       Cleveland

4.       Orlando

5.       Indiana

6.       Milwaukee

7.       Philadelphia

8.       Miami

9.       Atlanta

10.     Detroit

11.     Chicago

12.     Charlotte

13.     Toronto

14.     Brooklyn

15.     Washington 

Playoffs:

·      (play-ins):   Philadelphia over Miami; Detroit over Atlanta; Miami over Detroit

·      New York over Philadelphia; Boston over Miami; Cleveland over Milwaukee; Orlando over Indiana

·      New York over Orlando; Boston over Cleveland

·      Boston over New York

Western Conference:

1.       Oklahoma City

2.       Minnesota

3.       Dallas

4.       New Orleans

5.       Denver

6.       Sacramento

7.       Phoenix

8.       Memphis

9.       Houston

10.     San Antonio

11.     LA Lakers

12.     Golden State

13.     LA Clippers

14.     Utah

15.     Portland

Playoffs:

·     (play-ins):  Phoenix over Memphis; Houston over San Antonio; Houston over Memphis

·     Oklahoma City over Houston; Minnesota over Phoenix; Dallas over Sacramento; Denver over New        Orleans

·     Oklahoma City over Denver; Minnesota over Dallas  

·     Minnesota over Oklahoma City

More notes:

·     The East- I think Philadelphia and Milwaukee are old and so top-heavy that a couple of nagging injuries could cripple either team.  Especially with younger teams on the rise in the East.  

-    I really think New York has a great team; I also think they have a coach who burns out their players, which will hurt them in the playoffs

·     I'm a Cleveland Cavaliers fans, and really want to argue they are better than Boston.  But at the moment, if everyone is relatively healthy, I can't.  Boston wins the East

         

·     The West will be a dogfight.  I'm going against the older teams (Lakers, Phoenix, Golden State) and favoring the younger teams (New Orleans, Houston, Minnesota)

·     OKC will have the best record, and will be favored.  But I like Minnesota, and I think the KAT trade willr eally help the team.

·     MVP?  The past five years have been centers or power forwards; this year, it's a guard.  I'm in on Anthony Edwards

-     ROY?  No idea- Reed Shepherd?

-     Lottery?  Lately, the top franchise picks goes to the West.  Absent any other reason, I'll argue that Cooper Flag ends up in Utah.  

·     Finals?  Boston's back for a second year.  But the player Anthony Edwards reminds me most if Dwayne Wade.  And I really like their team- it has depth, and they have experience.  And running it back to the finals twice is tough.  

      Minnesota in 6.  

Peter Gabriel Retrospective: Album 08b- And I'll Scratch Yours

 

The companion studio album to Scratch My Back

Album:  And I'll Scratch Yours

Year Released:    2013

Lineup: 

"I Don't Remember"

• David Byrne – vocals, instruments
• Patrick Dillett – mixing

"Come Talk to Me"

• Sean Carey – drums
• Rick Lockwood – voice
• Kimberly Lockwood – voice
• Justin Vernon – all other instruments

"Blood of Eden"

• Joe Mendelson – production, arrangement, instruments, mixing
• Jack Dishel – production, arrangement, instruments, vocals
• Regina Spektor – production, arrangement, instruments, vocals

"Not One of Us"

• Stephin Merritt – production, recording, mixing
• Charles Newman – production, recording, mixing

"Shock the Monkey"

• Joseph Arthur – moog guitar, bass

"Big Time"

• Bruno Coon – production, mixing

"Games Without Frontiers"

• Arcade Fire – production
• Mark Lawson – recording
• Korey Richey – recording
• Tom Elmhirst – mixing

"Mercy Street"

• Elbow – production
• Craig Potter – mixing

"Don't Give Up"

• Mocky – organ, synthesizer, production
• Leslie Feist – vocals, guitar, synthesizer, pedals, production
• Taylor Kirk – vocals, guitar
• Paul Taylor – percussion
• Mika Posen – violin
• Morri$ – production
• Renaud Letang – mixing
• Robbie Lackritz – recording, engineering

"Solsbury Hill"

• Lou Reed – production, mixing
• Eric Kramer – engineering
• Mike Rathke – additional guitar
• Sarth Calhoun – additional programming

"Biko"

• Mark Stewart – cello

Track listing:

1. "I Don't Remember"         David Byrne                         3:38
2. "Come Talk to Me"                 Bon Iver                                 6:20
3. "Blood of Eden"                 Regina Spektor                 4:39
4. "Not One of Us"                 Stephin Merritt                         3:49
5. "Shock the Monkey"         Joseph Arthur                         5:49
6. "Big Time"                         Randy Newman                 3:29
7. "Games Without Frontiers" Arcade Fire                         3:22
8. "Mercy Street"                         Elbow                                 5:28
9. "Mother of Violence"         Brian Eno                         3:00
10. "Don't Give Up"                 Feist feat. Timber Timbre 5:28
11. "Solsbury Hill"                         Lou Reed                         5:24
12. "Biko"                                 Paul Simon                         4:19

Overall Thoughts:

And I'll Scratch Yours is the counterpart to Peter Gabriel's previous album Scratch My Back.  The concept was Gabriel would perform songs by twelve other artists, and then the artists would cover twelve of Gabriel's songs.  Delays pushed back the reciprocal by three years, but the album was finally released in 2013. 

It's not a complete recirprocation- David Bowie did not participate, but Brian Eno, who co-wrote "Heroes" with David Bowie, performed "Mother of Violence" for the album.  Neil Young and Radiohead also did not send in any songs; they were replaced by Joseph Arthur and Feist.  

The album works and delivers on the concept- reimagining Peter Gabriel's songs in the styles of other artists.  "I Don't Remember" gets a techno remix, "Come Talk to Me" is played in a bluegrass style, "Blood of Even" is a folk ballad.  

To me, the standouts are Bon Iver's version of "Come Talk To Me", Brian Eno's "Mother of Violence", and Feist's "Don't Give Up".  Not only are all excellent performances, but their covers bring different elements to the songs.

(And on a side note, Randy Newman is the ideal artist to cover "Big Time".)

My criticism of Scratch My Back was that the songs were all reimagined the same way- slowed down with piano and orchestral music.  It made the songs all sound the same.  That does not apply to And I'll Scratch Yours.  The album delivers what is promised

Ranking of Peter Gabriel Albums (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. So
2. Up
3. Peter Gabriel (Melt)
4. And I'll Scratch Yours
5. Us
6. Security
7. Peter Gabriel (Car)
8. Scratch My Back
9. Peter Gabriel (Scratch)

Top 10 Peter Gabriel Songs (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. "In Your Eyes", So
2. "Don't Give Up", So
3. "Mercy Street", So
4. "Red Rain", So
5. "Solsbury Hill", Peter Gabriel (Car)
6. "Darkness", Up
7. "That Voice Again", So
8. "Sky Blue", Up
9. "Only Us", Us
10. "Wallflower", Security

MLB 2024 Playoff thoughts

Man, what a weird year in baseball.  The Athletics last year in Oakland, where the fanbase and the owner hate each other to the point that The A's will play in Sacramento for three years while waiting for the stadium in Las Vegas to be built. 

The Chicago White Sox were historically bad.  How bad?  Every other team in the AL Central finished above .500- and the entire division was still 35 games below .500, thanks to the White Sox.

The likely NL MVP is a DH (try imagine saying that 30 years ago)- and Ohtani has been so impressive that few will object.

And, on the day before the playoffs, Pete Rose died.  Take it from someone who was a massive baseball fan during his chase of Ty Cobb's record- no one in baseball was as famous as Rose was for years.  And no one fell harder when his gambling was exposed.

Like I said- a weird year.  No team won 100 games, but 14 teams won 85 games or more.  

Honestly, any team could get hot and win the World Series.  So I'll rank the teams by my preference over who I want to win first, then make my predictions based on who I think will win:

Who I want to win:

1. Cleveland Guardians   
   
   (large gap)
   
   
2. Milwaukee Brewers
3. San Diego Padres 
4. Baltimore Orioles
5. Kansas City Royals
6. Philadelphia Phillies
7. Detroit Tigers
8. Atlanta Braves
   
   (large gap)
   
   
   
9. New York Mets
10. New York Yankees
11. Los Angeles Dodgers
12. Houston Astros

Who I think will win:

Wild Card:

• Detroit over Houston
• Baltimore over Kansas City
• Milwaukee over New York Mets
• San Diego over Atlanta 

Divisional Round:

• Cleveland over  Detroit
• Baltimore over New York Yankees
• Philadelphia over Milwaukee
• Los Angeles over San Diego

League Championship Series:

• Cleveland over Baltimore
• Los Angeles over Philadelphia

World Series:

• Cleveland over Los Angeles

Your 2024 World Series Champions:  The Cleveland Guardians!

Peter Gabriel Retrospective: Album 08a- Scratch My Back

 

The eighth studio album by Peter Gabriel.

Album:  Scratch My Back

Year Released:    2010

Lineup:  

• Peter Gabriel – production, arrangement ("The Book of Love"), design concept
• Bob Ezrin – production
• John Metcalfe – arrangement (except "The Book of Love" and "I Think It's Going to Rain Today"), mixing (except "I Think It's Going to Rain Today"), orchestration (except "The Book of Love"), additional "Oxford" recording
• Nick Ingman – arrangement ("The Book of Love"), orchestration ("The Book of Love")
• Will Gregory – arrangement ("The Book of Love")
• Randy Newman – arrangement ("I Think It's Going to Rain Today")
• Richard Chappell – mixing, engineering (except "The Book of Love"), Air Studios sessions recording
• Tchad Blake – mixing ("My Body is a Cage", "Après moi")
• Pete Sené – assistant engineering (except "The Book of Love")
• Mark Claydon – assistant mixing (except "The Book of Love")
• Kurina Támas – recording ("The Book of Love")
• Kölcsényi Attila – recording ("The Book of Love")
• Steve Orchard – Air Studios sessions recording
• Olga Fitzroy – Air Studios sessions recording assistant, Pro Tools editor
• Laurence Greed – Pro Tools editor assistant
• Melanie Gabriel – vocals ("The Book of Love")
• London Scratch Orchestra – orchestra performance
• The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford – choir ("My Body is a Cage")
• Hungarian Orchestra – orchestra performance ("The Book of Love")
• Tony Cousins – mastering
• Marc Bessant – graphic design, design concept
• Nadav Kander – photography
• David Hiscock – photography

Track listing:

1. "Heroes"                                         David Bowie                 4:10
2. "The Boy in the Bubble"                 Paul Simon                 4:28
3. "Mirrorball"                                 Elbow                         4:48
4. "Flume"                                         Bon Iver                         3:01
5. "Listening Wind"                         Talking Heads                 4:23
6. "The Power of the Heart"         Lou Reed                 5:52
7. "My Body Is a Cage"                 Arcade Fire                 6:13
8. "The Book of Love"                         The Magnetic Fields 3:53
9. "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" Randy Newman         2:34
10. "Après Moi"                         Regina Spektor         5:13
11. "Philadelphia"                         Neil Young                 3:46
12. "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" Radiohead                 5:06

Overall Thoughts:

Scratch My Back is a concept album- a song exchange with a dozen artists, with Peter Gabriel reinterpreting one of their songs and they returning the favor with one of Peter Gabriel's songs.  Gabriel's songs were realeased in the next album (And I'll Scratch Yours), which for various reasons wasn't released until 2013.

It's a fantastic concept.  Gabriel has always been a performer who pushed the boundaries of his music, introducing different styles, instruments, and technologies.  At times it cluttered up some of his songs (Us is full of songs that could sound fantastic with a bare bones, stripped down acoustic style), but other times it produced incredible works.  

The album is fine but disappointing.  It sounds great- musically and vocally (Gabriel's voice is outstanding).  My issue is that Gabriel's interpretation of these songs is to slow them down with a lot of piano and add orchestral music.  In some cases it works very well (I love his version of "The Power of the Heart"), but it feels like he's doing the same thing to every song.

This is Peter Gabriel- for his own albums, he has always brought in music and styles from all over the world.  Listen to his first album (the car album)- he has songs from different eras, including one that sounds it belongs in the 1890s.  I wanted Gabriel to take these songs and go wild with them- Do a Calypso version of "Heroes", or interpret "The Boy in the Bubble" as a marching song.  

Strangely, my criticism of this album is the exact opposite of my feelings about Us.  In that album, he created very personal, deep songs and then threw in so many bells and whistles that it obscured the lyrics.  With Scratch My Back, he took the lyrics of other songs and performed them the same way, when it calling out for Gabriel to be much more freeform.  

Ranking of Peter Gabriel Albums (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. So
2. Up
3. Peter Gabriel (Melt)
4. Us
5. Security
6. Peter Gabriel (Car)
7. Scratch My Back
8. Peter Gabriel (Scratch)

Top 10 Peter Gabriel Songs (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. "In Your Eyes", So
2. "Don't Give Up", So
3. "Mercy Street", So
4. "Red Rain", So
5. "Solsbury Hill", Peter Gabriel (Car)
6. "Darkness", Up
7. "That Voice Again", So
8. "Sky Blue", Up
9. "Only Us", Us
10. "Wallflower", Security

Peter Gabriel Retrospective: Album 07- Up

 

The seventh solo album by Peter Gabriel.

Album:  Up

Year Released:    2002

Lineup (numbers are the tracks in order):  

• Peter Gabriel – vocals (all tracks), piano (1, 3–4, 7–8, 10), keyboards (1, 3, 5), JamMan (1–2), MPC groove (1–4, 6, 8–9), electronics (1, 3, 6, 8–9), organ (2, 6, 8), bass keys (2, 5–6, 9), sampled keyboards (2, 4), bass guitar (4), harmonium (4), Telecaster (4, 6), crotales (4), tom–tom (4), samples (5, 9), harmonica (6), reversed strings (6), string samples (6), Mellotron (6–7, 9), sampled guitar (8)
• Tony Levin – bass (1, 3–8)
• David Rhodes – guitars (1–4, 7, 9), guitar (6, 8), electric guitar (5), backing vocals (2–3, 6, 8–9)
• Manu Katché – drums (1–3, 5–7)
• Dave Power – drums (1)
• Ged Lynch – percussion (1–9), drums (2, 6, 8)
• Dominque Mahut – percussion (1, 7)
• Richard Chappell – programming (1–2), percussion (1) treated loop (6), loop manipulation (7)
• Alex Swift – additional programming (1–3)
• The London Session Orchestra – strings (1, 9)
• Will Gregory – string arrangements (1, 9)
• Isobel Griffiths – string contractor (1, 9)
• Nick Ingman – orchestrations (1, 9)
• Tchad Blake – tape scratches (2), groove treatment effects (6)
• Adrian Chivers – backing vocals (2)
• Pete Davis – additional programming (2)
• Blind Boys of Alabama – additional vocals (3), backing vocals (8)
• Melanie Gabriel – backing vocals (3, 8)
• Peter Green – guitar (3)
• Daniel Lanois – guitar (3), percussion (3)
• David Sancious – Hammond organ (3)
• Richard Evans – recorder (4), acoustic guitar (5)
• Mitchell Froom – backwards piano (4)
• Steve Gadd – drums (4, 9), percussion (9)
• Dominic Greensmith – drums (4, 8)
• Chris Hughes – drum programming (4)
• Hossam Ramzy – tabla (4), percussion (7)
• Danny Thompson – double bass (4)
• Stephen Hague – percussion (5)
• Chuck Norman – Spectre programming (5), bridge strings (5)
• L. Shankar – improvised double violin (5)
• Will White – percussion (5)
• Tony Berg – backwards guitar (6)
• Sally Larkin – backing vocals (6)
• Christian Le Chevretel – trumpet (6)
• Black Dyke Band – brass (7)
• Bob Ezrin – co–brass arrangement (7)
• Ed Shearmur – co–brass arrangement (7)
• Assane Thiam – percussion (7)
• Jon Brion – mandolin (8), Chamberlin (8)
• Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – vocals (9)
• Dhol Foundation – dhol drums (9)

Track listing:

1. "Darkness" 6:51

2. "Growing Up" 7:33

3. "Sky Blue" 6:37

4. "No Way Out" 7:53

5. "I Grieve" 7:25

6. "The Barry Williams Show" 7:16

7. "My Head Sounds Like That" 6:29

8. "More Than This" 6:02

9. "Signal to Noise" (featuring Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan) 7:36

10. "The Drop" 2:59

Overall Thoughts:

After Us, Peter Gabriel took his time, waiting a decade before releasing his next studio album.  During that decade, he worked on the soundtrack for OVO.  Gabriel's album became more complex, the songs becoming longer and more styles and instruments becoming involved (there are 42 entries under performers- the standout are the The Blind Boys of Alabama, who join Gabriel on "Sky Blue" and "More Than This").  

Up is a deep, dark album.  The album starts off with "Darkness", is about overcoming fear, and alternates between inner thoughts of fears and hope.  Death ("Growing Up", "No Way Out", "I Grieve") is a theme that dominate the record.  His satiricial take on Trash TV in the song "Barry Williams Show" is not subtle but it is effective.

Up is a complicated album.  Gabriel has so many musical ideas and pushes the boundaries of technology in his music.  Something the music is so complex that it overwhelms the songs (which is what happened with Us).  In Up, he is better able to juggle the ideas with the songs, making an exellent album.

Ranking of Peter Gabriel Albums (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. So
2. Up
3. Peter Gabriel (Melt)
4. Us
5. Security
6. Peter Gabriel (Car)
7. Peter Gabriel (Scratch)

Top 10 Peter Gabriel Songs (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. "In Your Eyes", So
2. "Don't Give Up", So
3. "Mercy Street", So
4. "Red Rain", So
5. "Solsbury Hill", Peter Gabriel (Car)
6. "Darkness", Up
7. "That Voice Again", So
8. "Sky Blue", Up
9. "Only Us", Us
10. "Wallflower", Security

Peter Gabriel Retrospective: Album 06- Us

 

The sixth solo album by Peter Gabriel- more personal than his previous albums.

Album:  Us

Year Released:    1992

Lineup (numbers are the tracks in order):  

• Peter Gabriel – vocals (all tracks), keyboards (all tracks), triangle (track 1), programming (tracks 1, 2, 7–10), synth bass (tracks 1, 3, 7, 9, 10), percussion (tracks 2, 4, 9), valiha (track 2), horn arrangement (track 4), harmonica (track 9), Mexican flute (track 10)
• Tony Levin – bass guitar (tracks 1–7 and 10)
• David Rhodes – guitar (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7–10), twelve-string guitar (track 3), solo guitar (track 4)
• Manu Katché – drums (tracks 1, 6, 7), electric drums (tracks 2, 4, 5, 10), percussion (track 10)
• The Babacar Faye Drummers – sabar drums (tracks 1 and 4)
• Doudou N'Diaye Rose – programming (tracks 1 and 10)
• David Bottrill – programming (tracks 1–4, 7, 10), additional programming (tracks 5 and 9), studio engineer
• Chris Ormston – bagpipes (track 1)
• Daniel Lanois – shaker (track 1), guitar (tracks 1, 10), additional vocals (track 1), hi-hat (track 3), vocals (track 3), horn arrangements (track 4), Dobro (tracks 8, 10)
• Richard Blair – additional verse keyboards (track 1), programming (tracks 4, 5, 7, 9), additional programming (tracks 2, 3)
• Levon Minassian – duduk (tracks 1, 3, 8)
• Sinéad O'Connor – vocals (tracks 1, 3)
• Dmitri Pokrovsky Ensemble – vocals (track 1)
• Hossam Ramzy – tabla (track 2), surdo (track 7)
• Daryl Johnson – drums (track 2)
• William Orbit – programming (track 2), additional programming (track 5)
• Bill Dillon – guitar (tracks 2, 5)
• Mark Rivera – alto saxophone (tracks 4, 6)
• Brian Eno – additional keyboards (track 2)
• L. Shankar – violin (tracks 2, 3, 5, 8)
• Caroline Lavelle – cello (tracks 2, 6, 10), string arrangement (track 2)
• Wil Malone – string arrangement (track 2, 6)
• Jonny Dollar – string arrangement (track 2, 6)
• Richard Evans – additional engineering (track 2), mix engineer (track 8), mandolin (track 8)
• Gus Isidore – bridge guitar (track 3)
• Richard Chappell – bridge section mix (track 3)
• Leo Nocentelli – guitar (tracks 4, 7)
• Tim Green – tenor saxophone (tracks 4, 6)
• Reggie Houston – baritone saxophone (tracks 4, 6)
• Renard Poché – trombone (tracks 4, 6)
• Wayne Jackson – trumpet (track 4), cornet (track 6)
• Kudsi Erguner – ney flute (track 5), shaker (track 4)
• Ayub Ogada – vocals (track 5, 7)
• Malcolm Burn – horn arrangement (track 6), additional synth cello (track 10), additional production ideas (track 10)
• Mark Howard – horns recording (track 6)
• Babacar Faye – djembe (tracks 7, 8)
• Assane Thiam – tama (track 7), talking drum (track 8)
• Peter Hammill – vocals (track 7)
• Richard Macphail – vocals (track 7)
• John Paul Jones – surdo (track 8), bass (track 8), keyboards (track 8)
• Adzido Pan African Dance Ensemble – additional percussion loop (track 9)
• Manny Elias – Senegalese shakers (track 9)
• Marilyn McFarlane – vocals (track 9)

Track listing:

1. "Come Talk to Me" (with Sinéad O'Connor) 7:06

2. "Love to Be Loved" 5:18

3. "Blood of Eden" (with Sinéad O'Connor) 6:38

4. "Steam" 6:03

5. "Only Us" 6:30

6. "Washing of the Water" 3:52

7. "Digging in the Dirt" 5:18

8. "Fourteen Black Paintings" 4:38

9. "Kiss That Frog" 5:20

10. "Secret World" 7:03

Overall Thoughts:

Following the success of So, Peter Gabriel took some time (6 years) before releasing his next studio album.  During that time, he created one movie soundtrack (Passion, the soundtrack to The Last Temptation of Christ), started a recording studio (Real World Studios), and was divorced.   

Us (Gabriel continued his trend of using very short names for album titles) is a more personal, introspective album.  The first song ("Come Talk to Me") is about the growing distance between himself and his teenage daughter.  That song, along with "Blood of Eden", featured singing by Sinead O'Connor

Gabriel used technology to push the boundaries of his albums.  By 1992, CDs had replaced albums- and Gabriel took advantage, increasing the total time on the album from 46 minutes to 58 minutes.  At times, it's to his disadvantage (For "Steam", the video overshadows the song).  For a personal, introspective album, it's disjarring- there's a lot of 'bells and whistles' on the album.  I'd be curious to hear a stripped down acoustic version of these songs.

Us has good songs and is a deep album.  It doesn't reach the heights of So, and there are times that the songs are too busy, but it's an excellent followup.

Ranking of Peter Gabriel Albums (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. So
2. Peter Gabriel (Melt)
3. Us
4. Security
5. Peter Gabriel (Car)
6. Peter Gabriel (Scratch)

Top 10 Peter Gabriel Songs (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. "In Your Eyes", So
2. "Don't Give Up", So
3. "Mercy Street", So
4. "Red Rain", So
5. "Solsbury Hill", Peter Gabriel (Car)
6. "That Voice Again", So
7. "Only Us", Us
8. "Wallflower", Security
9. "Games Without Frontiers", Peter Gabriel (Melt)
10. "I Don't Remember", Peter Gabriel (Melt)