Sunday Night Selections + Rivalry Week Wrap-up

Oh boy, it's the day after the Clemson-Carolina game, and I'm hungover on life right now. Sure, was good already, but it's always a little better after beating soundly your rival. For those of you who didn't get a chance to see or hear about it here's a brief synopsis:

Things like this...

Happened often. Carolina's QB threw four interceptions and fumbled the ball once, our running backs and receivers made plays when they needed to, and everyone in the stadium won a free taco (that's for those of you who watched the entire video AND understand what type of promotions go on inside of Death Valley). This has to be a demoralizing loss for Carolina as a guy who was our wide receivers coach in September out coached the "legendary" Steve Spurrier. We said it when Holtz was hired and we'll say it again -- the University of South Carolina is where great coaches go to die.

In other rivalry week news, let's talk about those picks that I made last week. Out of the 14 games I picked, I went a strong 10-4. Two of those losses (Virginia and West Virginia) I wasn't too shocked by, but the other two -- ridiculous? Did LSU really lose to Arkansas? I was on my way back to Clemson, so I didn't see the last quarter, but I just knew that one was a lock. And Missouri losing to Kansas? Way to fall asleep at the wheel guys. On the flip side, while most of my winning predictions were gimmies, there is one I'm especially proud of. No, not Oregon/Oregon State -- but Georgia Tech/UGa. I've been called out on the carpet at least eight different times since Thursday, but the way those teams have been playing lately, it was fairly obvious to anyone willing to look that if nothing else GT was going to hang with Georgia. 45 points and 409 rushing yards later, I think it's safe to say that they were able to do a little more than just hang with the Bulldogs.

One more thing before I get into the music. This past weekend, the ACC had four out of conference games -- all against SEC schools. Combined record in those games -- 3-1, with the lone loss coming against Florida. Which in all honesty, is completely acceptable.

OK...on to the music.

Rock
The Killers - "Neon Tiger"
I picked up the new album from The Killers last Wednesday and I think I've honestly listened to it at least forty times. No exaggeration. Suffice to say, I like it - A LOT. I haven't decided if I like it more than "Hot Fuss," but I think I can say that I like it just as much. My favorite track off the album is "Neon Tiger." A track written and performed in a style similar to that of the band MGMT, "Neon Tiger" details the story of either The Killers or Las Vegas (the hometown of The Killers) itself. The tune paints a picture of its subject matter being "pigeonholed" or tamed by the wishes of society into being something it's not. You could look at it from the viewpoint of Vegas' seedy side or from the view of the band after being harshly criticized after the release of "Sam's Town." Either way I look at it as being simply awesome.


Metal
Ozzy Osbourne - "Mr. Crowley"
So I've been on this metal kick lately, mostly stuff by Black Sabbath. As a result, there's been a sharp increase in the probability of hearing anything by Dio or Ozzy Osbourne coming out of my speakers. While Dio's "Rainbow in the Dark" has probably gotten the most airtime, "Mr. Crowley" is quickly catching up -- due in large part to the song's inclusion in Guitar Hero World Tour. Once again Activision worked its magic in finding a way to remaster the song to where the Guitar Hero version of the song sounds cleaner (note: The Killers tracks "Losing Touch" and "Human" sound noticeably better as well) but they also recreated the Ozzman himself as an in-game character. Having Ozzy on stage "singing" as you rock out to this (as well as "Crazy Train") is nothing short of awesome. It's all about imagination and immersion folks.
Watch The Video

Rap
Chop Dezol - "Death Valley"
I think it's fairly safe to say that everyone who has been reading my blog for a while (or for the past two days) know that I keep Clemson near and dear to my heart. But I'm not sure that everyone who reads this understands just how "urbanly challenged" Clemson is. It's not a major metropolitan area. Actually, its about as far from it as you can be without being in Starksville, Mississippi. Which is fine, home is home. But sometimes Clemson does things that are just so silly, they become awesome. When I was in undergrad, football games contained everything - entertainment wise - that you would expect at a southeastern college football game. There were snippets of country songs with some light rock mixed in, some hokey cheers, and the obligatory playing of "Sweet Caroline" and/or "Hang On Sloopy." Well, that four years ago. Now, going to a Clemson game is like going to an NBA game. There's all sorts of crazy graphics on the giant Tigertron that overlooks the student section, AC/DC is piped in at every given opportunity, and "Kernkraft 400" is now used to hype up the crowd before kickoffs.

While all that is mildly entertaining, nothing tickles me more than the "Death Valley" rap song. It's soooo bad. So bad that's freakin' awesome! I don't care what anyone says, watching 87,000 white people try to dance to a bad rap song, is downright hilarious. For most of the season the song didn't get much airplay, but for some reason it was played EXTENSIVELY yesterday at the Carolina game. The Carolina fans hated it, but the orange faithful (both players and fans) LOVED it. As an added bonus, towards the end of the game our athletic department debuted a remix of the song that mixed it with "Kernkraft 400" and an inspirational speech by our interim head coach. I will happily pay anyone $10 if they're able to deliver me that mp3.