The Bullets Fly

It was a matter of time before the military government of Myanmar (Burma) lost its cool. And now it's happening.

Monks are being beaten and arrested, and protesters are being shot by police. In full view of the world, a peaceful uprising of democracy-hungry Burmese people and their religious leaders is being violently shut down..

The images are stunning, and the stories get worse and worse. And unfortunately, with China standing in the way of any international action, I can't see how the UN or anyone else will be able to do anything about this.

Burmese Pressure Cooker

It's impossible to say right now whether the people of Myanmar (Burma) are taking the first dramatic steps toward political change and democracy, or if the government and military are just waiting to react, but whichever way it goes, there is something big stirring in Southeast Asia.

The images coming out of the country are striking--monsoon-soaked monks marching through the streets of the nation's cities in full scarlet robes, at first alone and observed, now joined by increasing hordes of citizens. They turn their "begging bowls" upside-down in a gesture packed with significance. Myanmar is a heavily Buddhist country, the monks widely revered, and turning the bowl upside-down means they accept no alms from and perform no rites or services for military and government personnel.

Americans claim to be intensely religious, but I think this gesture is largely lost on us. This is a huge thing for Buddhists, on par with being excommunicated from the church, though I still don't think that goes far enough in translating the importance.

This article in the NY Times covers the current situation and offers links to the stories that have charted this movement's progress up until now.

We, who take democracy and freedom for granted even while we claim to fight for it, who view politics as a series of soundbites and tawdry tabloid snippets, who decide on the person and administration we want to run out nation based on such subjective bullshit as family values and whether or not the person is for or against gay people getting married, could learn a lot from these folks about what freedom means.

(Image taken from The New York Times.)

23

In many cases, moving from experimental music toward the mainstream, in however small an increment, can be disastrous. Fans turn against you, critics slam your lack of principle, and fans you might gain will generally only engage you cursorily, abandoning you as soon as the next Modest Mouse release trundles along.

Not so Blonde Redhead, at least as far as I can tell. Their new release, 23, has been a grower for me.

To be fair, I've only recently come around to Blonde Redhead. While there have been tracks that have clicked with me and I've seen them do some solid shows, it wasn't until I saw them open for Interpol and gave Misery Is a Butterfly a really close listen that I felt like I was getting it. And then, of course, wandering through their back catalog brings about all sorts of epiphanies and rewards.

23, though, for all its change in tone and structure and its migration toward the middle, has really grabbed me. From the outset, the title track puts Kazu Makino's ethereal vocals at the fore of the mix, which is a good thing. The strong, spacey melodies they've developed their songs around for this record swath her voice in a cozy nest of sound, both nurturing her breathiness and strengthening her enunciations. It's a fantastic balance, made stronger by the sturdiness of the tunes.

Perhaps the new sound is a result of the change in producer, as no shift from Guy Picciato (of Fugazi) to Alan Moulder (producer for U2, NIN, and the friggin Smashing Pumpkins) could go by unnoticed. But it's not just the sound; the songs have shifted as well, focusing more on the flow and fluidity of each song and melody more than the breaking down of those things.

The record is largely midtempo, and while Amedeo Pace does get some time at lead, neither small shifts in tone nor a different singer break the mood of the whole.

If you've already come to love Blonde Redhead, this album might be a shock to your system. But accept that bands evolve and change--and that this very well may not be where BR stays--and you will no doubt enjoy this. And if you're new to the band, this is an accessible inroad to their music. Start here and work backward.

Cubs Tops in NL Central

Here's a surprise for anyone not following along.

It's mid-September, and the Cubs are in 1st place. They're a game up on the Brewers going into the last dozen games of the year. That's exciting news.

Tonight we start a 6-game homestand, first the Reds and then the Pirates. That's what you call the catbird seat.

How long can we put the heartbreak off? It'll be exciting to find out. Stay tuned.

George Tops in Missouri

Big George Hincapie came through in his final race for Discovery Channel to win the Tour of Missouri.

Not the biggest race in the world, but a solid overall victory for Hincapie. This is the inaugural edition of the new week-long tour, which is big in itself. But even bigger, Team Disco is over, and George is going out on top.

Next year he'll be in the big pink of T-Mobile, and while that'll be a big big change, gone are the days when pink and black stood for the German dynasty. They're up-and-comers now, focusing on racing clean and developing the next generation of pro riders.

George has a valuable role to play. Strong as he is, and destined though he was to play a perennial supporting role, he'll be of utmost value to teaching the young guys how it's done in the bigs. I can't imagine a better mentor.

Congrats, George.

New on the Range

New music rains down on the Range this week.

We got the good stuff, and we're sharing it with you.

New music from Modest Mouse, Wilco, New Pornographers, MIA, Earlimart, Editors, Artanker Convoy, St. Vincent, Manu Chao, Thee More Shallows, Imperial Teen, White Stripes, Minus the Bear, and more.

Join me Friday from 1 to 3 mountain time, won't you?

Smoky Days

The many fires burning throughout the state and region wreak havoc on air quality, especially in valleys like ours where the air can get trapped by pressure systems and hang around for a while.

We've got air quality alerts most days here. On this day, when Cathy and I and the hounds took a hike up in Orchard Gulch, the alert was orange.

It's nasty stuff. And while I've ignored the alerts in the past and gone about my riding/running/whatever, I've learned that inhaling this rate of particulate matter can really do some deep damage to your lungs.




So if you heed the warnings, it gets pretty tough to get the workouts in. And it looks nasty, too.

Park City

About 5.5 hours to the southeast of Boise lies a nice little mountain town called Park City. Maybe you've heard of it? Sundance? Skiing? Hmm?

Well, the draw here is the singletrack, in the summer anyway. And there's miles and miles and miles of it, all a ride straight up and out of town away.

For this my first trip, I stuck to the Mid-Mountain Trail, a sprawling line of singletrack cutting across the face of the ski hill. It's huge, ginormous, fast and fun.

I drove out on Saturday afternoon and hit town late Saturday night, just in time to carb up (read: drink beer) before bed in prep for the next day's ride.

Sunday's ride was so fun, so big, that we did it again on Monday.

Good times riding with Eric and his ATX crew, decked out in the AustinBikes kits, shredding the shit fast as I could in the vain hope of keeping up with Eric and Sol. They are not mortal.

Park City: I'll be back.

Sundanceland

Got a call on Saturday morning from Eric, in Park City for a wedding. Come on down he said, plenty of room. So, I did.

That's some amazing mountain biking down there, boys and girls. Amazing. The Mid-Mountain Loop was thrills galore, swoopy singletrack for days.

I've got some killer pics and I'll post some of them as soon as I can find the danged cable to plug the camera into the computer.