I've always loved Jonah Matranga. From the moment I first heard Far's Water & Solutions, I was hooked. His voice is stellar and he has incredible range.

Jonah was one of the first people I interviewed for the Colorado Daily. He talked to me for two hours and was so genuinely excited about my interest. He asked me to introduce myself to him after his next show in town and said he'd happily grab a beer with me too. I was so enamored that I spoke of him like a deity forever and even named my cat after him.

One of the things I like about him is his openness to the concept of creating and sharing music. Long before Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails were battling out for recognition in the most generous category for letting people pay what they wanted for their music, Jonah offered Jonahpster. It was his online music store that allowed you to pay you wanted for CDs, T-shirts, stickers, whatever.

When Far broke up, he began writing songs with his acoustic guitar and the occasional synthetic sound. In order to play those songs live, he put the synthetic portions of the songs onto cassette and it accompanied his guitar by being played through an R2D2 tape player.

Matranga opened his second EP with a cover of Jawbox's Savory. Soon, he began playing acoustic versions of Far songs live. Then, he formed a new band, New End Original, and redeployed some of the Onelinedrawing material as New End Original songs.

After a series of other bands, he's been popping up again recently, doing covers of other people's songs, or singing for other bands that want to cover his song.

Here are three videos of his I came across recently that caught my attention. In the first, Jonah agrees to sing a Far song with a band he's never met before, Consider the System. They approached him because they loved the song and he agreed to do it. The second is a cover of Kelly Clarkson's Since U Been Gone. Jonah is singing for The Ferals in this song. The third is an acoustic version of Beyonce's Irreplaceable.

On the way into work this morning, I had a sensation I have not had since I was fifteen and wanted a '65 cherry red Mustang convertible. As I approached the main arterial between the city and suburbs, a two seater Lexus sports car zoomed by in the other direction. I think it was a SC 430. Without hesitation, I felt envy. I wanted that car.

It's very unlike me to have such a reaction. I dislike the idea of sports cars. Or, I disliked sports cars. I'm not sure yet.

Flashback: it's a recent weekend. A friend gets in my car and says, "Wow, you have a Scooby Doo." I believe that is street for Subaru but, specifically in reference to their sportier models. I, however, drive a Forester. It's big, boxy, and has a car seat in the back and a stroller in the trunk. It's not the kind of car that elicits lust from most people. This friend, who is also a parent, desired my car. He talked about how it would be great for transporting his kid.

Since getting the car, I've had countless conversation about how the Forester is an ideal parent car and is a baby step away from getting an SUV. People talk about cargo room and roof racks. Nobody asks, "What's the pickup on that?" or compliments the design.

The Forester is useful to us. We can transport all the baby stuff we need when we visit our families. It's practical -- and therein lies the problem. Family cars are all function and no form. When you have a family, a mortgage, freelance, and endless responsibilities, maybe you need some separation and a sports car can, theoretically, give the illusion of just such separation.

I guess what I was really feeling was the desire to have some sort of personal hideaway, somewhere I could go when tensions are high or life is too busy, and just escape for a bit.

A recent trend in the NHL, MLB, and NFL is to open a season with international game(s). The intent appears to be to increase the fan base of the sports and, perhaps, to sway the interest of potential talent for the leagues. In theory it seems fine but I'm unsure of the long term ramifications of these actions.

My understanding is that the NFL folded their European development league to focus on playing openers there. Do Europeans even care about football? I mean, they have a sport by the same name already. Do they have room for another one? At most, I think the NFL can get some crossover from rugby fans and that's a blessing in disguise. The heart and soul of American football stems from college football. If the NFL puts a focus on importing talent or appealing to international fans, they'll be tampering with there core and that won't go over well for any of the involved parties. The league plays less than a dozen and a half games in a season. Removing one or two local games and moving them abroad makes a significant difference.

MLB has a solid structure in place and baseball is huge in Japan, where the Red Sox are opening up their season this year. It'll probably be huge since it's Dice-K's first baseball outing in Japan since joining the Sox. I anticipate this game will be a huge success but what about those loyal Beantowners who have had season tickets for generations upon generations? They're left out in the cold, missing out on the opportunity to see these games live. Everyone loves going to opening day and MLB has decided to short Sox and A's fans of the chance to see their teams potentially two more times in the season.

That leaves us with the NHL, a league already held together with duct tape and chewing gum. What do they expect to accomplish by sending their teams abroad? Sure, they could benefit from the viewership. Any new fan is a good fan, but will that actually happen? There are many good hockey leagues across Europe and the NHL pillages their talent. Now, we're sending the Rags, Pens, Sens, and Bolts over there to taunt them with their own players. "Miss Jagr, Czech Republic? Well you can't have him back. Ha, ha."

Nostalgic fans will be willing to root for their former hometown hockey heroes but I doubt there will be any positive long term impact of the NHL or any of the other leagues coming through these portions of the globe. I'm playing the role of the doubter here. Until I see something positive happen, I'll view this as nothing more than when the circus comes to town. You take the kids, have a nice day, and then you move on with your life.

Ok, screw this. I need to make some changes to this list.

The first four teams stay the same. I skipped team five. So, bump teams 6-8 up a spot. The ten spot remains the same. That leaves spots 8 and 9.

1. Anaheim
Mostly everything I said before stays the same.

KEY TO THEIR SUCCESS: Corey Perry. His absence leaves a mark on the team but he is slated to come back right around the beginning of the playoffs. Expect him to continue his banner year if and when he returns.

8. Minnesota
They're tough. They're fun. They're making folks in Minnesota love hockey once again. I'd love to see the Wild win as a dark horse team. Koivu and Rolston are very underrated. I'd also love to see Kim Johnsson prove that Philly should have never let him go. Their goaltending is iffy, though.

KEY TO THEIR SUCCESS: The likes of Boogard and Belanger have to come back healthy soon and kick some ass and take some names.

9. Ottawa
My guess is, if Gerber knows the job is his, he'll keep playing like a good #1 goalie.

KEY TO THEIR SUCCESS: Their first line. They need to out-produce any and all opponents.

Notable Neglects

Philadelphia
This team plays with the urgency of Donovan McNabb in the Superbowl. They're a dead fish. After leading 3-0 against Toronto last night, they gave up 3 goals in the third period and lost in overtime. Again, they dropped a game to the Maple Leafs tonight. Biron has been decent but nobody else has any heart, and I think that stems from the stoic coach, John Stevens, who can't get his team fired up or coach them out of a box. I'm sorry but you should never see the following defensive pairings: Hatcher and Jones, Hatcher and Modry, or Hatcher and Smith. He's played all three at points and the former two pairs were on the ice together tonight.

He favors his Phantoms players to a fault and he keeps messing with chemistry. Upshall and Carter have been amazing together and he moved Upshall to another line. Umberger provided much needed defensive support for Briere and Prospal but he was replaced with a rusty Lupul. Stevens has to go and, if they fail to make the post-season this year, he absolutely will be canned.

Colorado
This team is plagued with too many injuries. After Sakic and Stastny returned, they lost Svatos for the season, who is their leading goal scorer, and Forsberg went down to injury after only two games with the team. I'd like to see the Avs win it but I think they're too fragile right now.

Carolina and Vancouver
Yeah, right.

They're called Ungdomskulen, they're from Norway and they sound like Bloc Party, These Arms Are Snakes, and Black Sabbath had a baby.

I promise not to write about hockey often on this blog but I'd like to put up my list of most likely Stanley Cup winners for this year. These are my top 10 favorites.

1. Anaheim
This team is just sick and with the late-season additions of Niedermayer and Selanne, they've got a lot of extra boost for the playoffs.

KEY TO THEIR SUCCESS: Health. This team discarded Bryzgalov like old milk and that might come back to haunt them if Giguere has any health issues in the post-season.

2. Montreal
If Carey Price can hold up, this team will remain hot through the post-season and give any Eastern Conference team a difficult challenge. Montreal is a proud, snobby French Canadien team and they might pull out all the stops to win a cup just to stick it in Danny Briere's face for not signing there.

KEY TO THEIR SUCCESS: Goaltending. Price is a franchise goalie but the Habs may have given up too early on Huet. It's sink or swim time and I think Price will float effortlessly.

3. Detroit
These guys are perennial post-season underachievers but they've got all the makings of Cup winners, not to mention the fact that they've been the best team in the league all season. Everyone should be back off of IR just in time to bolster their lineup for a push through the playoffs.

KEY TO THEIR SUCCESS: Goaltending. Osgood had an unbelievably good start to his season. Then, he signed a new contract and forgot how to stop a puck from going into the net much like Beavis and Butt-head forgot how to pee.

4. Calgary
I may be one of the last people to believe that Mike Keenan is a worthwhile coach. The Flames have made it oh-so-close in recent years and Keenan's aggressiveness might be just the edge that they need to will themselves to play high enough above their abilities to surpass any other Western Conference team. Kiprusoff has finally earned a few shutouts and Iginla is having another stellar but unrecognized year. Everyone forgets about the Flames because they're just not a sexy team at all. There's no allure. It's time for them to step up and make the rest of the league recognize.

KEY TO THEIR SUCCESS: Huselius, Langkow, and Nolan. Huselius and Langkow need to step up their production in the next month and Nolan can hopefully provide the locker room leadership to guide this team's hunger for their first Cup in almost 20 years.

6. New Jersey
Aside from Brodeur this team has, umm, nobody and nobody. Ovechkin will probably score more goals than their leading point-getter will tally for goals and assists. All it will take to destroy this team will be one cheap hit by a flying Scott Hartnell into the crease. Brodeur goes down and, boom, this team will never win another game again. Do I condone that, no? I'm just saying there's a huge flaw in their game plan and, sooner or later, someone will be desperate enough to exploit it. Or, Marty will just retire and let the rest of the Atlantic Division breathe a much needed sigh of relief.

KEY TO THEIR SUCCESS: Brodeur, Brodeur, Brodeur. They've got nothing else to go on.

7. Dallas
This team has only won one game in March so far but they only lost two in all of February. They're solid and now they've got Brad Richards to boot. Losing Mike Smith will hurt them in the long run but, for now, they'll ride the Richards gravy train for as long as they can. That means a much better powerplay and more overall goal scoring.

KEY TO THEIR SUCCESS: Mike Ribeiro. He's been phenomenal this year and, as long as he doesn't collapse in the post-season, this team will have a good shot at the Cup.

8. Pittsburgh
I'm crazy, right? This team has Crosby, Malkin, Hossa, et al. What's to prevent them from winning a Cup? I don't think they're ready yet. Mentally, I don't think they'll be able to pull it together and I think any team that plays Pittsburgh will crush Crosby. Hossa hasn't played a game for Pittsburgh yet and he'll only get a handful in before the playoffs. At such a critical juncture, throwing such a big piece into the puzzle may only throw off the team's chemistry. They might be a step behind and still trying to get it together when the playoffs start.

KEY TO THEIR SUCCESS: Malkin has to continue scoring at the torrid pace he was in February.

9. Philadelphia
I know, they've struggled but there are three key factors to look at here: 1. The absence of Mike Richards has forced Jeff Carter's growth to turn a corner and, since he's entering a contract year, he's got a lot to prove. 2. The Flyers are getting Mike Richards, Joffrey Lupul, and Derian Hatcher back in the nick of time. They'll be healthy, well rested, and ready to add a ton of firepower and defensive power to this lineup. 3. Vaclav Prospal has been the perfect fit for Briere. He's got his season back on track and the two are quickly becoming an unstoppable offensive juggernaut.

KEY TO THEIR SUCCESS: Goaltending stability. Biron has lost his confidence since having a short stint as Niittymaki's second fiddle. If he can get back into the grove he was in at the beginning of the season, nobody may be able to stop this team.

10. Washington
You must be thinking I've completely lost it. This team is 10th in the East and has to catapult over two teams just to make it into the playoffs. Don't count them out just yet, though. Ovechkin is impossibly good, Semin is finally healthy, and Backstrom is firing on all cylinders. Huet was a key pickup at the deadline to provide the Caps with some much needed solid netminding. Also, it's possible -- though not probable -- that Nylander could return for the playoffs, giving Washington some depth. I wouldn't count on seeing Nylander but I think the Caps are my favorite dark horse team this year.

KEY TO THEIR SUCCESS: Ovechkin and Huet have a lot of weight they'll be carrying on their shoulders. If they can manage the load, who knows what will happen?

Notable Neglects
San Jose
I just don't think the Brians (Campbell and Boucher) will be the missing pieces to the puzzle for them. They've had a good year, considering how poorly Marleau and Cheechoo have played for most of the season and the only way they stand a chance is if these guys put this year behind them and start playing like they want to earn their paycheck.

Ottawa
Everyone will tell you that Ray Emery is a cancer. He hurts the team. He has already lost his short-lived job as the #1 goalie for the team. Gerber is playing better again but the team around him isn't.

New York Rangers
The Yankees try to hire all the talent in the world and it doesn't work for them. Why would it work for the Rangers? You'll hear me say the same thing again in mid-September about the Mets.

Boston
Tim Thomas imploded and everyone's scrambling for answers on that team. They're heading in the wrong direction. While they're busy losing, there are plenty of anxious teams behind them, willing to take their spot in the Conference. I would not be surprised at all to see Washington take the #8 spot and Boston lose out on a playoff berth all together.

There is nothing that isn't awesome about this video. Sunny Day Real Estate on the John Stewart show. How amazing is that?

From Stereogum:

PAVEMENT IS INTO THIS REUNION THING, POSSIBLY BY 2009
My Bloody Valentine, the Breeders, the Verve ... and now maybe Pavement? Malkmus may have only just starting airing he and his Jicks' Real Emotional Trash, but there are rumors that a Pavement reunion's in the works. Actually, a little more than rumors. EW got some quotage from Ibold, Kannberg, and Stephen.

Here's what Malkmus tells EW in this week's issue (via Hollywood Insider):

"Something small in 10 years like the Zeppelin thing sounds good to me," referring to the one-night-only London show the aging Hammers of the Gods put on in December. "Obviously, the arena would be smaller than theirs, though."

Ibold doesn't seem to need that long, telling the mag, "Why not next month? ... No, it needs to be carefully planned." And Spiral Kannberg says, "Matador is having a 20th anniversary party soon, so maybe we'll try to do something for that." That's in 2009. "Summer Babe (Winter Version)" live will sound fine whenever, but don't wait too long, guys.

Today, I watched a show called "Philly Mob." It chronicled the local mob over the generations and its recent decline. Not too far into it, they documented an event I experienced but never watched.



When I was creeping up on the ripe old age of three, the mob placed a hit on Phil "Chicken Man" Testa. He lived across the street from us (see above.) In March of 1981, he walked up to his front door at night. A bomb was detonated and killed him. The explosion was so great that it tore apart much of his living room and entranceway. It also blew in the windows to my bedroom.

The people who planted the bomb used carpenter nails as their calling card.

His house was diagonally across the street from ours. In addition, on our side of the street, but across the cross street lives Angelo Bruno's wife. Down the street from her lived Joey Merlino. Three mob boss families were less than a block from our house. My brother's little league team was sponsored by Merlino's establishment, Avenue Cafe. My sister briefly worked there.

Down the street from us lived a mobster, MB. I don't know if anonymity is important at this point, but I'll try to preserve it for this guy. MB was a close family friend. He was a big guy who dressed fancy, flaunting his chest hair through his open shirts. He took us everywhere, to the casinos, to fancy restaurants, and so on. Everything was comped and each trip was taken in a Cadillac. His house had satellite and his wife was a classically beautiful Italian. You felt comfortable around his heavy breathing and slow movements.

And, through all of this, I remained blissfully ignorant of a good portion of the things that went on around me in my youth.

5. Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead) - Prospectors Quartet (There Will Be Blood)


4. Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova (The Frames) - Falling Slowly (Once)


3. Sondre Lerche & Regina Spektor - Hell No (Dan In Real Life)


2. Peter Sarstedt - Where Do You Go To My Lovely? (The Darjeeling Limited)


1. The Moldy Peaches - Anyone Else But You (Juno)
As song by the characters


Bonus streaming mp3:
The Black Keys - If You Ever Slip (The Hottest State)