Monday Morning Mentions

So the Giants won the Super Bowl? Good for 'em. I really had no vested interest in either team, other than to the extent that having grown up in Miami as a kid, it was nice to see the '72 Fins get to continue their claim to fame for another. But I tend to dislike all NY professional sports teams, because of the general misplace arrogance of fans of said NY professional sports teams, and I dislike (though respect) the Cheatriots on many levels.

However, the game was very taut, and largely well-played. Most of the poor offensive plays could be attributed to the fact that both teams played very good defense, and the Giants, in particular, put pressure on Brady like he hasn't seen in years. So, it was fun to watch. Blue Moon with orange slices washed down the wings and things nicely, and the Good Doctor Mondo and I had a very nice time of it.

In a moment of very unexpected coolness, an old acquiantance of mine's band, TheBoss Martians, had their music in two Super Bowl commercials - the eTrade commercials with the talking baby:



The track is called "Hey Hey Yeah Yeah", and is off their forthcoming new album, Pressure in the Sodo. (Iggy Pop even lends vocals on one track on the album.) The Boss Martians started out, nearly 15 years ago, as a an old school traditional surf/Gary Usher-style hot rod band (which is how I came to know them), and have evolved over time into a balls out power pop outfit that can hang with anyone, anytime, anywhere. It's been fascinating to hear the evolution of Evan, Nick, and their current rhythm section.

Evolution via album covers/photos:






As a big fan of surf, garage rock, and power pop, I've pretty much been a fan of everything The Boss Martians have ever done, and I can't wait to hear the new one. The snippet played over the last 6-8 seconds of the eTrade ads was spot on.

Sadly, I never got to share any bills with them over the years, but they twice crashed at my house while on tour, back when we were living DC-stylee. Good folk, and a fantastic band. Pressure in the Sodo is their 7th full length release (not counting Evan's solo instrumentals album or their interim Mystery Action record, both of which are quite good), and I wish them the best for big things in '08 - don't forget to stop in Denver while on tour!

Anyway, for reasons having nothing to do with the music, those were our favorite commercials of the day, with the fire breather Bud Light commercial a close third. The fact the eTrade baby commercials didn't seem to rate in anyone else's Top 5 pretty much flabbergasts me. All I hear about are the Will Ferrell and dog-trains-horse commercials, and sure, they're cute, but Will's just being the same Will he is in every movie, and the Bud horses just aren't that creative. Can't stop the bum rush, though.

EDIT: This just in, according to TiVo, the talking baby was, in fact, the top ad. I suspect their measurement is based on number of users who recorded and watched it?



As for poker? Hell, I didn't sling a single chip all weekend long, how's about dem apples? I'll start making up for that tonight, however.

Oh, and a special bonus for tomorrow's Bodog Blogger Tournament -- an hour of Mondo's dead money! Come get some!