Trailer for a documentary on the final tour of Luna, the late great New York band. These “final tour” docs do start to blend together after a while; parts of this seem like a shot-for-shot remake of the documentary of the final tour of Beulah, the late great San Francisco band. But I loved Luna, as I loved Beulah, so I’ll probably track it down.
Speaking of Beulah, here’s a recent interview with its former leader, Miles Kurosky. With hints of an upcoming solo album and notes on the Miles-Bill Swan rivalry that was always just under the surface of their albums, their stage show, and that documentary. (See June 27th.) I have a special place in my heart for Miles, even though he seems like something of a prick. He’s a straightforward prick. Then again, I’m also the last Barry Bonds fan left alive.
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What is it that you like about Bonds, exactly?
Oh, it’s complicated.
It started back in the late ’80s/early ’90s, when liking baseball in the south meant having an opinion one way or the other on the Atlanta Braves. Some folks loved ’em; I hated them. So I gravitated toward their major rivals at the time: the San Francisco Giants (for that great 1993 pennant race, primarily, although they also had the only minor-league team in Louisiana at the time) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (for those great years with the Bonds/Bonilla/Van Slyke outfield).
When Bonds, my favorite Pirate, went to the Giants, my fandom went with him.
Basically, I’ve always thought Bonds is the greatest baseball player of his generation, bar none. When McGwire and Sosa were busy getting all the acclaim, I always thought (like Bonds, apparently) that Bonds was miles better than either.
He’s widely reviled — primarily because he doesn’t play nice with the press. Now, I’m a member of the press, but the thing is Bonds is clearly a very smart guy who, despite being an asshole, refuses to play along with the stupid questions and to say the same cliched nothingness that every other player does. Liking Bonds is sort of how I deal with the fact that my line of work requires me to do stupid things sometimes. Bonds calls us on it.
(I like Rasheed Wallace in part for the same reason. “It was a great game, both teams played hard” is sort of my personal sports mantra.)
Basically, I thought Bonds deserved the acclaim he’s gotten for the last few years throughout his career. So I wasn’t too upset when he finally got it.
Also, I think the steroids thing is INCREDIBLY OVERBLOWN, for Bonds and everybody else. Baseball brings out more moralistic bullshit than every other sport combined. You think half the NFL isn’t doing something illegal to enhance performance? You think half the league hasn’t been for the last decade? Sports fans applaud these people becuase they are freaks of nature, then attack them for it.
So I don’t know if that makes any sense, but I’m sticking by Barry, even though it’s 100% clear he’s shot up everything known to man.
That all makes sense. I think a better choice for best player of his generation is probably Griffey, Jr., though. In fact, I bet if Bonds hadn’t been genetically altered by Doc Oc his career would have gone the same way as Griffey’s; decreased performance due to age-related injuries with occasional signs of brilliance. And I don’t especially give a shit about the morality of steroids — it wasn’t illegal after all, like in other sports — but I don’t like liars and think all the damage was self-inflicted. However, I know all about sticking with your guys. I still have a soft spot in my heart for Dwight Gooden even though he turned into a crack addict and recently got sent to the slammer.