MY 50 FAVES: PART 2

 So I am a little late but here were the last 10 albums I shared with you a couple weeks ago...

• Ice Cube-Death Certificate
• Fiona Apple-Tidal
• Dropkick Murphys-The Warriors Code
• Massive Attack-Mezzanine
• Deorro-Good Evening
• The Killers-Sam's Town
• Enya-Watermark
• Soulfly-Primitive
• Nine Inch Nails-The Fragile
• Savatage-Gutter Ballet

So onto the next.  Remember this is no particular order.  I do have a top ten but we will get to them at the end,

NINE INCH NAILS-Year Zero

Yes the second Nails album on the list.  The thing that blew me away with this album wasn't just the tracks but the story and the campaign to market the album, I was stuck on this for days and I was salivating for the album to come out to hear the story being told of the end of the world.  One website has a recording of a shooting at a Cubs vs Cardinals game.  Plus if you remember the lyrics in the Wretched from the Fragile (on last weeks list) "God himself reaches his fucking arm through' which frankly is the cover of the album.  Survivalism is such a great track because as Trent Reznor always does, brings a new sound to not just Nails but music in general.  Other gems include My Violent Heart, Capital G, and my personal favorite God Given.  This was the second album Trent created on the road.  

ARMIN VAN BUUREN-Embrace

Armin is the Godfather of trance music.  No question about it.  However as time has gone on, his sound has become a little mainstream but unlike other EDM producers who just go with it, Armin makes it his own.  Embrace is one of the most positive albums I have ever heard.  Ofcourse as with every Armin album, the first track takes you on an adventure when you know you are about to listen to something great,  However there are so many great songs that make you feel Indestructable (yes thats a song) Heading Up High, FreeFall, and along with Mr Probz (who has Waves which is such a great song with Robin Schulz) Another You.  It is a must have for anyone into EDM.

THE FUGEES-The Score

Well I spoke about Enya last week, and the Fugees, Wycleff, Pras, and Ms Lauryn Hill make one of the greatest rap songs of all time with one of her songs.  Ready or Not which was one of the hotest singles that summer along with Killing Me Softly.  The three of the musicians make magic together.  This album is one of my all time favorite hip hop albums.  They just tell stories and give reasoning with wonderful beats.  Fu-Gee-La, How Many Mics, Zealots and along with a cover of Bob Marley's No Woman No Cry, this is an album not only to be celebrated by me, but by the whole industry.  It's so good.

KANYE WEST-My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

I sometimes wonder if Kanye was dreaming when he wrote this album.  The range that he has on this album is insane,  There is something for everyone on this album.  From Power (which you may have heard Miami Heat fans chant in the arena to the super multi artist anthem All of The Lights which features so many people from Rhianna to Fergie to even Elton John to other colabs with Rick Ross, Jay Z, Nicki Minaj,  It is very raw sounding and Kanye stepped out of his comfort zone to produce this masterpiece.

CRYSTAL METHOD-Tweekend

That's the name of the game.  The first song I heard from this album.  The bass is ridicolous with just that track alone.  Scott Weiland from STP makes a guest appearance in the mellow You Know I't Hard.  But the three tracks before that make this album.  Sure there a lot of great tracks on here later.  But PHD, Wild Sweet and Cool, and Roll It Up get your attention.  Drive around downtown Chicago listening to those tracks.  Play football to those first tracks.  Those first tracks set the mood for you to go kick ass.  And it worked because CM kicked ass on this album.

AVICII-True

God rest his soul.  Tim Berg will always be a living legend in the dance world and this album is a true testament to that.  Everyone and their mother has heard Wake Me Up which is one of the greatest songs I have ever heard, but there are some tracks on this album that people don't hear very often.  Dear Boy, Lay me Down, and the last track Edom in my opinion are the best of the album, but I am sure you have heard other tracks like Hey Brother and You Make Me, which are fun.  There will never be another Avicii.  He was a class to himself as he merged so many genres of music and brought it all back to EDM and will be one of the best ever.

STATIC X-Wisconsin Death Trip

You push it!  First song grabs you by the balls and doesn't let you go.  One of the fastest most creative albums I have ever heard.  Every track is at break neck speed with synthesizers and occasional audio drops.  Another person who we lost too soon in Wayne Static, the singer and guitarist for this band.  They never were able to match the complete awesomeness of this album, which many people were surprised by.  Stem is the one song that doesn't kick in at over 100 bpms.  I'm With Stupid, Love Dump, and Fix are my favorite tracks on the album.  I Am and Otsegolation merge into each other with a great transition too,

BJORK-Debut

Maybe it was because it was the first cassette I popped into my deck when I got my first car, but Bjork's voice is so unique and unforgettable.  Human Behavior was one of the big singles and its a great lead off but Bjork mixes up the genres a bit.  Although she was labeled alternative most likely due to her old band the Sugarcubes sound, she can get a nice dance track with Big Time Sensuality, an ambient song with different sounds Venus as a Boy, and one of my favorite happy tracks One Day.  Come to Me, Crying, and Violently Happy are standouts for me as well. 

WASP-The Last Command

Ah the good old 80s metal and WASP's The Last Command does not have one bad track.  The album is such a great fun listen.  Blackie Lawless has that unmistakable voice and the singles from the album Blind in Texas and Wildchild are delightful to old school metalheads every where.  However, Cries in the Night is my favorite of the album.  But how can you not like Jack Action, Ballcrusher, and Running Wild in the Streets,  I like a good cover and their Mississippi Queen cover is kick ass as well.  Definitely one of the best albums from bands who didn't commit to glam but weren't quite thrash metal as well.

DEADMAU5-Album Title Goes Here

deadmau5 is one of the best EDM producers/artists out there hands down.  His sound is unmistakable and for me the best EDM guys have their own unique sound and you know its them right away.  Avicii, Zedd, and Armin fall into that category for me, but Joel Zimmerman is the man.  This album included some great tracks that include your usual synthesizer sounds that are highly engineered.  There Might Be Coffee, Closer, Maths, and Superliminal are good examples and wonderful, but my two favorites are the ones we heard on radio.  His colab with Gerard Way from My Chemical Romance Professional Griefers and his take on an old Ray Bradbury classic The Veldt with Chris James are some of the best songs I heard on BPM that year.  No one produces better that mau5.  No one.

That is all for now gang.  More to come next week.

M

MY 50 FAVES: PART 1

 I love music.  There is no getting around it.  I enjoy listening to it.  Sometimes I get a vibe from it.  I get a message.  I love the sounds I hear and some times I can sing along.  Anyone who knows me knows I have the most diverse music tastes of anyone you will meet.

I started working on a project a while back.  I wanted to list my top 50 albums of all time.  I could never put them in order.  I mean sure I have 5 that I think rule over the others.  And we will focus on that at the end.  

But for right now, here are 10 of the 50.

ICE CUBE Death Certificate 1991

The album begins with a funeral.  A fucking funeral?  Who does that?  Cube does.  When it comes to N.W.A. Cube was always my favorite.  He usually was the first voice you were hear in almost every NWA song and many would point to his debut Amerikkka's Most Wanted as his best.  This I disagree with, even know I love that album as well.

Death Certificate just has a certain identity to it.  Production wise it is such a tight album.  My Summer Vacation has that baseline to it, and what a story.  A bunch of gangbangers leaving LA to come to St Louis, bringing their way of life out there so they can find a new market.  It's a good story.  The album grabs your attention right after the funeral with The Wrong N to Fuck Wit.  GOD DAMN ITS A BRAND NEW PAYBACK.  It had that fresh west coast sound and it was the first person to break the most dangerous rap group ever, on his sophomore effort (not counting Kill At Will the EP just after Wanted) which definitely did not slump.  Other highlights on it are Look Who's Burning, Color Blind, Giving Up the Nappy Dugout, and of course the very nasty heated diss track on Easy E, No Vaseline.

FIONA APPLE Tidal 1996

When I first heard Sleep to Dream and Criminal, I didn't think too much of them.  I mean Fiona has a great voice and is a good enough song writer I am thinking at this point.  It wasn't until I was at Starbucks one day, and I went to Starbucks before it was cool to go to Starbucks.  Right in downtown Mt Prospect to be exact, I heard Shadowboxer.  I asked the barista who it was, and they told me Fiona Apple.  I said no fucking shit.  Shadowboxer is one of the best songs I have ever heard in my life.  I decided I had to get the album.  Sleep to Dream starts this journey off on this wonderful trip with Fiona Apple playing piano with that voice you would hear in a nightclub during the 20s.  Sullen Girl just is so memorizing and she is so good at piano.  Shadowboxer comes next followed by Criminal, and then Slow Like Honey, just the first few notes of that song.  It is such a pleasing listen, and one other highlight for me is The Child is Gone.  Fiona really takes you down a trip and this is such a relaxing wonderful piece of music.

DROPKICK MURPHYS The Warriors Code 2005

Everyone and their mother has heard "Im Shipping Up to Boston."  Whether you saw it during the opening of Martin Scorsese's best picture win The Departed, oh you liked the New England Patriots (God help you if you do), you just hear the first few bars in the song.  But what this album does is make the Irish Punk sound really fun. It's a very positive sounding album.  From the first track Your Spirit's Alive which will make you want to run a marathon to the Red Sox anthem Tessie, you are in for a great treat.  The Wicked Sensitive Crew is funny and Citizen CIA will make you pump your fist, but two of the songs that touch your heart are the Green Fields of France, the story of fallen soldier in WW1 which was originally written by a man named Eric Bogle from Scotland, to The Auld Triangle which is also a cover.  It's just a great album and representation for Irish people.  Me being one.

MASSIVE ATTACK Mezanine 1998

Massive Attack was one of the first groups I found who did electronic music, and it was done in a way that was dark and mysterious.  Just the first track Angel is so eerie and dark and it eventually gets that riff towards the end where you feel like you just took your head out of a bucket of water.  You may recognize if from Snatch, when Mickey and his pikers get their caravans burned by Brick Top.  We move onto Risingson which has a smooth baseline to it and the chorus where Toy Like people make me Boy Like.  Shit gets in my head.  Every track on the album is perfect but the song that I love the most is Man Next Door, which is not a single.  The bass drops on that song are phenomenal.  

DEORRO Good Evening 2017

This is the most recent on the list.  EDM to me have its fixtures that produce great music and not make things monotonous.  It is challenging but Deorro's album stood up in front of all.  Let alone the song five hours has been sampled by so many people the Chris Brown edition closes out the album,  But the album begins as Deorro is in a night club performing these songs to people. It has an old school feel to it and he has small interludes for many of the songs on the album.  The tracks are insanely well produced and make you want to jump and wave your hands.  Commercial maybe? But its so fucking good.  Turn Back Time and Goin Up are just very pleasant songs that when you get the kick, you feel it.  That's the thing about this album, it's an adventure of sound.  It takes you on a trip.  A fun ride.  Other songs that stand out are Feel Pretty Good, Rise and Shine, and Bailar which is one of my favorites on the album.  A latin feel that makes you move.  

THE KILLERS Sam's Town 2006

I could have put Hot Fuss here because the first two albums of the Killers are unbelievable, but Sam's Town has a big time feel to it.  Just the title track the first note from the beginning along with the drum rap before Brandon Flowers starts with his lyrics.  When You Were Young and For Reasons Unknown are such relatable songs.  And one of the things I love about the Killers is their mix of modern rock with the synthesizer sounds of the 80's.  You pick that up on this album as well as Hot Fuss as well.  Like the last album, Sam's Town takes you on a journey.  I like my music to take me places, and a trip to Sam's Town is just what the doctor ordered.

ENYA Watermark 1989

There is to me not many female singers can touch Enya.  She has the most soothing, calming voices I have ever heard in my life.  Yes Sail Away is on this album.  But to get to Sail Away we have the title track where a piano starts off a beautiful melody preparing you for whats about to come.  Add in Cursum Perficio to get your blood flowing (its like chanting) and then you can relax to On Your Shore and then we get Storms in Africa which gets you back awake.  Exile is where Enya really shines and the focus is really on her voice.  Especially for the first minute of the song.  Some people say only soccermoms listen to Enya, sound people say her music puts them to sleep.  Like Wesley Snipes said in White Men Cant Jump, you can listen to Enya, but can you hear Enya.

SOULFLY Primitive 2000

Is it a super album because of the supporting cast, perhaps, but its a fucking kick ass album.  One of the best in metal history from Max Cavalera and company.  The blood still fresh from the divorce of Brazils greatest metal band, but that doesn't stop this album from kicking ass.  The first track Eye for an Eye will get you into the album immediately.  However some of the gems from this album would be Jumpdafuckup featuring Corey Taylor from one of my favorite bands Slipknot (yes they are on this list a couple of times), Son Song with Sean Lennon, Fly High, and Boom.  Other appearances from Tom Araya from Slayer and Chino Moreno from the Deftones and rap artist Cut Throat Logic round up what I thought was one of the best metal albums of that                                                              decade.

NINE INCH NAILS The Fragile 1999

If you know me well enough, you know NIN is one of my favorites, so this will not be the only time you see them on this list.  The Fragile is a long long album.  Lots of samples and different effects, but it was different from what Trent Reznor did in the past.  Sure you had those NIN themed songs like Starfuckers Inc., The Big Come Down, and the opening track Somewhat Damaged (which is fucking fantastic) which I feel are staple songs for them, but I feel like Trent wrote an entire opus from tracks 2-5 as those songs weave together (The Day the Whole World Went Away, The Frail, The Wretched, We're in this Together) and it makes this album one of the best.  Other tracks I am in love with on this album is Into the Void, Please, and The Mark has Been Made.  Pilgrimage is a good instrumental track as well.

SAVATAGE Gutter Ballet 1989

Jon and the late Criss Olivia are two of the most under rated brothers I have ever heard.  Jon with his voice and Criss's talented guitar chops rounded out this band as one of the movers in metal back in the late 80s.  They eventually switched vocalists and became what we now know as Trans Sibberean Orchestra but I want to focus on this album, at this period.  The title track is amazing, The musical craftsmanship is obviously there but there is one thing that makes this album for me, despite all the great songs of it. It may be the song of my life.  When the Crowds are Gone.  It has been an anthem for me and it is such a beautiful song.  Once again, like the Killers, I had a tough time selecting between this and the one before it Hall of the Mountain King, but                                                              sometime one song can do it for you, and thats what happened                                                                    here.

So there's the first ten.  I will have another ten to add later in the week. Please let me know what you think of these, and if not, go check them out.

MICHAEL

 

MADONNA AND THE MUSIC: A CASE STUDY PART 1

 Madonna has been one of the most polarizing artists in music today.  Her self titled debut album came out in 1993 and the recently released Madame X which has rounded out roughly 26 years of music.  I find it fascinating that Madonna still can get attention and each album has a unique touch to it.  So I decided to listen to all of Madonnas albums from start to finish, and these are my thoughts as she evolved each and every collection.

MADONNA (1983)

When I hear Lucky Star, the first thing that comes to my mind is Vinnie Jones whacking people in Snatch, however it is one of the three tracks on this album everyone knows.  The other two being Borderline and Holiday.  The album to me has a rawness to it, especially the last two tracks Physical Attraction and Everybody which for the time were kind of sexed up but still had a 16 bit nintendo synthesizer to it.  The album is a fun listen because of how early and young she is here.  Track three Burning Up should have made it's way to Scarface.  

LIKE A VIRGIN (1984)

This was the definite breakthrough album.  The title track was her coming out party,  The one where everyone got to know her.  The lace and white dress that looked like it was in a wedding.  It was much more tightly produced than her last album and it had a few singles on it.  Material Girl is such a fun cool song.  When I was a kid, I didn't get it, and I didn't understand the video and now looking back, she was a genius with those lyrics and the Marilyn Monroe tribute definitely got heads turned towards her.  Right around this time Desperately Seeking Susan came out and that movie was corny but fun.  It was 80s at its best.

TRUE BLUE (1985)

At this point, all the girls at my elementary school were performing songs off this album.  Personally I think if you are going to say an album set the bar for Madonna's career, I believe this was it.  The songwriting is amazing.  Papa Don't Preach kicks off the album with the message of growing out of the nest and also the talk of the teenage pregnancy.  Ofcourse other superhits like Open Your Heart, La Isla Bonita, and the title track make this album click.  I noticed the production was different on all 3 albums.  Unfortunately when you learn production you can't listen to music the same anymore.  You notice things like this, and doing some research, she swapped out producers every album, which is a smart move if you want to keep reinventing yourself.  She gave up the white and lace and long hair for a short blond haircut.  My favorite track on this album is Live to Tell, which was also featured in the movie At Close Range.

LIKE A PRAYER (1989)

Many said this is where the envelope started getting pushed here.  Her blond ambition tour raised many eyebrows from another new look to her having cones on her breasts.  However, Like A Prayer was a very personal album to her.  Despite the controversey about the title track video (which I still don't understand why it was so riske) the album came after her divorce from moviestar Sean Penn and the death of her Mom just before she turned 30, she was pondering her Catholicism and she used music to escape the guilt she was feeling from it.  I am not the biggest fan of this album, although its a very inspirational album with some real positive messages. It was her next album that made me take notice and really begin to appreciate her.  Side note, Vogue which is such a great song came out shortly after this on the Dick Tracy soundtrack.  

EROTICA (1992)

To me, this was Madonna giving the world a fuck you and taking control of her sexuality.  The most famous or infamous coffee table box Sex came out just before this album and Madonna was exploring the world of sexuality through the character of Mistress Dita.  What I love about this album is not only once again she changes things up, reinvents herself, but the sound of the album is just scandalous.  Just that baseline that kicks off the first track, the one thats the title track.  You are about to take a journey into sound.  Her voice inflection, it gives you the shivers listening to it.  And ofcourse it is highly sexual, but the chorus and the production element are very hard to get out of your head.  The album goes into dance format throughout and it is such a departure of everything she did before.  She completely abandoned everything but when you listen to her deeper tracks on the earlier albums you get hints of her taking control of her sexuality and being in charge so to speak to make all the boys piss in their pants. As the album goes on, the tempo does change, but it is such a fun listen.  Justify My Love came out right around this time as well, which was banned from MTV for being too hot to handle for them.  

BEDTIME STORIES (1994)

Although she had the same look for the most part she did in Erotica, Madonna really did to chill out so to speak.  Anyone remember when she handed Letterman her panties during an interview right around this time.  People were really going after her this time, but Bedtime Stories was a nice slow "romantic" album which has one of my favorite Madonna songs, Take A Bow.

RAY OF LIGHT (1998)

This is without a doubt Madonna's best album in my opinion. When I first heard it, I was at WHCM raising hell at Harper College and I played the track Frozen (since it was the first single) and I really liked it.  Followed up by Ray of Light which is such a fast move your ass song and has a real happy sound to it.  She really was into the electronic music at this point.  But you look at the rest of that album, it's amazing.  Yes she was getting into the kabbalah at this time, and I say it influenced her well.  Once again she went through a transformation, and the album had a mature sound to it.  I felt like we saw Madonna grow up in front of our eyes from the self titled debut up to this point.  Candy Perfume Girl, Nothing Really Matters, and The Power of Goodbye are such good songs.  Yes I really loved this album.

MUSIC (2000)

Yes Madonna had to come out with an album in 2000.  She stayed with the electronic format and I really can't say to much about this album.  I thought it was the most overproduced of the bunch.  Kind of commercialized.  Decent, but definitely not her best in my opinion.

Just a reminder, these are only my observations.  You can feel free to agree or disagree,

AMERICAN LIFE (2003)

This album to me had the same style as Music did, but the song writing is strong here.  Many of her lyrics are relatable as she is growing up here.  Her bond song is in the album for Die Another Day and it is followed up by a great track called Easy Ride.  I think we can relate to it all where we talk about what we want to do with life and list off our dreams, but then we discover we want simple things in life.

CONFESSIONS ON A DANCE FLOOR (2005)

This is my second favorite by Madonna.  I just started listening to ABBA for some reason and their song Gimme Gimme Gimme had the hook from Hung Up, which is one of my favorite all time songs.  The song has a disco feel to it, but still a modern take on it.  It grabs your attention immediately.  The album takes you on a ride and I Love New York is a guilty pleasure song of mine, but despite the fact its another single, Jump is a great track.  

HARD CANDY (2008)

I really believe around this time Timbaland and Justin Timberlake were the hotest duo in music especially with the FutureSex/LongSongs (yeah the one with Sexy Back) and you had to know Madonna was going to get in on that.  4 Minutes which she does with the two is a great song and I really love the chorus how they only have 4 minutes to say the words.  She was changing up her sound on this album and did lots of collaborations.  This was like Music a real fun record to listen to.

We will stop here as I need to listen to her last three albums, so we will return to this.  But before we conclude I need to talk about Something to Remember.

This is a very good compilation album.  It includes all the songs from movies that never made it to her albums.  Examples Crazy for You from Vision Quest, This Used to Be My Playground from A League Of Their Own and a couple others.  This came out right around the same time Bedtime Stories came out which obviously was being used as a tool to calm down the residual effects of the Erotica era.

Point being Madonna is the mother of reinvention, with her look, her music, her attitude, and her presentation.  There is not an artist alive who has refreshed themselves as much as Madonna and still is relevant.  We were will talk more about the role she played shaping today's music in part 2.  After I listen to the newer albums.\

THIS TIME ITS FOR REAL IM BACK

 So I am going to update this page now and you will like it. Here’s what I am doing. 

-Polarlines twitter feed is going to be live once a day with me talking to all of you to offer support. 

-I am working on the Madonna piece I said I was going to do a long time ago

-I am also going to write a piece with my 50 favorite music albums of all time it will be fine you can all discuss it if you want

-I will be doing some podcasts and possible radio shows here in the next month or so  

-I am also toying with writing a couple songs 

I believe that I need to keep myself busy and I also need to get the creative edge going  The time is come to make a mark  be sure to make yours 

Sincerely with love 

Michael 

-

OK IM BACK

So much going on, so much to do.  I am going to write a few things this week and try to get this blog going.  Here's what you can expect...

• The long awaited Madonna music study. 
• Black Mirror Episodes ranked (minus Bandersnitch)
• A review of 13 Reasons Why
• A look into things coming up

You don't want to miss this.

See you soon

M

POLARLINES UPDATE

Polarlines will be super active again. If you want to follow and get support for depression mental illness follow us.

IM A SLOW BUT NOW LETS GO ALL OUT

Yes I know my Madonna music study is coming.  First 5 random thoughts.

1-I can't believe the Packers shit on the Bears parade.  What a lame ass game. 

2-I can't believe Seth Rollins flew in from where ever to go to this game.

3-I can't believe Becky Lynch went with him and actually said go Bears.

4-I can't believe the Miami Dolphins got more for two guys who are not equal to Khali Mack's ability than the Bears got. (This is going to be a long ass season for us Dolphin fans)

5-I can't believe football has started already.  This summer flew by too quick.

Ahhh yes that was fun.  Now onto last weekend.

So I went to my first wrestling show in over 10 years at the Sears Centre in good old Hoffman Estates.  It was All Elite Wrestling's All Out.  One year ago, before AEW, Cody and the Young Bucks worked with Ring of Honor to bring All In, a simple show that the three of them put together to shut down dirt sheet writer Dave Meltzer.  He said they couldn't sell out an area with 10,000 people and the rest as they say was history.

I was very excited because one of my greatest live memories was seeing Chris Jericho's debut on Raw back in 99.  So to see him possibly win the AEW title and be the first champ was so cool to me.  I was very excited to see Jon Moxley as well, but he had to bow out due to injury.  I went with my buddy Jimmy AKA Hawk (who may be one half of a super duper radio podcast thingy we are doing in October) and his son and friend, and had a fabulous time. 

The opening battle royale with the women was a little confusing.  I liked the concept of four groups coming out every 5 minutes and then a last person who drew a joker.  I didn't know many of the women on the card, but I knew enough to enjoy it.  Fantastic finish and I love this feud that's developing between the good doctor Britt Baker and Bea Preistly.  The other match during the buy in pre show thing was Private Party vs Jack Evans and Angelico.  Super high energy match and Private Party has some skills yall.

When the event started it was SCU as I expected going up against Jungle Boy (who I just found out is Luke Perry's kid), Luchasaurus, and newly signed Marko Stunt.  It was a cool match, next was Kenny Omega vs Pac (who filled in for Mox) and it was a much slower match than I expected, but I was hyped because it was my first time seeing Kenny live.

The Cracker Barrel clash, a hardcore deathmatch between Jimmy Havok, Darby Allin, and Joey Janela was a car crash that was so fun.  I really loved it and I am not always a fan of hardcore styles. It must have been the barrels.  There was one spot where Havok did a move like a slingshot to Janela, and the chair landed right side up with Janela sitting in it crossing his leg and waving to everone.  Great shit man!!!!

The Dark Order vs Best Friends was up next and I thought this would be the match I didn't care about, but it was a really fun match.  Especially when Orange Cassidy showed up.  This guy never takes his hands out of his pockets.  Even when diving through the ropes onto a group of masked men.  The joshi style match with Riho against Hiraku Shida was a very quick match and I really liked the emotion behind it.  There were stakes as the winner would take on Nyla Rose who won the Casino Battle Royale at the beginning of the night.  I liked it and look forward to seeing these two women more moving forward.

The next match Cody vs Shawn Spears was a great match.  My biggest reservation with AEW is creative.  Cody booking himself to win.  He is undefeated as a singles wrestler at this point and I didn't like that he won the NWA title last year at All In.  I mean I was OK with it at first, but he didn't defend the title as vigorously as Nick Aldis did, who ended up winning the back belt in a couple weeks.  If it was a PR move planned by Billy Corgan, I am OK with it then.  And listening to Chirs Jericho's podcast about how it's not Spears time yet, made me feel better until I saw Jericho gets Cody at next PPV.  More on Jericho in a bit.

The Young Bucks vs the Lucha Brothers easily was the match of the night.  Holy shit what a rollercoaster ride.  This has been talked to death but man that Canadian destroyer off the ladder, holy crap.  Pentagon had his mask taken off.  The tables, the falls, the spots.  It was so crazy.

And then the main event, my man Chris Jericho vs Hangman Page.  The match started slow but I think they had to fight off the hangover from the ladder match.  It left me with such a high it took a couple minutes for me to get back on the horse.  Oh yeah Hangman came to the ring on a fricking horse.  Unreal.  Jericho got the win, I went crazy, night over.

We had a very strange experience at the Wendy's drive thru on the way home but all in all great night with good friends good times.  And we had Georgios Pizza before hand which is the best pizza ever.

I think AEW is going to keep growing and puts on a great show.  It will be a while before they create noise for the WWE, but with them going head to head on Wednesday, it will be fun.

M