#how much is ray parker jr. worth

[mediumfire]

Ray Parker JR. Net Worth

Ray Parker JR. Net Worth

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 07/11/2020 (Ariana Grande, Bring Me the Horizon)

You know, it’s odd how that despite two pretty massive albums dropping, both having an impact on the chart, we actually have less debuts than the scattered mess of singles from last week, thanks to silly UK Singles Chart rules. Regardless, this week’s #1 is still “positions” by Ariana Grande and welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS.

Dropouts & Returning Entries

The biggest drop off the chart this week is undoubtedly the #1 hit “Before You Go” by Lewis Capaldi, exiting the UK Top 75 after a run lasting 50 weeks. Nothing really compares to the weight of that drop-out but I guess we do have “GREECE” by DJ Khaled featuring Drake, “Heather” by Conan Grey. “Bando Diaries” by Dutchavelli, “Heart of Glass” by Miley Cyrus, “forget me too” by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Halsey and “Hold” by Chunkz and Young Filly, only lasting a measly two weeks but still peaking high. There is actually a theme to our returning entries as all of these are spooky scary Halloween-themed tracks. The classic “Thriller” by the ever-controversial King of Pop Michael Jackson is back at #57, “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker, Jr. Is back at #54 – this is my personal favourite of the bunch, mostly thanks to Neil Cicierega – and even “Monster Mash” by Bobby Boris Pickett is back at #50. Oh, and “5AM” by M Huncho and Nafe Smallz is back at #66 but that’s just scarily bad. The biggest fall this week was for “Cool with Me” by Dutchavelli and M1llionz down to #64 whilst the biggest gain was unfortunately for “Whoopty” by CJ at #48. Honestly, what’s the appeal here? Sigh, at least we have some really interesting hijinks this week, pretty fitting for a week that saw the messiest US election in history, and I won’t write this in order so you won’t see what I’m leading up to until a while after you read this part but there is some incredible stuff here. You know what’s not incredible?

NEW ARRIVALS

#74 – “Too Many Nights” – 220 KID and JC Stewart

Produced by 220 KID, Joe Janiak and Mark Ralph

I started off this episode by writing about the Bring Me the Horizon songs first. Not only is the album good and I had recently listened to it, but I had a lot more to say about the tracks, obviously since it’s not something you see on the charts every day and there’s a lot more to discuss in these tracks. Hence, after writing nearly 2,000 words on the metalcore boys alone, I have a question: do I really need to cover this emotionless tropical house-pop crap manufactured by labels and DJs who rarely find any interesting instrumentation, songwriting ideas or even samples to cover up their complete lack of innovation and at times even talent, for a quick buck and stupid amounts of unwarranted chart success? I don’t want to say I’m angry and I don’t want to seem pretentious but music is art. Art is, as a result of the society that produces it, a product, but even #1 hits and major-label records are still pieces of art. They can be analysed, appreciated and listened to with a lot of thought and detail. I cannot see that in “Too Many Nights” by 220 KID and JC Stewart. To me, this is purely a product. I’m taking this way too seriously but this really exemplifies what people hate about pop music in three minutes and eight seconds of cheap plastic dance music. Next.

#67 – “Ginger” – Wizkid featuring Burna Boy

Produced by P2J

Wizkid and Burna Boy are both highly acclaimed Nigerian singers and given everything that’s happening here recently, it’s no surprise Wizkid released an album that I would think touches on these issues, Made in Lagos, which is a name I can infer means he will explore Nigerian identity and what it means to be from Lagos and make it big in music. Wizkid is one of the big stars and pioneers of modern African pop music and whilst I should be interested in the album, I haven’t had the time to give it a spin yet so I’ll take this first impression from the track with Burna Boy. This is a pretty sweet tropical tune with an infectious hook referencing the traditional West African dish of jollof rice, and whilst the language barrier does prevent me from fully understanding the song, I can gather that this is a mix of a hook-up jam and typical rap stuff, with him flexing how he lives nice and if people want smoke, he’s got smoke, and a lot about this woman gyrating on him. Seriously, that’s the whole first verse, which only arrives after a really awkward pause. The second verse is kind of awkward here and Wizkid’s voice and flow have never done much for me, especially here where both he and Burna Boy sound checked-out. Burna Boy’s contributions are pretty much relegated to half of the chorus and an outro that quickly fades away and soon enough, this really slow, kind of uninteresting song has already finished. I’m not personally a fan of this but I am still interested in that album – I like the song with Skepta even if it does sound very much like “Ginger”, just with a stronger guest. Now onto the big story, or at least my big story, on the chart.

#55 – “1x1” – Bring Me the Horizon featuring Nova Twins

Produced by Jordan Smith and Oliver Sykes

I never read Kerrang! magazine, mostly because I’m not a loser [citation needed]. I understand that they originated in the 1980s as a metal-focused magazine but I wasn’t there for that. I was there for the Kerrang! TV era of pop-punk whining, scene-core screaming, nu-metal grunting, emo crooning and the Bloodhound Gang for some reason. Listening to this new Bring Me the Horizon album, titled Post Human: Survival Horror, took me back to that place. That feeling of classic Metallica followed by less classic Foo Fighters followed by the absolutely not classic Medina Lake (some of their stuff still slaps, however derivative) – oh, yeah, and like 10 minutes of adverts after six minutes of music. That feeling of All Time Low and You Me at Six playing back to back and being completely incapable of telling the difference between the two. “If we ain’t got that then we ain’t got much and we ain’t got nothing.��� They were simpler times. I may be mashing up eras here but it still stands. Hell, the BABYMETAL tracks even took me back to the “Flashing Lights” disclaimers of all things. Rest in peace to Scuzz by the way, and, yes, I said BABYMETAL, we’ll get to that in a bit. So, yeah, I really liked that throwback to turn-of-the-millennium mallcore, but it does keep itself fresh and interesting enough throughout, especially with Sykes’ unique delivery and topical albeit ham-fisted edgy lyrics. You can say a lot about Bring Me the Horizon but at this point at least they definitely have pretty defining characteristics and a lot of likeability even if they do like to stick to a formula at times that makes it pretty obvious where their influences lie. That said, I do think the album becomes a slog by track seven, and it’s a lot duller than it probably should be for the final stretch. Unfortunately, this is track seven. I’m not familiar with the Nova Twins but they’re a punk-rap duo from London and honestly I am interested in checking out that debut album but I’m not really impressed by them or the metalcore boys – which is somehow a better band name than “Bring Me the Horizon” – on this track. Again, there is a formula to the metalcore boys’ banger tracks, and here it feels particularly stale and awkward, thanks to the loudness war that’s present in the album as a whole (Linkin Park’s influence shows up everywhere, even in the production) and the awkward trap elements shoved into the percussion of the first and second verses. I think Amy Love of Nova Twins obviously flows better on it than Oli Sykes who should have handed everything that’s not the chorus – one of the most cookie-cutter on the record – to the Twins, because he sounds pretty off here. There’s a lot less “epic edgy” lyrical content (I’m not sure if that’s a compliment) but that leads to kind of vague and disjointed ideas that don’t all line up to the core theme of the song, which is human guilt for the sins of man or some crap like that. Boys, when you interpolate four of your own songs AND Linkin Park, you’ve got to realise you’re re-treading some ground here. Not even the typical Bring Me the Horizon drop into the metal breakdown from an electronic bridge really feels like it’s worth it or climactic here, which is a shame but who needs the Nova Twins when the metalcore boys have a collaboration with another unique all-female rock duo...?

#51 – “Kingslayer” – Bring Me the Horizon featuring BABYMETAL

Produced by Jordan Fish and Oliver Sykes

When I saw BABYMETAL on this tracklist, I was amused and kind of laughed it off. These guys do have some pretty bizarre collaborations – they have songs with Halsey and Grimes – but BABYMETAL? I remember them when they were half-awesome Japanese pop-metal band and half-complete and utter meme in the early 2010s, and I knew that they had continued being so, mostly because the last time I heard from them they were playable in Super Mario Maker. Seriously, look it up. Now when I saw BABYMETAL on the charts, nearing the top 50 no less, I was ecstatic and honestly shocked. Needless to say this is their first appearance on the chart and whilst metal bands in the 2000s like Slipknot and System of a Down had genuine hits, outside of, fittingly, Bring Me the Horizon, it’s unheard of, especially for a Japanese girl group who happen to have freaking shredders playing on stage behind them. I haven’t listened to a BABYMETAL album but I feel like I don’t need to because of how much they’ve made an impression through singles, videos and live performances. Judas Priest’s Rob Halford called BABYMETAL “the future of metal” and whilst I’m not into the metal scene, I’m half-inclined to both agree and add Bring Me the Horizon to that conversation. I’m just amazed there is a cyber-kawaii metal song on the charts. I’m honestly astonished. Oh, and it helps that the song is incredible. On the album there’s a short interlude that functions as an introduction but honestly the short, aggressive synth riff followed by an immediate crash into the metal groove and Sykes yelling his lungs out works better on its own to just shove you face-first into some insane music. I love how that opening yell is chopped up and digitally re-arranged in the background of the chaotic instrumentation. The cutesy and bleep-bloopy synths that are not new to Bring Me the Horizon’s repertoire are used to their full potential here and yes, it is complete sensory overload, but it’s also kawaii-cyber metal. I mean, what did you expect? It also thematically makes sense. The song is about Call of Duty but it’s also an ode to the people willing to stand up for what they believe in even if it’s illegal and even if it doesn’t abide by rules and regulations. The album is full of these songs that fully support a revolutionary attitude and a clear frustration with keeping up with the old guard for all these years. You can hear how fed up and sick and tired of the political hellscape Sykes is in his shifts between pitch-shifted whining not dissimilar to Blink-182 and gravelly yelling straight out of extreme metal, except unlike most extreme metal I’ve heard, this is actually mixed properly. This track and especially the opener, “Dear Diary”, have so much anarchic energy and that is what I love about the hardcore punk edge to a lot of the album, not necessarily as much sonically as that in content and lyrical themes, where Sykes presents his inner mental struggles and contextualises them on the world stage, making an album that tackles the pandemic, racism and corruption vaguely and with poetic wit without being shallow or impersonal. Most songs that relate to the social distancing will not use the depressive emotional bloodletting of “Teardrops”, the subtly ominous yet still anthemic choruses about lockdown in “Obey” (seriously, these guys can make even YUNGBLUD sound listenable) and even the slow, sour conflict with both Mother Nature and general isolation on the closing ballad that has a name way too long for me to recite, as much as I enjoy upping the word count on every episode. Sykes’ verse in “Kingslayer” discusses opposing points of political opposition and protest, on one hand wanting to express how sick people are of going through the capitalist machine only to be spat back out again but also asking him the condescending question of if he really wants to poke the governmental bear. On the pre-chorus, he voices those frustrations in profanity-laden motivation that is asking not just himself but the general public to wake up, not that they’re unaware of how unfair the system is but instead acting as a call to action. Su-Metal of BABYMETAL takes this ode in a different angle, seeing revolutionaries as idolised figures, so much so that the chorus works as a confession of love or just awe in how the “kingslayer” is destroying castles in the sky and will save “us” from the darkness and from the struggles that the corrupt elite forces onto the populace. In the verse Su-Metal juxtaposes the imagery in the hook of some kind of medieval warrior (“angel of the blade”) with the near-incomprehensible verse, which is half-sung in Japanese with a cry for help responded to in commanding English, which I see as a reaction from the authority that undermines these problems. They call the revolutionary “artificial” and “modified” in a condescending, mocking tone, as well as using so much digital jargon that the verse becomes practically meaningless, especially backed by the heavy, loud music that drowns some of the messaging about and very much intentionally. It also seems pretty intentional that this song sounds like a take on an anime opening, as all of this cyber-punk imagery and anti-authority lyrical content feels a lot sharper when coated in references and criticism of mass-media. Oh, and it also helps that the song rocks, Su-Metal’s melodies are beautifully placed against a frenetic, monotone bass note in her verse, and that final chorus is absolutely perfect. That rapid-fire addition to the chorus took me by surprise on first listen and just completes the song for me. The song ends with one last wake-up call from Sykes about the rabbit hole before his yell is manipulated, screwed and played with by the production, rendering his scream inhuman... and followed by the playful, childlike inflections of BABYMETAL. If we don’t at least try to change in this time, the generations after us will suffer from our mistakes and missed opportunities. Man, this song is a rollercoaster that starts with drum and bass rhythms and ends with Oli Sykes growling gratuitous profanities that get close to feeling like he’s insulting the listener – it’s really brutal – and I’m here for it all the way. There have been songs on REVIEWING THE CHARTS that I like and that I love and whilst I know this won’t stick around (it is still cyber-kawaii metal), this is undoubtedly the best song I think I’ve ever covered on this show and might as well just be one of the best songs I’ve heard this year and maybe ever. I adore this track, please, PLEASE check it out.

#46 – “Flooded” – M Huncho and Nafe Smallz

Produced by Sean Murdz

Okay, seriously for a second: who cares? There’s nothing interesting here. A synth-based soundscape with some cheap flute loops drowned out by trap percussion that doesn’t even drop in, it just awkwardly fades in – yes, even the 808s – and Auto-Tuned mumbling from a nasal-voiced child with an unbearable falsetto. What is the appeal? None of them sound interested, there are no bars of any interest or even a funny line, not even unintentionally. D-Block Europe make me laugh but this tragically awful duo make me bored to death. M Huncho has a cool mask he wears and I wish his gimmick was more than just that and you know, actually translated to the music, but he doesn’t sound intimidating or like a villain. He just sounds like some dude who decided to rap barely on the beat of badly-mixed type beat with bass mastering that should be pitied. He did have a fluke song that kind of slapped called “Pee Pee”, which just comes to show that the more ridiculous and stupid he gets, the more vaguely entertaining he is. So why is he this dull and lame?! The flow is either talking over a beat that refuses to stay still but never truly reaches any kind of climax or even build-up, or just trap-rap word association. “I flooded the chain, it’s like a lake, we runnin’ the game, you pressin’ the brakes.” There’s nothing here, absolutely nothing, and these two hacks cannot sell it. I’m just looking for some effort and even if something is effortless, at least have the charisma to make it sound like you give a damn because this is pretty inexcusable.

#35 – “Paradise” – MEDUZA and Dermot Kennedy

Produced by MEDUZA

I’m tired and I feel like I’m almost at breaking point with these songs. What would usually be generic and uninteresting is sounding offensively bad to me right now and I’m not sure why. That doesn’t really matter all too much to me though as this show has never been an in-depth critical assessment... okay, well sometimes it becomes as such but these are usually just my first impressions of tracks that happen to debut that week on the UK Singles Chart and this can range from volatile frustration to immediate adoration to not giving a rat’s ass about a single one of the songs that debut, depending on how I feel that day. That said, this song is fine. I actually really like Kennedy’s delivery, even if his rougher edges are smoothened and cleaned up by the vocal production here, which is pretty reverb-drenched but does allow for Kennedy to actually release rather than editing the vocals to sound really tight and closed-in... except for that really weak, pathetic drop but I do like the lyrical content, fittingly about distanced relationships as England enters a second lockdown. There’s little to say here but it’s worth a listen.

#32 – “Four Notes – Paul’s Tune” – Paul Harvey, Daniel Whibley and BBC Philharmonic

Produced by ???

No production credits for this one for whatever reason. Anyway, I am tired to the point of just complete speechless confusion at why this charted, and especially so high, rather than having any intrigue in why, but I looked it up anyway. Paul Harvey is a man from Sussex with dementia who is able to improvise beautiful piano melodies with only four notes as a reference point, hence the name. This was recorded by his son Nick and posted onto Twitter, where it soon became viral. This composition was then arranged by Daniel Whibley and recorded by the BBC’s Philharmonic Orchestra to be released as a charity single with proceeds being split between the Alzheimer’s Society and Music for Dementia. This isn’t a song I can critique. The arrangement is really pretty and it was in the original video, with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra only serving to make it sound grander and fitting for a single release. Dementia, Alzheimer’s and any kind of brain disorder are all really tragic and really depressing things to happen to anybody, especially to the people it tends to affect: the elderly. It’s sweet that this is a single and I like that it charted high so those organisations that can assist science in treating these disorders and give help to those with family members diagnosed with and suffering from brain disorders have more funding. The song sounds good, it’s mixed well and honestly it’s pretty gorgeous at times, and if this helps people, then it’s done its job, and I commend Harvey and his son, Daniel Whibley and the BBC for letting this happen. Now for something completely different.

#26 – “Deluded” – Tion Wayne featuring MIST

Produced by Steel Banglez and Chris Rich Beats

Steel Banglez, Tion Wayne and MIST? God, maybe we are returning to the new normal; this is a 2019 line-up. Tion Wayne is a character and a presence on the track always and MIST is quite the opposite, but that “So High” song with Fredo was pretty cool, I suppose. Tion Wayne has always been more of an entertaining presence than half this crop of drill rappers, even if his flow and bars suffer from it, but he’s always a lot more fun and he does have a couple punchlines that hit. This particular song uses that “mm-mm” flow that originated on his track “Keisha & Becky”, and both him and MIST sound really interested and enthused here, as they trade bars in the verses and support each other with ad-libs throughout. The two seem to actually have some chemistry and it’s not an unnatural collaboration. Even in Tion Wayne’s solo chorus, MIST is shouting behind him, and it overall makes the song really aggressive and punchy, even if some of the lyrics are just kind of uninteresting or even confusing, like the oddly-specific jab at an unnamed crack abuser, always referred to as “you” in the song. Is the listener a crack addict? Should I be scared? I’m not entirely sure, but this kind of slaps, especially the keys and vocal sample in the outro. It kind of reminds me of a harsher version of the #1 hit back from 2018, “Funky Friday” by Dave and Fredo, except these guys are legitimately menacing in the song and the bass-heavy drill beat never subtracts from that, not to say that “Funky Friday” is a bad song (far from it). It’s not about being able to convince me with lyrics, it’s about being able to sell what you say effectively and interestingly – not even uniquely, but just in a way that’s presentable and leads to genuinely good music. M Huncho and Nafe Smallz could take a couple hints from these guys.

#16 – “motive” – Ariana Grande and Doja Cat

Produced by TBHits, Joseph L’Etranger, Mr. Franks and Murda Beatz

Murda Beatz, huh? Well, I haven’t listened to Positions yet, mostly because I’ve been bumping Goddamn Bring Me the Horizon for the past week, but also because 14 tracks of the same song doesn’t necessarily interest me. For the sake of the show I probably should check the album out – it’s not that long – but don’t expect me to have that a positive opinion on it. I said my peace on Grande last week and given the singles I seriously doubt this album will erase my continuous issues with her projects. I’ve always felt that despite her unbelievable talent, she is also unbelievably disinterested and detached from her own music to the point where whatever artistic contributions and creativity she and her team had is completely washed out by the questionable production, weak-sauce trap beats and misguided song ideas (I still roll my eyes on “7 rings” and “sweetener”). From what I’ve heard from this new album, it has a lot more classic R&B keys and strings undercut by trap skitters and modern vocal production, and this is pretty clear in “motive”, a funky house-inspired dance-pop tune that feels miles less robotic and factory-made than most house on the charts, instead going for an organic fast-paced groove and mildly annoying vocal samples. The trap breakdown in the pre-chorus is what gives Murda Beatz the right to put his producer tag at the start of the song, which is honestly just funny. I do like the verses but the chorus doesn’t hit in quite the same way it should, possibly that pre-chorus is just garbage and it doesn’t build to an effective crescendo for the chorus to build up on off of whispery murmuring. Oh, and Doja Cat is here, which took me by surprise when she started lazily rapping since Ari actually sounded like her in the second verse. In fact, this is a Doja Cat song in all but lead artist credit and honestly, the song kind of suffers because of it. This is decent, I suppose, but a collaboration that doesn’t favour either artist.

#9 – “34+35” – Ariana Grande

Produced by ProdByXavi, Mr. Franks, Peter Lee Johnson and TBHits

Ariana Grande’s albums have disproportionate producer credit to producer effort ratio. At least there’s not a M-M-M-Murda on this one. The song title is stupid but this was pushed to radio so I guess it has to be family-friendly PG clean to some degree. It is interesting how it goes for the absurdity of being dirty over Disney-like orchestral blossoms and pretty nice-sounding strings, but it doesn’t go far enough other than the chorus. It’s missing a good, effective, funny opening line, and I feel that the verses are pretty lacking. The pre-chorus is almost cringeworthy and just going into bizarre levels of horny on main but that is very much the point of the whole thing. “You know I keep it squeaky”? I find it almost difficult to take this song as anything more than a joke, but she does have some pretty commanding tones when she asks him to “just give me them babies” and the snarky laugh in the intro combined with pretty slick albeit absolutely stupid punchlines that go from so bad it’s good territory to just unabashedly ridiculous and embracing itself as such. I love the falsetto in the chorus even if it is just building up to that stupid title that is nowhere near as clever as Ari thinks it is. By the way, she completely delivers here and it’s a pretty damn great performance from her, one of her most enthusiastic on record, even with her now typical “yuh”s spread throughout. Hell, the rap verse actually works this time mostly because her charisma actually comes through and the trap skitter has some energy this time, unlike “7 rings”. I don’t get the end where she says she was never good at maths, though, because “34 + 35 = 69” is a pretty solid and correct albeit obviously simple calculation. You got the answer, give it a tick in a different colour pen.

Got the neighbours yellin’, “Earthquake!” / 4.5 when I make the bed shake

There’s a song in the top 10 that uses the moment magnitude scale as a sex metaphor. 2020, everyone.

Conclusion

Let’s cut to the chase: Best of the Week goes to Bring Me the Horizon and BABYMETAL for “Kingslayer”, which should have been obvious. I’m so glad I expanded beyond the top 40 on this show. It means I can talk about songs like that in depth. Honourable Mention might actually go to Ariana Grande’s “34+35” on plain fun alone, although the similarly numeric “1x1” did get close. The Worst of the Week is really a toss-up because there was a lot of disposable filler between the good and interesting stuff this week had to offer. I’ll probably go with “Flooded” by M Huncho and Nafe Smallz, with a Dishonourable Mention to “Too Many Nights” by 220 KID and JC Stewart. Both are just impressively lacking in effort or any appeal I can search for, but knowing my luck, they’ll both be “Old Town Road”-level big. Here’s our top 10:

Thanks for reading this! You can follow me @cactusinthebank on Twitter and I need some sleep. See you next week!

[mynameismichaelkern]

Mouth Moods and the Mouth Trilogy: The Dangers of Nostalgia

An auditory disaster of a mash-up album is a good vehicle for dissecting nostalgia. The Mouth Trilogy is the trio of mash-up albums by Neil Cicierega. They are notable for inducing dissociative episodes and confusion. For some it elicits pure revulsion, and for others, they’re just some dumb fun. The evolution of the trilogy is what is probably the most interesting part of the series. On its face they are simply mash up albums, but they are more than that. They are directly critiques of nostalgia and it’s values.

Mouth Sounds was a much more violent experience. It had teeth to it - it was destroying the idea that nostalgia is a comfortable thing. It used nostalgia to launch an auditory assault upon the listener. It continues to incur Smash Mouth’s “All-Star,” a song from the Mystery Men, The Digimon Movie, Rat Race, and most notably, Shrek soundtracks. It is easily recognizable and immediately incurs nostalgia of one’s youth, if one was born in the 90s. Because of the boom of the internet just as someone from that generation would begin to feel nostalgia for their youth, it’s spread is easy to see. It’s a silly, upbeat song that has lyrics that are easy to remember. It’s the perfect target to pin to the wall if one wants to skew  nostalgia. This constant reiteration of this target continues to slam home the message: “Fuck your nostalgia.”  It’s mocking those that think their past is worth celebrating.

It’s never more clear than when Imagine by John Lennon is mixed with a horrifically slowed down version of the lyrics of All-Star. The former is a song about a dream for a better world, while the latter is a song about going with the flow and being the best you can be despite a world that fights against oneself. It is synthesis of two of the most recognizable songs of their respective eras. They are both mockeries of each other and by doing so, Cicierega accomplishes the feat of skewing not just a reverence of 90s nostalgia but nostalgia in general. It mocks John Lennon’s dream of a better world in the future, by saying “This is the future we inhabit,” by slowing down All-Star’s lyrics to such an absurd degree it can only be seen as farce.

Mouth Silence, the follow-up to Mouth Sounds, deemed a prequel, is a clearer album. Mouth Sounds is furious but Mouth Silence decides to subdue it’s rage for the sake of clarity.  It relies on songs that are much slower than it’s predecessor. In the grand scheme of things it was partly a thank you for listening to Mouth Sounds, while also asking for the audience to take a clearer look at the unsaid thesis statement of these albums. Each of these album’s first minutes is full of distorted sounds as it struggles to find it’s themes and ideas. It’s as if the sounds themselves are adjusting to their shell and morphing. Mouth Silence has an almost choral sound about it. It’s a promise things are going to be a bit more clear. This can be seen in it’s splicing of using news clips. It’s firing spears not just at the music but the culture that reacted towards the mainstream. It shows the silliness of the media as it overreacts to the Pokemon trend.

While putting larger culture in its crosshairs, the album does not ignore the disgust at nostalgia and that is never more clear than in Crocodile Chop, the mash up of Crocodile Rock by Elton John and Chop Suey by System of a Down. Chop Suey is about how death is treated differently depending upon one’s cause of death, while Crocodile Rock is a song about appreciating nostalgia itself. One is obsessed with the future, the other the past. Crocodile Rock is a much more carefree song and together, they seem to simply mock the ideas of death. On a deeper level though, it can be seen as those that are obsessed with the past see the future as a joke.

The most interesting part of Mouth Silence is its relating of Death and Nostalgia. It’s My Life by Bon Jovi and Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen are lyrically featured, acknowledging death and its inevitability. These memories of the past are vital to thoughts of death - one cannot exist without the other.  These songs are not mocked in their mash ups. These three songs are actually unique in that each of them are mashed up with songs that lack lyrics. Born to Run is mixed with Alley Cat by Bent Fabric. It’s My Life is mixed with The Liberty Bell, a traditional military march that is most associated with being the theme song of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. With only the lyrics on display it emphasizes the lyrics that settle on death. In Born to Run, there is the idea that death is inevitable so it’s best to keep going and not settle on the past. In It’s My Life, the theme is that again, Death is Inevitable so live your life how you want.

There is one song on this album that cements the idea that nostalgia is a convenient distraction from death. It’s a track titled Space Monkey Mafia. It mixes the lyrics of It’s The End of the World As We Know It by REM and We Didn’t Start The Fire by Billy Joel. In the background is a polka/electronic track. (As far as I have been able to find, it’s an original track.) The inclusion of an original track on a mash up album is notable in itself - most mash ups rely upon the familiarity of pre-existing tracks to make an impact. The lyrics of the two songs clash and compete for prominence. Their ideals, one in which it's the end of the world and death is around the corner for all, and the other which is a collection of allusions to the past. In combination, “the fire” of We Didn’t Start The Fire can be seen as the cause of “the end of the world.” All of the past is what’s responsible for the end. Nostalgia - yearning for a past - is what’s going to lead to the end of the world in this album’s eyes.

Mouth Moods is notable because it is actually fun. Mouth Moods is the eyeroll, accompanied by a smirk, before finally succumbing to relative’s proddings and dancing at the family reunion, of the Mouth Trilogy. In its first minutes, it combines the notable lead ins for multiple catchy songs, Smash Mouth’s All-Star included. What it loses in pointed criticism towards nostalgia, it gains in playing with the format itself. Early on in the album, the piano intro for Vanessa Carlton’s A Thousand Miles opens up the possibility for literally any mash up. It breeds anticipation in the listener until the satisfaction of the screaming lyrics of AC/DC’s Back in Black. The subdued piano of A Thousand Miles actually acts to highlight the strangeness of Brian Johnson’s voice that seems so natural in any amount of AC/DC songs.

Nowhere is that fun more apparent in the track titled “Bustin’.” Simply re-doing the lyrics of the song to the theme song of the theme song of Ghostbusters. The song is introduced with a clip from an interview Bobby Brown did with Larry King, talking about having sex with a ghost while filming Ghostbusters II. The song then launches into the familiar tune of the Ghostbusters theme before manipulating Ray Parker Jr.’s lyrics to insinuate he exceedingly enjoys “bustin’,” specifically with ghosts. It’s a silly song made more for a joke than to actually point any sort of criticism. It’s a corruption of a familiar song to provide a joke.

This album is actually much more confident using the straight audio of commercials and reports. It is confident that the absurdity of the past can stand for itself and does not need to be enhanced as much. Instead of criticising nostalgia, it instead is criticising the sacred temples of culture. Ghostbusters is considered an institution but it reduces to sex with ghosts. Immediately following it is the lyrics of TLC’s No Scrubs with the dirge-like backing of Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin.

In one of the stranger turns on the album is Hans Zimmer’s Time scoring the lyrics to The Village People’s Y.M.C.A. It’s an inversion of the mocking of something sacred. It’s amplifying something that is an advertisement for the YMCA or as an appreciation for a gay hook up spot - whichever interpretation of Y.M.C.A  you enjoy more. This amplification acts as an act of tearing down what would be considered awe-inspiring. In this sense, institutions and what they stand for are what is put to task. There is a further inversion going on in this track :institutions, in this case, is the score of Hans Zimmer, not the YMCA which is an actual, physical, institution. Hans Zimmer’s music stands for a sort of elevated status. His music makes moments bold. Y.M.C.A. is a song you do at the family reunion because your grandmother with a weak hip can do it.

It is in this album that Neil Cicierega has mastered his craft and knows what is expected of his mash ups. All-Star, a staple of the series is withheld for the penultimate song - a mix of Under Pressure by Queen. The lyrics of All-Star are teased earlier in the album. The audience is expectant of the All-Star mash up. Using Under Pressure is acknowledging that nostalgia does have it’s use - the song is fundamentally about the pressure of society and how it can get to people, hoping tomorrow can be better, and how there isn’t enough caring and compassion in the world. The use of All-Star here is the declaration of nostalgia being the way people ignore the issues and problems of today - a warm blanket of the past - a past which has been criticized over the trilogy of being worth mockery.

The fact that there’s another track after the All-Star/Under Pressure stands as it’s own statement that nostalgia will stand regardless of criticism. It’s the album’s acknowledging remixes and mash-ups will continue on, despite the insults levied at it and at its core, it is the shrug and laugh at the end of it all.

The Mouth Trilogy stands as a counterpoint of the Mash-up genre, while being securely within that same genre. It is skillfully done from beginning to end and maintains a cohesive theme while taking different angles of attack to get to the core of what they are supposed to represent. The Mouth Trilogy has meaning in its attack - it is not merely a wild swipe into the dark. It is precise and calculated in its mash-ups. Its message is valuable, as long as you can stand those first few minutes.

[dearyallfrommatt]

“Shufflin’ Back to Memphis”

 This is a great song from kind of a weird time in country music. It comes from a 1994 collaboration between the Kentucky Headhunters and Johnnie Johnson called That’ll Work. I thought for the longest time Champion Jack Dupree wrote it, but like all songs on that record, it was written in about four days.

 Johnson is, of course, best known for his work with Chuck Berry on the latter’s classic sides like “Johnny B. Goode” or “Roll Over Beethoven”. Actually, that’s really not the whole story. As much as anybody, including Berry, Johnson is as responsible for the development of rock & roll as its own entity separate from R&B, blues and country than anyone else. Maybe more so, considering how most of his time with Berry consisted of clashing heads over just whose music it was.

 Johnson got his start playing country music, and brought that sensibility over when he joined Chuck Berry’s band. Indeed, most of Berry’s original songs, particularly “Maybellene”, are straight country arrangements and would be in a country key if it weren’t for Leonard Chess turning the speed up on them to make them faster. Like just about every guitar player at the time, Berry was a T-Bone Walker fan and combined that with his multi-string style of soloing with Johnson’s honky-tonk piano playing, and baby, that is rock & roll.

 As for the Headhunters, they actually started out as Itchy Brother way back in 1986 with brothers Richard (guitar) and Fred Young (drums) and their cousin Greg Martin (guitar). Along with bassist Anthony Kennedy, they kicked around the bars and beer joints on the Kentucky-Tennessee border throughout the ‘70s. They released one single and almost got signed to Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song label before John Bonham’s death.

 After splitting up, the band reunited for a gig as the Headhunters, taking the name from the old blues shtick of a band going to a club and “headchopping” the main group. Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers and Little Walter used to do this all the time. Kennedy wasn’t interested, so the Young’s called bassist Doug Phelps who brought along his brother Ricky Lee to sing. Learning there were other bands called the Headhunters, they added the Kentucky to their name and boom.

 They basically fell bass-ackwards into a record deal with Mercury and released Pickin’ On Nashville, a fleshed-out demo, in 1989. This was just before country music had one of its periodical brushes with mainstream fame and it was just before Hank Williams Jr. devolved completely into parody. At the time, though, he was the biggest thing on the scene and basically the face of young folks listening to country music, which included an appreciation for ‘70s Southern Rock.

 The Heads were just close enough to Lynyrd Skynyrd to bring the rock but not too much so it moved straight into guitar rock. Of course, if you asked most non-country fans at the time, Skynyrd and the Eagles were considered country. Anyhow, they released the album and it eventually went to Number Two. Their first single, a cover of Bill Monroe’s “Walk Softly On This Heart of Mine” cracked the Top 30, and their cover of Don Gibson’s “Oh Lonesome Me” gave them their only Top 10 hit. Of their own songs, they peaked with “Dumas Walker” at Number 15.

 And that was about it, really. The band put out their second record, Electric Barnyard, in 1991. It went to Number 3 but didn’t really produce any hit singles. The closest thing was a gonzo cover of the old Fess Parker tune “The Ballad Of Davy Crockett” that was everywhere for a couple months. I remember seeing an awards show where they preformed it and it plumb blew Johnny Cash’s mind.

 The Brothers Phelps left soon after to form a more mainstream sounding act called, logically enough, Brother Phelps. This was after country came to town, Garth Brooks had deposed Bocephus, and Billy Ray Cyrus was unleashed on the world. The Heads soldiered on, though. Kennedy returned and Mark Orr took over lead vocals, and the band put out their last Mercury record Rave On in 1993. Two of the three singles released scraped the Top 100 and Mercury dropped them.

 After cutting That’ll Work for Elektra, they made one more album with Orr on vocals, Sompin’ Grounds in 1997, and I can’t tell you anything about it. Orr split after that, Doug Phelps rejoined on vocals and that’s been pretty much the band since. They’ve released a half-dozen or so albums on various labels, the latest being 2016′s On Safari for Plowboy Records. They really haven’t done much damage to the charts since, but they keep touring and recording and bringing folks into the bars to have a good time. They’ve been doing it for almost 50 years, and by God, you have to respect that.

 This album had something of a sequel in 2015′s Meet Me In Bluesland on Alligator Records, and it had another version of this song. The Heads put out a record called Soul in 2003 which they’d planned to have Johnson join them. However, they wound up making a whole new record’s worth of songs so plans changed. Unfortunately, Johnson passed away in 2005 so it was shelved and work on Soul was resumed. They finished it off 10 years later and it’s pretty damn good, so check that out, too.

[ourmrmel]

Mel Feller Lists his Quick Quotes – Pick Me Ups

Mel Feller Lists his Quick Quotes – Pick Me Ups

By Mel Feller, MPA, MHR

Mel Feller Seminars, Coaching For Success 360 Inc. /Mel Feller Coaching    

  When things get tough, many people turn to a motivational quote for a bit of inspiration. Some of these pithy sayings have become celebrated parts of society’s lexicon.  Mel Feller also says, there is a little bit of implicit coaching that is happening when you are reading it. It is building that self-efficacy in that kind of dialogue that you are having with yourself.

 Quick Quote Pick-Me-Ups

 "If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Charlie Parker, American jazz musician

 "The victim who is able to articulate the situation of the victim has ceased to be a victim; he or she has become a threat." James Baldwin.

 "Growth is demanding and may seem dangerous, for there is loss as well as gain in growth. But why go on living if one has ceased to grow." May Sarton

 "When you get into a tight place and it seems you can't go on, hold on, for that's just the place and the time that the tide will turn." Harriet Beecher Stowe

 "The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen." Elizabeth Kubler Ross

 "It is more blissful that man be taken from pain than pain be taken from man for if pain be taken from us, it may come again..." Julian of Norwich

 "Tragedies serve as an express elevator to spirit." Dan Millman

 "Healing is a matter of time, but it is at times also a matter of opportunity." Hippocrates

 "People wish to be settled: only as far as they are unsettled is there any hope for them." Ralph Waldo Emerson

 "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear-not absence of fear." Mark Twain

 "If you want to see the brave, look at those who can forgive. If you want to see the heroic, look at those who can love in return for hatred." Bhagavad-Gita

 "Hate is not conquered by hate. Hatred is conquered by love. This is a law eternal." Dammapada, Buddhist scripture

 "What would it be like if you lived each day, each breath, as a work of art in progress? Imagine that you are a Masterpiece unfolding every second of every day, a work of art taking form with every breath." Thomas Crum

 "When old words die out on the tongue, new melodies break forth from the heart; and where the old tracks are lost, new country is revealed with its wonders." Rabindranath Tagore

 "Most people have to delve into the dark areas and go through them before they reach a state of freedom, light and serenity." Cristina Grof and Stanislav Grof, M.D.

 "So, whenever a doctor tells you that you have an incurable or fatal disease, look him squarely in the eye and tell him--- ---! (Whatever is your favorite expletive). Then go out and find yourself another doctor-one who believes in the body and not in the disease." Lawrence Badgley, M.D.

 "Throughout history the human mind and the human spirit have overcome and endured problems and situations that seemed insurmountable." Les Brown

 "A turning point is life's way of giving you a chance to move ahead spiritually, though you must reach for the gift yourself." Harold Klemp

 In Chinese, the character for crisis means both "peril" and "opportunity."

 "Our task is to say a holy yes to the real things of our life as they exist." Natalie Goldberg

 "Everything in life that we really accept undergoes a change." Katherine Mansfield

 "The only antidote to the irreversibility of history is the faculty of forgiveness." Hannah Arendt

 "It is impossible for anything to be lost, for in the divine economy, nothing can pass away. The little flower which bloomed once, blooms forever." Neville

 "There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." Albert Einstein

 "We all have angels guiding us....They look after us. They heal us, touch us, comfort us with invisible warm hands....What will bring their help? Asking. Giving thanks." Sophy Burnham

 "We are most deeply asleep at the switch when we fancy we control any switches at all." Annie Dillard

 "We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." Joseph Campbell

 "In my life's chain of events nothing was accidental. Everything happened according to an inner need." Hannah Senesh

 "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." Melodie Beattie

 "Bless a thing and it will bless you. Curse it and it will curse you...If you bless a situation, it has no power to hurt you, and even it if is troublesome for a time, it will gradually fade out, if you sincerely bless it." Emmet Fox

 "Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears." Kahlil Gibran, the Prophet

 "When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us." Helen Keller, Optimism

 "You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair." Chinese proverb

 "There are moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body; the soul is on its knees." Victor Hugo

 "We shall draw from the heart of suffering, itself the means of inspiration and survival." Winston S. Churchill

 "I guess that the giants in life are those who just keep growing on the manure of every crisis and setback." Lynda Bloomberg

 "Real success comes when you learn to act as if everything depends on you and pray as if everything depends on God." Oprah Winfrey

 "We know finite disappointment, but infinite hope." Martin Luther King, Jr.

 "The choice today is no longer between violence and nonviolence. It's either nonviolence or nonexistence." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

 "My life is my message." Mahatma Gandhi

 "It's not the strongest species that survive, not the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change." Charles Darwin

 "If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find, in each person's life, sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostilities." Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 "Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy." Abraham Joshua Heschel

 "Interviewer: If your house were on fire, which object would you take with you?" Jean Cocteau: The fire!

 "Always forgive your enemies-nothing annoys them so much." Oscar Wilde

 "To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance." Oscar Wilde

 "He who has a why to live can bear almost any now." Nietzsche

 "The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance." Alan Watts

 "True love and prayer are learned in the hour when love becomes impossible and the heart has turned to stone." Thomas Merton

 "I have come to appreciate how most of spiritual practice is learning to be kinder to one another." Aldous Huxley

 “The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted, uncared for, and deserted by everybody." Mother Teresa of Calcutta

 "No matter how lonely you are, the world offers you imagination." Mary Oliver

 "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference." The Serenity Prayer attributed to Reinhold Neibuhr

 "Sometimes our light goes out but is blown again into flames by an encounter with another human being. Each of us owes the deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this inner light." Albert Schweitzer

 "Why is it that people always need love and understanding the most at a time when they probably deserve it the least? Lou Holtz

 "Don't throw anyone out of your heart." Neem Karoli Baba

 "Inside yourself or outside, you never have to change what you see, only the way you see it." Thaddeus Golas

 "Be here now." Ram Dass

 "The sun be warm and kind to you. In the darkest night some star shine through." Langston Hughes

 "Deep peace of the running river to you. Deep peace of the flowing air to you. Deep peace of the shining stars to you. Deep peace of the quiet earth to you." Gaelic blessing

 "No ray of sunshine is ever lost, but the green which it awakens into existence needs time to sprout, and it is not always granted for the sower to see the harvest. All work that is worth anything is done in faith." Albert Schweitzer

 "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world: Indeed it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

 "We have a long, long way to go. So let us hasten along the road, the road of human tenderness and generosity. Groping, we may find one another's hands in the dark." Emily Greene Balch, Nobel Peace Laureate

 Mel Feller, MPA, MHR, is a well-known real estate business consultant and speaker, specializing in performance, productivity, and profits. Mel is the president of Mel Feller Seminars with Coaching For Success, Inc. and Mel Feller Coaching, a real estate and business specific coaching company. His three books for real estate professionals are systems on how to become an exceptional sales performer.  His four books in Business and Government Grants are ways to leverage and increase your business Success in both time and money!

[theqgentleman]

2017 NBA Playoff Preview

There are more exciting teams to watch in this year’s playoffs than just the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors.

With the playoffs starting this Saturday, most of the sports world is predicting the two teams to meet once more, especially since this is the third straight year the Warriors have won 65 games or more, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson play in the bay, LeBron James is playing at a high level for the Cavaliers and the Northeast Ohio team is fully equipped with three of the top 25 players in the game—LeBron, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.

But the playoffs are loaded with 14 other teams that are must see TV.

Let’s keep in in the East. The Boston Celtics are a fun team to watch, especially with the grit, skill-level and tenacity Isaiah Thomas exhibits on a nightly basis. Standing at essentially 5’11, Thomas has produced one of the more prolific seasons in a decorated Boston Celtic history, averaging, 29.2 points, 5.9 assists and 2.7 rebounds. No, he is not the old Isiah Thomas from the Detroit Pistons that dominated 1980s, but he is an astonishing cross between former Philadelphia 76er Allen Iverson and Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors.

Traveling down the Eastern seaboard to the nation’s capital, the Wizards are demonstrating they are a remarkable team to watch. Former Kentucky Wildcat and current point guard of the Wizards John Wall is an all-around point guard who fundamentally displays why he is one of the top point guards in the game. His frame of 6’4, which imposes superiority over smaller point guards around the league, ball handling ability, excellent feel for running an offense, athleticism and defensive prowess are among the tools he has in his arsenal.

Wall’s averages of 23.1 points, 10.7 assists and 2.1 steals are gaudy, but he is assisted by his sidekick in Bradley Beal, who is a poor man’s version of Ray Allen.

Taking a trip north of the border, the Toronto Raptors have remerged as one of the top teams in the East after a slow start earlier in the year. Led by Villanova-product Kyle Lowry, this team can make some noise in the Eastern Conference.

Lowry provides relentless drive to get to the hoop, excellent three-point shot making ability and a great feel for leading his offense into getting good shots. His 22.7 points, 6.9 assists and 4.8 assists a game will carry the team to at least to a second round appearance. And, with the skilled and athletic DeMar DeRozan, this team could make it back to the Eastern Conference Finals, especially since they proved last year they could take the Cavaliers to a game six of the conference finals.

The Atlanta Hawks are an intriguing team to watch for the simple fact they lost Jeff Teague to the Indiana Pacers and Kyle Korver to the Cavaliers, but they are still a scrappy team that can give teams fits.

Led by Dwight Howard and Pau Millsap, this team likes to bang inside. Their perimeter players of Dennis Schroder, Kent Bazemore and Tim Hardaway Jr., though, operate outside the paint.

One thing comes to mind when thinking about the Milwaukee Bucks: the Greek Freak. Giannis Antetokounmpo is truly a next generation superstar. Right now, he is a star still trying to find out how to use his athletic gifts; he can handle, pass to set up his teammates for good shots, rebound amongst the trees in the middle and can play outstanding defense because of his 6’11 frame.

Jimmy Butler is the engine that makes the Chicago Bulls nowadays. With a tough defensive mindset, Butler can also score in bunches with his 25 points a game. Butler will have to be the player to watch as Dwyane Wade has just returned from his elbow injury. It will take Wade—a three-time champion with the Miami Heat—a few games to get back on track.

It will be interesting to see how Rajon Rondo performs, however.  Once considered one of the best point guards in the NBA when playing for the Celtics just a few years ago, Rondo now tries to find himself alongside Butler, but he is still a very good passer, defender, rebounder and floor general.

Paul George is a superstar player in the NBA as he tries to lead his Indiana Pacers to a deep playoff run. George is a prolific all-around player with his ability to score at will, handling superiority, passing, lock-down defense and leading capabilities. Before his gruesome injury in 2014 at the summer Olympics in which he broke his leg, George was consistently challenging the Miami Heat—backwhen LeBron James was on the team—in the Eastern Conference Finals.

His team, though, is just not as talented as they lost key players David West and Roy Hibbert, who were two low-post anchors used to challenge virtually any team three to four years ago. Lance Stephenson just came back, so maybe this will help the Pacers win a few more games in the playoffs.

Heading out to the Western Conference, where many would presume the competition is a lot stiffer, there are many intriguing teams—much like the East—that have real shots at making a deep run in the playoffs.

The San Antonio Spurs are the second best team in the Western Conference, and it has a lot to do with their deep team, as well as Pop’s tactical coaching strategy, one that employs the offensive system to continually move the ball, make hard cuts and play great defense, which, of course, is basketball 101.

Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard is an MVP candidate. His 25.7 points per game is the highest scoring average of his career, a feat that has many folks who follow the NBA in awe. Leonard—after his 2014 NBA Finals MVP year—has really developed himself into not only a great defensive player, but a great offensive player, one that can handle the ball with the best of them, can shoot well from mid-range and can pass the ball in precision.

Let’s not forget the Spurs acquired LaMarcus Aldridge last year. Aldridge is a sensational post-up player, and, of course, can score at will. With Tim Duncan retired, the Spurs will lean on Leonard and savvy veterans Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, two players that helped Duncan win four titles in 11 years.

For years Mike D’Antoni was the laughing stock of the NBA because his philosophy is run-and-gun, shoot a lot threes, but play no defense. After being in the NBA’s basement as the coach with the Los Angeles Lakers and an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers the past two years, D’Antoni has reemerged as a mastermind, a perception not bestowed upon him since his day with the Phoenix Suns when former Phoenix Sun’s point guard Steve Nash was winning MVPs.

D’Antoni switched this year’s MVP candidate James Harden from shooting guard to point guard, and it has worked as the Rockets currently are the third best team in the West. With his stubbly and thick beard, Harden combines his extraordinary dribbling ability with his innate gift to shoot threes and draw contact from defenders.

The Rockets will be a tough out for any team, and Harden’s 29.2 points, 11.2 assists and 8.1 rebounds averages are worth the price of admission.

For the first time since the 2011-2012 season, the Utah Jazz will be in the playoffs. But this time they will be led by former Butler prodigy and current Jazz star Gordon Hayward, a dynamic small forward who can handle the basketball, shoot the three and has a knack for finding the driving lanes.

One aspect that is worth watching about Hayward—besides his 22.5 points per contest—is his instinctive ability to probe the perimeter off of screens, and know when to make the right play for his team. He has underrated athleticism as well.

Chris Paul and Blake Griffin are always a doozy to watch, especially when Paul is able to hook up with Griffin off of pick and rolls. Last year, both Paul and Griffin were injured in the first round against the Portland Trail Blazers, as Paul suffered a broken hand and Griffin with a quad injury.

It’ll be interesting to see how these players respond after such unfortunate circumstances last year.

Ever since Kevin Durant left last summer to join the Warriors, Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook has taken the NBA by storm. Yes, he is averaging a triple double with his 31.7 points, 10.4 assists and 10.7 assists. Westbrook on Sunday just set the all-time triple doubles record with 42, passing Oscar Robertson.

Westbrook plays at a hundred miles an hour and he makes a lot of plays for himself and his teammates. With Westbrook going 100 percent of the time on offense, it will be a tragedy for anyone to miss Oklahoma City’s run.

In a stunning turn of events, the Memphis Grizzlies actually pulled off a win against the Warriors on Feb. 10, and that is in large part due to the play of Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol and Mike Conley. The trio has been together for half a decade, but they are still going strong.

Randolph’s low-post game is fantastic, while Gasol’s post-up and mid-range ability and Conley’s ability to handle the ball and switch gears to get to the rim are fun to watch. If this team gets past the first round, the Warriors should be perturbed.

Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum of the Portland Trail Blazers are among the best guard combos in the NBA, which means they are must-see television despite them flirting with a losing winning percentage.

Lillard is this generation’s Isiah Thomas, but not the one who currently plays, rather the one who won two championships with the Detroit Pistons in 1989 and 1990. McCollum has off-the-ball skills like former Celtic and Heat great Ray Allen. He is also a very good shooter on and off the dribble.

These two players will give fits to any player in the playoffs.

As we count down to the NBA playoffs, remember, these 14 other teams are must-see television despite the likelihood the Cavs and the Warriors will meet again for the third straight season.