Blog Archives

Acceptable!: The Wonder of Adventure Time

1/31/2015

by Erik Ritland

Rambling On is a seriously fun blog and podcast covering sports, music, culture, and more. Check us out on Twitter, Facebook, or at our website.

Adventure Time is the best show on television. There. I said it.

Sure, it’s on Cartoon Network. It is, or at least was initially, seen as a “kid’s show.” The first four seasons were pretty silly, but even then their irreverence and creativity was unparalleled. You could never guess what was coming. Every ending would leave me scratching my head and thinking, “what the...?”

The show has only gotten better since it started getting more serious towards the end of season four. Its post-apocalyptic backstory is getting more and more intriguing. Its lessons are getting deeper and deeper. Its philosophical undertones are becoming more and more complex.

For example in the last episode, Astral Plane, lead character Finn has an out of body experience. He comes across a series of sad, lonely characters and begins questioning the nature of loneliness and creativity. After witnessing the birth of a celestial being he concludes that birth is the greatest high point of existence.

But then another question arises: if birth is life’s highest achievement, is the rest life afterward just a huge let down? He ends up meeting Glob, who has always been assumed to be the Adventure Time version of God. Glob is trying to save his planet from a comet that is heading towards it. Finn asks his question:

If just being born is the greatest act of creation, then what are you supposed to do after that? Isn’t everything that comes next sort of a disappointment? Slowly entropy-ing until we deflate into a pile of mush?

Glob vaguely answers that “it’s not enough to have created something amazing.” He then heads towards the comet himself, diverting it and saving his people but dying in the process. Not only is this philosophically deep, it’s also an obvious allusion to Jesus as God giving his life for his people.

What other TV show goes to any of these depths? And Adventure Time does it without any of unnecessary sex, violence, and vulgarity of “adult” shows. Its mystique, and popularity, will outlast any of its contemporary competition.

Erik Ritland is a writer and musician from St. Paul, Minnesota. His blog and podcast Rambling On features commentary on music, sports, culture, and more. He is also Lead Staff Writer for Minnesota culture blog Curious North.

Lance Armstrong Hasn't Learned Anything

1/28/2015

by Erik Ritland

Rambling On is a seriously fun blog and podcast covering sports, music, culture, and more. Check us out on Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, or at our website.

In an interview for an upcoming BBC documentary Lance Armstrong, former cycling champion who was stripped of several of his titles because he was caught using performance enhancing drugs, said he’d do it all over again if he had the chance. "If I was racing in 2015? No, I wouldn't do it again…if you take me back to 1995, when it was completely and totally pervasive? [I'd] probably do it again."

So go along with the group even if you know what they’re doing is wrong? First he cheats, then he rationalizes it by saying that everyone was doing it. What a great role model.

I’m not one of those self-righteous people who piles on those who have already been condemned. I even understand the idea in its place: if I was around a bunch of people doing something, and I knew it’d give me a competitive edge, even if it was wrong there’s a good chance that I’d be weak and give in as well. But to lie about it like Armstrong did for years and then to not really take any personal responsibility, instead blaming “being put in the place” to cheat, is pathetic.

Erik Ritland is a writer and musician from St. Paul, Minnesota. His blog and podcast Rambling On features commentary on music, sports, culture, and more. He is also a contributor for Minnesota culture blog Curious North. Support Erik's music via his Patreon account, reach him via email, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.

Weekday Ramble #18: "I'm Here So I Won't Get fined," A Classic Rock Birthday

1/27/2015

The Weekday Ramble is a daily dose of sports, music, culture, and more from Rambling On founder Erik Ritland. For more information check us out on Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, or at our website.

Tuesday January 27, 2015
Marshawn Lynch gets sassy and Pink Floyd's drummer celebrates a birthday.

Funny, but overdone
Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch has created some controversy recently, refusing to give decent interviews to reporters during scheduled press events. His latest incident happened this week during Media Day for the Super Bowl, stating from the outset that he only came because he didn’t want to get fined. For the entire interview his only answer to any of the questions was “I’m here so I won’t get fined.”

On the one hand, this is hilarious. I can see how Lynch, who has to deal constantly with banal questions from the media, feels the need to lash out in this way. However, every person in sports has to deal with that, and that Lynch is crying about it like its something unique to him is sort of off-putting. Part of me wants to tell him to just be a man. He’s a monster on the football field but he can’t handle a few annoying questions from the media? Come on.

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
Lately I’ve been listening a lot to Pink Floyd’s seminal Dark Side of the Moon. This isn’t normal for me. I’ve gone my entire life thinking the album was overrated, probably due to classic rock radio beating “Time” and “Money” to death.

I listened to it for the first time all the way through a couple weeks ago, in headphones, and now realize that it isn’t overrated at all. The atmosphere, largely created by Richard Wright’s swirling synths and keyboards, is singularly Floyd. The dynamics are perfect and Roger Waters' universal lyrics are thought-provoking.

Today Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason turns 71. To celebrate, re-visit “Time,” which he co-wrote. Sure, it’s a classic rock dinosaur, but if every classic rock dinosaur was this out there I’d listen to the radio a lot more.

Erik Ritland is a writer and musician from St. Paul, Minnesota. His blog and podcast Rambling On features commentary on music, sports, culture, and more. He is also a contributor for Minnesota culture blog Curious North. Support Erik's music via his Patreon account, reach him via email, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.

Weekday Ramble #17: The Best Show on Television, An Idea for Contemporary Musicians

1/26/2015

The Weekday Ramble is a daily dose of sports, music, culture, and more from Rambling On founder Erik Ritland. For more information check us out on Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, or at our website.

Monday January 26, 2015
An appreciation of Adventure Time and concept albums.

Acceptable!
Adventure Time is the best show on television. There. I said it.

Sure, it’s on Cartoon Network. It is, or at least was initially, seen as a “kid’s show.” The first four seasons were pretty silly, but even then their irreverence and creativity was unparalleled. You could never guess what was coming. Every ending would leave me jaw dropped and thinking, “what the fuck?”

The show has only gotten better since it started getting more serious towards the end of season four. Its post-apocalyptic backstory is getting more and more intriguing. Its lessons are getting deeper and deeper. Its philosophical undertones are becoming more and more complex.

For example in the last episode, Astral Plane, lead character Finn has an out of body experience. He comes across a series of sad, lonely characters and begins questioning the nature of loneliness and creativity. After witnessing the birth of a celestial being he concludes that birth is the greatest high point of existence.

But then another question arises: if birth is life’s highest achievement, is the rest life afterward just a huge let down? He ends up meeting Glob, who has always been assumed to be the Adventure Time version of God. Glob is trying to save his planet from a comet that is heading towards it. Finn asks his question:

If just being born is the greatest act of creation, then what are you supposed to do after that? Isn’t everything that comes next sort of a disappointment? Slowly entropy-ing until we deflate into a pile of mush?

Glob vaguely answers that “it’s not enough to have created something amazing.” He then heads towards the comet himself, diverting it and saving his people but dying in the process. Not only is this philosophically deep, it’s also an obvious allusion to Jesus as God giving his life for his people.

What other TV show goes to any of these depths? And Adventure Time does it without any of unnecessary sex, violence, and vulgarity of “adult” shows. Its mystique, and popularity, will outlast any of its contemporary competition.

Journey doesn't make concept albums, but whatever.
I’ve listened to bands like Journey since I was a kid. My older brothers took them seriously and passed that on to me. I’ve never understood taking them “ironically” (silly little hipsters). I liked bands like Journey then, and now, because they play good music. Bombastic, sure, but that’s because they were trying. It’s not a sin to try you know. I feel like artists today are so busy trying to seem like they’re not trying that what they create feels like, well, they aren’t trying.

Concept albums are now mostly seen as pretentious and bland (ironically, mostly by people who are pretentious and bland). They’re seen as too arts-y by the same people who only listen to music that they feel has “artistic merit.” Truly creative minds tackling the limitless possibilities of the concept album would be a fine elixir to the stale contemporary music scene.

Erik Ritland is a writer and musician from St. Paul, Minnesota. His blog and podcast Rambling On features commentary on music, sports, culture, and more. He is also a contributor for Minnesota culture blog Curious North. Support Erik's music via his Patreon account, reach him via email, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.

Belichick and Brady: A Tarnished Legacy, Whether You Like it or Not

1/24/2015

by Erik Ritland

Rambling On is a seriously fun blog and podcast covering sports, music, culture, and more. Check us out on Twitter, Facebook, or at our website.

The New England Patriots have always been a team that is easy to hate. Their combination of success and arrogance is enough to turn off any mild-mannered Midwesterner.

It’s stupid to resent people for doing what they do well. Similarly, it’s stupid to defend people if what they’re doing is obviously wrong. When Belichick was caught cheating many, incredibly, came to his defense (proving that celebrity and pedestalization can cause blindness). Lots of teams do that. You have to do what you have to do to win. It’s not like it’s that big of a deal.

Now that they’ve been caught cheating again – this time deflating footballs to make them easier for Tom Brady to throw – those excuses somehow sound even more shallow. It doesn’t matter that they probably would have won anyway. Or that many of their touchdowns were scored on running plays (how many complete passes helped by cheating led to them?). Cheating is cheating and it shouldn’t be tolerated. If I were the NFL I would take away their AFC Championship victory and send the Colts to the Super Bowl.

After all, Richard Nixon would have won without spying on his Democratic opponents as well, right? Just as he shouldn’t be exonerated of his crimes, neither should Belicheat and his Patriots dynasty.

Erik Ritland is a writer and musician from St. Paul, Minnesota. His blog and podcast Rambling On features commentary on music, sports, culture, and more. He is also a contributor for Minnesota culture blog Curious North.

Weekday Ramble #16: All Star Games and Winter Carnivals are Fun

1/23/2015

The Weekday Ramble is a daily dose of sports, music, culture, and more from Rambling On founder Erik Ritland. For more information check us out on Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, or at our website.

Friday January 23, 2015
A splendid time is guaranteed for all this weekend.

All-star festivities
This weekend both the NFL and NHL have their all-star games (because the NFL has to be different they call it the all pro game – we’re happy for ya). There are two ways to approach these games: as boring, meaningless exhibitions or as fun celebrations. Why anyone would want to bog themselves down with the cynical first view is beyond me.

If you take all-star games for what they’re supposed to be – a fun gathering of the most talented players – you may not necessarily enjoy it but there’s no reason to talk down about it or call it stupid as many, especially in the Minnesota sports talk community, do. I’m not sure about the Pro Bowl, but all-star games in the other sports are more about the festivities around it than the game. It’s about fun for kids and families. It’s just a cute thing. Cynicism about it is unnecessary.

Good, old fashioned family fun
Another fun thing it’s easy to be cynical about is the Winter Carnival. There’s coronations for princes and princesses, kings and queens, and of course the inexplicable Vulcans.

Once again, though, why be cynical? It’s meant to be a fun thing. It’s almost like anything family-friendly is seen as boring or stupid. I’m sorry, not everything can have the unnecessarily gratuitous sex, violence, and bad language. Those things aren’t bad in themselves, necessarily, but how overdone they are all the time is easy and uncreative. It’s cheap.

Plus the Winter Carnival has two things nobody can hate: ice sculptures in Rice Park and the Beer Dabbler at the Fairgrounds. I’ll be covering the latter for the Minnesota culture blog I write for, Curious North.

Erik Ritland is a writer and musician from St. Paul, Minnesota. His blog and podcast Rambling On features commentary on music, sports, culture, and more. He is also a contributor for Minnesota culture blog Curious North. Support Erik's music via his Patreon account, reach him via email, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.

Weekday Ramble #14: Cheating Sucks, Disco Doesn’t

1/21/2015

The Weekday Ramble is a daily dose of sports, music, culture, and more from Rambling On founder Erik Ritland. For more information check us out on Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, or at our website.

Wednesday January 21, 2015
Cheaters, the misguided that defend them, and the misguided that hate disco.

A tarnished legacy
The New England Patriots have always been a team that is easy to hate. Their combination of success and arrogance is enough to turn off any mild-mannered Midwesterner.

It’s stupid to resent people for doing what they do well. Similarly, it’s stupid to defend people if what they’re doing is obviously wrong. When the Belichick was caught cheating many, incredibly, came to his defense (proving that celebrity and pedestalization can cause blindness). Lots of teams do that. You have to do what you have to do to win. It’s not like it’s that big of a deal.

Now that they’ve been caught cheating again – this time deflating footballs to make them easier for Tom Brady to throw – those excuses somehow sound even more shallow. It doesn’t matter that they probably would have won anyway. Or that many of their touchdowns were scored on running plays (how many complete passes helped by cheating led to them?). Cheating is cheating and it shouldn’t be tolerated. If I were the NFL I would take away their AFC Championship victory and send the Colts to the Super Bowl.

After all, Richard Nixon would have won without spying on his Democratic opponents as well, right? Just as he shouldn’t be exonerated of his crimes, neither should Belicheat and his Patriots dynasty.

A tarnished legacy revisited
“Disco sucks” has been a common phrase since the genre was created in the mid ‘70s. It’s the sort of easy, shiny, popular music that is easy to hate. For example, hating disco is one of the few things that brings folk purists and metalheads together.

But they’re both wrong. Disco doesn’t suck. You can’t apply standards to it that it isn’t meant to achieve. Disco isn’t meant to be the Beatles much less Mozart. It’s successful at what it tries to be: fun music meant for dancing and having a good time. Just try not to smile while listening to the Village People, the Bee Gees, or Abba. If you don’t it’s probably a personal problem. That or you don’t have a soul.

Erik Ritland is a writer and musician from St. Paul, Minnesota. His blog and podcast Rambling On features commentary on music, sports, culture, and more. He is also a contributor for Minnesota culture blog Curious North. Support Erik's music via his Patreon account, reach him via email, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.

Weekday Ramble #13: Walt Whitman and Jimmy Jam, Together at Last

1/20/2015

The Weekday Ramble is a daily dose of sports, music, culture, and more from Rambling On founder Erik Ritland. For more information check us out on Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, or at our website.

Tuesday January 20, 2015
Romantic poetry and funk royalty.

Shoegaze Superstar
Legendary Walt Whitman was a 19th century poet. He created the first uniquely American voice in literature along with essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson and vagabond Henry David Thoreau (who is best known for spending a night in jail and taking vacations at a pond near enough to his parents to raid their pantry when he was hungry).

Whitman had an incredibly creative mind. One of the first poets to forgo traditional poetic structures, his fluid “free” verses are majestic and flow effortlessly. Too bad these innovations are wasted on a bastardization of Britain’s bastardization of India’s transcendental philosophy. Whitman, the 1800s equivalent of a spoiled suburbanite, never came near the transcendence of an Indian guru. Though his poetry makes it sound easy.

He was also tied down to an overly romantic view of nature and the self. Man, he loved himself. His most famous poem is even called Song of Myself. For an idea of how annoying people with too much self-esteem are, read Walt Whitman.

A Minneapolis soul legend
James Harris III, better known as Jimmy Jam, made a name for himself in Morris Day and the Time and later as part of a production team with Terry Lewis. Their work, which holds a record 31 songwriting and production credits in the Billboard top ten, most notably includes Janet Jackson’s r n’ b breakthroughs Control and Rhythm Nation 1814.

Though not as well-known as his famous collaborator Prince, Harris is also from Minneapolis. His first band Mind and Matter made a splash in the Twin Cities in the late ‘70s. Their mix of soul, funk, and disco is fun and fresh. Even at 18 he wrote melodic songs that foreshadowed his later achievements.

Some singles and basement recordings of Mind and Matter were released a couple years ago as a part of The Numero Group’s rightly popular Eccentric Soul Series. 1514 Oliver Avenue (Basement) is a wonderful education in some of the best underground music made in the ‘70s in Minneapolis. The highlight is "Disco Child," which features far out layers of keyboards.

Erik Ritland is a writer and musician from St. Paul, Minnesota. His blog and podcast Rambling On features commentary on music, sports, culture, and more. He is also a contributor for Minnesota culture blog Curious North. Support Erik's music via his Patreon account, reach him via email, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.

Weekday Ramble #12: Great MLK, Good Tweedy Video, Bad Packers, Worse Vikings Fans

1/19/2015

The Weekday Ramble is a daily dose of sports, music, culture, and more from Rambling On founder Erik Ritland. For more information check us out on Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, or at our website.

Monday January 19, 2015
Celebrating a great man, Jeff Tweedy and his son get silly, the Seahawks overcome adversity, Vikings fans embarrass themselves like usual.

The dream of a Saint
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is the perfect time to remember his dream: that someday all people will treat each other with the respect due to them as people, regardless of age, race, sex, etc. This is something that should be at the forefront of our minds all the time, but setting aside a specific day for remembrance is important as well. Let’s remember when we fight the injustices in contemporary culture to keep the intelligent, loving, non-violent attitude that King had.

You don't see the monkey coming
I was fortunate enough to spend most of the day plotting world domination with one of my best friends, Marshall Nystrom (who is also my closest music collaborator). He’s just getting into Jeff Tweedy’s solo album that he recorded with his son Spencer, Sukierae, which came in at #11 on Rambling On’s top 15 albums of 2014 list. So we bonded over that a bit and indulged in some of the finer things in life.

Eventually he showed me the video for "Low Key," the first single from Tweedy’s album. A lovely, bouncy track, the video is hilarious. The Tweedy’s are sent door-to-door by their record label to try and drum up support for it. It’s deadpan, old school comedy at its finest. Check it out here.

Seahawks win in a sloppy one
The Seattle Seahawks secured their second consecutive Super Bowl appearance with a 28-22 overtime win over the Green Bay Packers. It was one of the sloppiest, weirdest, most fun games of the year.

Ultimately, the better team won. Despite four interceptions (and five total turnovers) by Seattle the Packers still couldn’t put the game away. Their inability get a touchdown on their first two trips into the red zone, as I predicted, cost them the game. Well that and the terrible miss on the onside kick.

That Seattle made so many mistakes and still beat the Packers proves that they’re the better team. Russell Wilson’s ability to overcome adversity was admirable. I couldn't be happier to see one of the only good men in sports today be so successful. See kids, you can be a great athlete without being a jackass.

Sad, sad little men
“Minnesota nice” is exposed for the lie that it is every time the Packers lose an important game. Because Vikings fans never have a reason to celebrate their own accomplishments they instead pathetically relish in the loss of their rivals. It’s just sad.

You know what Packer fans do when the Vikings lose a big game? Nothing. They barely find the time to shrug. That Vikings fans get off so insanely on the Packers losing is embarrassing. I’ll take my allegiances elsewhere, thank you.

Erik Ritland is a writer and musician from St. Paul, Minnesota. His blog and podcast Rambling On features commentary on music, sports, culture, and more. He is also a contributor for Minnesota culture blog Curious North. Support Erik's music via his Patreon account, reach him via email, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.

St. Paul Represents for Hockey Day in Minnesota 2015

1/17/2015

by Erik Ritland

Rambling On is a seriously fun blog and podcast covering sports, music, culture, and more. Check us out on Twitter, Facebook, or at our website.

Every year local sports station FSN puts a lot of work into Hockey Day in Minnesota. At this point it’s practically a statewide holiday. Who wouldn’t want to spend a cold January day watching hockey for 12 hours? That is, if you aren’t playing in one of the hundreds of games around the state at all levels.

The live games broadcast throughout the day on FSN are its primary focus. It begins with outdoor high school hockey. Smaller schools play at 10 am, bigger schools in the afternoon. They’re always the highlights of Hockey Day for me, a perennial lover of the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournaments.

It’s even more special for me this year, as the games are being held practically in my back yard at Holman Field in downtown St. Paul. Added to that, the first game featured Johnson High School, the pride of my East Side. Sure, I went to their rival Harding, but since they don’t have a team anymore they combined with Johnson years ago (along with a few other St. Paul schools). Considering their 100+ year tradition it’s only fitting.

Their game, against the Luverne Cardinals, will be hard to match as far as excitement goes. After a scoreless first period the teams scored a combined nine goals, Johnson squandering a 5-1 lead to end the period 5-4. The score remained there for most of the third period before the Cardinals tied it up with under five minutes to go. In dramatic, East Side fashion, the Governors broke the tie with one minute to go on a possible shove of the goalie before holding on for the win. That’s how we do it on the East Side! Small town kids take note.

Considering that their brewery used to be just a few blocks away from Johnson, I had a Hamms to celebrate.

As a St. Paul Public School kid (holla!) I’ve always been leery of big, private high schools. It's a time-honored tradition, isn't it? More than anything it's just a fun rivalry. Regardless, you can't ask for a much better match-up than St. Thomas Academy and Hill Murray. I’m writing at a weird point, as this game has just begun. It's kind of nice not having a dog in the race because I can just sit back and enjoy good hockey.

Bigger draws for Hockey Day are college and professional games. Today the Gophers play the Badgers and your recently surging Wild take on the Arizona Cardinals (I mean Diamondbacks…I mean Coyotes). Although fun, I feel bad for the employees at the Xcel Energy Center who have to stay for a late shift on a Saturday night…

But it’s all worth it, I suppose. Anybody involved with Hockey Day should be proud.

While the competition is the heart of the event, Minnesota hockey heritage, community outreach, and focus on the military are its most important aspects. This year they’re even broadcasting from a base in Kuwait (KFAN’s Dan Barriero even did his show from there yesterday). During and between games FSN does a great job with vignettes showcasing the local area they’re broadcasting in and other interesting hockey stories from around the state. They really shine. It’s one of the best truly local events of the year.

As I mentioned in an article about Hockey Day last year, I used to be cynical about it. Fortunately for me I dropped my pretense and now see it for how wonderful it is. I hope that everybody finds some time to enjoy it.

Erik Ritland is a writer and musician from St. Paul, Minnesota. His blog and podcast Rambling On features commentary on music, sports, culture, and more. He is also a contributor for Minnesota culture blog Curious North. Support Erik's music via his Patreon account, reach him via email, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.