But Seriously...

"Things are never gonna be the way you want
Where's it gonna get you acting serious?
Things are never gonna be quite what you want
Or even at 25, you gotta start sometime"
--A Praise Chorus, Jimmy Eat World

Probably my favorite Jimmy song, though "Kill" on the new album is fast approaching and "Authority Song" has staying power as well. Heard it at the gym this morning and was reminded once again about the lack of need for seriousity (I don't think that's a real word) in this life ("Where's it gonna get you acting serious?"). A quick top ten of Jimmy songs--but first, this requires a quick sidebar: Jimmy Eat World has earned one-name status in my lexicon, and I think that to most people with whom I associate, it's a clear correlation. To some people, however, "Jimmy" would connotate Jimi Hendrix, maybe Jimmy Buffett to others (you know that cover was money), and perhaps even Jimmy Cliff to a select few. Jimmie's Chicken Shack? Anyone? I've come to realize that only one person at a time can really occupy a name in your mind, friends, family, musicians or athletes included. Some are unique enough that there won't be any competition (Kobe, Shaq), but there are plenty others that demand a decision and a hierarchy. Obviously I have number one slots reserved for Michael and Jeffrey; that goes without saying. Mike, which is different, would go to B, and then I'd have to alter the remaining Mikes by adding a last name or just using the last name (Langford, Heckman, Hughes, etc.). Nicknames are helpful here too, as being able to say "Side" is much simpler than having to worry about which Daniel I'm referring to, Niemann, the one in the lions' den, or otherwise. Sometimes it has to vary depending on company, because there are a bunch of names I'll use at work that won't have the same connotation when I leave. "Joel" refers to one of my friends at work, a guy who I play basketball with on occasion, but for the vast majority of people in my life, it's a different Joel, the one who goes to Boston U. and plays a mean drum set. When it comes to athletes and entertainers, there is also some confusion, as demonstrated by the following pairings: Luke or Luc LT or LT? Peyton or Payton? Edge or The Edge? Chucky or Chucky (Atkins or Gruden)? This is all quite meaningless (and it ended up being far more than a quick sidebar), but one of my co-workers said "Hendrix" yesterday when I mentioned Jimmy, so that got the whole thing started. Apologies.
So now a quick (I mean it this time) run-through of my top ten Jimmy Eat World songs:
1) A Praise Chorus
2) Kill
3) The Authority Song
4) The World You Love
5) Hear You Me
6) 23
7) For Me This is Heaven
8) Sweetness
9) My Sundown
10) Lucky Denver Mint
Honorable Mention: A Sunday, She's Perfect
Almost equal representation from all three albums (3 from Futures, 5 from Bleed American and 4 from Clarity), which is a strong statement about this band's consistency. Tickets on sale Saturday for a Long Beach show in May--definitely gonna be there.
Okay, now did the Kings really trade C-Webb (and spare parts) for three fair-to-poor power forwards? I don't follow this at all. I'm not a huge fan of the man--he's been crying his way to numerous playoff defeats his entire career--but he's a better player to build around than Peja, that's for sure. Granted, Mike Bibby and Brad Miller are all-star caliber and Peja's good in the regular season, but they just traded away 21 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists per game, getting back Kenny Thomas, Brian Skinner and Cordless Williamson, none of whom are the passer or rebounder that C-Webb is, and none of whom possess anything close to his scoring ability. Thomas is the best of the three, but do the Kings think he's going to be the four on an NBA champion? No way. This is great for the Sixers, though, because they give AI the best teammate he's ever had. And Webber will love it too, because he won't have to take any big shots. It would be like Peyton Manning getting traded to the '85 Bears, so he could win without actually having to make any clutch plays. Incidentally, Peter King made a great point about Brady and Manning the other day, mentioning how Peyton's contract eats up 20% of the Colts' cap space, meaning it's always going to be tough for Indy to put a good surrounding cast on the field. Brady's cap number will be less than $8.5 million next year (Peyton's is $17.8), meaning the Pats can continue to reload year after year. Unselfish. Winner.