Another week, another Serial episode. This show was really huge at the time, and I think I felt like it was that important.
Serial
The Case Against Adnan Syed
In exploring the murder of Hae Min Lee, the crime that is the nucleus around which the podcast revolves, the listener has been presented a rather unbalanced version of events. Host Sarah Koenig is acutely aware that her role is to observe, interpret, and parcel out information in order to achieve optimal dramatic effect, rather than present evidence in a linear fashion. This holds true even if it means concealing crucial pieces of the story until the adjudged right moment. And so, after five episodes of examining figures on the periphery,Serial finally dives deep into the murky heart of the murder and explores Adnan Syed’s guilt. Koenig lays her cards on the table, examining the vexing aspects of the case—from eyewitness testimony of his curious behavior on the night of the murder, to a damning phone call and the machinations he may have taken to reframe the discussion surrounding it, and beyond. Rather than a spotlight boldly illuminating Syed as the murderer, though, this is just another candle in a too-dark room, offering only slightly more definition to an unclear picture. The additional information presented troubles already turbid waters, leaving listeners wondering whether this is just another illusory tactic in this sprawling tapestry being woven by Koenig.
I guess I wasn't feeling overly ambitious, so I've again only written about this week's episode of Serial.
Serial
Route Talk
An uneasy moment occurs early in the episode, when Adnan Syed—from prison—opines over-earnestly to host Sarah Koenig that the prosecutor’s timeline for the murder of Hae Min Lee would have been virtually impossible for him to pull off. Koenig, dogged by the details that don’t line up, sets out to recreate that timeline, finding that it is in fact quite possible for the events to occur in the allotted time. When Koenig reports back to Syed that his story doesn’t exactly hold up, Syed’s voice belies a genuine sense of incredulity. Syed catches himself, though, seemingly aware that protesting too much could be seen as self-incriminating. For the first time in the series, Syed comes off as calculating, whether real or imagined, where previously he’d been unfailingly pleasant and guileless. That peek behind the curtain is precisely what makes Serial a slow-burning fuse leading toward some serious explosives; listeners are constantly buffeted about on the pendulum-swing of Syed’s guilt. In the span of an episode, feelings shift so often that soon the desire for definitive proof becomes the overriding obsession, stripping away the humanity of the players at the center of the case, as the listener seeks only personal satisfaction.
This week I've written about Serial's fourth episode, "Inconsistencies."
Serial
Inconsistencies
Life can be so riven with uncertainty that it seems to be its single most defining characteristic. Fortunes shift innumerably from moment to moment and in the end, the only thing approaching anything concrete seems to be the past; that it happened, and how. The fallible nature of human recollection, however, proves this to be subjective all the same. This week’s Serial is entirely about this inconsistency and how it relates to the investigation of the show’s central crime, both at the time of initial investigation in 1999, as well as when viewed from 15 years’ removed. The episode centers on taped police testimonies from two witnesses, Jay, Adnan’s friend and weed-dealer turned accuser, and Jay’s friend Jen. The tales warp with each telling, in ways that cast reams of doubt upon the trustworthiness of the tellers, as well as their roles in the murder of Hae Min Lee. Serial episodes are a rarity among podcasts at only 30-minutes long. Instead of seeming truncated, they take on the appearance of a greyhound: lean, muscular, focused, densely packed, and with no filler. This is a podcast which does not lead listeners by the hand. Instead, it allows them to face the uncertainty directly.
After a vacation in Paris, I return to review Serial's third episode.
Serial
Leakin Park
Serial is unique among podcasts in its obsession with pulling back layers. No aspect of its central investigation, if it can be so called, is too small to question for in it might be an overlooked exculpatory detail. Host Sarah Koenig is so wonderfully flawed in her objectivity that it further sends the listener on their own slaloming path down the rabbit hole that is the murder of Hae Min Lee. This week’s episode backtracks a bit, returning to the particular period of time wherein Hae’s body is discovered in Baltimore’s notorious corpse-dumping ground Leakin Park. Digging deeper into the details surrounding the discovery gives several red herrings, none bigger than the soft-spoken maintenance man who stumbles upon the body while looking for a place to pee. Known only as Mr. S, he has several secrets and a distinct unwillingness to be direct that leads to more questions than answers. This is a startling, unnerving entry into what is proving to be a necessary evolution of podcast storytelling, and there are still so many more layers to go.
In which I make my A.V. Club debut, writing about Men In Blazers and Sound Opinions.
Men In Blazers
Spencer Lanning
Tweed season comes early to the Crap Part of SoHo, and it brings with some heady discussions to balance out the usual japery. Roger Bennett, having spent his birthday watching the Kenneth Lonergan play This Is Our Youth on Broadway, is lead to ask Michael Davies if people can change from who they were in adolescence, or whether personalities are fixed before we’re even aware of it. The Scottish independence vote is discussed, with both hosts boasting of their quarter Scots heritage and love for the country. Rog blames the Americans’ independence of 1776, the news for which has only just reached the ”wildlings beyond the wall” in Scotland. After discussing the week’s games, impish Cleveland Browns punter Spencer Lanning joins the blokes to talk about his true love of soccer, the great state of South Carolina, and imagining going to jail for tree murder. Lanning proves to be the rare athlete that is both candid and at ease in front of the mic, making for an infectiously entertaining interview. Gus Johnson’s resignation as lead soccer commentator at Fox leads the men to tackle the lack of American soccer broadcasters with a particularly funny anecdote about the treatment of British broadcasters in the early days of Major League Soccer.
Sound Opinions
Tweedy Live At Lincoln Hall
“Dad Rock” is one of those pejorative terms not just coined on the Internet, but seemingly because of it as well. Online music writing in this century has tended toward rampant taxonomic assignment, becoming increasingly snarky all the while. So when Wilco began releasing albums with less of a bite than, say, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, the term cropped up specifically as a way of deriding the band’s output. On this week’s episode, Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot are able to address this head on, welcoming the band Tweedy to the show, performing and conversing live at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall. Tweedy, the eponymous father-son duo of Jeff Tweedy, the force behind Wilco, and his 18-year-old son, Spencer, are a treat to listen to both musically and in an interview. Jim and Greg wisely sit back, letting Jeff and Spencer talk openly and honestly. They cover everything from Spencer potentially attracting cougar groupies to how their DNA connection makes playing music together a transcendent experience. Later, when discussing Tweedy matriarch Susie’s recent battle with lymphoma, Jeff’s voice betrays how hard an experience it has been for them, drawing back the curtain on precisely why a family record is important at this time in their lives.
The Chicago Fire participated Wednesday in a weighted lottery between 3 teams in MLS for the ability to sign United States Youth National Team player Benji Joya and emerged the victor, signing him on a one year loan. Joya, a 20-year-old midfielder played previously with Santos Laguna of Mexico's Liga MX, brings an interesting perspective to the team, having forgone the collegiate route to sign with one of the top clubs in Mexico. Joya has also been a fixture in the National Team picture, having started nearly every game in his time with the Under-20 National Team, even serving as captain for last summer's CONCACAF U-20 Championship.
Joya's career for Santos' senior team was relatively short, just four appearances over two years, but it is clear from his time with the National Team that he is a player of significant talent, and is just getting started professionally. He could be an impact signing for the Fire in 2014, but that will be contingent of whether or not he can get minutes. He will be vying for a spot in a midfield that sees all four of last year's starters return, so initially expect to see him come in as a second-half substitute. According to a piece by Brian Sciaretta in the New York Times, Joya's strength is as an attacking right midfielder, a position which has been occupied at times by Patrick Nyarko. Nyarko has a great deal of speed, and can slot in at forward as well, but with the return of 2013 MLS MVP Mike Magee and Designated Player Juan Luis Anongono, one has to imagine Nyarko will see more minutes in the midfield.
All of this is to be tempered though, by the fact that head coach Frank Yallop will have the opportunity to rethink the team with regards to positional depth in the coming weeks while the Fire complete pre-season training in Ave Maria, Florida, and that we could see a very different-looking group of players taking the field come March 8th.
My first piece for Gapers Block, a Chicago-based web publication.
To truly love sports is to love narrative above all else. There are other factors at play, to be sure, from the social to the statistical and beyond, but the syrupy essence of the addiction at its core is the story. Without this there is no rivalry, no comeback, no underdog. Each and every sporting contest can be viewed by a party unaware of the narrative, this much is true -- just look to the Cubs bleachers in the summertime -- but to actively consume it, and be consumed by it, is the thrill of the pursuit.
Scarcely is that more true than with the sport of soccer. It is famous for its simplicity -- the ball is round, the game lasts 90 minutes, as the saying goes -- because of which there is much room for the narrative to ferment, creating drama, intrigue, and anticipation. This is that most potent of brews which, when drunk, does not satisfy the drinker and only serves to make one thirst for more. And with this being a World Cup year, the time is nigh for a bender.
Luckily for you, the narrative is thick in Chicago this year as the Fire prepare for their 17th season in Major League Soccer. For those new or lapsed fans, allow me to recap: The close of the 2013 season saw the firing of head coach and club legend Frank Klopas, a move which appeared premature, with the Fire only narrowly missing a playoff berth and dramatically improving over their 2012 season performance. Owner Andrew Hauptmann had a clear plan though, bringing aboard MLS veteran coach Frank Yallop just a day after Klopas' departure. Yallop, formerly of the San Jose Earthquakes, brings with him over a decade's worth of MLS coaching experience and one MLS Cup win in 2003.
Following Yallop, the Fire added to their ranks by hiring Brian Bliss, who was interim head coach last season for Fire rivals the Columbus Crew, as technical director. Bliss is the team's second ever technical director, a spot previously held by Klopas himself prior to his ascension into the role of head coach. Bliss' hiring marks the first new direction for the club since 2008 when Klopas became the first technical director, hopefully signalling a sea change in player development and signings. Former Fire player and Ring of Fire inductee CJ Brown is finally back home from his stint at Real Salt Lake, joining the team as Assistant Coach. Clint Mathis fills the final Assistant Coach spot.
There is a new model for teams currently taking hold in MLS. With the league having been in place for the better part of two decades, organizations have had time to develop and grow their individual academy systems, producing homegrown players indoctrinated in that club's brand of play. One can recognize a number of teams based solely on its style, whether it be the hashtag ethos of San Jose's "never say die" Goonies, Sporting Kansas City's high-pressure attacking style, or Portland Timbers' Porterball, with its emphasis on tiki-taka passing and movement.
The Fire have largely felt like a patchwork of solid, if unspectacular, players, just hoping to eke out a win, without a recognizable style. That was, however, before last season's surprise pickup of a Mike Magee. Magee came in a trade with the Los Angeles Galaxy for Robbie Rogers last May and quickly became the nucleus of the squad, not only putting up career best goal numbers, but also providing a much-needed sense of focus and drive. Magee went on to win the league MVP, despite the Fire missing out on the playoffs, a feat which one doesn't see often in professional sports. As long as Magee can stay close to his 2013 form he could be on pace to win the league's Golden Boot, an award he only lost to Vancouver's Camilo Sanvezzo in the final game of the regular season. With Camilo having since departed for Liga MX side Queretaro, Magee's chances in 2014 are looking better and better.
Magee has had his career year even further validated by earning his first call-up to the senior national team ahead of the World Cup. Sadly his debut was cut short due to an ill-timed bout of food poisoning this last weekend. Whether there is space for him on the final 23-man roster for June remains to be seen, but he is now on coach Jurgen Klinsmann's radar and hopefully he will have more opportunities to impress as tune-ups ahead of the World Cup continue.
Also on the bubble for the trip to Brazil is goalkeeper Sean Johnson, who has been a fairly regular presence at national team training camps, though he currently sits about 4th on the depth chart for US goalkeepers, and only 3 are selected for the World Cup. In the end, though, the conversation comes down to whether it is worth the pride associated with a club player competing on the world's biggest stage while the MLS regular season continues on without them.
While in this offseason other MLS sides, such as Toronto FC, have made waves signing big names like Jermaine Defoe from Tottenham, and Michael Bradley from AS Roma, the Fire have not made any similar international moves. They have instead relied on their own academy output in signing pair of homegrown players, Harrison Shipp, a standout Forward on the Notre Dame team that won the NCAA College Cup in 2013, and Chris Ritter, a Midfielder from Northwestern. Both look to be solid acquisitions, with the Shipp signing a coup in particular, as he was ranked as the number one college player for 2013 by Top Drawer Soccer. By comparison Andre Blake, this year's number one pick at the MLS Superdraft, currently sits at number four on the same list. The Fire's lone Superdraft pick-up was UC Irvine Defender Marco Franco, who will slot in nicely in a backline position recently vacated by the trade of Jalil Anibaba to Seattle for Central Defenders Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Patrick Ianni. In the early days of MLS it had taken some time for college players to get accustomed to the pace of first team play; the skills shown by players like Austin Berry, who landed 2012 MLS Rookie of the Year in his first season, would seem to suggest otherwise.
The many threads of this season's narrative are already presenting themselves, and first kick is still five weeks away. The Fire will be looking for a strong start to 2014, given that four more goals on the season would have put them in the playoffs. Winning games and scoring goals are all well and good, but to make an impact in the postseason, should they find themselves there come November, the formation of a team identity will make all the difference. Either way, they'll have a big year, with the World Cup kicking off in June, EPL side Tottenham Hotspur coming to town in July, and as always, there will be the twisting narrative that is the sport of soccer.
The 2014 Fire season officially kicks off March 9th at Chivas USA, and the home opener will be March 23rd against the New York Red Bulls. Tickets available at the official team website today.
