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Post by cowboyz on Feb 8, 2022 10:23:41 GMT -5
What say you? Bengals or Rams?
My head is telling me the Rams but I'd love to see the Bengals pull this off. I'm going with the Bengals... I have no dog in this fight!!
I hope the commercials are better than last years.
I'm not really interested in the half time show, other than Snoop. I'll tune in, we'll see.
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Post by Evil Yoda on Feb 8, 2022 18:33:03 GMT -5
I'd bet on the Rams. But I'd kinda like to see the Bengals pull it off. Burrow might be the real deal. At this point he looks more real that Jackson, I'm sad to say.
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Post by alienrace on Feb 9, 2022 8:15:03 GMT -5
Yeah, I'd bet on the Rams as well, though I'd rather see the Bengals win. Burrow is definitely the real deal, and the Bengals will be the Ravens stiffest competition for years to come in the AFCN while the Browns keep Browning, and the Steelers are facing a rebuild whether they admit it or not.
The one area in this game that pushes me to take the Rams is that the Bengals offensive line is very poor, and the Rams front seven is dominant - so there's a mismatch that will likely get exploited.
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Post by pickle20 on Feb 9, 2022 9:39:26 GMT -5
I'm going with the Rams but I picked against the Bengals the last two games and paid for it.
The game does seem to come down to the Rams DL vs the Bengals OL. But I expect it to be a pretty good game.
Kupp and Chase are probably the two best WRs in the NFL right now.
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Post by WKDWZD on Feb 9, 2022 11:59:53 GMT -5
Who's going to murder the National Anthem this time?
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Post by cowboyz on Feb 9, 2022 13:27:26 GMT -5
Who's going to muder the National Anthem this time? I don't understand your question.
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Post by WKDWZD on Feb 9, 2022 15:43:57 GMT -5
Who's going to murder the National Anthem this time? I don't understand your question. I am referring to the need for 'artists' to put their own stamp on America the beautiful and the Stars and Stripes. Some have been dreadful. The Stars and Stripes is a beautiful tune and does not require any additional embellishment. I speak as a musician and I play that anthem on occasions.
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Post by alienrace on Feb 9, 2022 16:10:59 GMT -5
I don't understand your question. I am referring to the need for 'artists' to put their own stamp on America the beautiful and the Stars and Stripes. Some have been dreadful. The Stars and Stripes is a beautiful tune and does not require any additional embellishment. I peak as a musician and I play that anthem on occasions. You got that right, some are truly dreadful. I've noticed a great many of the singers seem to have no concept of timing, throwing in extra, odd, misplace beats etc to the point you can't even follow it. I'm somewhat more fine when they might throw some note variations in, but the screwing with the timing should be illegal.
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Post by pickle20 on Feb 9, 2022 19:23:25 GMT -5
I’m pretty pumped for the halftime show. First time I’ve ever said that.
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Post by Evil Yoda on Feb 9, 2022 20:07:37 GMT -5
I’m pretty pumped for the halftime show. First time I’ve ever said that. Who is it? They used to book bands I knew, but the past several have been acts uninteresting to me. My theory is that most people, and I include myself, find the music of their early life most enjoyable and eventually reach a point where they find new music uninteresting. Certainly I do not feel that many modern artists are all that talented relative to those that came before them.
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Post by Rael on Feb 9, 2022 21:58:27 GMT -5
I’m pretty pumped for the halftime show. First time I’ve ever said that. Who is it? They used to book bands I knew, but the past several have been acts uninteresting to me. My theory is that most people, and I include myself, find the music of their early life most enjoyable and eventually reach a point where they find new music uninteresting. Certainly I do not feel that many modern artists are all that talented relative to those that came before them. There is still a lot of good music being made but you won't find it in the usual places.
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Post by Rael on Feb 9, 2022 22:00:56 GMT -5
I'm hoping for the Bengals. Unlike the Steelers (who I hate but respect) or the Browns (who just can't get it together no matter how much talent they have) I have no animosity against the Bengals. Plus, for the Ravens to advance deep in the layoffs in the future, they will need to hone their skills on good teams in the division and right now that looks like the Bengals for the next 3 years or so.
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Post by cowboyz on Feb 10, 2022 7:10:58 GMT -5
I don't understand your question. I am referring to the need for 'artists' to put their own stamp on America the beautiful and the Stars and Stripes. Some have been dreadful. The Stars and Stripes is a beautiful tune and does not require any additional embellishment. I speak as a musician and I play that anthem on occasions. Oh, gotcha! This year it will be sung by Mickey Guyton. Hoping she does a great job, I enjoy her music.
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Post by pickle20 on Feb 10, 2022 9:08:54 GMT -5
I’m pretty pumped for the halftime show. First time I’ve ever said that. Who is it? They used to book bands I knew, but the past several have been acts uninteresting to me. My theory is that most people, and I include myself, find the music of their early life most enjoyable and eventually reach a point where they find new music uninteresting. Certainly I do not feel that many modern artists are all that talented relative to those that came before them. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige. You'll probably hate it.
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Post by alienrace on Feb 10, 2022 9:15:35 GMT -5
My theory is that most people, and I include myself, find the music of their early life most enjoyable and eventually reach a point where they find new music uninteresting. Certainly I do not feel that many modern artists are all that talented relative to those that came before them. Totally agree. You know, I used to freaking hate the BeeGees, and bands like that, but I respect the hell out of them playing their own instruments and such, and have grown an appreciation for them. Same goes for bands like Foreigner or Journey, when I listen to them now, I think, holy crap, they are such excellent musicians that I never appreciated at the time. Maybe listening to how the 90's kind of "dumbed down" musicianship, and then by the 2000's to now took musicianship out of the hands of humans and put it in computers has made me rethink how I viewed some music of the past.
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Post by pickle20 on Feb 10, 2022 9:46:33 GMT -5
My theory is that most people, and I include myself, find the music of their early life most enjoyable and eventually reach a point where they find new music uninteresting. Certainly I do not feel that many modern artists are all that talented relative to those that came before them. Totally agree. You know, I used to freaking hate the BeeGees, and bands like that, but I respect the hell out of them playing their own instruments and such, and have grown an appreciation for them. Same goes for bands like Foreigner or Journey, when I listen to them now, I think, holy crap, they are such excellent musicians that I never appreciated at the time. Maybe listening to how the 90's kind of "dumbed down" musicianship, and then by the 2000's to now took musicianship out of the hands of humans and put it in computers has made me rethink how I viewed some music of the past. Disagree. I know music opinions are mostly age-dependent but the 90's and 00's had some great bands with great musicianship and songwriting. Not to mention rap, which I know you probably hate, had its heydey with some really awesome creativity at play as well. That said, I do believe a lot of (pop) music today sucks. So I guess becoming an aged out "the music of my generation wuz da best!" music snob is inevitable.
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Post by alienrace on Feb 10, 2022 10:29:19 GMT -5
Not to mention rap, which I know you probably hate What makes you think I hate rap? I loved old school stuff like Run DMC, Fat Boys, Beastie Boys, NWA, and Public Enemy. That stuff still brings a smile to my face. My opinion of the 90's has little to do with age - I was still quite young then. It has way more to do with being a guitarist. The wave of Alternative (which really became mainstream) simplified guitar playing with the whole "less is more" approach - to an extreme. For guitarists like me that aspired to be the next Eddie Van Halen or Randy Rhoads, it was depressing. Compare the guitar work on something like Boston "Don't Look Back" or Pink Floyd's "Time" to the Alternative music of the 90's that was mainstream. I know that underground, so to speak, there were plenty of metal bands and such doing great things on guitar, and to this day - but I'm speaking more of what was widely popular at any given time.
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Post by pickle20 on Feb 10, 2022 14:39:09 GMT -5
Not to mention rap, which I know you probably hate What makes you think I hate rap? I loved old school stuff like Run DMC, Fat Boys, Beastie Boys, NWA, and Public Enemy. That stuff still brings a smile to my face. My opinion of the 90's has little to do with age - I was still quite young then. It has way more to do with being a guitarist. The wave of Alternative (which really became mainstream) simplified guitar playing with the whole "less is more" approach - to an extreme. For guitarists like me that aspired to be the next Eddie Van Halen or Randy Rhoads, it was depressing. Compare the guitar work on something like Boston "Don't Look Back" or Pink Floyd's "Time" to the Alternative music of the 90's that was mainstream. I know that underground, so to speak, there were plenty of metal bands and such doing great things on guitar, and to this day - but I'm speaking more of what was widely popular at any given time. Are you familiar with Tom Morello? I never played an instrument so I guess I just wanted the music to sound good. I wasn't paying attention to whether someone was raising the bar with the guitar or whatever although when GNR came out you knew there was something special there with Slash right away.
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Post by alienrace on Feb 10, 2022 14:58:11 GMT -5
Are you familiar with Tom Morello? I never played an instrument so I guess I just wanted the music to sound good. I wasn't paying attention to whether someone was raising the bar with the guitar or whatever although when GNR came out you knew there was something special there with Slash right away. Of course I'm familiar with Tom Morello. He's a good guitarist, but certainly not on the level of Van Halen, Rhoads, or Gilmour, and he'd be the first to tell you that. Much of the 90's guitar virtuosity shifted away from complex melodic progressions and focused on tight and complex rhythm work. The soaring guitar solo of Pink Floyd's "Time" had no place in the 90's mainstream, the raw fingertip fire in Van Halen's "Cradle Will Rock" and Rhoad's dual solos in "Mr Crowley" became faux pau in that era of music. I felt that crunch even in the metal world, as the band I played in skewed in that direction as well to try and stay "relevant". It was a tough pill to swallow. You mention Slash, and that's a seriously talented guy. He's not the most technically brilliant guitar player, but he has that raw fire, and the melodic skills mixed with crafty, crunchy rhythms that created a unique, and never duplicated sound. GNR were their own thing, that literally defied any accurate description. I will say he does post a lot of weird crap on Facebook though, lol.
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Post by Evil Yoda on Feb 10, 2022 16:32:42 GMT -5
Who is it? They used to book bands I knew, but the past several have been acts uninteresting to me. My theory is that most people, and I include myself, find the music of their early life most enjoyable and eventually reach a point where they find new music uninteresting. Certainly I do not feel that many modern artists are all that talented relative to those that came before them. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige. You'll probably hate it. Snoop Dogg I like. The others I can take or leave. Might be okay.
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Post by Evil Yoda on Feb 10, 2022 16:33:36 GMT -5
...for the Ravens to advance deep in the layoffs in the future... Wow. Had no idea even sports teams were affected by the pandemic and inflation. <slinks away>
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Post by alienrace on Feb 11, 2022 13:20:23 GMT -5
Ok - it's that time - anyone have predictions? Sounds like most want the Bengals to win, and that's nothing against the Rams who aren't unlikeable. Like most, I picked against the Bengals in every playoff game except the wildcard, which I thought was a tossup. Burrow has surprised me every time, the kid is really, really good, and he's got a lot of really good weapons. The Rams are pretty good on both sides of the ball, but if Higbee can't go, that's a pretty major loss on the offensive side. Ironically, the Bengals starting TE is facing a similar prognosis with a sprained MCL. Neither have practiced in two weeks.
The Rams have the best pass rush in the NFL with over 50 sacks and they are going against the 30th ranked offensive line in the NFL that gave up an alarming 50+ sacks. On paper this is a *huge* point of mismatch, one of those kinds that can make a game get very ugly, very fast. However...
The Rams secondary has been suspect. There's talent there, but they have been banged up. Eric Weddle came out of retirement to fill the void. He's actually in shockingly good form - but c'mon - he was on the decline in his last year or two. If, and I mean IF, the Bengals can figure out a way to protect Burrow, they have a chance to put up some points. I think they can - they need to run passing plays that keep Mixon in the backfield for an extra blocker - because they've got the talent in Boyd, Higgins and Chase to win a lot of matchups. They thrive against the zone - which is what the Rams employ. Rams might switch up to more 1 on 1 but I'm not sure they can stay with the Bengals receivers. Mixon needs to be effective on the ground - and keep the Rams pass rush a little honest. If he can't get going, they could be in trouble.
I think the Rams will come out strong defensively, and it will be likely scoreless after a quarter. Stafford will hit Kupp for some big plays, and possibly give the Rams the edge, but he will make a mistake that will keep the game close enough for the Bengals. I think at some point, the Rams pass rushers will tire (we've seen this all year long with many teams, the conditioning has been strangely poor late in games), and the Bengals will burn the Rams creaky secondary in the fourth quarter.
Bengals 31 Rams 20
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Post by pickle20 on Feb 11, 2022 14:01:58 GMT -5
I'm taking the Bengals to cover, but Rams to win. I think this is a late-FG-for-the-win type of game. I drew 1 for Rams, 8 for Bengals in my block pool.
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up2
Full Member
Posts: 1,867
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Post by up2 on Feb 11, 2022 14:32:00 GMT -5
In those good old days as some reminisce about, it's important to note the dearth of recording labels and companies that could record music, and the rather large expense of doing so. As a result, the music industry officials at the time were cautious about who to allocate very expensive studio time to record. This in turn meant that the vast majority of musicians were honing their skills at local venues, largely unnoticed by the vast majority of people outside the local venues they played in. There was a more natural bubbling up to the top, and most of the artists / bands that were lucky enough to get a recording contract were also seasoned in their craft a lot more. Also, with limited outlets to listen, AM radio, expensive vinyl records, and three TV stations, far fewer groups and artists were out there in the mix, and as a result, the listening audience recognized quite a few of those artists.
Contrast that to today where anyone with a phone and a social media account can release material out there, with pretty decent sound quality I might add. Another result is music became more "visual" in nature especially with MTV videos in the 80's. With visual appeal, pop music became substantially more entertainment focused to include dancing and pyrotechnics and the like and a bit less about the actual musicality or virtuosity. Now don't get me wrong, there are incredibly talented musicians out there, but quite frankly, younger and younger less seasoned "entertainers" like Justin Beiber rose to stratospheric acclaim not from a honed musical aspect, but because of the eye candy for tweeners appeal. While there are plenty of child prodigies, Beiber is no Mozart. But Beiber could fill arenas, so who really cared whether or not there was prodigious musical talent?
I'm not saying that great talent is overlooked by the industry, but I will say thank God Aretha Franklin and Mama Cass Elliot broke out into the scene before the 1980's, because neither had the right "look." There is some really good stuff out there musically, but it takes a lot more effort to scour through all the chaff to find a nice kernel of wheat.
/old curmudgeon mode=off
Edit: Gaa! I meant to post this on the 1981 thread... LOLOL
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Post by pickle20 on Feb 14, 2022 7:19:55 GMT -5
Good game, but there was some bad officiating in crucial situations.
Congrats to the Rams...they earned it.
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Post by alienrace on Feb 14, 2022 7:59:05 GMT -5
Wow, Pickle you nailed it. I thought my prophecy was holding true, but to the Rams credit, their pass rush grew stronger as it was the Bengals line that tired in the second half. Heck of a game.
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Post by ivanbalt on Feb 14, 2022 8:14:08 GMT -5
Good game and it was over by 10 on a work night.
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Post by cowboyz on Feb 14, 2022 8:34:12 GMT -5
Good game but not the outcome I was hoping for, congrats to the Rams. Can we get a new officiating crew? Some bad non calls imho. Commercials were terrible, not one good one. Half time show was not a good as I thought it would be given the lineup. Eminem was my favorite. The National Anthem was good, she didn't add much to "make it her own", I don't like it when singers do that with the NA. America the beautiful, I wasn't familiar with the singer but she butchered it, it was awful.
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Post by msmaggie on Feb 14, 2022 8:46:35 GMT -5
Commercials meh, except the Larry David one which was hilarious.
Not a hip-hop fan but loved the choreography. Thought the audio was pretty bad in spots. Cool rug.
Glad the Rams won--99 a Pittsburgh fella--and don't care for Burrow, but man did his o-line let him down.
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Post by pickle20 on Feb 14, 2022 8:58:23 GMT -5
Commercials were OK. One or two were funny. Doesn't seem like the commercials have been good for a long time.
Halftime show was cool. I thought Kendrick Lamar was the best part but seeing Dr. Dre in action after his health scare a few years ago when it seemed like he wouldn't pull through was great to see.
I just wish they'd played more stuff from the 90s.
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