Sonicsgate: Sherman Alexie & Seattle Hip Hop

Now that baseball season is officially over, it's hard to ignore that another season of NBA is in full swing -- a painful reminder of what was taken from us in Seattle. And now, of course, there's a documentary to go along with it.

Sonicsgate made it's way online last month and while the film has a lot of issues (its in desperate need of art direction, for one -- the Powerpoint-like graphics "needed a fresh pair of eyes," as we like to say), its a compelling tale of a franchise, a city and the competing interests that tear them apart. Poet/author Sherman Alexie ends up being the soul of the film, while the tandem of Clay Bennett and David Stern end up playing the part of villain. (Part 1 of the film below).


Sonicsgate HD Part 1 of 2 from sonicsgate. Click here for part 2.

Besides Sherman Alexie, the other best part of Sonicsgate is the music, putting Seattle hip-hop front and center. Much of the film's score is the work of Jacob Dutton, aka Jake One, borrowing heavily from his soulful White Van Music. Other 2-0-Sixers include local mainstays Common Market, Blue Scholars, The Saturday Knights, Dyme Def, Grayskul and others.

Playlist: Sonicsgate Soundtrack

Bonus: Presidents of the United States of America's "Supersonics" theme, written for the '96 playoff team:


Grrrr.....

The Five Stages of Hall & Oates Grief

While the sports world buzzes about Manny in LA and Junior in Chicago, the M's still suck and the Sonics are still dead. Author, poet and former Sonic fan (we're all formers now) Sherman Alexie wrote a funny and touching summary of the Sonics trial called "Sixty-One Things I Learned During the Sonics Trial: A Sonics Love Story." It's not only full of Alexie's irreverant humor, but also his love... love for the game and a team that did little to reciprocate in the final years.

There's a lot of highlights, but for the purposes of this blog, we'll just jump to #15:

In writing, thinking, and talking about the Sonics' possible relocation to Oklahoma City, I shuffle like an iPod through the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance, and Hall & Oates.

Naturally, the blue-eyed Philly soul of Hall & Oates lends itself to the aforementioned 5 stages of grief::

Playlist: 5 Stages of Hall & Oates Grief
1. Denial - "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" - Private Eyes (1981)
2. Anger - "Gotta Lotta Nerve" - Voices (1980)
3. Bargaining - "I Don't Wanna Lose You" - Along the Red Edge (1978)
4. Depression - "(You Know) It Doesn't Matter Anymore" - Daryl Hall & John Oates (1975)
5. Acceptance - "She's Gone" - Abandoned Luncheonette (1973)

Note how as you advance through the stages, you actually go back in time. You know, while we're at it, for Alexie introducing homoeroticism and cucumber sandwiches into the court proceedings, how about a bonus track: "Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid," from the unfortunately titled/recorded Big Bam Boom (1984).