Top 19 -- N.W.A.: Straight Outta Compton

On Facebook I was asked to list my top ten all-time albums that most influenced me. Since I can't list anything without a huge explanation, this is it. Not only that but I'm writing about my Top 19 instead of my Top 10. 

Here's what I wrote on Facebook today, "Here's another quick story: when I first heard this album, I was about 15-years-old. When you're 15-years-old, there is a weird dichotomy in your brain. You want to be part of a group, but at the same time, you want to be unique. You want to tell the entire world to go fuck itself but at the same time you're deathly afraid of doing so. You done with being a kid but you can't begin to handle adult responsibilities. Therefore you begin to find ways of trying to express yourself, your frustrations, your confusion, find someone or something that has similar problems; otherwise you might explode. For me, it was this cassette tape put out by five guys who were figuratively and literally the opposite of me and my entire surroundings. They expressed the frustrations and confusion that I was experiencing every day. Maybe what they were rapping about wasn't exactly relatable--I didn't have a problem with the police or women weren't rying to convince me that they were carrying my baby--but the emotions that they conveyed did."

I've written about NWA a lot. Probably more than any other band that I've listened to, which is weird because they only really had one album that I liked. The other two, "100 Miles and Runnin' " and "Efil4Zaggin" had their moments, but once Ice Cube left, the band sort of fell apart into a self-parody of what they once were. 

So I think what prompts me to continuously write about a band--actually an album--that I really loved when I was 15-years-old is how it made me feel at that age. Like I wrote up top, there's a lot of pushing and pulling in a teenager's head. You need to make sure that you get that frustration out before it boils over. Just be listening to "Straight Outta Compton" allowed me to relieve some of that pressure. It was loud, it was aggressive, it was in-your-face, it didn't give a fuck. All of those things are the opposite of me. When I rapped along with NWA, I wasn't Byron Magrane anymore. I was someone completely different. 

And I think that's why this album was such a hit with a lot of kids that I knew. Sure, the words and what they say are shocking the first 100 times you listen to them. After awhile though, if you're still listening, the message is even more reticent. Like everyone wants to be in a gang--I'm not talking about the crips or the bloods--I'm talking about being in a group of people with like minded thoughts. Not only that but you want your gang on the outside. There's no fun in being the favorite, the underdog, the downtrodden, the group that's going to rise up and show those bourgeois pigs who's boss was where you wanted to be. You want to be the group of people who sees through the bullshit and speaks truth to power. 

That was NWA. This group was popular, but they couldn't get on MTV or the radio. They sold millions of albums, yet you never saw them on any late night shows. They were the World's Most Dangerous Band and when you're 15 or 16-years-old, that's how you feel. No one really recognizes you. You're doing stuff, some of it great, but no one cares. In fact the only responses you get are negative. "Clean your room!" "Do your homework!" "Dump that beer in the fire!" "Run 15 laps!" 

You're powerless and it sucks. You know who else was powerless? Ice Cube, MC Ren, Dr. Dre, Eazy E and Yella Boy. You know who fought back? That's right, NWA. If they can do it, why couldn't we? At least that was the theory. 

One day we were all talking. The annual lip-sync was approaching and they were looking for acts. Wouldn't it be awesome if a bunch of us did "Fuck the Police"? Could you imagine the principal and the vice principal and everyone else totally freaking out? They'd talk about us for years! We'd be the (very white) NWA of Amesbury, MA. The more we talked about it, the more a plan formed. "I have a White Sox, Raiders and LA Kings hat!" "I have these awesome Locs!" "I know the dude who does the PA for the lip sync, we can tell them that we're going to do 'Express Yourself' and at the last minute substitute 'Fuck the Police'!" 

We must have talked about this plan for hours, getting us more and more excited. The lip-sync day came and went, and myself and my friends sat in the audience. We never put the plan into action. In fact, I don't think we ever talked about it again. 

We weren't NWA. We weren't anywhere even close. We were just four scared white boys who talked shit and never backed it up. NWA may as well have been Spider-Man or Bat Man; we'd never be like them. That's okay. Not everyone can be iconoclasts. That's what makes them special. The rest of us just have to bask in their glory and dream. 

Carlton Fisk 1992 Upper Deck

On July 27, 2017 I received this card from the Baseball Card Bandit (BCB):

On Facebook, I wrote: The BCB struck again last week. He (I think the BCB is a he, maybe it's a she?) sent a rerun this time: Carlton Fisk. We've already spoken about Fisk, at length, the last time we posted the card. 

I believe this is Fisk's last card and is one of the few times that he's pictured in the Sox' new (for the time) uniforms. Prior to this Fisk was stuck playing in floppy collars or shirts that look like blankets. At least he was able to leave MLB with some dignity. 

2019 Notes: Back in the day, uniform unveiling in sports wasn't a huge deal. Sometimes they'd do these goofy fashion shows during the winter where players would come out, walk around and then writers would write about the new togs. Other times, teams would show up the next season and they were dressed differently. And other times, it was just random. 

At the end of the 1990 season, the Red Sox played the White Sox and Chicago decided that they were going to preview their new uniforms for the 1991 season*. They were black, silver and white (the hot colors of the time, thank you Los Angeles Raiders and N.W.A.). I was instantly intrigued by these new uniforms. Especially the away ones, it said Chicago in black and white on the front and there was a patch of a white sock on a black diamond on the left sleeve. Look at the back of the card in the image above, the whole uniform looked awesome. 

Add to the fact that this was the series where Tom Brunansky made his famous catch in right field off Ozzie Guillen to win the 1990 AL East and there were already a lot of feelings tied up in these threads. When I was a kid, I didn't care about the White Sox at all. To me, they were an anonymous team who shared the Windy City with the Cubs. Ron Kittle? Ivan Calderon? Britt Burns? Who cared. 

But all of a sudden, I couldn't stop thinking about the White Sox. Their entire look changed and it did it's job, I was now thinking about the White Sox. They weren't so anonymous any more. 

So much so, they were the first official jersey that I ever bought. The following fall, I went to the mall with my birthday money and bought that official Chicago White Sox away jersey and wore it to school a lot. 

The thing is, the White Sox have had a million uniforms over their first 90 years of existence. It seemed like they changed jersey every other year, but they really haven't touched their uniform since 1991. They add a throw back (they were the first to do that, BTW) or they may take a patch off here, add one there, but for the most part their looks has been consistent -- even if the team isn't. 

* BTW, their old uniforms weren't bad. They got a new set of uniforms in 1987 (along with the Braves, A's, Mariners, Twins and others) that got rid of their gaudy early 80s style beach blanket bingo jerseys and replaced them with a more conservative appearance. They were red, white and blue and spelled out "White Sox" on their home unis and "Chicago" on their roads. The hat even had a "C" on it instead of saying "SOX" for the first time in like 50 years. The problem was, they went completely the other way and were boring as hell. 

Also, look at Carlton, he's playing first base against the Angels. What a good baseball boy. 

BTW the letter was cancelled in North Carolina. Maybe the BCB is Michael Jordan? No one can know for certain!

2019: Some times people need to take away my keyboard. Ugh.