Title: Columbia House Party: 9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever to Tell (2003)
Date: December 30, 2019
Original Source: Columbia House Party
Synopsis: In the ninth episode of Columbia House Party, we’re joined by Sarah MacDonald to discuss the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ 2003 debut, Fever to Tell.
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Title: The Raptors Reasonablists Podcast – Staying Afloat: Expected range, Canadian content, Nurse’s techs & the McCawnaissance
Date: December 30, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In the latest edition of The Raptors Reasonablists Podcast, Eric Koreen and I discuss the Raptors’ 3-3 stretch through heavy injury, including a mess of a finish against the Thunder. Read an excerpt!
Title: Radio Appearance: Talking Raptors on TSN 690
Date: December 30, 2019
Original Source: TSN Radio
Synopsis: I appeared on TSN 690 in Montreal to discuss the Raptors’ recent shorthanded play and the play of Chris Boucher.
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Title: The Patrick McCaw Game (with Oshae Brissett support) helps Raptors bounce back against Celtics
Date: December 28, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I wrote about a spirited victory in Boston for the shorthanded Raptors, sparked by unlikely heroes Patrick McCaw and Oshae Brissett. Read an excerpt!
Title: Q&A: Chuck Swirsky on 25 years of Raptors, salami & cheese, Vince Carter’s legacy, the greatest Raptor, and more
Date: December 27, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I interviewed former Raptors broadcaster Chuck Swirsky about his time with the team, watching the championship from afar, and more. Read an excerpt!
Title: Raptors’ return to Christmas Day slate hampered by injuries, tough Celtics loss
Date: December 25, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I wrote about the Raptors’ disappointing, shorthanded return to the NBA’s Christmas Day schedule. Read an excerpt!
Title: Columbia House Party: 8. Motion City Soundtrack – Commit This To Memory (2005)
Date: December 23, 2019
Original Source: Columbia House Party
Synopsis: In the eighth episode of Columbia House Party, we dive into Motion City Soundtrack’s Commit This to Memory, a personal favorite.
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Title: B-Sides from an epic comeback: The chaos of Chris Boucher, a new no-stats all-star, win probabilities and more
Date: December 23, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I wrote about the Raptors’ historic comeback against the Mavericks, including Chris Boucher’s impact in chaotic games, Malcolm Miller’s stat-free plus-29, and more. Read an excerpt!
I started a music podcast this year.
I know, I know. But for a long time now, I’ve wanted a more consistent outlet for my love of music, and while me adding to my plate is probably something my therapist would be angry about if I ever went back, it’s been refreshing so far. I don’t feel a need to turn every passion into a work project, but it’s allowed me to express more about myself and engage more creatively than I get to by sticking to basketball. (I love my job, obviously. Variety is appreciated, though.)
Doing the project – Columbia House Party – with my friend Jake has the added wrinkle of exploring and appreciating a variety of music that we maybe don’t agree on. Music is subjective, and how you relate with it is often an ethereal, intangible experience. Jake and I have a lot of overlap in our musical tastes, sure. We also have very little annual overlap in the very tops of your year-ends or most-listened-tos. There’s some Venn Diagram to the show, to the shows we go to together, and with most of my friends I share tastes with.
Diving into albums from both of our pasts and exploring why those albums resonated with different people at different times has lent helpful perspective to this, one of my favorite annual exercises. Foremost – and this is something I realized in introducing The Phoebe Bridgers Corollary in 2018 – albums are timeless and it’s not always necessary to experience them immediately. If you’re going deep on one album and it means you listen to a little less new stuff for a while, live in that first album. The others aren’t going anywhere. (Consequently, I listened to 119 albums this year, down about 20 percent from 2018.)
Additionally, it’s lessened the pressure I feel to get the list “right.” There’s no such thing, and even people with similar taste can amicably split hairs on what albums hit them hardest. It’s a favorite albums list, not an objectively best albums list.
This stuff should be obvious. Sometimes it’s hard to separate a job where you’re evaluated on the accuracy of your analysis and a side-passion where you’re just allowed to feel. It’s a welcome balance. It also made the tougher decisions a little easier to lock in for a year that was defined more by the amount of good albums (my initial pass at a top-75 had 90-plus albums) than the amount of great ones.
Ironically, the side project also cut into the time I had to do this list, so it’s coming out later and with briefer blurbs than in the past.
What follows are the albums I enjoyed most in 2019.
Title: Raptors nearly do it again with Kyle Lowry-fueled comeback, and other takeaways from OT thriller in Indiana
Date: December 23, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I wrote about the Raptors nearly making it two nights in a row with a monumental comeback, and other takeaways from within a fun game with the Pacers. Read an excerpt!
Blake Murphy Sports Writing 