My Shameless Moral Inventory

Sorry to shell you with videos, the mark of true blogger sloth, but this one's gotta have it. No big secret around these parts that I'm an ardent fan of Southern soul, and fucked-up Southern cities, and thus find Memphis endlessly awesome. I've always wondered, though, how exactly the Grizzlies fit into this environment. While basketball may not be jazz, it has even less to do with Stax or Hi.

So you can imagine my giggly consternation when I found this promo for Staxtacular '08, hosted by. . . Pau Gasol, Rudy Gay, and Mike Conley. Worlds collide and histories begin. Look, I know that Stax is a civic cause, Graceland with a socially redeemable streak, and one of that city's few recent achievements. It's not like this means these Grizzlies are fans. And yet the juxtaposition here is almost too much for me to handle. The thought of Gasol doggedly nodding his head during an ancient Eddie Floyd's set is either my personal heaven or everyone's hell, I'm not quite sure.

Stax blog, get at me so we can figure this out. So I can sort through my feelings.

And in nominally related news, Ziller informed me today that Rudy Gay is from Baltimore. I had no idea.