Dish Network (and Patti Smith)

As some of you know, upon returning from Greece I subscribed to the Dish Network for one of our TVs.  It's a self-indulgent purchase, but Dish Network allows you to subscribe to 3 Greek TV channels, one Greek music video channel, and 4 radio stations.  


The theory was that with the kids' appreciation for Greek things and heritage, and my desire to keep up with my Greek language skills, subscribing to Greek TV and therefore Dish Network made sense.


So far, it has.  The kids watch some, mainly 'Greece Has Talent" (H Elada Exi Talento) and some Greek news.  I've watched a decent amount of Greek news, especially in the run-up to the recent Greek elections (where I learned there is no Greek word for 'debate;' they use that word verbatim, not even spelling it out in Greek letters), the anniversary of last year's riots, and the recent worry about Greece's debt and economic challenges.


There is also a good show called 'Diaspora' about Greeks abroad.  There was a fascinating episode recently about Greeks who still live in Smyrna (Izmir), Turkey.  The show visited a Greek wedding where the 100 or so Greek-Turks said they live a good life and have never faced harassment for being Greek.  However, there is no church and they had to import the priest from Chios, and quite a few talked about moving to the Greek islands when they have kids.


An episode from Melbourne was striking in how unassimilated many Greeks were. Most of the Greek-Australians boasted about being Greek, not Greek-Australian, a sentiment you almost never hear in the United States.


I also record and watch a decent amount of Greek soccer, mainly Panathinaikos games but some others too.  Two thoughts on the Greek Super League (as it is with 'debate' they spell it in English and use the word 'Super.').  One, the play is okay but not that much better than MLS (the only other league I watch). I'm not a great soccer analyst so I'll leave it at that.  Two, the commentators always mention a player's ethnicity.  When Gibril Cisse is making a run it's always "the Frenchman this and the Frenchman that." Ditto for every Brazilian, Argentine, Mexican, Nigerian etc. in the Super League. 


Finally, a subscription to Setanta Sports allowed me to watch Greece's World Cup qualifying matches against Switzerland, Latvia and both playoff games versus Ukraine live or on two-hour tape delay.


But I feel like I'm burying the lead here.  Perhaps the best part of the Dish Network is my sports package that among others channels (like Setanta) allows me to watch Fox Sports South, and therefore regional broadcasts of Carolina games. So I was able to watch Carolina take on Gardner-Webb and Marshall, games not available via Comcast.  And on nights when the Wizards and NBA TV are not broadcasting games - which means a blackout, even with a dish - I can watch other regional Fox broadcasts of NBA games.  That's only happened once, but I got to watch Wayne Ellington's Minnesota Timberwolves take on Sean May's Sacramento Kings a few weeks ago.  As you can imagine, it was a terrible game and May did not get off the bench.


The other channel we receive via Dish that Comcast does not offer is Ovation TV, a music and entertainment channel that shows 'Later with Jools Holland.'  'Later' is a live-music show from the BBC, and recently featured folks like Adele, The Neal Cowley Trio, and Rokia Traoré, new acts - to me - that I liked so much I immediately downloaded songs they played on the show.  Acts I know, like the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, the re-formed Specials, and Wilco have also appeared.


But the best recent performance on that show was by Patti Smith.  She played with a band featuring Lenny Kaye, Tom Verlaine, and Flea, and they did an unbelievable version of 'Gloria.'  Ever since, I've only been listening to that song on my iPod and while rolling in the Highlander.  'Gloria' has some of the best and purest rock swagger of any song ever recorded, from the opening boast that 'Jesus died for someone's sins but not mine' to not one by two - TWO - fist-pumping choruses: the spelling and chanting of G-L-O-R-I-A, followed by 'the bells in my heart going ding-dong-ding-dong.'  


And, 'Gloria' passes the 'does it sound good on your car stereo while driving fast' test. 


So if you want to see if Greece has talent, watch even more basketball and live rock and roll music I recommend the Dish Network.