Oh, thank you, designers who I don't directly control except through the awesome power of my thoughts. I was hoping there would be more Rick James, because it gives me an opportunity to tell this story: in 1964, James, then a Naval reservist in Buffalo named James Johnson, Jr., went AWOL. He ended up in Canada in a group called the Mynah Birds. A few years later, a young guitarist named Neil Young joined the group. I know -- it sounds like I rolled up Mig's layer #4 and smoked it. It's true, though. The group even got signed to Motown. Before they could hit it big, military authorities caught up with James, and he spent a year in the brig for desertion. Neil Young went on to a promising career in Buffalo Springfield and as a solo artist (perhaps you've heard of him), and James didn't do so badly either. He had a hit or two.
Which brings us, with ruthless coincidence, back to layer #6. James's biggest hit, of course, was "Super Freak," later sampled by Hammer on "U Can't Touch This," which was not only a huge hit but also part of an unfortunate typographical movement that may have been started (and was certainly helped along) by Prince. It's the first thing I think of when I look at this layer, the great bottom-heavy (bass line, anyone?) capital U. I love the lightning bolt, because it both recalls and threatens the planes from before. Wittily, cannily, Mig has done something else here, too -- he has brought back the invasive gloves from Armin's very first layer, and continued the debate regarding the appropriateness of the TSA's cavity searches. Are they the super freaks? In what is either another ruthless coincidence or just some Layer Tennis magic, I would like to up the ante by closing with a quote from what might be Rick James's best song, assuming "Super Freak" is not. Here's how "You and I" starts: "You and I / We fit together like a glove on hand."
Play by play commentary for this match is provided, as it happens, by Ben Greenman.
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A Quick Favor From LYTOur friends and longtime sponsors at Adobe have a quick survey for Layer Tennis fans. It would mean a lot to us if you could take a couple minutes between layers to answer some simple questions. Thanks a million.
Congratulations to Mig Reyes, Layer Tennis Season 3 Champion.
Thanks to all the players, commentators and fans who made Season Three of Layer Tennis a big success. And thanks to the crew at Goodby Silverstein & Partners and all the folks at Adobe Creative Suite for making it possible. Watch this space (or sign up for Season Tickets or follow us on Twitter) for news about some special exhibition matches being planned and about Season 4.
Cast your votes on The Championship Match. Both Finalists will receive invitations to play in the post-season tournament for Season Four.
Here's how the voting works. Decide who you'd like to declare as winner and then simply tweet their first name following a hash mark. Either #mig or #noper and, this is important, also include #lyt in that tweet. We'll leave the voting open all weekend and announce our Season Three Champion on Monday.
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