The Field

The Field. In the world of oddsmaking, all other competitors that do not have set odds are collectively referred to as "the field."

Given that there are 99 albums on Phish's Web site, in a rare moment of clarity, a phan may wonder "Well, why not 100? Why do they give us this strange number one shy of a C-note? Why not 88 albums, or 69?"

And indeed, as we count down the final week pre-festival, the rumor mill (scroll down to 10/16 entry) is bathtub-ginning up with some talk about a missing 100th album. No less a reliable source than Trey Anastasio himself has been said to have given a radio interview where he noted that there are actually 100 albums on the Phish Web site, but only 99 were showing, and the last, 100th, album is the one killing all of the others. This would indeed be a strange admission by Trey, given all the Flash coding that went into the 99 albums, but it would give credence to those people obsessed with round numbers.

So, herewith, we post odds on the generic Album To Be Named Later, that does not currently appear in the 99-album showcase.

@mdubno odds: 13:1

@ericwyman odds: 9:1

Phish has a long running history with "the inside joke". Sirius' Festivalography (Part 1 | Part 2)points this out when explaining the history of the festival names, often spawned from random moments in time. A creative burst. Why would this endeavor be any different?

Being a fan of Phish you spend a significant amount of timing dealing with the inherent mind fuck. And the band knows this. It's a distinct possibility that Phish chose certain albums to broaden the musical horizons of its fan base, knowing that at least some of us would rush out to listen to Television or MGMT or Miles Davis. That'd be a commendable decision on their part.

So where do we net out?

Theory #1: Much like California, a dead album is the ultimate choice. Much like the killer who you forget about once you assume his defeat, he returns to finish the job.

Intriguing early deaths: Tom Petty, Pavement

Theory #2: The aforementioned 100th album.

Intriguing omissions: Hidden Track did a great post on 10 Artists Phish Forgot. My Bloody Valentine???? (too hip, personally)

Others we'd love to see: Pink Floyd, Animals or Obscured by Clouds. The Kinks, Cream, Traffic, the Stones' "Let It Bleed."

Theory #3: It's all a game.

They brought California back so, in turn they must be open to using the same gag? Not likely. The end result proves to be on the up and up and stays true to the described format.