FRANKLIN, WE HAVE LIFTOFF

The first place (!) Mariners continued to pile up the wins last week, going 5-1 on a road trip to Baltimore and Cincinnati. There were many highlights along the way, but none were more booming than Franklin Gutierrez's home run on Saturday. In the fourth inning, the outfielder absolutely destroyed a John Lamb pitch, launching it 473 feet into upper deck at Great American Ballpark. It was the second longest home run hit in all of Major League Baseball this season, trailing only Marlins uber slugger Giancarlo Stanton's 475-foot blast.

The Mariners now boast the best road record in baseball at 18-7. There's only one problem with that... the team still kinda sucks at home, sporting a losing record of 8-10. Apparently home cooked meals aren't doing them any favors. The Mariners start an eight-game homestand tonight against the Athletics, so it seems like as good a time to buck the trend and actually give the Safeco faithful something to cheer about.

DEADER POET'S SOCIETY

Saturday Night Live invited back longtime cast member Fred Armisen to host last weekend's finale for the show's 41st season. While it was solid episode across the board, the most noteworthy moment of the night came via a pretaped parody of Dead Poets Society, where Armisen played the fired professor. While initially played straight, if you're familiar with the film's classic "Oh Captain! My Captain!" scene and pay close attention to the sketch's set, you might see the twist coming. If not, well... (Disclaimer: Not for the squeamish.)

THE SOUND OF SILENCE

Just give us one second to illustrate an inherent problem with streaming music services. No seriously, give us one second.

You had one job, Spotify. pic.twitter.com/lc9uEjNxe7

— Ruth Graham (@publicroad) May 20, 2016

ON BRAND (NEW)

Ever enigmatic New York rock group Brand New emerged with a new song last week, one that sounds like what might happen if a pop punk band worked through grad school. With bright tones and a bouncy freneticism, "I Am a Nightmare" is more energetic and poppy than anything Brand New has put out since at least 2003's Deja Entendu (maybe even dating back all the way to 2001's debut Your Favorite Weapon). While there's no word yet if this might be the first single for a long-overdo album, the tune can be downloaded or purchased as a 12" single. See "I Am a Nightmare" live when Brand New heads to town to co-headline KeyArena with Modest Mouse on July 30.