The Music of Yankee Stadium

Baseball fans should know that last night was the final game at Yankee Stadium. I watched about 5 minutes of the game, just to say that I did. The Yankees, for the first time in over a decade, aren't going to the playoffs. I think it is just a bitter piece of karma from the rejected old stadium. I didn't go up to New York to catch one final game this season. I had no need to say goodbye to an aging shrine that many people have reminded me this week is "not that great". What made Yankee Stadium special to me was all those trips my buddies and I took. Route 4 to the George Washington Bridge to the Cross Bronx and of course getting off at Jerome Ave. (the insiders way to go). Once in a while I even dragged my dad and sister out there to go with me. We had some great memories and I'm glad we got to spend so much time at THE Stadium when it really mattered most to us. It seems appropriate that a place I connected to so strongly in my youth is going away just as I reach my 30th birthday. In many ways it feels like a new chapter in my life is opening as an old one gets torn town.

Songs on my mind:
"Empty Baseball Park" by Whiskeytown (mp3)
"Stadiums and Shrines II" by Sunset Rubdown (mp3)
"I've Loved These Days" by Billy Joel (mp3)
"Centerfield (Live)" by John Fogerty (mp3)

and for my buddies... and all Yankee Stadium fans in the know:
"Cotton Eyed Joe" by Rednex (mp3) - I don't know why they play it in the Bronx, but its a fan favorite
"Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" by Jimi Hendrix (mp3) - There is this bum that hangs out on Jermone Ave. on the way back to the parking garages after Yankee games. He is always jamming on his electric guitar looking for donations. He's terrible. We affectionately call him Jimi and always dropped some money in his case on the way home.
"This Magic Moment" by The Drifters (mp3) - always played during Yankee flashbacks on the scoreboard. Originally written by Doc Pomus the Drifters version is the most famous. A Bobby Fleisch favorite.

and of course
"New York, New York" by Frank Sinatra (mp3) - Start spreading the news.

RIP Yankee Stadium (1923-2008)

Bruce and Bernie

If you're Springsteen fan...but also a Red Sox or Mets fan would you cheer? Discuss amongst yourselves.

Patty Scialfa, Bruce Springsteen and Bernie Williams

Wilco: World Series Winners

Crap. The Red Sox won the World Series. The only good thing to come of this is that it also mean Wilco's "War on War" wins the World Series of Songs. So I bittersweetly present the following video. Congrats Wilco.

The World Series of Songs Finals

The World Series of Songs continues with the Red Sox (Booooo) vs. the Rockies (Whooooooo). So that means its Wilco vs. Dylan

Colorado Rockies: “Thunder on the Mountain” by Bob Dylan
vs. Boston Red Sox: "War on War" by Wilco

World Series of Songs: League Championships

Well my beloved Skankees fell to the racially insensitive Indians. And with that Frank Sinatra, and possibly Joe Torre, have been eliminated. So here are our semifinal match ups in the World Series of Songs.

THE NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
Arizona Diamondbacks: “Snakes and Martyrs” by TV On The Radio
vs.
Colorado Rockies:“Thunder on the Mountain” by Bob Dylan

THE AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
Boston Red Sox: "War on War" by Wilco
vs.
Cleveland Indians: "Scenario" by Tribe Called Quest

Any predictions on the winner? When in doubt I go with Bob Dylan. That's my philosophy.

World Series of Songs

I was going to post this for My Buddy Brad but he actually sent the exact same clip to me this morning. What are the odds? This is an all-time great song by The Mountain Goats. Basically he says that he'll love his girl again when the Cubs win the World Series. I guess they're not getting back together.



So here are my songs for each team in the playoffs. We then can do a musical baseball playoffs like we did for the World Cup where "My Way" by Frank Sinatra was crowned champion as the representative for Italy.

THE NATIONAL LEAGUE

Chicago Cubs:
"Cubs in Five" by The Mountain Goats.
See video above. The song is a bit outdated since the Tampa Bucs HAVE “made it all the way to January” but Bill Gates still has not “single-handedly spearheaded the Heaven 17 revival”. Is the misery of being a Cubs fan over? They have a shot.

Arizona Diamondbacks:
“Snakes and Martyrs” by TV On The Radio
"I hold you close and smile. Fake. Like they do way out west.” That says it all about these snakes. They’re not real contenders.

Philadelphia Phillies:
“Comin Back” by Citizen Cope
They just completed one of the greatest comebacks in sports history…which means the “Amazin’” New York Mets completed a historical collapse. I wanted the Phils to win only because it would mean that pain would be inflicted on Mets fans (Big Poppa Hops excluded). But now that they playoffs have started I could care less about them. Ryan Howard did go to the same High School as Mrs. Hops. She had no idea who he was.

Colorado Rockies:
“Thunder on the Mountain” by Bob Dylan
A good song for a team I don’t really see play very often. They wear purple, they play a mile up in the atmosphere and they can hit.
“Gonna raise me an army, some tough sons of bitches. I'll recruit my army from the orphanages”

THE AMERICAN LEAGUE

Boston Red Sox:
"War on War" by Wilco
As the song says: “You’re gonna lose. You have to lose.”
Let’s move on from the no good stinking Red Sox.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim:
"I Love L.A." by Randy Newman
They love LA so much that they call themselves the LA Angels… even though they used to be the California Angels, then the Anaheim Angels…and don’t play in LA. It’s a bit of a bait and switch.
“Hate New York City. It's cold and it's damp. And all the people dressed like monkeys.
Let's leave Chicago to the Eskimos. That town's a little bit too rugged”

Cleveland Indians:
"Scenario" by Tribe Called Queset
Cleveland was tough. What do you say about the “Mistake by the lake”? I have actually only been there once but I really liked it. The town gets a bad rap – and therefore I won’t make fun of the city. This is a perfect song for a team nicknamed “The Tribe”.
“Yes yes y'all - who got the vibe it's the Tribe y'all (Tribe y'all!)”

And for you Yankee Bastards (myself included):

New York Yankees:
"All or Nothing At All" by Frank Sinatra
I’m hoping the Sinatra streak lives on! The Yankees will accept nothing short of the World Series. So if we’re not going to win it… then we might as well lose to the Indians (though not the Red Sox… that would be a disaster).

Did you know that the home of baseball and the home of Frank Sinatra are both Hoboken, NJ? That is a fact.