Greatest Song Evah 10/27/23

Song For A Future Generation

There are few bands who exude a feel-good vibe as consistently as the B-52s. Everything about them, from their upbeat melodies to their exuberant vocals to their campy presentation provide nothing but pleasure to the listener. I can’t think of a better example of that than in this song. It is four and a half minutes of pure joy.

All of the classic B-52 elements are contained herein. There is a tremendous glee in the lyrics, and the cheesy little keyboard interlude adds such a wonderful touch. The astrology portions allow each of the 5 members of the classic lineup to add their own personal touch, but there is one standout among all others. Kate Pierson is always an absolute delight; there have been few singers with such a pure essence of likability.

Really, is this song doesn’t bring a smile to your face I would be terribly worried about you. Who doesn’t wanna be the ruler of the galaxy?

Committee Era Candidates - Part Two

There are 4 managers on this year’s committee era ballot, who have combined for 5 World Series titles. Quick math reveals that means that one of the men has 2 titles, but he also has far fewer victories than the others. How can one separate them? Keep in mind that this is a crucial year for each. The next time this particular committee meets will be 3 years from now, by which time both Dusty Baker and Terry Francona will be eligible and will move to head of the list. Bruce Bochy would also be part of the mix if he retires, as would Dave Dombrowski. It’s likely now or never for this batch.

Cito Gaston - He has a place in history as the first African American to manage a team to the championship and he is also the only man on the list with more than one title to his name. He won a total of 894 regular season games crossing two separate tenures in Toronto. Therein lies the problem. Of the managers already in the Hall, Billy Southworth is the only one with fewer than 1000 wins, and most of them have considerably more. There’s also that nagging issue that he never managed anywhere other than Toronto. Is that because team owners looked at him as a guy who was perfect for that particular team but not a good match otherwise? Or is it because of the ugly reality that in his era owners were reluctant to give minority managers a second shot? Ultimately I believe the relatively low number of victories will keep him out, although I could see the argument that the pioneering aspect of his career warrants inclusion.

Davey Johnson - In my eyes he’s the most deserving, and it’s not just due to my Mets fandom. Just compare the winning percentages for each team he managed in the last full season before his hiring, his first full season, and then the first season following his firing. Mets .420/.556/.478. Reds .556/.579/.500 Orioles .493/.543/.518. Dodgers .512/.475/.509. Nationals .426/.605/.593. Except for Los Angeles, seems dramatic; that can’t be pure coincidence. He also deserves combat points for working for Marge Schott and Peter Angelos. (When he was with the Mets, Nelson Doubleday had more power than Fred Wilpon, so the franchise had not yet been fully Wilponized while he was there.) His case would be stronger with a second title, but he also deserves credit for being at the forefront of the information revolution. He was using computer data to help with his decision making years before Billy Beane wound up in Oakland.

Jim Leyland - A true throwback in the sense that you always had to ask “he’s only that old?” The guy was probably grizzled and crusty when he was 20. He was also damn successful; in addition to his championship with the Marlins he tallied 3 consecutive division titles in Pittsburgh and 2 AL a pennants in Detroit. With a reputation as a master strategist, he also had almost universal respect within the game.

Lou Piniella - Another throwback; you rarely see the types of temper tantrums he was famous for now that there is replay review. Anyone who remembers the ferocious temper he displayed in his playing days would not be surprised that he was equally volatile as a manager. And like Davey Johnson, he scored extra points for some of the owners he had to suffer working under. He was also a Marge Schott employee, but in addition had to deal with George Steinbrenner at the height of his impulsiveness. His highlights were steering the 1990 Reds to a surprise title and managing the Mariners when the tied the record for most wins in a regular season. Unfortunately that Mariners team fell short in the ALCS and that Reds squad turned out to be his only pennant winner. I think he needed a second championship to seal the deal.

So, if I were one of the voters (and I’m only a phone call away, make it happen) my three votes would go to Davey Johnson, Jim Leyland, and Bill White. I won’t even hazard a guess as to who, if anyone, will be chosen in December. Fingers crossed that the panel elects at least one person, and that it is not Joe West.

The Ford Frick Finalists

The winners of the media awards will also be announced during the winter meetings. The 10 finalists for the Ford Frick Award, celebrating lifetime achievement in broadcasting, were announced on Wednesday. (Once again, this is an award of merit, NOT induction into the Hall. There’s a difference. This is a hill that I will choose to die on.)

If you have read this newsletter long enough, you probably know which team I root for, and therefore which of the 10 I’m pulling for most. Setting my personal bias aside, this is a really tough choice. How could you not love to see Dan Shulman win? Or Kruk & Kuip? Wouldn’t it be cool if the final vote ends in a tie so that Krukow & Kuiper receive the award together? May the best voice win. (Go Gary!)

He Was A Bad Mother… (Shut Your Mouth)

I find it a bit fascinating to consider how people of different ages initially discover the work of actors who had long careers, and which specific projects serve as the introduction to their work. As an example, a tweet from a random person went viral some time back as the person had an OMG moment upon seeing Catherine O’Hara in Schitt’s Creek and realizing that Moira Rose & the mother from Home Alone were portrayed by the same actress. That of course ignores the legendary body of work she put together well before that.

I bring this up because my introduction to Richard Roundtree was not Shaft. The movie and character had permeated pop culture, so I was certainly aware of him. But I was too young to have seen it at the time. (When reading his obituary I was reminded that he starred in a short running CBS weekly Shaft series, so chances are that’s why I was familiar with him.) The first time I saw Roundtree on screen was in the movie Earthquake.

That was one of the many disaster movies with all-star casts which were prevalent at the time. This one had a couple of distinguishing factors. First, it was a rare instance of one of these disaster movies that was NOT produced by Irwin Allen. Second, it had the gimmick of having been produced in sensurround. That was a fancy way of saying that theaters set up the speaker system so that bass levels were so high that audience members could feel as if they were sitting through an earthquake.

I loved the movie at the time, but it was pure schlock. Roundtree portrayed an Evel Knievel type motorcycle daredevil, with promotional assistance from Victoria Principal in the tightest t-shirt known to man. His key scene came near the end as a dam burst, causing a massive cascade of water, which he outruns on his cycle. As a kid, I thought it was so cool, but yeah, it’s kinda cheesy.

Roundtree went on to have a long career long after the Shaft years. Subsequent generations of African American filmmakers paid honor to his inspiration by casting him in strong character roles. He remained cool all the way to the end. Richard Roundtree passed away earlier this week at the age of 81. Was he a great one? Damn right.

It Never Ends

There’s not much to say. Another mass shooting, the usual empty platitudes, The Onion once again revives its classic article and the cycle continues. The busiest person at any government building is the one whose job it is to constantly lower the flags to half staff following each tragedy.

I heard a keen observation regarding the latest mass shooting tragedy. Citizens in Maine were told to shelter in space. Why is there no outrage from the “but my freedom” crowd? Lockdowns to combat a deadly pandemic are oppressive, but lockdowns due to a mass shooter at large are simply the cost of freedom.

I’m not saying anything that many have not already said, but it can’t be repeated enough. Other countries play the same video games that we do, they have similar levels of mental illness, their schools have multiple entrances just like ours do. Yet in practically every country in the world, a mass shooting is a rarity yet here it’s almost routine. The reason for that difference is obvious and staring us right in the face. But no one is willing to be honest enough about that to do something about it. Don’t get me wrong, of course people are entitled to own hunting rifles. But no one needs an arsenal. No one needs to walk into a 7-11 fully strapped for whatever reason. It shouldn’t be easier to purchase an assault weapon than to purchase cold medicine.

At least we lead the world in thoughts and prayers. It’s possible the solution is to change strategies. Don’t spread things so thin. Half the population can provide thoughts and the other half can provide prayers. That will fix things.

We Have A Speaker (Yay?)

Speaking of which, it didn’t take long for the new House Speaker to offer prayer as his response to the Lewiston shooting. We lost the Speaker Without a Spine. We avoided the man who described himself as David Duke without the baggage. We avoided the wrestling coach who looks the other way. But we’re stuck with a guy with a fairly monstrous ideology.

Knowing that a man who openly wishes for a theocracy now holds the gavel must be terrifying for the LBGTQ community and their allies. The thought of a passionate election denier holding the seat during what is likely to be a razor thin election next year is just as frightening. And so much for the “reasonable” and “moderate” Republicans. They all fell in line as if they had been assimilated by The Borg. Resistance was futile. It’s small consolation that the vast majority of the first termers that won in Biden districts have assured their defeat next year. We could be in for an ugly next 14 months. It’s conceivable that Mike Johnson could have as difficult a time doing the cat herding with that group of loonies that Kevin McCarthy had, but I’m not holding my breath.

SNL Preview

SNL completes the first trio of episodes in the new season with Nate Bargatze serving as host for the first time. The show has had a strong history of standup comics taking the hosting duties. If nothing else, that takes some pressure off of the writers as the opening monologue runs longer than usual. Not only does that mean they have one fewer sketch to worry about but the host can write their own monologue rather than have the staff dip into the bag of monologue templates.

I’m not sure what type of sketch experience he has, but since a lot of the cast runs in the same circles as he does, they are all familiar enough with each other’s strengths that things should run relatively smoothly.

Over and Out

Thanks as always for being part of the Tending The Herd family. Let’s hope for a thrilling first 2 games of the World Series. Have a great weekend and see you all again on Monday.