Greatest Song Evah 12/29/23
Wish You Were Here
This week’s selection has the type of musical arrangement that when done correctly produces spectacular results. It starts off quietly and then gradually adds instruments over the course of the song. That adds a sense of forward momentum to the recording. The added twist here is that the fidelity of the recording also slowly rises throughout the track.
Like a lot of people I had long assumed that the lyrics of this song were directed towards Syd Barrett, but Roger Waters has denied that. He says that it’s more about a general sense of isolation, which is another one of his primary songwriting themes. David Gilmour, on the other hand, who is the singer on the track, has said that he always thinks about Barrett when he performs the song.
This song came out in the midst of Pink Floyd’s peak period, when they were producing song after song that would eventually become part of the classic rock canon. The guitar line is simple yet memorable, the lyrics are wonderfully evocative, and Gilmour sings with the perfect touch of sadness.
The Countdown Concludes (Supplement)
I’ve covered the 12 newcomers on the Hall of Fame ballot along with 12 of the returnees. That just leaves 2 men who are essentially their own categories. Each would have easily gone in on their first ballot had it not been for lengthy PED suspensions. I’ll repeat an argument that I had made earlier. These men are different from those that played a few years earlier when the league turned a blind eye and tacitly encouraged steroid use. Now that there are harsh penalties, the “everyone is doing it” rationalization doesn’t fly. Or to put it another way, if/when the day comes that voters vote in known steroid users, Barry Bonds & Roger Clemens should be the first.
Manny Ramirez. More than 500 career home runs, the rare .300/.400/.500 career triple slash, 6 consecutive seasons with an OPS above 1.000, 8 consecutive seasons with top 10 MVP finishes; under different circumstances that is a Hall of Fame resume. The cherry on top is that he was the winner of the World Series MVP award in 2004 when the Red Sox finally ended their 86 year long title drought.
He wasn’t just great, he was also memorable. The whole “Manny being Manny” vibe constantly created headlines, for better or worse. Sometimes the stories are as funny as taking a bathroom break in the middle of an inning, sometimes as ugly as getting into a physical confrontation with Boston’s traveling secretary. And don’t forget that the brawl against the Yankees which resulted in Pedro Martinez knocking Don Zimmer to the ground was instigated by Ramirez overreacting to an inside pitch that was nowhere close to hitting him.
As much of a hitting savant as he was, he showed little interest in other aspects of the game. His defense & baserunning were so poor that it took away a bit of his value. But his offensive game was historically great. It’s such a shame that he tarnished his reputation. He was good enough that he did not have to do that. Speaking of which…
Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod was almost a Shakespearean character. Hubris turned out to be his fatal flaw. He was among the most talented players I have ever seen, but even before the revelations of his PED usage became public knowledge, he showed a chronic inability to get out of his own way.
The data on his Baseball Reference page reads like it came out of a cartoon. There’s black ink all over the place. He won 3 MVP awards in his career, but no exaggeration, he might have deserved as many as 8. Among his achievements were a 40-40 season, 5 home run titles, 4 total base titles, 3 slugging percentage titles, more than 3000 hits, and 696 career home runs. And that’s only scratching the surface.
There’s no disguising the fact that his playoff performances were often disappointing. He played a total of 76 postseason games, so if you simply double his numbers you can project his stats for a full regular season. His numbers double to 26 home runs and 82 RBI’s along with a triple slash off .269/.365/.457. That would be solid production for a guy hitting #6 or 7 in the lineup, it’s unacceptable for a superstar of his caliber.
But so what? He was so great for so long that he legitimately should have been voted in unanimously. If only…
The Worst Of The Worst - Drama Version
On Wednesday I offered my choice for the worst TV comedy series I have ever seen. Today it’s time to get serious and turn to drama. Boy oh boy, this one was a true disaster.
Tequila & Bonetti ran for 10 episodes on CBS back in 1992. I’m working a bit from memory, but it says something about the show that the one episode that I saw continues to haunt me more than 30 years later. It starred Jack Scalia as Bonetti, a New York cop relocated to Los Angeles. The producers made sure we knew he was from New York by having him speak in the most over the top Brooklyn accent you will ever hear. The female lead in the show was played by a very young Mariska Hargitay. I don’t remember if their relationship was that of mentor/protege, or if there was a “will they or won’t they” vibe. I hope it was the former, as the age difference between Scalia and Hargitay would have made it creepy.
As you would imagine, the show played up the fish out of water aspects of a New Yorker in sunny LA. As a sign of how formulaic so many police shows can be, the episode I saw showed Bonetti making an arrest, but I immediately noticed that they didn’t show him reading Miranda rights. Predictably the next scene showed Bonetti getting chewed out by his captain (played by Charles Rocket!) because his failure to do so caused the suspect to be released.
If you’ve read this far you’re probably thinking this sounds like a standard generic cop show. Also, I’ve only discussed Bonetti. What about Tequila? Well, wait no more. Tequila was his canine partner. And no, this wasn’t a Turner & Hooch situation. Forgive the excessive use of air quotes, but the viewers were “privileged” to “hear” Tequila’s “thoughts.” Tequila was voiced by an African-American actor, but his lines sounded like they were written by people who had not spoken to actual black people in years. I’m pretty sure that I heard him use the phrase “jive turkey.” What a mess of a show.
Anyone who has watched a lot of TV has likely seen a lot of cop shows, and so many of those that came & went quickly tend to blend together. If you show me a list of 10 titles with the _____ & _____ naming protocol I would be hard pressed to identify which are real & which are made up. It would also be a challenge to remember the premises of the real ones. No mistaking Tequila & Bonetti for anything lease. That show was one of a kind.
Mom Always Liked His Brother Best
There is a certain category of celebrities who had been around for so long that your impression of them depends on when you first discovered them. Such was the case with Tommy Smothers. I was too young to have seen the Smothers Brothers’ groundbreaking CBS variety show, so my introduction to their act came from assorted TV appearances in the 1970’s along with a couple of attempts at reviving their weekly series. They always amused me, and of course as a young child I was naturally drawn to Tommy’s goofy vibe. But it took me years to recognize just how important they were in their heyday.
It’s pretty brilliant the way that the brothers Trojan Horsed their way onto network TV. Having attained success with their folk song parodies they appeared as white bread as it got. Two clean cut brothers playing acoustic guitar and stand up bass? What CBS did not know is that behind that seemingly safe exterior lay two men eager to produce a subversive show filled with social commentary.
To this day I still have seen relatively little of the show. A lot of the material that drove CBS censors batty seems almost tame nowadays. The legacy that Tom & Dick Smothers has left is worthy of accolades. The show featured many of the top rock musicians of the day who had few outlets on American TV at the time. And the list of people who were writers or regulars on the show? Steve Martin & Rob Reiner. David Steinberg & Bob Einstein. Mason Williams & Pat Paulsen. Impressive.
Tom Smothers also had a knack for being at the right place at the right time. He was one of the emcees at the famous Monterey Pop Festival. He was one of the participants in John & Yoko’s bed-in for peace, performing on Give Peace a Chance. Smothers passed away at the age of 86. He may have specialized in portraying a stupid character, but make no mistake. He was one of the great champions of free speech and anti-censorship. He will be missed.
Closing Laughs
That brings Tending The Herd to a close for 2023. I started this newsletter in the beginning of the year & I have been pleased to see a community develop here. Whether you have been aboard since day 1 or if you had joined recently, a heartfelt thanks to you all. The future home of this newsletter remains to be seen; I will be keeping close tabs on which platforms my favorite Substack writers will migrate to & see which best fits my needs. Stay tuned for further info. In the meantime, enjoy your NYE celebrations, and I will see you all again on Monday.