Greatest Song Evah 2/3/23

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

It’s a testament to the greatness of The Band that so many people rank them as one of the quintessential American groups despite the fact that 4 of the 5 members of the classic lineup are Canadian. But their musical versatility and their intellectual curiosity spurred them to explore assorted aspects of Americana.

Everything about this selection is top notch. The instrumentation pervades through all of the aural spaces, and Levon Helm’s drum fills in particular stand out. The picture that the lyrics paint is effective as well. Yes, it’s the lament of a Confederate citizen in the waning days of the Civil War, but it comes from the perspective of an ordinary man who is a victim of the war in his own way. By the time the song ends, we feel as if we know Virgil Kane.

And The Nominees Are…

Mamma Mia, it’s an impressive list this year!

• Kate Bush

• Sheryl Crow

• Missy Elliott

• Iron Maiden

• Joy Division/New Order

• Cyndi Lauper

• George Michael

• Willie Nelson

• Rage Against the Machine

• Soundgarden

• The Spinners

• A Tribe Called Quest

• The White Stripes

• Warren Zevon

The backlog of deserving artists to get into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame is humongous, which means 2 things. First, the list of nominees is always going to be filled with outstanding candidates. Second, it’s inevitable that will be some disappointment in seeing who got left off. I don’t want to fixate too much on the omissions other than saying I’m shocked that Mary J. Blige fell short; I really felt this was her time. I’m bummed over the absence of the B-52s; the completion of their farewell tour seems like such an ideal time to honor them. And I’m stunned that OutKast are still waiting for their first nomination.

Overall, I find a lot to like on this year’s shortlist. I have no idea how a voter can possibly narrow it down to only 5 names. There is a solid range of genres, some prominent first year eligibles, and the usual array of nominees that have been eligible for a decade or longer and finally have a shot. Best of all, they appear to have finally closed the books on inducting a batch of second or even third tier classic rock bands at the expense of underrepresented sub genres.

The drawback of such a strong set of nominees is that there will be inevitable disappointment once the class is announced in May. “Drat, ____ didn’t get in!” I do have some artists whom I am particularly rooting for, but let’s see how it plays out. I took a look at the list and made some reasonably educated guesses as to who is more likely to get in, but with a voting body of around 1200 electors, it’s tricky to use a permanent marker when making predictions.

My plan for the run up to the election announcement is to spotlight each candidate over the course of the next several weeks. As part of each Monday & Wednesday newsletter I’ll dive into a specific nominee. How strong is their candidacy? What makes them stand out from others? What are my personal feelings? And for the living nominees, what is the likelihood that they would perform at the induction ceremony? In addition, the final makeup of the induction class will come from more than just the list of nominees. Last year there were 14 honorees - 7 artists and 7 from the side categories. So I’ll also spotlight a bunch of names whom I think would be strong contenders for the Early Influence, Musical Excellence, or Ertegun Award honors.

Let debating season commence!

Music’s Biggest Night

The Grammy Awards telecast has long ago ceased to be an awards show; it’s essentially a 3 1/2 hour long televised concert that intermittently takes a pause to hand out a trophy. Which is fine, most people remember the performances more than the actual award winners. What sticks in the mind more - Bob Dylan finally winning an Album of the Year trophy more than 40 years into his career, or the appearance of Soy Bomb?

There are a total of 91 categories; of those usually around 9 are handed out on the actual telecast. Producers correctly figure that if you’re eager to know who won the trophy for Best Choral Performance, that’s what the internet is for. Amazingly enough, there was a time when all of the winners were announced during the show. A presenter would periodically come on stage to say that “the following awards were presented prior to the show” and read a list of names. Imagine trying that now; there would be a lot of reaching for the remote.

Another huge change in recent years is that the performers don’t necessarily need to be nominees. If a record company exec would inform the show producers that Superstar A will be releasing a new album shortly and a Grammy performance would be an ideal way to kick off the promotional cycle, CBS would certainly not say “Nice, but come back next year when Superstar A will actually be contending for trophies.”

The show itself is usually a good one. The performers know the audience is sizable, so they pull out all the stops. Figure to see some top notch performances, some high profile collaborations, and some moving tributes to performers that have passed away. As for the awards themselves, Beyoncé has a reasonable chance at breaking Georg Solti’s record for most career Grammy awards. And Viola Davis could become an EGOT.

LeBron On the Verge

LeBron James is now fewer than 100 points away from breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record. The record will be his within the next week. I’m not sure what’s more impressive. Is it the fact that he’s still as productive as he is at this age? Or is it the fact that amazingly enough he has also moved into 4th place on the career assists lists? That versatility speaks volumes about his overall skill.

I love to channel my inner High Fidelity and come up with lists of my favorite albums, favorite songs, etc. But I’ve always been hesitant to do so with athletes, or at least definitively list someone as #1, #2, etc. When comparing people across different eras it’s just so much apples v. oranges. Who is the NBA GOAT? If you passionately champion Jordan over James or vice versa, I would not disagree either way. No disrespect to the scores of NBA greats, but those two clearly stand head and shoulders above the rest, so whichever of the two you choose there’s no wrong answer. (If the scope of argument extends to the totality of an entire basketball career, then Kareem could very well eclipse them both when you take high school and college into account.)

I’ve heard the arguments for either multiple times. Jordan’s strongest case comes from the fact that not only did he never lose an NBA Finals series, not only did he win the Finals MVP award for all 6 of his titles, but none of those finals series extended as long as 7 games. That’s nuts. On the other hand, Jordan not only always had Pippen, but also strong supporting casts overall. The same can’t be said about LeBron. The Heat teams were stacked, but did you see the rosters of some of those Cavaliers squads that James dragged to the finals? Making it to the championship round year after year with those teams was a major accomplishment; falling short of the title under those circumstances is nothing to be ashamed of.

My point is that both Michael Jordan and LeBron James are otherworldly talents and we were privileged to have front row seats for their careers. (I won’t fall into the trap and say that we are all witnesses.) Call them 1 & 1A. Besides, some day there will be a player who emerges that will be even better than those two. Victor Wembanyama anyone?

Billy Packer

Billy Packer’s recent passing makes it clear how much the broadcasting landscape has changed over the years. Combining his stints at NBC & CBS, he broadcast a total of 34 consecutive Final Fours, quite an impressive run. The amazing thing is that his style was so antithetical to what we expect from TV voices. Yes, he had the necessary encyclopedic knowledge of his sport, but he was also deadly serious and completely shtick free. Audiences generally prefer a little more entertainment, Packer had no patience for that. By the end of his tenure, audiences clearly grew weary of his inherent grouchiness. I remember an observation that Joe Posnanski made near the end of Tim McCarver’s time at Fox. He said that audiences tend to tire of national voices, but they remain faithful to the local guys until the very end. That’s so true of Packer; I can’t think of many fans that honestly missed him when he and CBS parted ways with each other.

Knowing that a notable recently retired athlete has a spot waiting for him, Packer’s career trajectory fascinates me. Networks always seek to fill their #1 booths with the big names. It’s true that college basketball didn’t have the national imprint when he made his rise that it does now, but even acknowledging that fact it’s impossible to imagine anyone with his resume rising so quickly nowadays. In a decade he went from playing on a Wake Forest team that made the Final Four to working as an assistant coach to sitting in a TV booth. Not exactly an A-list type of profile. For contrast, take a look at Tom Brady, as Fox is already keeping the seat warm for him to be part of their #1 NFL team. Greg Olsen will be working the Super Bowl knowing his replacement is already sitting in the lobby. From this Richard Deitsch piece in The Athletic earlier this week he acknowledges the odd position he’s in.

Maybe Brady will be great, maybe not. On-field greatness does not necessarily translate to the broadcast booth as the likes of Joe Montana or Magic Johnson have proven. The chances of someone duplicating Billy Packer’s path to the top rung of the broadcast ladder are growing increasingly slim.

SNL Preview

It’s a testament to Pedro Pascal’s magnetism that he made a tremendous impression on Game Of Thrones even though he only appeared in a small number of episodes. I rewatched the series after it ended and I was surprised how quickly Prince Oberyn came and went. On initial viewing I had remembered him as being a much more significant player than he actually was, but he actually only appeared in 7 episodes in total.

Taking into account his The Last Of Us and The Mandalorian visibility (I’m almost relieved that Kyle Mooney is no longer on the show because if he were you know there would be a Baby Yoda appearance and that was a recurring bit that never took off) this is an ideal time for Pascal to take on hosting duties. I have some trepidation because I’m haunted by his turn in Wonder Woman 1984. He chewed up scenery so shamelessly that I can imagine Pacino watching it and thinking to himself “Dude, you need to tune it way down.” If the show this week plays to his worst instincts it could easily be a dud of an episode.

The Grand Finale

Have a great weekend friends. See you next week, same bat time, same bat channel.