Greatest Song Evah - 3/3/23

Lodi

Over the years there have been countless songs about life on the road. As glamorous as the rock & roll lifestyle may seem, it’s gotta be draining to constantly trek from town to town, needing a few minutes to even remember which city you’re in when you wake up in the morning. It must be particularly soul drenching to have little success to show for your labor, as is the case for the protagonist in this Creedence classic.

The band in this song is trapped in a sort of limbo on a fruitless quest for fame and fortune. The music sets the perfect melancholic mood, and John Fogerty finds an equally perfect sense of weariness in his vocals. You absolutely believe that his dreams of achieving glory and looking for that pot of gold have turned into a nightmare. Creedence certainly had their moments of long instrumental improvisation, but at heart they were masters of the classic three minute single. It rarely got better than this one.

Possible Side Category Inductee - Hilly Kristal

There is a certain amount of serendipity involved in Hilly Kristal’s rise to prominence. His dingy cowboy bar existed in the right place at the right time and produced legends. His place in history was not just due to a lucky accident, however. There were plenty of clubs and dive bars in New York in the 70s. Only one became CBGB’s.

Located in one of New York’s seediest neighborhoods during one of the seediest periods in the city’s history, he originally intended it to be a showcase for rootsier music - the initials stand for country, bluegrass, and blues. The bar’s subname - OMFUG, or other music for urban gourmands - eventually took more prominence as Kristal realized that booking punk bands was filling the place every night.

And those bands spent their time on stage well, as many of them grew to become the major scene makers of their time. The Ramones. Talking Heads. Blondie. Patti Smith. Television. And so many more. Sure, the ceilings were low, but that really made the sound reverberate throughout the space. Sure, the bathrooms were nauseating, but that added to the ambience. So much rock history emanated from that place, and as the man who helped make that possible, Hilly Kristal is very deserving of the Ertegun Award.

SNL Preview

I remember reading a quote from Lorne Michaels way back in the 90s concerning episodes hosted by athletes. His basic point was that those are traditionally the more peaceful and enjoyable weeks for the writers and performers. They recognize that they’re out of their element so they completely throw their trust into the hands of the creatives and don’t try to pretend that they know more about live sketch comedy than the people who have been doing it for years. In addition, taking coaching instruction is so instilled in them that listening to directors essentially duplicates that skill.

The drawback of course is that they are athletes and not comedians, so not only are their line readings often stiff, but they are fairly limited in what they can actually do. Sure, occasionally they strike gold with a Charles Barkley or a Peyton Manning, but a Jonny Moseley type of episode is more the norm. This week recent Super Bowl champ Travis Kelce gets his shot. History suggests it’s best to set a low bar, but there’s always a chance for a pleasant surprise.

Now Appearing At The Chuckle Hut

Speaking of SNL athlete hosts, when I saw the news that the reason Tom Brady was delaying his move into the Fox broadcast booth for a year to pursue a career in standup comedy I had to check the calendar to make sure it wasn’t a lame April Fools joke. I started to picture him passing out comedy club fliers in Times Square to get people to fill the space. Alas, the reports were incorrect. He is going to be the subject of a roast special on Netflix, not an aspiring standup hoping for a spot on the next open mic night, so fans won’t get to see hear his observational humor while standing in front of a faux brick wall background and wearing the standard t-shirt underneath sport coat uniform.

It didn’t make any sense to begin with, there’s a lot you can say about the guy but his keen sense of humor is generally not the first thing people think of. Just as well, this means that Cliff Clavin can still hold the crown as Boston’s premier standup.

Is That A Clock I Hear Ticking?

Of all of the rules changes that will be instituted in Major League Baseball, not even the new anti-shifting rules have created as much discussion that the pitch clock has. Those that have followed minor league ball and have had a chance to watch a lot of games under those rules have all made similar observations, which bode well once the games count in the bigs. First, the sped up pace is much more pleasant to watch than the slog that we’ve grown all too accustomed to. Second, there are going to be some growing pains as players adjust, but by a month into the season the breaking in period is complete and the pitch clock isn’t even noticeable anymore.

In the first week of spring training we have seen exactly this type of awkward adjustment. In the same way that the first couple of weeks of exhibition games help a lot of players work out the kinks as they return from the offseason, right now players, managers, and umpires alike are all figuring out the rules. In a sense it’s almost a good thing that so many veteran umps retired this past offseason, as their replacements are already well versed in these rules. They already know how to enforce the rules, so they don’t have as big of a learning curve as the players do.

So if a spring training game ends with a strikeout called due to a pitch clock violation, no big deal. This is the time of year for everyone involved to live and learn. Not everyone is likely to have fully adjusted by opening day, but it shouldn’t take long. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I won’t miss having to watch pitchers endlessly step off the rubber as hitters fiddle with their batting gloves. The percentage of actual baseball action versus watching guys stand around and do nothing has swung too far in the wrong direction; it will be a relief to see a better balance.

Finally, the introduction of a pitch clock reminds me of a great observation that Bill James made a long time ago. The argument has long been that one of the wonderful ways in which baseball differentiates itself from most other sports is that it has no clock. James noted that for the first several decades of its existence baseball did indeed have a clock. It was called the sun.

We Lie, You Decide

No need to tiptoe around the issue, Fox News is not a legitimate news organization and there is no reason to pretend that it is. For years they made the argument that the prime time hosts, who focus on opinion, should be treated differently from the daytime talent, who focus on news and reporting, but it’s impossible at this stage to buy into that. The revelations from the deposition in the Dominion case prove that they all knew the claims of election fraud were BS, yet they continued to carry Trump’s water even though they knew they were lying through their teeth. The contempt they show for their audience by doing this is staggering.

It’s no exaggeration to say that there have been few people that have done more damage to our society than Rupert Murdoch has. The MAGA types continuously scream about children allegedly being subjected to indoctrination in schools, but Fox’s programming has been a prime example of indoctrination. They have poisoned an untold number of minds and it is absolutely shameful. Exploiting grievance has proven to be a lucrative gig.

The cherry on top of the sundae is the fact that the network’s own media news reporter, Howard Kurtz, has said that management is not allowing him to cover the Dominion story. A news organization indeed.

Some Records Are Not Made To Be Broken

Last night Detroit Mercy was eliminated from the Horizon League tournament. It’s noteworthy because Antoine Davis finished his career with 3,664 career points, falling 4 points shy of breaking Pete Maravich’s career scoring record. It’s very likely that Davis will be the last man to have a shot at breaking the Pistol’s mark.

Following the COVID shortened season, the NCAA granted an extra season of eligibility to players, so Davis played for 5 seasons. Even with that extra year, he fell just short of making history. I’m not aware of any other potential 5-year players who have been scoring at a rate that’s prolific enough for one to threaten the record, so it is increasingly likely that Maravich’s numbers are in the unbreakable category. Keep in mind that in his time Maravich did not have the benefit of the 3 point shot or freshman eligibility. Just imagine how insanely out of reach his career totals would have been if he had.

Wrap It Up

Thanks again for reading. Have a great weekend, and by all means please share and subscribe.