Greatest Song Evah 3/7/25

In My Life

One of the more remarkable things about The Beatles is how rapidly they grew both musically and lyrically. In My Life first appeared on Rubber Soul. That’s 1965. Only a couple of years after they were telling the world that she loves you yeah, yeah, yeah. John Lennon turned 25 later that year. I like to think that I’m a smart guy, but I know that I was nowhere near capable of being that introspective and perceptive when I was 25.

Lennon himself acknowledged how big of a step forward this was thematically for him as a songwriter. As the title implies it is a warm, nostalgic look back at the people and places that have made an impression. In his life he’s loved them all. The production adds the proper tone to the recording, and it was one of the earlier signs of how well the Beatles & George Martin used the recording studio as an instrument in and of itself. Martin’s piano solo sounds so much like a harpsichord but it’s actually studio trickery; it was recorded at half speed and then played back at normal speed, which gave it that baroque feel.

This is a song that means a lot more to me as I have aged. When I was young I recognized how lovely the melody is and how deep felt the sentiments are. Now that I am (age redacted) the lines hit a lot harder. I often stop and think about this song. It is one of the highest of high points in the Beatles’ deep catalog.

Meet the Nominees - Billy Idol

Billy Idol was one of the most iconic figures of the 1980’s; it is virtually impossible to discuss that era of music and culture without giving Idol a prominent mention. He originally came up as lead singer for the 70’s British punk band Generation X. They did not make much of a splash stateside, but they had a big following in the UK and that level of fame helped set the stage for his future stardom.

By the time he began his solo career he wasn’t really a punk rocker anymore; he was largely a mainstream rocker with some mildly new wave leanings. But he sure looked the part, with his spiky blond hair, black leather & studs, and a permanent sneer on his face. He was one of the signature faces of the early MTV era, and his hit songs were a major part of the cultural soundtrack of the decade. I’ll admit that after a while I started to get tired of his act, but that’s just me.

I should also note that if Idol is elected, then Steve Stevens is scheduled to be inducted as well. This isn’t the first time that something like this would happen. Neil Giraldo was also honored as part of Pat Benatar’s induction. That did not sit well with me at the time. Even though Giraldo was Benatar’s chief collaborator practically from day one, it felt a little off putting. It seemed patronizing, as if a female rocker needed a man by her side to legitimize her success. I get that it was done by her request, but it still felt icky. Adding Stevens to a potential Idol induction removes that stigma; it is now no longer a one-time thing. Going forward it is now likely that as a matter of course these types of collaborators will also be considered to enter the Hall in tandem with solo artists. (This type of logic would have gotten Bernie Taupin inducted decades before he finally was.)

Idol’s peak period lasted roughly 8 years long and produced a series of hits that have stood the test of time. (Let’s ignore his bizarre cyberpunk album.) Beyond that he has maintained a strong presence in the public eye. Even though it has been more than 3 decades since his last hit and even though he has released the grand total of 2 albums of new material in this century he has never truly left. Movie cameos, constant touring, commercial appearances, he has always been a part of our lives. That longevity means something. I believe his chances of election are pretty strong.

Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hit: Cradle Of Love

My personal favorite: Dancing With Myself

If elected, would he perform at the ceremony?: Yes. He participated in the performance honoring Ozzy Osbourne last year, and he still sounds great. There’s no doubt that he would perform.

Isaac’s Storm

Not that this has anything to do with what’s going on in our country right now, but I have found myself increasingly thinking of Erik Larson’s book Isaac’s Storm. It tells the story of the devastating hurricane which hit Galveston in 1900. It’s stunning to me that the lessons taken from this book are once again all too timely.

One of the reasons why the storm caused so much death and destruction is that it came with little warning. 1900 was obviously decades before we had satellite technology, so weather forecasting was primitive. The titular Isaac was the Texas weather chief, and the predictive technology of the time led him to believe that it was going to be a minor rain shower at best. A combination of arrogance, hubris, and yes, racism led to tragic results.

Cuban forecasters were desperately trying to warn American authorities that the storm was considerably more powerful than Galveston was prepared for, but those warnings were brushed off. What could Cubans possibly know that we don’t? So, locals went through the day assuming it would be a normal one and there was little preparation made. Make sure you have an umbrella handy and you’ll be fine. As a result, thousands died and Galveston’s days as a major tourist destination were gone.

Of course, none of this has anything to do with what is going on in the country right now. Sure, cut back on NOAA. Who needs reliable storm warnings anyway?

A Cooperstown Note

The Baseball Hall Of Fame dropped some news on Wednesday, parts of which pertained to a pair of tweaks that will be made to the Eras Committee voting process. One of those sounds good on the surface, the other has a lot of people up in arms. I would caution people that the Hall often amends policies so the apparent finality in one of the new rules may not necessarily be all that final.

The first change is that if a candidate receives fewer than 5 votes on a ballot he would not be eligible to appear on the ballot the next time that his specific era is up for consideration. That’s not a bad idea, rather than rehash voting on the same candidates time after time the Hall will make room for new blood to be considered instead. The ramifications for the Contemporary Baseball Era ballot that will be voted on next fall are that assuming the 2022 results will already fall under the new protocol, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens will not appear. The only names the last time this era was voted on who reached the 5+ vote threshold are Don Mattingly, Curt Schilling, and Dale Murphy. In addition to Bonds & Clemens, Albert Belle and Rafael Palmeiro are also out of luck.

Jeff Kent is certain to appear on the ballot, and I am holding out hope for Lou Whitaker as well. But with more available slots on the ballot, this could very well be the year that the committee considers Dwight Evans and Keith Hernandez. Would it be asking too much to hope for Bobby Grich as well?

The second new policy states that if a candidate falls short of 5 votes more than once then he will no longer be eligible for future consideration. The press release specifies that this begins with the 2025 vote, so no potential candidate is in dangerous territory just yet. This to me is a terrible policy, and here is why. As it is it is a daunting path to 75% for any candidate. Voters can only select up to 3 names from the 8 that are on the ballot. With so few available votes to be distributed it is very easy to fall short of 5 votes. To put it another way, think back a few years to when the BBWAA ballot was so stacked that it was next to impossible for voters to narrow it down to only 10 choices. As a result guys such as Kenny Lofton or Johan Santana fell off the ballot after only 1 year. I’m not necessarily saying that either of those deserve a spot in the Hall, but they absolutely deserve more time to have their cases considered. That’s the same issue with veteran candidates. A player finds himself on the ballot along with multiple guys that gather huge support and he already has his first strike. As an example, in 2014 former players and former managers were still grouped together on the same ballot. Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa, and Joe Torre were all eligible for the first time that year. All 3 were elected, 2 of them unanimously . Were this policy in place then, all of the remaining candidates on that ballot would have already used up their first lifeline. The problem is worse with the Classic Era candidates. After almost a century Negro League players have finally been classified as part of the Major League record. Now you’re going to tell me that these men who have been shamefully ignored for so long will only have 2 chances to make a HOF case? Nope.

The only reason that I’m being cautious when it comes to expressing outrage is that the Hall has a history of changing eligibility policies. I remember years ago when they instituted a rule that no candidate could be considered by the veterans committee to begin with unless he reached a specific percentage of the vote in at least one BBWAA election, and that was a ridiculously high bar to climb. If memory serves correctly it was 60%, which would have eliminated almost everyone. It took several cycles but that policy was eventually erased. I would suspect that the same thing will happen here. Still, the bottom line is that the Hall’s Board Of Directors will never miss an opportunity to try to add as much cruelty as they can to the process.

SNL Preview

Lady Gaga falls into the category of hosts that people likely believe have hosted more frequently than they actually did. That’s because she has served as musical guest several times and usually appears in a sketch when she does. But as far as hosting, she has only held that gig once. To give you an idea of how long ago that was, her costar in the most memorable sketch from that week was John Milhiser. It’s been a while.

That long ago evening was a solid episode, and Gaga is a natural performer who is willing to play silly and to poke fun at her own image, which makes her ideal as an SNL host. I only have one hesitation. She is a star in the Bowie/Madonna mold, constantly reinventing herself and introducing new personas with almost every new album. Right now she seems to be in full goth mode: jet black hair, bleached eyebrows, long flowing black dresses. Will she remain “in character” and will that limit the sort of sketches that are produced this week? Otherwise I’m optimistic, certainly more optimistic than I was going into the Shane Gillis episode.

50 Years Ago - That’s the Way Of the World

This album was a tremendous mainstream breakthrough for Earth, Wind & Fire. It was their first album to reach #1 on the Billboard chart and it also contained their sole #1 hit on the Hot 100. In fact, it contains three of the most beloved songs in their catalog, and each one of those songs showed a different side of the band. Shining Star was the #1 single in question, and it is a pure party song, even though it was the inspiration for Elaine Benes’s bad dancing. The title track is a prime example of the inspirational songs that they specialized in. And Reasons is a wonderfully romantic love song, highlighted by Phillip Bailey’s signature falsetto.

The contrast between the voices of Bailey and Maurice White was one of EWF’s greatest strengths. So many of their songs feature the two trading lines, often one of them handling the verses and the other the chorus. It works every time and adds a great sense of dynamic. Just listen to the title track. The song itself is great enough, the two different voices take it to another level.

This album doubled as the soundtrack to a Harvey Keitel starring movie - in which the band co-stars as a fictionalized version of themselves - which is largely forgotten today. That’s just in case you thought that the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band debacle was their lone film appearance. To be fair, they were one of the few artists to emerge from that movie with their dignity intact.

EWF was already a popular band at the time of this album’s release, but after this they went on to become one of the most consistent hitmakers over the next several years. If you believe in that sort of thing, Casey Kasem once mentioned that Maurice White was a big follower of astrology, and he used the astrological charts to determine which songs should be released as singles and when. There was a stretch of several years in which every one of those singles made it into the top 40. Is that because of what the stars told them to do? Or is that because Earth, Wind & Fire were f***ing great and it stood to reason that their hits would connect with mass audiences? You decide.

Closing Laughs

Make this weekend count. We’re gonna lose an hour. I hope it’s not an hour that I need. Thanks for tuning in & I will see you all again on Monday.