Baseball and rock n' roll-- it's a beautiful match from where I sit. Not really the Fogerty-baseball combo, or even players using Metallica for their intro theme song, but the more recent development of pairing music good enough to be listened to on its own with that most American of sports (they played it in between battles of the civil war, you know). Anyway, first Scott McCaughey, Steve Wynn, Peter Buck, and Linda Pitmon (with a little help from Adam Selzer) drum up this year's Baseball Project, complete with references to Oscar Gamble's afro, Joe Pepitone's sideburns and yo la tengo! (not the band, but their namesake), and now The Hold Steady's Craig Finn talks national past time with ESPN and you. That's you-- the live chat actually starts a mere 26 minutes from now (11:34 PST) you can still read the whole transcript right here, including such exchanges as:
"Steve, Los Angeles, CA: Craig, plenty of indie rockers admit to being huge baseball fans nowadays. But why do you think there's traditionally been such a separation - specifically in America - between sports fans and music geeks?
Craig Finn: (3:09 PM ET ) I'm not exactly sure. I think there is this thing about rock n roll that promotes rebellion. At least that is the image. I think sports is such a big part of American mainsteam culture, a lot of rock n rollers feel guilty about admitting to liking sports. I can admit liking to eat wings and watch baseball but a lot of rockers just have a hard time doing that. "
Stream: The Hold Steady: "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"
Other worthy baseball-music fusions come to mind, including Billy Bragg & Wilco putting music to Woody Guthrie's "Joe DiMaggio Done It Again," a few years back on their Mermaid Avenue, Vol. II. Do you have a favorite baseball-music meeting? (Don't worry, you'll still be cool, it's okay to like indie music AND sports now and UPDATE!: now).
September 11, 2008 at 6:37am by Dave Cusick
Belle & Sebastian's "Piazza, New York Catcher" comes to mind!
September 11, 2008 at 6:48am by jpetersen
Yes! So much more than baseball going on in that one, too. Also, Joe Pernice's "Moonshot Manny", although that's a relic now, too, since Pernice is an avowed Red Sox fan and Manny's Sox days are over.
A couple more older examples: Bob Dylan's "Catfish" is apparently about Catfish Hunter, and, in a more general way, Springsteen's "Glory Days" is a baseball song.
September 11, 2008 at 6:55am by jpetersen
Dan Bern's "Trudy" also comes to mind, but only for the first verse-- but it turns out that baseball is a recurring theme in Bern's music. I did not know that.
Anyone else?
September 17, 2008 at 5:19am by aesop2008
There was an album that featured nothing but baseball -related subject matter, but the name escapes me. It was a compilation released around 2002. Anyway, here is another one that I found on Amazon that is temporarily out of stock.
http://www.amazon.ca/Baseballs-Greatest-Various-Artists-Collections/dp/B0000032LO
Go Cubs!!
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