The Dr. K. rap

Fantastic.

Music: Mets Plate Music

There was a time when we wanted to do a segment that pitted the Mets against their opponents in terms of plate music. We ended up abandoning this idea for two reasons--1) we don't attend enough home games to really keep tabs on what songs the Mets players are currently using, and 2) after attending a number of Giants games, it became clear that the Mets would get their asses handed to them by a large majority of NL teams in any sort of competition involving plate music.

So we were very excited when we discovered this video from 2007 in which the Mets explain their choices of plate music. And our theory about them being on the bottom end of the league in this category still holds up.



Observations:
• Metallica has to easily be the most popular band among white baseball players.
• Jeff Conine is actually pretty funny.
• David Newhan must have the worst taste on the team. Favorites include Tupac, Dre, Alice In Chains and Pearl Jam. So basically he likes two of the worst genres in existence--bad pop-rap and grunge.
• I take that last one back. Shawn green has the worst taste on the team. His favorites--Song 2 (now I love Blur as much as the next guy, but the last thing any North American sporting event needs is another round of this clunker), Audioslave, Metallica, Dave Matthews Band, and John Mayer. This reads like a set list for my own personal hell. But Shawn does win points for being the only player who will sing a song.
• Moises Alou is a badass--no batting gloves, no plate music.
• Rickey Henderson is an "MC Hammer guy," "2 Legit 2 Quit" to be specific. This is completely awesome. He still sticking by that guy.
• HoJo still rules.

Music: Belle & Sebastian's "Piazza, New York Catcher"

Scottish popsters Belle & Sebastian delve into the subject of sport more often than one might think, and the results are usually quite good. This Mets-inspired number is one of my favorite B&S sports tracks despite its association with my least favorite Belle & Sebastian album, Dear Catastrophe Waitress, and my least favorite movie of the last two decades, Juno.

I know the Mets have many great pop songs associated with them, but with the help of some great lyrics, this one has got to be up near the top. Here are a couple of the better verses:

San Francisco’s calling us, the Giants and Mets will play
Piazza, New York catcher, are you straight or are you gay?
We hung about the stadium, we’ve got no place to stay
We hung about the Tenderloin and tenderly you tell
About the saddest ending of a book you ever had to read
The statue’s crying too and well he may

The catcher hits for .318 and catches every day
The pitcher puts religion first and rests on holidays
He goes into cathedrals and lies prostrate on the floor
He knows the drink affects his speed he’s praying for
a doorway
Back into the life he wants and the confession of the bench
Life outside the diamond is a wrench

Listen to a live version of the song here.

Music: The Mets + Sweet Caroline

There have been a lot of music posts lately, but I couldn't let this one slip by. An article over at MetsBlog notes that the Mets will continue to play Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" over the PA system at every game, in a lame attempt to cultivate some sort of crowd singalong.

I have to agree with MetsBlog that this is really unfortunate. Now I've got no problem with Neil Diamond, but this the lamest, most overplayed, frat bar singalong I've ever heard (a natural fit for Red Sox Nation™, of course). Why oh why, Mets, must it be this song that you're forcing down our throats? I love a good singalong, but let's come up with something original. Even if this were Mr. Mets all-time favorite song (which there's no way it would be), it's ALREADY BEING USED BY ANOTHER TEAM FOR THE EXACT SAME PURPOSE. And not just any team, but the one team I actually may hate more than the Yankees and the Phillies.

It's strange feeling when the Mets pull things like this (which they do quite often). On the one hand, it's endlessly frustrating. On the other, I know deep down that it's things like this that make our bond so tight.

Music: Lenny Randle & The Universal Language

We are currently making an effort to unearth all of the Mets-related musical endeavors, and there's a good chance we have discovered the Rosetta Stone. Known more for a few specific (and sometimes controversial) incidents, Lenny Randle is exactly the reason this blog was created. He and fellow ballplayer Thad Bosley decided to independently fund a recording session in 1983 and later release a four track 7". It had gone almost entirely unnoticed until now. All four songs have recently been released on the People's Potential record label on a 7" entitled Ballplayers EP.

I won't be responsible for a record review as it seems kind of unnecessary. There's a link below to an mp3 from the record in order for people to form their own opinions. Just keep in mind that this is the same guy who both punched his former manager in the face and got down on his knees during a game in an attempt to literally blow the ball foul.

Listen to "Universal Language" here.

Music: God Bless America

Found this article on the excellent True/Slant. It's about Yankee Stadium security kicking a guy out for trying to go to the bathroom during God Bless America. First of all--they still sing that song? Second--seriously? Leave it to the Yankees. Sounds like the guy was drunk, but it also sounds like the security staff did, in fact, tell him to wait till the song was over. I've never really understood why they insist on playing this song every game. I mean, I've never really understood the point of singing the actual national anthem before a game involving two American teams either, but that's for another post.

This whole thing seems really creepy and resembles something that we Americans think only happens in some other country. And it's not just the security staff. I'm pretty sure that every single time I heard "God Bless America" at Shea, some sort of shouting match erupted in a section near me in which a Real American was yelling at some (usually) younger fans for not standing and/or removing their hat during the song. Bizarre. And wasn't there some issue when Delgado was acquired because the press thought that the fans might not accept him since he refused to stand for a song that isn't even our (let alone his) national anthem? I guess that whole problem never really materialized.

Anyway, the whole "God Bless America" thing is so weird to me...and it's not even a very good song. The article claims that the Yankees are the only team that still plays it. Is this true? Do the Mets still play it during the seventh inning stretch?

The Baseball Boogie Bunch

Mets in Los Angeles tonight. Remember the bitter "theme song" rivalry of '86? This one's special. Every player gets a verse and a satin jacket.

Music: George Thorogood on the New York Mets

The Delaware Destroyer is probably in my top five least favorite musicians of the last forty years. Who knew he was a Mets fan? Not me. I can't figure out if this makes me like him more or the Mets less.

This is the part of the post where I put the embedded YouTube video. Well then, where is it, you ask? Embedding has been disabled for this video. God forbid someone would want to write a blog post about the Mets and/or George Thorogood. I blame Mr. Thorogood himself for this. I should probably just abandon this post, but I've already typed this much and it's really not that hard to follow this link to YouTubes to watch it for yourself. It's really worth the effort.

Just for (thoro)good measure (ha!), I'm gonna post this fine piece of musical cinema that the youtube is actually allowing me to embed. I think it's about going out and drinking with friends.

Music: The Nightmares' "Baseball Altamont," a Shea-inspired masterpiece

In the summer of 1985, the unlikely combination of the New York rock underground and America's pastime found themselves at the same party. Literally. Not only were they getting along, but it seemed they were actually becoming friends.

The Nightmares, a young New York garage band, held an in-game record release party in a luxury box at Shea Stadium. The band's single, "Baseball Altamont," was released on the relatively obscure Coyote label, known mostly for being the home of The Feelies and a very young Yo La Tengo. Mets fans were undoubtedly confused when the scoreboard read, "The Mets welcome The Nightmares Baseball Altamont record release party".

The song describes a riot that broke out during a Mets home game just one year earlier. Names are named and faces are melted. This song is a barn burner. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and declare it the best song ever written about the Mets.

Between the Beatles in '65, Grand Funk in '71 and the Nightmares in '85, Shea Stadium will go down in history as the "Ball Park That Rock Built." And no, I didn't forget the Billy Joel show.

Listen to the song.

Some lyrics to whet your appetite:
Yeah well, Keith stood by and watched it for a while
And then he took off his shirt and his cap and he laid 'em in a pile
Then he bummed a cigarette from Dr. K
And then they smoked 'em in the stands as the fans tore apart Shea...Stadium!!!
It was baseball altamont!
It was baseball altamont!

More on the Wright Stache

The Wright Stache has a theme song. Will it work? Will David Wright hear our call? Only time will tell...

Wild Boys: 1986 Mets

Q: How many videos are floating around the internet that pair footage of the 86 Mets with an awesome song from that era?
A: I don't know, but I'm gonna find out...and post them all here.

A few days ago we brought you a Glenn Frey-inspired homage to the glory years. Today we have "Wild Boys" by Duran Duran. Enjoy.

1986 Mets + Glenn Frey = Pure Magic

I found this little piece about the 1986 Mets (soundtracked by Glenn Frey) on a website called "Youtubes." This is really too awesome for words...