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Put me in coach.
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| The Baseball Project Vol. 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails (Yep Roc) |
This year’s 100th anniversary of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” only underscores the fact that no recent baseball songs have captured the public’s imagination — even John Fogerty’s “Centerfield” is almost a quarter-century old now. With The Baseball Project, four veteran rockers have worked hard to change this sorry state of affairs.
R.E.M.’s Scott McCaughey and Steve Wynn of Dream Syndicate front the group, as they summarize signature moments in the game’s history, from the breaking of the color line (“Jackie’s Lament”) to Fernando Valenzuela’s prominence (“Fernando,” with lyrics in Spanish) to Mark McGwire’s saga (“Broken Man”). “The Death of Ed Delahanty” commemorates the 1890s Phillies slugger who met his demise by drunkenly falling off a Niagara Falls bridge in 1903 (“He socked some homers, four in one game / when the ball was dead and the fences far / … Big Ed don’t let them weigh you down / Big Ed don’t let us weigh you down”), and five one-time Phils are mentioned in “Past Time.” Bonus points if you spot the allusion to Richie Ashburn.
If occasionally a little too esoteric, this hard-rocking Volume 1 proves that an album with a Ken Burns-level love of baseball certainly doesn’t have to sound like “Ashokan Farewell.”
- Activism
- Arts
- — Arts Events
- — Books
- — Dance
- — First Person Fest
- — Last Chance
- — Museum
- — On the Fringe
- — Philly Artists
- — The Curator
- — Theater
- — Visual Art
- — Arts News
- — Artist Profile
- — Arts Preview
- — Street Art
- Been There, Done That
- Big Ups
- Comedy
- — LOL With It
- — Stand-up
- Critical Mass
- DVD
- Events
- Friday Fill-in
- Ice Cubes
- In Memoriam
- Interview
- Just Do It
- Just Opened
- Kaleidoscopic
- LGBTQ
- — Art Phag
- Mailbag
- Movies
- — Film Fest
- — Movie Review
- — On set
- — Scenester
- — screening
- — trailer!
- Music
- — 10 Track Mind
- — Album
- — Album Review
- — Concert Review
- — DJs
- — Local Support
- — Now Hear This
- — One Track Mind
- — Philly Bands
- — Show
- — Somebody Else Was There
- — Song
- — The Showdown
- — concert photos
- — jazz
- — DJ Nights Blogged
- Night Watch
- Now See This
- Poetic License
- Printed Matter
- Radio
- Shopping
- — Coveted
- — Fashion
- — What We Heart
- TV
- — 24
- — Idol Hands
- — Mad Men
- — ProjRun
- — True Blood
- — Useless Lost Recaps
- — Couch Potato
- — Shore Trash
- — Turned ONN
- — TopMod
- Video Games
- — Free Online Game
- — PSP
- — PlayStation 2
- — The 1-Upper
- — Wii
- Web Junk
- — CAGE MATCH
- — Free Online Toy
- Weekend Omnibus
- Win
- May
- April
- March
- February
- January
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
