Phils Win! On To The Playoffs ...

Congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies, winners of the National League Eastern Division! Jimmy Rollins, favored by many to win the National League MVP, drove in two runs with a triple in the last game of the season today against the Washington Nationals. That also gave him 20 triples for the year; with more than 20 home runs, doubles, stolen bases, and over 200 hits, it's obvious that his boast early on, that the Phils were the team to beat in the division, was not to be taken lightly!

Thanks to the Mets for collapsing over the last 17 games!

Now, it's on to the Division Series, the opponent to be determined today in a one-game playoff between the Padres and the Rockies.

Go Phils!

885 MMMM Top 100: American Idol

I've never watched an entire edition of American Idol since it debuted on Fox in 2002. Maybe it's because it seems kind of like karaoke to me: singers attempting, often badly, their versions of others' songs. But its influence cannot be denied; it has produced some big recording stars, like Kelly Clarkson, and Chris Daughtry. And it is clean, non-offensive entertainment that attracts the most diverse audience of any program on American television-quite an accomplishment these days.

885 MMMM Top 100: John Lennon's "Imagine"

I could write about how "Imagine" is a memorable song because it's about hope, optimism, peace, etc., etc. But I won't. I mean those are fine lyrics and all ... if you're on board with that vision of an ideal world. But "No possessions"? I don't think so. I don't buy into much of the consumer culture, but I think people acting in their own individual self-interest is what drives humanity (as a whole) forward in so many ways.

One of my memories of this song is an objection to another lyric in the song-"no religion"-expressed by an evangelical minister character on WKRP in Cincinatti. Hewanted the station to the ban the song for that reason, and the "Big Guy", Arthur Carlson, backed his DJs and refused to do so. Right on!

885 MMMM Top 100: "Rock Around The Clock"

Written in 1952 and recorded two years later by Bill Haley & His Comets, "Rock Around The Clock" is the song widely regarded as the first true hit of the rock 'n roll era, selling tens of millions of copies. Of course, we can all argue for days on end about rock's origins in R&B and country. Many of those songs are recognizable as what we could call rock music. But this one put rock on the map, much more than Haley's cover of Big Joe Turner's "Shake, Rattle & Roll". George Lucas used it in American Graffiti, and Haley recorded a version of it for TV's Happy Days.

885 MMMM Top 100: Metallica vs Napster

When Metallica sued the file-sharing service Napster in 2000, I knew the days of worry-free downloading were numbered. I myself never shared on Napster, of course (wink wink), but I had many friends who did. At one point, I joined Kazaa, but didn't get too far in searching for what I wanted. Then I noticed that adware & spyware was being installed on my computer, so I deleted the program. These days, I only download mp3s from legitimate or record company sites. But the larger question, about how the law treats intellectual property, has yet to be answered.

885 MMMM Top 100: CSNY & "Ohio"

I was only four years old when "Ohio" was written by Neil Young and recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, so it doesn't have the same meaning to me as it did to a lot of other people in 1970. But it is a powerful song, essentially naming President Richard Nixon as the culprit in the shooting deaths of four Vietnam war protestors by the Ohio National Guard at Kent State University. The incident was one more factor in the middle class questioning, and turning against, the war.

885 MMMM Top 100: The "Thriller" Video

Wow, "Thriller" was one of the videos that really put the early MTV on the musical radar for some of my friends in senior year of high school in December 1983. And really, what's not to love? You have Michael Jackson in garish makeup (well before his plastic surgery), some funky dance moves by various zombies and ghouls, a movie-within-a-movie concept with MJ as Michael "I Was A Teenage Werewolf" Landon, and a spoken word performance by horror movie vet Vincent Price.

885 MMMM Top 100: Simon & Garfunkel & "Mrs. Robinson"

Of course, much of the song was featured in Mike Nichols' 1967 film The Graduate, which made Dustin Hoffman a star. The score by Dave Grusin dates the film but it's still a lot of fun to watch.

One word: Plastics!

Here's a link to The Lemonheads' version of "Mrs. Robinson"; Frank Sinatra also did a swingin' version of the song.

885 MMMM Top 100: Sony Walkman

Growing up, I had a GE desk radio handed down to me by one of my brothers. Through it, I was able to listen, with an earphone, to WYSP, WIOQ, and WMMR in the album rock era. Then, at night, I'd often switch to the AM dial, and scan it to pick up stations as far away as Indianapolis, Montreal, or Charlotte. But it wasn't until Sony brought put out the Walkman in the 80s that I could carry my music with me, especially when I run. What a great concept! I've gone through probably a dozen Walkmans, and twice as many sets of headphones.

885 MMMM: Voting Starts Today!

All of the suggestions are in, and today, WXPN has put up on the website the ballot for the Most Memorable Musical Moments. In what must have been a harrowi interesting experience, the station staff has come up with a list of 100 moments. As I expected, Jimi Hendrix's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" made it, as did the murder of John Lennon, and the appearance of The Beatles on "The Ed Sullivan Show". But there are some I didn't expect, for better or worse. And, I may just blog about them.

885 Most Memorable Musical Moments: A Fairytale Of New York

I got to thinking after my last "Guest Blogger" post 2 weeks ago that I hadn't seen anything in the MMMM discussion about Christmas or holiday songs. How could that be-these are some of the best-loved songs of our culture! It's not so much about the quality of the music (and there is an abundance of that), but the memories we associate with them-worship, parties, shopping, family, and friends. One of the most festive (in its own way) is "A Fairytale of New York", by the Pogues and the late Kirsty MacColl.

Shane MacGowan and MacColl trade lines, as two lovers (or ex-lovers) reminisce about their hopes and failures, and their arguments, on Christmas Eve in New York City. It's a rollicking romp, with a nice contrast between their voices, singing some often bittersweet lyrics.

"A Fairytale of New York" became an instant hit in the U.K. upon its release in December 1987, and has consistently been ranked in polls as one of the best Christmas songs.

Here's the video:


UPDATE: Here's how the post looked on the XPN site:

9/11: Six Years On

It's been six years since the attacks on America. Terrorist plots that would allegedly have resulted in attacks on our soldiers in Germany and at Fort Dix, New Jersey (a case very close to me) have been uncovered and foiled. A Muslim extremist in Utah killed six people in a shopping mall in February.

The war, such as it is, continues.

I have little to no confidence in Michael Chertoff, the Secretary of Homeland Security. He seems to be much the same "empty suit" that Tom Ridge was in that position. I don't think the current administration, nor the Congress, is still doing nearly enough to protect our country's borders, ports, and targets of opportunities. And, too many people have forgotten the horror of that day.

I haven't.

My greatest fear is that many other people won't remember until something even worse happens.

Britney Is Not Fat

Does Britney Spears really look fat?

I sure don't think so.

Her hyped comeback performance at last night's MTV Video Music Awards was a little embarassing: she looked out-of-it, lip-synching and barely dancing across the stage. Maybe she was a little silly doing that while wearing a sequined black bra and hot pants.

But she's had two kids, and her body still shows that. I still much prefer that look to the anorexic "heroin chic" look of Kate Moss, the Olsen Twins, and now, it seems, Angeline Jolie as well.

There's Red States, Blue States, and ...

This Labor Day, as the longest presidential election campaign in U.S. history lumbers onward, the rest of the world is taking an interest. A Canadian pollster found that more than 40% of French and German respondents prefer that Hillary Clinton become the next president, and lower percentages of other nationalities. Name recognition has to be the biggest reason for that, I think.

And then there's the website called Who Would The World Elect. The site looks at the IP address of each computer that looks at the site, and however the person at the other end votes, tabulates the result with others from the same host country. Votes are about evenly split between Democratic and Republican candidates as of today (about 15,000 votes) each.

The country breakdowns are fascinating, with many countries putting Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) in the lead. But overall, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) has the most votes (including mine). He even leads in Russia!

I'll be checking on this one often.