Often times, SIU men's basketball coach Chris Lowery and I see eye-to-eye. We both love Saluki hoops. We both are world travelers. We both love Harold's Chicken in Chicago. And now, we both love paycheck Friday.
Tonight, TBDS Late Night will be short-lived so you can get your butt outside. Yours truly has some packing to do, but might push that aside to take in what will surely be a beautiful night in Southern Illinois.
Instead of leaving you with a boatload of links, I'll leave you with one link for today's awesome playlist via my LCM's Daily Playlist blog and a classic summer jam.
Get outside. Make a friend. Have a few drinks. Dance a little bit. And go home and make some questionable decisions, dadgumit. Go get your "Becky On" ... It's Friday!
For what it's worth, former Cubs Kerry Wood and Mark DeRosa had a pleasant homecoming. And by pleasant, I mean, Wood blew a pair of saves while DeRosa received more standing ovations than he collected hits (1-for-7 with 2 RBIs in the three-game set).
However, it is apparent that second baseman Jamey Carroll does not echo those sentiments. See, last season DeRosa and Wood did their part as the Cubbie faithful sang 'Go Cubs Go' after each of the team's 55 home wins.
"Whatever reasons fans had for going to Cubs games in the past, it seems that the big draw now is Cubs karaoke. Everybody wants to be able to sing the song. Not “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,’’ but “Go, Cubs, Go.’’ Said Indians second baseman Jamey Carroll after Cubs fans sang it for the third straight time in the series: “I can do without hearing that song again.’’
If you're not familiar with the song, here's a video at the bottom. The lyrics can be found here. Catch the wave while it's still high, America. (For serious, though, Steve Goodman ... real good songwriter.)
By now you know about how great Kobe was and how bad the Magic were last night.
But maybe you're new to some of the hottest new music on the scene. Unfortunately, it's not what you think.
Jay-Z's "Blueprint 3" isn't slated 'til September and this summer is still desperate for that one slamming hip-hop hit that everyone will be playing at 11 on their radios and such.
Last year, it was Lil' Wayne's "Lollipop" that blew out speakers nationwide throughout the summer. This year Wayne's back at it again with a song about ... Kobe Bryant?
I'm pretty sure Weezy's a Hornets fan, or at least he has claimed to sleep with women who sleep with the Hornets. (Seriously, I want that Wayne from Da Carter I back for good!)
In a bizarre video, a woman raps about being Kobe's alleged rapist. This can't be her, can it? This can't be real, in fact, I hope it isn't. Just a misguided attempt at humor. Either way, I'm disturbed so I figure I'd share that with you.
I'm not on a boat (sad) but I am at the Cubs game. That means yours truly will be reunited with his favorite pasttimes: Booze, broads, bullsh*t and baseball.
But before you divert your attention to Clark and Addison, something has been burning me. And hopefully it has nothing to do with that pretty brunette on my mind.
One of the things that has been brought to my attention at least a dozen times since the Chicago Blackhawks' playoff run is the song that plays after one of their players scores a goal. Now, to be honest, I hadn't heard the song. When I've watched Hard Hawk Playoff Hockey from the comforts of the Carbondale Buffalo Wild Wings (anyone know if Hurricane Saluki blew that place away?) cheers and clinking glasses replaced the sound of whatever music would be played after a goal.
So a little bit of Googling helped me find the song's title (Chelsea's Dagger), the artist (The Fratellis) and a little background with a hat-tip to the Chicago Sun-Times. Upon further review, the song gets two thumbs up if only because my ears aren't bleeding. But it has got me to thinking where does "Chelsea Dagger" rank among the best of the best Chicago sports themes have got to offer.
A run down, of sorts.
1. Super Bowl Shuffle - It did not matter that they had just gotten their asses handed to them by the Miami Dolphins, the Bears had business to handle shortly after the loss. And by "business" I mean recording the video for what would turn out to be one of the greatest songs in football history. It involved witty punchlines from Walter Payton, Jim McMahon, Gary Fencik, Steve Fuller and the rest of the Bears. Only "L.A." Mike Richardson ended up fitting the profile of a rapper.
2. The Chicago Bulls Intro Music - Nobody would know who the Alans Parsons project was if not for Ray Clay, Michael Jordan and the dynasty that was the Bulls of the 1990s. As good as songs such as "Only The Bulls" and "Be Like Mike" are, nothing represents Chicago basketball like a one-hit wonder from some British grouop that is very likely raking in the royalty checks on a daily basis.
3. Let's Go, Go-Go White Sox - Can you believe a motherf*cking polka song represents White Sox baseball? Yeah, neither can I. But the 1959 hit is a true South Side fan favorite. No need to worry White Sox fans, while a 1950something polka might not bring any street cred, Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg made up for that in the early 1990s.
4. A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request - As tempted as I was to go with Steve Goodman's "Go Cubs Go" (a.k.a. The Most Hated Song South of 35th Street), a song that is more fitting to what it means to be a Cubs fan is Goodman's ballad about the suckfest that has been the Northside Nine.
There aren't enough tracks by Kanye, Jay, Nas, Lil' Wayne (no vocoder), T.I., Ludacris or anyone else for that matter that can bring rap music back from the depths Bruce Pearl took it the other night.
ATTN: Dr. Dre: Bring me Detox, or bring Bruce Pearl death.
The Bradley Braves (10-6, 4-1) currently are in a three-way tie with Drake and Northern Iowa and lead the Missouri Valley Conference apparently are not shy about boasting their confidence. To show said confidence, the Braves have remixed one of the hottest songs in America today, The Super Bowl Shuffle.
(Picks up daily paper. Reads January 13, 2009 on front page. Goes back to blog.)
There's just so much that is wrong with this video that the hip-hop fan in me wants to slash through. Lack of originality. Remixing a song none of you were probably around for. More shirtless men than women in the video, which something Vince Young, Brady Quinn or Eddie Curry might be interested in. But not me.
I can't even give a half kudos to the Braves who channeled their inner '85 Bears by not only covering their Grammy Award winning hit, but by also doing so during the season. Why? Because I don't think they're that good.
However, it's tough to give Bradley any credit for doing this, especially after laying an egg in its 73-64 loss at home to Creighton. Sure, they beat Illinois State to end their undefeated season, but in my world of six degrees of college hoops, who have the Redbirds beat of importance?
And while this video might serve as a motivating tool for the Braves to get it done like the Bears did 23 years ago, I'm not sure the rest of the Valley is amused one bit.
In fact, if I were a MVC coach I would play this video for my team if only just to aggravate them by forcing them to hear a putrid hip-hop effort generally saved for the likes of Soulja Boy.
Cubs manager Lou Piniella doesn't approve of this playlist, especially its inclusion of N Sync.
Since my first two playlists were fire, I've decided to come with one more now that the season is over.
Let's get ready for next year, Cubs fans!
A Dying Cubs Fans Last Request, Steve Goodman. Once the Cubs season ended on a check swing (P.S. That was f*cking weak!) the only song that would run through my head is this classic Goodman track that exemplifies Cubdom in only 6 minutes.
Loser, Beck. I think the chorus says it all: "Soy un perdedor, I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me?" Yeah, sums it up quite right if you ask me.
Gone, NSync. So this one likely comes as a bit of a shocker, especially with the NSync tag attached, but note that the song was Justin Timberlake's solo coming out party (not to be confused with Lance Bass' coming out party). All jokes aside, 'Gone' truly describes the sadness and helplessness of Cubs fans, especially the opening: "There's a thousand words that I can say, to make you come home..." Most of those words were curse words.
Once, Twice, Three Times A Lady, Lionel Richie. Pretty self explanatory here: once, twice, three times a loser.
Heartbreaker, Mariah Carey feat. Jay-Z. Again, one of those songs where the chorus means exactly what Cubs fans are thinking. "Heartbreaker, you got the best of me/ But I just keep on coming back incessantly/ Oh why, did you have to run your game on me/ I should have known right from the start/ You'd go and break my heart."
That's it for now. It's brief, but it really kinda just puts things in perspective.
When the Chicago Cubs began their playoff run, I came up with 10 songs that I would associate this playoff run with.
Well, times change and with the Cubs down 0-2 in the best-of-five series, a new playlist must be adopted.
Don't Stop Believing, Journey. Even though this was the theme song of the 2005 World Series winning Chicago White Sox, the concept of not giving up applies to the Cubs.
Living on a Prayer, Bon Jovi. That's exactly how Cubs fans are feeling right now. People throw around the word "miracle" a lot and that's what it looks like the Cubs are going to need.
We Takin' Over, DJ Khaled & Friends. The Cubs need to go into L.A. with the mindset that they're going to take this series back to Chicago, well, that's because it's what they need to do. If they listen to Lil' Wayne's song-closing verse, that should be enough inspiration for them to do so.
Loser, N.E.R.D feat. The Clipse. Here's a little known song, but I like the concept of "not being the loser" as the chorus would indicate.
Dead Wrong, Notorious B.I.G. feat. Eminem. One of Biggie's best tracks (post-mortem) featuring Eminem. If you think the Cubs are done, well, you're dead wrong.
It's getting a little Cub-centric in here, isn't it? I don't care. I find it necessary.
You know what else I find necessary? Good music to get pumped for the NLDS.
These are the songs I've adopted for the 2008 playoff run. I can guarantee you've never seen these on Jock Jams!
Enjoy.
Running Down A Dream, Tom Petty.
The title is self explanatory.The lyrics speak for themselves.Check out the video.Pretty cool.
Swagger Like Us, T.I. Featuring Kanye West, Jay-Z & Lil' Wayne.
I remember when Lou Piniella first said the words “Cubbie Swagger” and I thought to myself “what the f*ck does that mean?”Now, it looks like the Cubs actually do have some swag.And nothing says ‘swagger’ like a track that features T.I., Kanye West, Jay-Z and Lil’ Wayne: the four best rappers out there. The track is hot, what can I say?
Lose Yourself, Eminem.
How can you not get pumped as soon as this song plays?I hear it and I either want to punch someone or I get really psyched.Or both.Maybe that would work for the Cubs.I know it worked for Big Z a few years back. In the end, it's Slim Shady's best work.
The Waiting Is The Hardest Part, Tom Petty.
Again, with Petty.Again, with lyrics that pull at the heart strings of Cubs fans. Again, retro video! This is my favorite Petty joint.Yes, I like it more than ‘Free Falling,’ a song that Cubs fans have been able to relate to for quite some time.
Lupe’s got killer lyrics and the chorus (sung by Matthew Santos) is a perfect touch for that song.The message is simple, Cubbies: “If you are what you say you are/ A superstar/ Then have no fear/ The camera’s here.” Here's some love for my boy, Lu.
Another great lyricist makes an appearance, but again, the chorus should speak to the Cubs and their legions of fans: “I know I can/ Be what I wanna be/ If I work hard at it/ I’ll be where I wanna be.”
Final Countdown, Europe.
This songs exemplifies the gloom and doom of Cubdom.It is, indeed, the final countdown.Are you ready? If you're not, get ready for another retro video!
I was this close to picking ‘Jesus Walks,’ the thriller of a song that gets my blood pumping.But no track by Kan-yeezy exudes more confidence than the first single off his “Graduation” album.From the word go, ‘Ye is sick with the punchlines.A perfect song to boost anyone’s confidence.
My President, Young Jeezy.
Did I mention that there was an African-American running for President?I just threw this track out there because it’s my favorite track and it is in heavy rotation in every playlist I have.I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
