Townsman Mwall suggested we take up the broader discussion of a rock artist’s relevance, or lack thereof, in a separate thread. Great suggestion. I’m bringing his comments from the ongoing XTC/Nonsuch discussion to The Main Stage. Here’s what Mwall had to say. Add to the man’s thoughts as you see fit!

The concept of relevance/irrelevance is certainly worth saying more about at some point, and debating, perhaps in another post. For me it usually begins at that point at which a band starts making albums that no longer contribute significantly to the value of their own musical legacy, or at best (which I guess is under discussion here re XTC) are dotting a few final i’s and crossing a few t’s. It tends to correspond, although not always exactly, with that same moment at which any new fans of the band (of which there are likely to be fewer and fewer) tend to “discover” them as something to look back at. If you first heard the Stones in 1988, for instance, you still don’t think that 1988 was “when they were really great.”

Here are some moments like that: Graham Parker after The Real Macaw, The Stones after Tatoo You, REM after… well, what? I’ll be damned if those later albums aren’t so deeply indistinguishable that I’ve never bothered to tell them apart.

I understand that trying to preview these NLCS games through musical analysis may be beyond some Townspeople’s comfort zones. Before we contine to offer the opportunity for pregame musicoathletic analyses, let’s first review the at-bat intro music forces that went into yesterday’s 7-2 Dodgers win.

The big, flashy story was the dugouts emptying thanks, mainly, to Dodgers catcher Russell Martin‘s whining over his pitchers not backing up he and Manny Ramirez following a flurry of knockdown pitches from tough Phillies pitchers. So that we get it out of the way, we’ll start here.

After Martin played peek-a-boo behind slumping Phils sparkplug Jimmy Rollins, begging pitcher Hideki Kuroda to hit him, Martin finally got his wish, when Kuroda unleashed a fastball over the head of Rock Town Hall reader Shane “The Flyin’ Hawaiian” Victorino. Shane quickly refreshed the Dodgers battery mates on the unwritten code that applies to this situation before both benches emptied and we nearly got to see pesky former rivals and now turncoat coaches, Larry Bowa and Davey Lopes, square off for real while Ramirez asked a couple of teammates to make it look like they were holding him back while he feigned outrage. We reviewed Martin’s at-bat intro song the other day, and like Kanye, the guy’s a lot of hot air. It’s one thing to avoid flinching when Jamie Moyer hits your knee with a 72 mph curve. Don’t dig in too hard against Brett Meyers and Clay Condrey, my man. And listen to what Shane has to say!

As I mentioned last night, Dodgers manager Joe Torre made the first of a couple of moves I’d feared he’d make involving veteran, Classic Rock-themed bench players, inserting OCD-afflicted, former juicer Nomar Garciaparra into the starting lineup. For all of young first baseman James Loney‘s gifts in the field and at the plate, as we learned in our comparison of first basemen’s intro themes, Loney’s song can’t bring it like Nomar’s use of War’s “Low Rider”. The fact that Torre was able to sit on that intro theme for little more than a pinch-hitting appearance in the first two games of the NLCS speaks to both Loney’s baseball abilities and Torre’s restraint. Nomar was 2-3 with an RBI and a fine snag of a smash down the first base line.
Continue reading »

In our opening-game match-up of at-bat intro songs for the starting pitchers for the Phillies and Dodgers, the clear rockin’ advantage supplied by Phils’ starter Cole Hamels‘ theme song, AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck”, was a key factor in the Phils’ 3-2 win. As could have been expected in this historic rate-a-record showdown of NL division champs’ intro songs, despite a strong opening, Dodgers’ starter Derek Lowe was undermined by his theme song, the incredibly wimpy “Sometimes When We Touch”, or whatever that Cascada song is called.

Today, as we prepare for Game 2, let’s start going around the horn, beginning with catchers Carlos Ruiz (Phillies) and Russell Martin (Dodgers). Without giving away the owner of each catcher’s song, listen to the following and consider how these tunes might impact the outcome of today’s game and this series. I’ve got to warn you, in full, unedited form, some of these players’ at-bat intro songs have lyrics fit for the locker room and dugout. Beware if analyzing the musicoathletic content of these tunes in work or around the kids!

Seether, “Remedy”

Kanye West, “Touch the Sky”

Now, let’s move onto the first basemen, Ryan Howard (Phillies) and James Loney (Dodgers). These guys are counted on to provide the power from the left side. Are you feeling it?

50 Cent and Akon, “Still Will”

Nas, “Made You look”

Tomorrow we’ll continue our NLCS Rate-a-Record, as we move around the horn. Dodgers fans in the know might as well concede the second base battle now!

NOTE: Rock Town Hall is not responsible for occasional inaccuracies that might occur in the cases of players whose at-bat intro songs change frequently.