NOW HITTING ...........

Today's topic ......this comes straight out of the "first date" question database: What song would be played when your name was introduced as you come to bat? Or more broadly, what is your personal background music? Interestingly, this question was raised recently in a blog authored by one of the gals who fronted Sleater Kinney (one of Don's top-five bands, maybe top-3), so we thought we would publish our own answers ........

Don: Well, I can't possibly be limited to just one song as different occasions demand different tunes. Any fool could tell you that you can't play the same music when you stride to bat as you would use when you are coming in from the bullpen to close a game. So here are my songs and settings...

Coming in from the Pen to close out a tight game ...it's hard to top Mariano Rivera (Enter Sandman), Trevor Hoffman (Hells Bells), and Jonathan Paplebon (Shipping up to Boston) in this category but I am going with Bodies by Drowning Pool. "LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR! LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR!" This song doesn't scream for a strikeout, it screams for murder. And against NY, I would want that thing cranked to 11. Granted, it's a bit white trash but it would have the stadium shaking, perhaps melting. And it might be the first entry music that comes with a warning label.

Molly: Well, any fool could tell you that you can't play the same music when you come to bat as when you enter a game from the bullpen, but dude, I'm a girl and it's hard enough for me to find songs with the appropriate, um, balls to satisfy this question so bear with me...

I like Cowboy, by Eve for my at bat music although maybe it's better when I'm coming in from the bullpen to close a game although I'm guessing it's a little too...peppy. I might go with I Turn My Camera On, by Spoon, for at bat music but I'm told that alt-pop is not necessarily the way to go with these things. I might also go with Malibu by Hole but I realize that it's probably better suited to entering a cheerleading competition than a
baseball game.  And as a final entry I'll add the intro to Paradise City by GnR because that's just a good song.

Don: My "coming to bat" music is a little more difficult as the song only plays for a few moments. Some guys go for songs with little plays on their names (Roger Clemens ..Rocket Man) and some go for songs that have some other meaning. I will head in a different direction and just go with something that has a powerful and familiar guitar riff. Something like: Bullet with Butterfly Wings, by the Smashing Pumpkins. Close second...Foo Fighters' Everlong because it's a favorite and there are a number of riffs in there that scream: ADRENALINE. It's a shame that you don't get to play a song before you hit on the road (at least as far as I know) because in that case, I would have a "road" song as well. This one is a bit more controversial and it is meant to shock the conservative sensibilities that exist in parks stretching from Anaheim, to Kansas City to Atlanta. Drum roll please ..Closer by Nine Inch Nails. I would love to sneak a peek at the Orange and Marietta County stepford moms when Trent sings .."I want to fuck you from the Inside, I want to fuck you like an animal ..." But that's just me.

Molly: I should first stipulate that the answer to pretty much any music-related question can be answered with: Everlong. Don has invoked it so I won't steal, but there are not many occasions on which it DOESN'T work. Weddings and funerals? Play the acoustic version. Coming up to bat? Blast the original recording. Dancing around your apartment after a few glasses of wine? Any and all versions work. Make out music? Ditto. IT ALWAYS WORKS.  That said, I don't even have a team, per se, but it's hard for me not to think of myself as representing New York (even though we HATE THE YANKEES in our household) so if I were on the road I'm inclined to play some Beasties, maybe No Sleep Til Brooklyn or Slow & Low or Sabotage.

Don: For my Campaign song (think Don't Stop Believing ), I think it has to be either patriotic or a feel good song, no? If I was going to run as a challenger, I might go with Rockin in a Free World, by Neil Young.  It might cost me in some of the "feel good" red states, but I am here to shake things up so who gives a shit about Tennessee? (Molly: Wasn't that issue debated ad naseum on the ESPN chat board during last week's UCLA game?)  And in my re-election, I am going to run a "skies are blue" campaign, and that leads me to one place: Mr. Blue Sky by ELO. Finally, my victory night song? You know, the one they play as you come out to accept the win. Well, that has to be Zeppelin's Thank You And finally, to wrap things up ..my funeral and/or memorial song. Another layup for me. A favorite song from a favorite band ...Do You Realize by The Lips.

Molly: Campaign music? Oy.  I'm surprised you didn't pick Fortunate Son (ed note: There is a back story, a bad one)...but I'll say Beautiful Day by U2, I suppose. These categories are all you, Ballgame.  I'm terrible at campaign songs and only marginally better at at-bat music.  But I want Liz Phair's Mesmerizing to play whenever I enter a room.

Don: I'm glad she picked that song and not "Fuck and Run".