Music Blog 3/13/2010

Madness (Is All in the Mind) by Madness (from Madness, Sire Records, 1979)

Madness, of course, is not all in the mind. It’s also in television promos, in office pools, internet brackets, peppered liberally throughout legal documents prepared by copyright lawyers for network executives…in other words, it’s just in the air. Madness is internal, yes, but it is certainly external as well. But who would expect a simple, soccer-loving ska band from Camden Town to know that?

Ckaszite Pochemy by Unknown Artist (from Songs of Old Russia, Columbia River Entertainment Group, 1998)

I don’t know what Ckaszite Pochemy means in Russian, but I’m hoping it means “Can You Believe That A Sumo Wrestler Would Be Strong Enough Yet Stupid Enough to Pull an ATM Machine Out of the Ground Just for $838?”

Come Join the Band (Stanford University Fight Song) by The USC Trojan Marching Band (from Fight Songs, Delta, 1989)

Some might take this as an endorsement of the Stanford women’s basketball team, but it’s not. It’s our annual gift to basketball analyst Michelle Smith.

O Canada by The Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (from Complete National Anthems of the World)

For those upset that the words of this wonderful anthem will not be changed in the interest of gender neutrality, here’s a version that can’t offend because it’s strictly instrumental.

Taxi Driver Theme (from Cinema Century, Silva Treasury, 1996)

Robert De Niro will star in a movie as legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi? Nice. How about John Goodman as Bill Parcels? Ed Harris as Tom Landry? Burt Reynolds as Mike Ditka? Eddie Murphy as Don Shula? The possibilities are positively scintillating.

Dizzy Dean (Oh! Dizzy Dean) by J.P. McDermott & Western Bop (from Diamond Cuts: Top of the Sixth, Hungry for Music, 2003)

If the culture lasts long enough, there will someday be a cornball song in tribute to every Major Leaguer who ever played. I can’t wait for the musical tributes to Stan Papi and Archimedes Pozo.