Music on Only A Game

Miñoso el Bate by Machito and His Orchestra (from Tea for Two, Sound and Vision, 2011)

If you're a ballplayer and someone writes a song about you, I think that should guarantee entry into Cooperstown.

Bugler's Dream by Leo Arnaud (from Summon the Heroes, Sony, 1996)

I had wanted to send a present to John Williams on the occasion of his 8oth Birthday, which was this week. But instead of choosing a Williams composition, I settled on Arnaud's anthem, so Williams loses out on the royalties. Oh, wait…Williams conducts on this recording, so those nickels are going to roll Williams' way anyway. Hey, happy belated birthday, and don’t spend it all in one place!

Hot Wheels by Axel Rudi Pell (from  The Masquerade Ball, Steamhammer Europe, 2000)

I still have my old Hot Wheels, including the stunning '68 Beatnik Bandit. It's gold, with the bubble windshield and it's a great deal nicer than the actual cars I've owned, which range from a '68 Plymouth Satellite Wagon and a '75 Plymouth Valiant at the lower end, to a 2001 Subaru Outback and Toyota pickup at the upper. That pickup was the best car I've ever driven, but I still want someone to make me a life-size Beatnik Bandit, although maybe not in gold.

Peace Sign by WAR (from Peace Sign, Avenue Records, 1994)

Do you think the band might have been conflicted?

Homecooking by Hans Theessink (from Homecooking, PID, 2012)

I'm getting hungry again.