Mark Likes Music

Get ready for the big storm ! 1. A blast from the past (1940, anyway): 2. Perfectly obvious: 3. A little Sturm und Drang  for you: 4. Avoid tropical storms, and ghosts (thanks, Joe Lehman): 5. Something you might not have heard before, from the Sir Douglas Quintet : Also, Captain Bringdown, Gordon Lightfoot ; Max Webster ; and  hurricanes hitting out west.

As a Mets fan, Opening Day is as good a day as any to talk about hockey . 1. Atom and His Package, "Goalie"  There's a conversation going on about the value of obese goalies  over at Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish. One reader points out that the topic's already been covered in song.  2. Stompin' Tom Connors, "The Hockey Song" I've always found him a little hokey. But add one letter, and you've got "hockey." 3. Tragically Hip, "Fifty-Mission Cap"  Until I heard this song, I had no idea who Bill Barilko was. Until I heard this song, I also had no idea that the Leafs had ever won the Stanley Cup. It had always sounded like crazy talk to me. 4. Rheostatics, "The Ballad of Wendel Clark" I wanted to include "Queer" but couldn't find a clip. Poor Leafs fans: so many songs, so few Stanley Cups. 5. Claman/Toth, "The Hockey Theme" (The old Hockey Night in Canada theme song)  An...

I'll admit it: I never learned the periodic table. I probably never will. But if you're up for it, here are some songs to help you out. 1. They Might Be Giants, "Meet the Elements"  My children listen to this pretty much non-stop. 2. Tom Lehrer, "The Elements"  It's the song that defines the genre. 3. "Periodic Table of Rock"  Isn't this the guy from the first Freecreditreport.com band ? 4. The "Learn the Periodic Table Song"  If you like Billy Joel, this one's for you. 5. Peter Weartherall, "The Periodic Table Song"  Who knew that chemistry would be such fodder for children's singers?

In an attempt to end the Detroit Symphony strike, a Michigan state representative wants to make it possible for people in three area counties to vote to help fund the orchestra with a small increase in their property taxes . It's worth considering: orchestras, privately run as non-profits, are nonetheless civic institutions, and there's no reason why property owners shouldn't pay a little bit for something that improves the cultural life of their city (and their property values). The tax increase would be small, only about $20 on an assessed $100,000 worth of real estate (by my calculations, so I could be way off). Assuming such an initiative goes before the public, here are some questions to ask before voting on it: 1. Is the orchestra an essential service? These are tough times for Detroit, and before voting to saddle neighbors with an added expense, it's worth asking if the orchestra is something that the area absolutely needs. 2. How much government money al...

The New York Times critics' blah-blah about Lincoln Center's White Lights Festival--dedicated to spirituality and exploring our "inner universe," something like that--got me thinking about music that makes me contemplate the Big Questions. 1. Rheostatic's "Shaved Head" on Whale Music There's nothing like a song about chemotherapy to get you thinking about the great beyond. At least I think it's about chemotherapy. I hear in this song all the pain that comes with the realization that your relationship with the one you love is short, transitory. Every time I listen to this I cry, so I don't listen to it much. It's exhausting. For end-of-life poignancy, it's right up there with Alden Nowlan's "This is What I Wanted to Sign off With." 2. Beethoven's "Ode to Joy"  In whatever version I hear it, this melody gives me that little chill on the back of my neck. You can't help but feel as if we're al...

Writing about Ravel's Bolero in the movie 10 (one of those movies that a guy who grew up in the post-AIDS 1980s finds horrifying) got me thinking about the songs that make me feel just a little bit ... uncomfortable. Here's my top five (not that you asked): 1. Exile, "I Wanna Kiss You All Over" What a coincidence: this song was a #1 hit the same year that 10 came out. How could anyone find this sexy? This is the gold standard. Whenever I hear a song that is overladen with sexual innuendo (or explicit calls to action), it's "I Wanna Kiss You All Over" that I compare it to. 2. John Mayer, "Your Body is a Wonderland"  This is one of those songs that measured up to Exile's. 3.  Rod Stewart, "Tonight's the Night"  Another 1970s hit: #1 in 1976. Pete Townshend wrote a short story about this song. I read it when I was 14. It kind of messed me up for a while. 4. Bob Crewe and Kenny Nowland, "My Eyes Adored You...