Music of the Day, 10 October 2023
take care of your teeth? that might work for you ...
Today is the first day of the National Hockey League (NHL) season. The main reason I know this is because my dear friend from high school, D, is a big Columbus Blue Jackets fan and season ticket holder. I’ve been to a few hockey games, mostly at the collegiate level and not with her (more’s the pity). Perhaps if I’d had the rules explained to me clearly, I’d have gotten in to it too; I used to be a big fan of sports that required a fair amount of strategy. While I had football teams I followed more or less, I watched nearly every professional football game back then that I could (this was pre-cable); I enjoyed seeing the teams’ offensive and defensive plans play out, and how they’d change over the course of a game.1
Warren Zevon was a sports fan too, if his discography is any indication. I remember needing to explain who Boom Boom Mancini is to my kids the first time we listened to Sentimental Hygiene. We don’t yet own Zevon’s 2002 album My Ride’s Here, which today’s featured song is from, so I don’t know how we first came across it. I’ve since listened to the studio version; it isn’t nearly as good as the live version that we first heard and have grown to adore. While Zevon’s tempo and singing are much better in it, it’s the crowd involvement that puts it over the top.
There’s some opening banter, so if you’d prefer to skip that and get right to “Hit Somebody!,” advance to 1:18.
One doesn’t need to be a hockey fan to get caught up in the story; Zevon is as masterful as ever here. He had some big guns assisting him on the tune, too: sportswriter Mitch Albom cowrote the song with him; Paul Shaffer played the organ on the studio version; and David Letterman provided backing vocals on it. Letterman was a staunch champion of Zevon’s music, but he also appreciated Zevon’s dry wit.
Happy NHL opening season day to all hockey fans!
Despite going to Ohio State for graduate school, I never attended a football game there, for several reasons. The crowd size was the biggest [heh] reason; but also, my area of psychology had its offices in the stadium, and they were about as pleasant as you’d expect. It was good to have a legit reason not to make the drive in to campus those Saturdays.
I hadn't heard this song before but having grown up in a Toronto Maple Leafs household, I got all the references. This was fun!
Warren Zevon was an incredible songwriter. Sentimental Hygiene is my favorite album of his. And I found the understated poise of his version of Back In The High Life Again to be very moving.