Put Me In, Coach!

Centerfield by John Fogerty

Released in March of 1985, this tribute to baseball only reached #44 on the US charts but it can be heard in nearly every baseball stadium across the country and in every level of the game.

It includes references to some of the greatest players to ever play the game: Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays, Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb. It invokes the feeling you get as you step out of the darkness of the tunnel leading to the seats, as the sun first hits your face and that first flash of green grass meets your eyes. The sights, the sounds of the game....its all there in those first lines of the song. A nearly perfect marriage of a song and its subject.

Songs That Need Our Love....Part 29

She's On It by Beastie Boys

Released in 1985, a full year before their debut album, this was something of an introduction to the boys and their goofiness.

Slightly misogynistic, and devoid of any political correctness, this is the way they presented themselves to the world. And it sold really well. Within four years the Boys would redefine themselves as more mature and much more politically minded, even going so far as to donate entire proceeds of album sales to charitable causes and organizations.

But not back in the early days. This song is just about a girl they can't seem to convince to fall for them. They go to extraordinary lengths and fail miserably. Their mentor, played by record producer and thrash metal guru Rick Rubin, is no help. At least they get what's coming to them in the end.

Please enjoy.