I originally planned to start this entry by remarking that this song
should surely be in the “Power Pop Hall of Fame”, should such a thing exist.
Oddly enough, such a thing DOES exist, albeit only online. Like its more famous
counterpart, it contains artists (22 if I counted correctly) rather than songs,
but the Raspberries are in fact there, along with other personal favorites such
as the Smithereens and Teenage Fanclub. (No Marshall Crenshaw, unfortunately.)
The Raspberries didn’t stay around very long, although Eric Carmen went on to a
successful solo career, but "Go All the Way", "Let's
Pretend", and "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)” are also more than
worth hearing. It’s really the guitar riff that kicks off the song and is
repeated thereafter that, for me, elevates “I Wanna Be with You” above the
rest.
Saturday, August 25, 2018
#189 Ain't It Fun – Paramore (2014)
Hayley Williams and Paramore have certainly come a long way from “Misery
Business” to this one, although the song’s lyrics aren’t exactly as upbeat as
the positive title and bouncy music would suggest. I definitely agree with one critic’s suggestion that this recording is a perfect accompaniment for high
school graduation ceremonies. I also think that the line “Don’t go crying to
your mama” would be a great chant for the student sections at college
basketball games to direct at visiting team coaches whining about personal foul
calls.
#188 Cry Like A Baby – The Box Tops (1968)
The Box Tops are best-known for their debut single “The Letter”, which hit
#1 in 1967. (Although I like the concise 1:58 original, I prefer Joe Cocker’s
raucous and much longer 1970 remake.) Although the band’s material was not
always the greatest, “Cry Like A Baby” is a blue-eyed soul classic, co-written
by Spooner Oldham (who also played keyboards on the recording) and the great
Dan Penn, whose body of work also includes another one of my all-time favorites. Singer Alex Chilton, who went on to become an indie-rock cult
favorite after the Box Tops disbanded and inspired a musical tribute by the
Replacements, throws in a sly reference near the end to “You Left The Water Running”, another great (but little-known) tune co-written by Penn.
Friday, August 24, 2018
August 22, 2018 – Nats 8, Phillies 7 – Nationals Park
Attendance: 31,855
Duration: 3:45
Weather: 80 degrees, Partly cloudy
Wind: NNW 9 MPH
Umpires: HP: Gary Cederstrom. 1B: Eric Cooper. 2B: Ramon De Jesus. 3B: Stu
Scheurwater.
Game notes – Strasburg struggled in his return from the DL, giving up 2
doubles and a Maikel Franco HR in the first after fanning the first two
batters, a Justin Bour homer in the third, and an RBI single by Roman Quinn in
the fourth before being lifted … Nats answered back each time, with a run in
the first, 3 to tie in the third (on RBI hits by Harper, Soto, and Wieters),
and 1 more in the fourth … after Phillies starter Zach Eflin gave up 10 hits in
3 1/3 innings, the Philadelphia bullpen held the home team scoreless until the
eighth … Philadelphia took a 7-5 lead with a run in the sixth off Wander Suero
and a solo HR by Cesar Hernandez an inning later … Washington narrowed the
deficit to a single run in the bottom of the eighth when Wilmer Difo (replacing
the traded Daniel Murphy) led off with a triple off Pat Neshek and scored on a
sac fly by Andrew Stevenson (recalled Tuesday to replace the traded Matt Adams)
… after Seranthony Dominguez retired Harper and Rendon in the bottom of the
ninth, Soto dumped a double into RF and Ryan Zimmerman supplied the 11th
walk-off homer of his career, after review reversed the initial call of a
double
Other – we started heading out after Rendon’s at-bat in the ninth to be
sure of not missing the final Metro train of the evening
Monday, August 20, 2018
August 19, 2018 – Marlins 12, Nats 1 – Nationals Park
Attendance: 31,435
Duration: 2:40
Weather: 86 degrees, Partly cloudy
Wind: NNW 7 MPH
Umpires: HP: Will Little. 1B: Kerwin Danley. 2B: Ben May. 3B: Ted Barrett.
Boswell: After latest horror show, season feels officially dead
Game notes – Gio again dug a deep hole, allowing 3 runs in the 3rd
(two resulting from walks) and 3 more in the 5th before being lifted
… Greg Holland relieved Gio and allowed his two inherited runners to score …
Tommy Milone absorbed the final 4 innings, allowing 3 Miami round-trippers …
Harper contributed to the debacle by failing to reach 2 catchable balls in the
3rd, and dropping one for an error in the 7th … Turner
booted an easy grounder in the 8th, at which point we decided to
leave … Nats “offense” consisted of doubles by Wieters and Eaton in the bottom
of the 3rd … Miami villain Jose Urena pitched a two-hit complete
game, retiring the final 16 Nats after walking Soto for the second time in the
4th
Other – our early departure from Rockville paid off, as we got one of
the final remaining parking spaces along Half Street SW
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