#192 We'll Sing In The Sunshine – Gale Garnett (1964)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZeRVUUxV_k

 

We'll sing in the sunshine

Then I'll be on my way

 

Gale Garnett both wrote and recorded this classic, which won the 1964 Grammy for Best Folk Recording. Just a year after Little Peggy March topped the charts with “I Will Follow Him”, this one stands with Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me” as an early anthem of female empowerment. (More importantly, they're both great songs.)

#191 Hole In The Wall – The Packers (1965)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeBy12LN4Y4

 

This is one of those instrumentals that stuck in my head ever since I first heard it. The overall sound is very similar to the live version of “The In-Crowd” by the Ramsey Lewis Trio earlier that same year. Although the Packers were apparently an actual band that recorded two albums, it’s worth noting that this one was co-written by three of the members of Booker T. & The MG’s, two of whom also play on the recording.

#190 I Wanna Be With You – The Raspberries (1973)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mFUYm5QFUE

 

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.

 

#189 Ain't It Fun – Paramore (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Izx9ADLjgbM

 

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)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlRvP89EoDo

 

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.

August 22, 2018 – Nats 8, Phillies 7 – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/ryan-zimmerman-hits-2-run-walk-off-homer/c-291475236

 

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 11^th 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

August 19, 2018 – Marlins 12, Nats 1 – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/gio-gonzalez-rocked-in-nats-loss-vs-marlins/c-291032340

 

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 3^rd (two resulting from walks) and 3 more in the 5^th 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 3^rd, and dropping one for an error in the 7^th … Turner booted an easy grounder in the 8^th, at which point we decided to leave … Nats “offense” consisted of doubles by Wieters and Eaton in the bottom of the 3^rd … Miami villain Jose Urena pitched a two-hit complete game, retiring the final 16 Nats after walking Soto for the second time in the 4^th

 

Other – our early departure from Rockville paid off, as we got one of the final remaining parking spaces along Half Street SW

August 17, 2018 – Nats 8, Marlins 2 – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/bryce-harper-collects-500th-rbi-in-win/c-290787052

 

Attendance: 37,106

Duration: 3:03

Weather: 80 degrees, Overcast

Wind: SSW 7 MPH

Umpires: HP: Ben May. 1B: Ted Barrett. 2B: Will Little. 3B: Kerwin Danley.

 

Section 320, Row E, Seats 3-5 – next-to-last 300-level section down the right field line, next-to-last row from the top

 

Game notes – Scherzer got his 16^th win of the season, blanking Miami through 6 innings on 5 hits and 1 walk while fanning 7 … he also contributed at the plate, scoring from second on a Harper single in the 3^rd, doubling an inning later and scoring on Eaton’s double … Zim and Wieters hit solo homers in the 3^rd and 5^th respectively, and Bryce manufactured a run in the 4^th, hustling out a double, reaching third on a wild pitch, and scoring on Rendon’s sac fly … Trevor Gott gave up 2 runs in the top of the 7^th before Grace came in to end the inning … Nats got those 2 runs back plus 1 in the bottom of the frame, featuring 5 Nats singles and 2 Marlins errors

 

Other – a light rain fell through parts of the game, although the threatened thunderstorms never materialized

Aretha Franklin

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/aretha-franklin-musics-queen-of-soul-dies-at-76/2018/08/16/c35de4b8-9e9f-11e8-83d2-70203b8d7b44_story.html?utm_term=.c35350cb1f4c

 

It seems somehow appropriate that the news of Aretha’s death broke during WXPN’s weekly-in-the-summer “Throwback Thursday”, which today has been devoted to music by women. Fittingly enough, it's now morphing into a longer tribute to The Queen Of Soul.

 

I saw her live twice, once at Wolf Trap many years ago, and in November of 2012 at DAR Constitution Hall (attended by, among others, Michelle Obama and Eric Holder). Both shows were great, although relatively short. Her recorded legacy, of course, is amazing.

 

Favorite songs:

Ain’t No Way

Angel

Freeway Of Love

Respect

Chain Of Fools

Day Dreaming

Rock Steady

Until You Come Back To Me

I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)

I Say A Little Prayer

Who’s Zoomin’ Who

Something He Can Feel

Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves

 (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman

Since You’ve Been Gone

 

Lyle Lovett & His Large Band – Wolf Trap, 8/10/2018

Row L, Seat 25 (leftmost “center section” seat)

 

The more things change, the more they remain the same.

 

This is certainly true of Lyle Lovett & His Large Band. You can count on impeccable musicianship in a wide variety of styles. (The Wolf Trap program blurb listed “country, swing, jazz, folk, gospel, and blues”.) Most of the players remain the same; some have been with him for over 20 years. The basic structure of the lengthy, intermission-free set (about 2 ½ hours) is pretty standard: an instrumental intro (typically “Blues Walk”) that allows all of the band members to stretch out before Lyle takes the stage, a mostly upbeat sequence featuring the full band, a more acoustic/introspective mini-set in the middle that includes headlining takes by fiddler Luke Bulla and guitarist Keith Sewell, and a rousing final sequence (ending this night, as is often the case, with “Church”), and an encore or two. Classics such as “If I Had A Boat”, “Here I Am”, and “That’s Right (You’re Not From Texas)” find their way into almost every show.

 

The changes, of course, are what makes the experience so rewarding over the years. When compared to the previous time I saw them two summers ago, “Penguins” found its way to the beginning of the show, right after Lyle came on, while Francine Reed’s “Wild Women Don’t Have The Blues” moved to near the end. A couple of non-Lyle songs that he had contributed to movies, “Gee, Baby, Ain’t I Good To You” and “Straighten Up And Fly Right”, appeared. And Lyle and Francine broke out some dance steps on both “Gee Baby” and “Penguins”. I don’t recall hearing “Choke My Chicken” before either live or recorded, and I don’t think I’d heard him do “Cute As A Bug” or “San Antonio Girl” live before. Those two are both from the stellar My Baby Don’t Tolerate album; an extended version of the title cut was one of the evening’s highlights.

 

My new favorite coming out of the show is “This Old Porch”, which he co-wrote with fellow Texan (and Texas A&M student) Robert Earl Keen. There’s a great article about it in an old issue of Texas Monthly, and the video is outstanding.