Jaybird's Jottings

Opening Day

"Opening Day is the beginning of a new Major League Baseball season. It falls around the beginning of April, signaling such a generational feeling of rebirth for some that the writer Thomas Boswell once penned a book titled, Why Time Begins On Opening Day.

Opening Day is a state of mind as well, with countless baseball fans known to recognize this unofficial holiday as a good reason to call in sick at work or be truant from school (as most teams typically play their home opener in the afternoon) and go out to the ballpark for the first of 162 regular season games.

Opening Day extends throughout the sport of baseball, to hundreds of minor league baseball franchises as well as to college, high school, youth league fields and in areas far beyond North America." - Wikipedia

 

 

Silver Line Station Names

Fairfax County's Board of Supervisors has proposed station names for the Silver Line. But the names are really dull, so they won't help define neighborhoods, and so repetitive they won't help riders find their stop. - Greater Greater Washington

As they always do, GGW has a great analysis and excellent set of comments on a situation that affects Washingtonians and those who travel here.   Fairfax County has submitted station names for the nine new stops on the Silver Line, slated for a 2013 opening.  We agree these names are dull and not helpful.

By the way, check out the snarky map they came up with to make their point!

(Note:  This photo is one I took recently at the end of Pentagon City.   I’m not a very good photographer, but have learned a couple of things.  One you can’t take a picture if you don’t have your camera with you.  Two, you can’t get lucky unless you take a bunch of shots.  Three, a seemingly dull subject can turn out to better that you thought).

 

 

 

 

 

 

RUSH Concert in Greensboro Moved to Saturday

Live Nation announced today that due to unforeseen circumstances the Rush performance previously scheduled for this Friday, April 1^st in Greensboro has been postponed one day and will now take place on Saturday, April 2^nd at the Greensboro Coliseum. Doors remain 6:30 pm with show time at 7:30 pm.

This is a no-fooling change (hat tip as always to Ed!), verified at Rush.com, the Greensboro Coliseum site and the Greensboro Daily News.

No word given on the reason but there’s also a Comedy Show that night at the adjacent building, and they are probably concerned about traffic and such.

In trying to find a silver lining, Geddy now gets to watch his Blue Jays on Opening Day, the traffic should be better, and RUSH will be obliged to be in the best of moods to make up for the change.  

 

 

 

Metro Turns 35

"While the system certainly has its share of problems, we should all be able to agree that Metro greatly enriched our region, created enormous economic value especially in one-struggling downtown and suburban areas, and helped our whole region grow substantially with less traffic congestion than we would otherwise have seen.

In honor of Metro's birthday, here is a repost of one of our most popular features, the animated history of Metrorail." - Greater Greater Washington

Happy 35^th to Washington’s Metrorail System, much maligned, but as GGW notes, there’s been a lot of good, and it’s adding more service with the Silver Line to Dulles.

 

 

 

Tweeting Thorn's Eden (Chapter Three to Six)

Last week I posted my notes on Thorn’s "Baseball in the Garden of Eden."

Here are the ones for Chapters three to six.   With a lot on my plate, this will wrap things up for this book.

 

Chapter Three, The Cradle of Baseball

Thorn addressing the question when did the various games give way to base ball.

Baseball game played in Pittsfield, Mass in 1791, probably cat game.

 “If pressed to create a date for baseball taking root in America, I’d have to say about 1735.”

Cooperstown not birthplace of baseball but it’s safe because, “by  now, it has a history of its own.”

When did baseball begin?

Some say when the foul territory rule was established and soaking outlawed.  Thorn says the key distinctive feat is using bases (or posts).

 

Chapter Four, The Cauldron of Baseball

Thorn says there are “three essential ingredients that facilitated the growth of the American local game to a national sport.”

Gambling, statistics, and publicity.

Chapter Five, War in Heaven

Thorn is now covering territory already covered by historians, but he’s adding gambling to the story as the essential ingredient for moving the game along.

In the late 1840s and early 1850s, baseball was played for exercise and fun, and not about winning.   It’s not yet a spectator sport.

1860s, professionalism begins and desire to win.   Gambling spurred baseball to more and more professionalism.  

1857-1858, rivalry between Brooklyn and Manhattan clubs born.  Clubs recruiting players.

Jim Creighton, born in Manhattan but growing up in Brooklyn (could be played by Ryan Gosling), emerges as first player to throw a curve, which was illegal at the time.   Thorn says he should be in the Hall of Fame.   He was the first baseball hero.   At a game in 1862, he swatted a ball for a home run, but in doing so, something ruptured inside.  He died a few days later, at the age of 21.     (Thorn has an excellent bio of Creighton at the SABR Bio site).

Chapter Six, A National Pastime

Professionalism continues.   Civic leaders wanted a great team to represent their cities and interests.  

1867, the Washington Nationals tour Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, winning all but one game.  This spread the popularity of baseball.   (Frank Ceresi wrote about this, but nice to see Thorn include it, which further verifies the point Ceresi makes about them being the first club to tour in a big way.  By the way, I think a Roadside Marker should be erected downtown to honor the Nationals.    They could put it at the train station where they received a hero’s welcome).

Thorn begins to talk about African-Americans who played the game.    In Washington, there was a club called The Mutuals, or Mutuals Baseball Club, all black who toured in August 1869.  They also played against the Washington Olympics, all white team in DC.  (I didn’t know about the Mutuals).

 

 

 

 

“Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage” Wins Juno Award

Congrats to filmmakers Sam Dunn and Scot McFayden.  "Rush:  Beyond the Lighted Stage" won the Juno for Best Music DVD of the Year.

One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when Geddy and Alex visit their junior high school.  It brings back memories from the summer of 2000 when my pal Derek and I took a RUSH trip to Toronto.  One of our stops along the way was Fisherville.   

By the way, I’m hoping to write a look back on that trip.   My original piece was available at my old website The Giants Journal, but that’s now just a one-lane bridge.    

 

Cherry Trees Looking Good

The peak for the cherry trees doesn’t begin until Tuesday, but as you can see, some of them are looking beautiful already.  I took these photos this morning, chilly but clear.

Hard to believe it’s going to snow tonight and early tomorrow, but I can see the front moving in.

Don’t panic, they’re saying it’s small amounts, should not harm the pedals, and should be gone in a few days. 

 

 

 

Hit Songs From Canada

Begin the day with a friendly voice

A companion unobtrusive

Plays that song that's so elusive

And the magic music makes your morning mood – RUSH, "The Spirit of Radio"

 

Bob Mersereau, a veteran music writer in Canada, has published a book on “The Top 100 Canadian Singles.” (hat tip Ed at Rushisaband - RUSH grabbed three spots, Tom Sawyer at #12, The Spirit of Radio at #25, and Closer to the Heart at #35).    

I haven’t read his book, or seen the complete list, but thinking about it kicked off a flood of memories about the Canadian bands I have enjoyed through the years.   

So here goes with my favorite songs from the Great White North.   And please note I’m selecting my favorite song, without regard to whether or not it was a hit single in the US.

Also, a warning.   My list is heavy in the 70s and 80s when I had time to listen to the radio and albums a lot more than now.   Apologies to fans of The Tragically Hip and the modern day Canadian bands, but this is a slice of life type thing.

I’ve also looked up each band’s highest ranking song in the US.

 

Steppenwolf, Born to be Wild

Highest Ranking Song on US Charts:  Born to be Wild (2)

There I was, an innocent 11-year-old kid, listening to bubble gum pop.   Then one day in 1967, this song comes on the air and forever corrupts me and a whole generation with lyrics like “heavy metal thunder” and sassy guitar riffs.     

 

The Guess Who, Undone

Highest Ranking Song on US Charts:  American Woman (1), No Sugar Tonight (1)

Ah, the days of AM radio, with its short reach and heavy rotations.   The Guess Who had a string of hits as the 60s gave way to a new decade, with American Woman, These Eyes and Share the Land.   I remember they were the first band that I liked who I knew were from Canada.   This is tough to pick a favorite but I always liked Undone.

 

Neil Young, Hey, Hey, My, My

Highest Ranking Song on US Charts:  Heart of Gold (1)

It’s the early 70s, and WCOG 1320 AM in Greensboro is playing the Top 40 hits like Neil Young’s Heart of Gold and Old Man.   And don’t forget Neil kept it going with, Hey, Hey, My, My and Like a Hurricane on FM AOR in the late 70s (WRDU in Raleigh/Durham).

Another tough choice, but I will go with Hey Hey, My, My.

 

Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Takin Care of Business

Highest Ranking Song on US Charts:  You Ain’t Seen Nothin Yet (1) 

I didn’t know it at first, but Randy Bachman was in The Guess Who.   He left the band and formed Bachman-Turner Overdrive.   I think the first BTO tune I heard was Welcome Home, on a Winston-Salem FM radio station in 1974.  They became my favorite group until RUSH came along. 

You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet hit number one, a big deal for any band, but I’m sure for Randy, CF, Tim and Blair, it was a great moment of validation.    BTO had a lot of great songs, hard to pick, but I will go with Taking Care of Business, which has sold more office supply goods than all those flyers in the mail.

 

Gordon Lightfoot, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Highest Ranking Song on US Charts:  Sundown (1)

I’m sitting at home, listening to WKZL, 107.5 (it just came to me, that’s the FM station in Winston-Salem I listened to).    Gordon Lightfoot, who had touched listeners with classics like Sundown and Carefree Highway, wrote The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a six-minute song about the sinking of a freighter in the Great Lakes.    I seriously doubt anyone thought such a song could become a hit, but the haunting strings and blow-by-blow lyrics make it a remarkable experience for the first time listener.  

 

Headpins, Don’t It Make You Feel Good

Highest Ranking Song on US Charts:  None

I didn’t know it at the time, but Headpins was a side project by Chiliwack members Ab Bryant and Brian MacLeod. Headpins was not the greatest name for a band but they rocked.   I remember Darby Mills’s great voice.   I bought Turn It Loud (1982) and Line of Fire (1983), some great songs.   I’ll go with Don’t It Make You Feel Good.

 

Chiliwack, Really Don’t Mind at All

Highest Ranking Song on US Charts:  My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone), (22)

I forget how I discovered this band, maybe flipping through albums at the Record Bar.   I bought both Wanna Be A Star (1981) and Opus X (1982), some great songs.   I’ll go with Really Don’t Mind at All.

 

Triumph, Fight the Good Fight

Highest Ranking Song on US Charts:  All the Way (2)

Ah, the inevitable comparisons with RUSH - both trios, and Rik Emmet’s high voice. 

Always liked Fight the Good Fight.

 

Saga, Humble Stance

Highest Ranking Song on US Charts:  On the Loose (3) Mainstream Tracks

Bands could gain new fans by releasing live albums, and I think this is the way I came to know about Saga.    I bought In Transit in 1982 and liked all the songs, especially Wind Him Up and On the Loose.   Don’t Be Late and Humble Stance too.  

No one song stands out, I’ll go with Humble Stance.

 

Coney Hatch, We Got the Night

Highest Ranking Song on US Charts:  None

Of all these Canadian bands I came to know not through the radio, these four guys from Toronto were my favorite.   Coney Hatch is one of the all time great names, and their eponymous first album has all good songs.  The 2.5 rating at All Music is way too low.    That or I am just nostalgia drunk.

 

Heart, Barracuda

Highest Ranking Song on US Charts:  These Dreams (1)

Ok, too much fan boy stuff.  Time to turn to the ladies that could rock.  And oh my, could Heart rock, with a slew of hits including Crazy on You, Magic Man, Dreamboat Annie, Barracuda, Little Queen, Kick it Out, Heartless, Straight On for You and Dog and Butterfly,

Tough to choose just one, but I always liked Barracuda, a staple on Classic Rock.

 

Red Rider, Lunatic Fringe

Highest Ranking Song on US Charts:  White Hot (48)

Giants fans would have killed me for leaving this one out.

This song gets some airplay on Classic Rock stations, and I remember it being a hit, but strangely, it only went as high as #68.  Weird.

 

RUSH, The Spirit of Radio

Highest Ranking Song on US Charts:  New World Man (21)

Do you realize how hard it is for me to pick just one from my favorite band?

I’ll go with The Spirit of Radio, their great anthem that lambasts the very people who controlled their (and our) fate.  If that isn’t rock and roll cool, I don’t know what is.

Well, that’s my favorite songs by Canadian bands.   Thank you Canada, you have given the world some great music.   

 

 

 

 

 

Stand With Japan

The Stand With Japan event is tonight.  I apologize for thinking it was next Thursday.

 

 

 

Stand With Japan

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is inviting people to join together for a Stand With Japan event next Thursday at 6:30 pm.   Participants will gather at the Sylvan Outdoor Theater, located at the corner of 15^th and Independence Avenue, which is about 400 yards SE of the Washington Monument.  From there, a walk will be held to the Tidal Basin.  

Long range weather forecast for Thursday is sunny and high of 56.