Chris Coghlan needs your help. He has to pick his at-bat music, and he’s asking fans for suggestions.
I’ve spent countless hours considering what my closer music would be, but at-bat music is a different beast. As Coghlan points out, you’ve only got 7-10 seconds, so you want something instantly identifiable as your own. That’s part of what makes Daniel Murphy’s selection of the Dropkick Murphy’s “I’m Shipping Up To Boston” so awesome. You know from the first notes that Murph is approaching the plate.
With closer music, I’d go for something non-traditional, but there’s no time for mind game with at-bat songs, methinks. I don’t know. I’ll have to consider that more.
Also, I’ve got to figure club PA operators are flexible enough that they could play any 10-second snippet of a song, but for the sake of this post, I’m assuming it’s got to be the intro. To be honest, I haven’t thought this entirely through as it is, and the realm of possibilities opened up by that type of flexibility just makes the choice too difficult.
Oh, and obviously it’s got to be an instrumental segment. I don’t think that’s necessarily a rule per se, but you don’t want lyrics in there, muddling up your walk to the plate.
Anyway, this isn’t a conclusive list or anything, but from a quick turn though my iPod, here are a few I might pick.
Rage Against the Machine — Know Your Enemy
This is nowhere close to my favorite Rage song, but that guitar intro is as cool as any they’ve got. Excellent use of the toggle switch.
This seems like such an obvious choice that it’s a near certainty some Major Leaguer is already using it. I just figured I’d throw it in here as a nod to Tom Morello, a Cubs fan with a pretty awesome Twitter account.
Cake — Love You Madly
The hi-hat riff at the top here is a little long, but using this song would go a long way toward accomplishing my secondary agenda of ensuring that vibraslap echoed throughout a Major League stadium. (That’s the beyoyoyoyoing noise, like the sound Bevis always imitated.)
I feel like the guitar hits here are heavy enough to let the pitcher know you’ve got some power, the song is funky enough to show the world you’re a down guy, and the tone of it is relaxed enough to let the fans know you’re not going to beat yourself up if the at-bat doesn’t go your way. And it makes that all clear in the first few seconds, making this a pretty excellent choice for a walk-up song.
Morphine — Yes
Unfortunately, this song does not seem to exist on the Internet in any sort of form that makes it easy for me to play for you. It’s here on last.fm, but you’ll only here a 30 second snippet from the middle, and not the slinky, awesome, bari-sax driven intro.
It’d be a sweet choice for an achingly cool, slick hitter like Carlos Beltran when he struts up to the plate. I couldn’t pull this song off.
Tedquarters 
Mine would be “Wake Up” by Rage Against The Machine
I loved it when Eric Byrnes was using “lose your love tonight” by the outfield as a joke because it was so lame. I never liked him and his false hustle until I read that, then I thought he was hilarious.
But the best at bat music ever was Cliff Floyd coming up to the plate at Shea to the theme song from Sanford and Son.
http://www.grooveshark.com
its in there.
Sweet; this is a new site to me. It looks reasonably awesome.
“Half a Canyon” by Pavement. I always thought the first notes of this song would make for a pretty distinctive walk to the plate:
That’s an inspired choice. You’ve have to walk up real slow, all cool-like. Badass, I think.
I would go out of my way to pick a song out of the ordinary, something that nobody could get pumped up to. Something like Michelle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKvee-w0uBc&feature=related) or Across the Universe (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj-4t9drUlM) from the Beatles or like Tangerine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-AbHItLrJw) from Zeppelin. Great songs, but not something people are listening to to get their adrenaline flowing.
Now the other option would be to go with something that’s awesome and classical. I always thought Schubert’s Erlkonig (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOiMVPSzr7E) would be something that would freak out a pitcher in a big spot. Or I’d go with the 1800 equivalent to the badass guitar riff, Beethoven’s string quartet no 4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E3OUvvD7dU). Yes, I’m weird like that
I guess along the more traditional lines, Hendrix’s “Fire” is perfect (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U88KuWxayLg), I also think Hey, Hey, My, My is pretty awesome (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXN5jtFZEt4). Finally, one of my favorites beats ever is from Duel of the Iron Mic. The only problem there is the long intro, but if you take it from 40 seconds in, you get the most menacing piano loop ever (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEkcIOlF25Y).
That was longer than it needed to be I’m sure. Sorry
See, you’re thinking along the lines I would with my closer music, linked above. I definitely think string-quartet would be a badass way to play it for both, though, for like a Hannibal Lecter approach. I’m going to do this real classy.
Duel of the Iron Mic is a good call. I went through a bunch of Wu and Wu-related stuff trying to come up with a good ominous sample that would make for a good choice, but like you said, the lengthy intros make it tough. Although there’s something to be said for walking up to the plate with various members of the Wu-Tang Clan describing their preferred torture methods. I was going to suggest “Legend of the Liquid Swords,” because it’s got that Kung Fu keyboard thing at the beginning, but I can’t find the right version online plus the GZA comes as soon as the beat does.
So, basically, you’re Homer Simpson coming out to fight Drederick Tatum to the sounds of “Why Can’t We Be Friends?”
That would be awesome.
There was a boxer nicknamed the Danish Pastry who actually came out to Monty Python’s Always Look at the Bright Side of Life. He fought Tyson in one of Tyson’s first fights after he got out, I believe: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Nielsen_%28boxer%29
Rage + Maynard from TOOL = one of the best songs ever. Maynards screaming “PAAAAYYYYYY” is insane and I have seen him do it live just as well (same with his 23 second scream at the end of The Grudge).
Ted — How could having the GZA be a bad thing? I’d come out to liquid swords when he says, “i be the body dropper the heartbeat stopper, child educator plus head amputator.”
Or for baseball reference:
How the sound B youre better off a quitter, Im on the mound g and its a no hitter.
And my dj the catcher hes my man, in a way hes the one who devised the plan.
He throws the signs I hook up the beats with clout
I throw the rhymes to the mic and I strike em out
I love live music. Going to gigs and concerts is the best way to experience music. Live and Loud thats what I say..