Foo Fighters |
 |
|
Thu. October 26.2000 2:32 PM EDT |
||
From AC/DC To Zeppelin: The Sounds Of The Subway SeriesA lineup card of the Mets' and Yankees' favorite game tunes. by Dylan Stableford |
||||
|
||||
 |
Mets pitcher Al Leiter: Strictly a Boss fan. Photo courtesy Major League Baseball and the New York Mets ( ) |
|
||
New York — The World Series has divided New York, pitting the proud Yankees against the underdog Mets. It's arguably the most heated rivalry in sports, and stadium security and police presence on the #4 and #7 trains during the
Want more dirt to help fan the flames? Then turn to the classic, the quirky and the occasionally eclectic musical tastes of the players themselves. The Mets' Picks Take Mike Piazza, for example. The Mets catcher and MVP candidate's current playlist reads like compass etchings on a 1984 high school textbook: Mötley Crüe's "Too Young To Fall in Love," AC/DC's "Jailbreak" (RealAudio excerpt), Ozzy Osbourne's "Over the Mountain" and Led Zeppelin's "The Rover." Mets right fielder Timo Perez and second baseman Edgardo Alfonzo prefer Latin music for the walk from the on-deck circle to the batter's box. "They're always giving me these CDRs with merengue and salsa on them to play," Mets audio/video producer Vito Vitello said. "I have no idea who is on there; the Gipsy Kings, maybe. But the crowd really likes it." First baseman Todd Zeile's at-bat selections have the Dazz Band's disco smash "Let It Whip" book-ended by hard-rock tracks from Creed and Metallica. Third baseman Robin Ventura, who brought a group of Mets to a Foo Fighters/Red Hot Chili Peppers show in Holmdel, N.J., this summer, prefers slightly mellower fare, with Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" among his picks. Game 5 starter Al Leiter is strictly a Boss fan, opting for Bruce Springsteen's "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" (RealAudio excerpt) during his warm-up routine at Shea Stadium. Journeyman pitcher Bobby J. Jones, who capped a comeback from a demotion to the minor leagues by tossing a one-hit shutout to clinch the Divisional Series, loosens up, fittingly, to Hank Williams Jr.'s "A Country Boy Can Survive." And what bullpen would be complete without reliever Turk Wendell's pick of the Troggs' 1960s smash "Wild Thing," a song repopularized by Charlie Sheen's out-of-control closer in the 1989 film "Major League"? Inside the Mets clubhouse, however, there is only one DJ — veteran relief pitcher and Brooklyn native John Franco. "He definitely runs the show, but he keeps everybody happy and everybody loose," Vitello said of Franco's song selections. "Thanks to Chef Disco," Daily News columnist Mark Kreigel wrote of Franco last week, "walking into the Mets clubhouse after a win is like going to the Fun House [discotheque], circa 1978." But Franco himself makes his trot from the bullpen to the sounds of the Ad Libs' '60s single "The Boy From New York City." What The Yanks Crank As for the Bronx Bombers, Yankees first baseman Tino Martinez takes a cue from Piazza in his selections of early '80s hard rock, picking the AC/DC classics "You Shook Me All Night Long" and "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap," interspersed with Van Halen cuts, including "Dreams." Outfielder David Justice is loyal to the 1982 Grandmaster Flash & Furious 5 hit "The Message" (RealAudio excerpt), while third baseman Scott Brosius prefers "Take Me to Your Leader" by Christian rockers the Newsboys. But heartthrob shortstop Derek Jeter is the most meticulous of all Yankees when it comes to choosing songs for his at-bats, according to Yankees audio producer Chris Morrissey. "Jeter changes them every other game," Morrissey said. "He gets these samplers that record companies send him all the time." Among the five songs in Jeter's current arsenal, Black Rob's "Whoa" and Destiny's Child's "Jumpin', Jumpin' " get top billing. The selection of Eminem's "The Way I Am" by second baseman Chuck Knoblauch, relegated to designated hitting duty for his shaky defensive play, is perhaps the most telling choice of songs in the Yankees lineup. The "Rocket" Roger Clemens takes the mound to Elton John's "Rocket Man," but following an incident in Game 5 that saw the "Rocket" sling a sharpened piece of Piazza's bat toward him, Mets fans may be wondering if the Ramones' "Heidi Is A Headcase" might be the more appropriate choice. Closer Mariano Rivera's entrance from the bullpen has always been synched with Metallica's "Enter Sandman" (RealAudio excerpt), but according to Morrissey, it was the Yankees' hierarchy that swayed the vote. "[The management] wanted a big entrance in the ninth inning," Morrissey said, "and [Rivera] is a gentle guy, a Christian, so it might seem he's sending mixed messages." Rating These Rock Clubs So now the question becomes, which New York team rocks more? Despite Piazza's fondness for Mötley Crüe, the band's bassist, Nikki Sixx, favors the Yanks. "Mike Piazza always flirts with my wife," Sixx wrote in an e-mail. "He thinks [playing our music] will keep me from coming to New York and whooping some Mets ass, and maybe he's right." Others were indifferent. "We never really saw baseball as rock 'n' roll," Foo Fighters' frontman Dave Grohl wrote in an e-mail. "In fact, most people who started playing music as kids did so because they didn't like playing baseball." Both franchises have had bona fide brushes with popular music. During their World Series Championship run in 1986, the Mets not only led a well-publicized rock 'n' roll lifestyle, but they also produced a music video for "Let's Go Mets" that landed on MTV's top 10. In its heyday, Shea Stadium hosted a number of notable rock concerts, including a famous Beatles performance in 1965. And during spring training in Florida earlier this season, the Mets gave country superstar Garth Brooks a monthlong tryout. The House That Ruth Built is no stranger to rock stars, either. The Bronx-born, Long Island-raised Billy Joel played Yankee Stadium on back-to-back dates in 1990. "Shea is clearly the more rock 'n' roll of the two stadiums," guitarist Frank Simms, a 29-year-old Mets fan from Queens, said. "The Beatles played there. Grand Funk [Railroad] played there. In the '80s they had the Who, the Clash and the Police." For Simms, though, it all comes down to one simple truism: "America always loves an underdog. New York always loves an underdog. Rock 'n' roll is music for the underdog. You can't get more underdog than the Mets." New York Mets: RF Timo Perez: salsa, merengue 2B Edgardo Alphonzo: salsa, merengue C Mike Piazza: "Too Young To Fall In Love," Mötley Crüe; "Jailbait," AC/DC; "Over The Mountain," Ozzy Osborne; "The Rover," Led Zeppelin 3B Robin Ventura: "End of the Line," Traveling Wilburys; "Like A Rolling Stone," Bob Dylan; "Are You Gonna Go My Way," Lenny Kravitz; "Learning To Fly," Foo Fighters 1B Todd Zeile: "Higher" Creed; "Let It Whip," Dazz Band; "Wherever I May Roam," Metallica; "What If," Creed CF Jay Payton: "Party Up" DMX LF Benny Agbayani: "Try Again," Aaliyah (RealAudio excerpt) SS Mike Bordick: "Unchained," Van Halen OF Derek Bell: "Big Pimpin'" P Al Leiter: "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out," Bruce Springsteen P John Franco: "The Boy From New York City," The Ad Libs P Turk Wendell: "Wild Thing" The Troggs P Mike Hampton: anything by Tim McGraw P Rick Reed: "Ready To Go" Republica P Bobby J. Jones: "A Country Boy Can Survive" Hank Williams, Jr. P Armando Benitez: "Who Let The Dogs Out," Baha Men (RealAudio excerpt) Mets victory song: "Who Let The Dogs Out" Baha Men New York Yankees: DH Chuck Knoblauch: "The Way I Am," Eminem (RealAudio excerpt) SS Derek Jeter: "Whoa," Black Rob; "Jumpin, Jumpin," Destiny's Child LF David Justice: "The Message," Grandmaster Flash & Furious 5 CF Bernie Williams: "1999," Prince; "Everybody Everybody," Black Box; "Come Baby Come," K7 RF Paul O'Neill: "Crumblin' Down," John Cougar Mellencamp; "10 Avenue Freeze-Out" Bruce Springsteen, "Baba O' Reilly," The Who, "Spirit In The Sky," Norman Greenbaum C Jorge Posada: "Oye Come Va," Santana 3B Scott Brosius: "Take Me To Your Leader," The Newsboys OF Glenallen Hill: "Zombie Nation," Kernkraft 400 1B Tino Martinez: "You Shook Me All Night Long," ACDC; "Dreams," Van Halen; "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap," ACDC P David Cone: "Woke Up This Morning," the Alabama 3 (RealAudio excerpt) P Denny Neagle: "Crazy Train," Ozzy Osbourne (RealAudio excerpt) P Roger Clemens: "Rocket Man," Elton John P Mariano Rivera: "Enter Sandman," Metallica (RealAudio excerpt) P Jeff Nelson: "Chatahoochie," Alan Jackson; "Fantasy," Aldo Nova P Jason Grimsley: "Higher," Creed Yanks victory song: "New York, New York," Frank Sinatra |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  |
 |
Mac Miller, Foo Fighters, A$AP Rocky Set To Rock Bamboozle |
|
Dave Grohl Shares His 'Best-Kept Secret' In 'Sound City' |
|
Foo Fighters, Mumford & Sons On Upset Alert In Musical March Madness |
|
The Muppets Back Foo Fighters, Nickelback In Musical March Madness |
 |
 |
 |
|
Receive Free Music News Daily Via Email |
|
Receive Free Artist Updates Via Email for Foo Fighters |
|
All news for Foo Fighters |
|
Breaking Music News |
 |
Add VH1 News to My Yahoo |
|
