Everyone likes music, or perhaps "loves" is a better word? Varieties and tastes abound, but have you ever heard someone say, "I just don't like music?"
Neither have I.
It's nothing profound to say that I do indeed, love music. I am a music whore. If it's good, I listen to it; no matter the genre, no matter the artist or artists. Country? Yep. Rock 'n Roll? Yep. Rap...um, yep. Mozart? Oh hell yes! Some music I listen to for the shear enjoyment of it, while some I look at more along the lines of 'theme' music. Music that simply works well in a given location and/or event. For example, I love jazz when I am in a dark and smoky bar and the band is really jamming. However, if you record that same jam session, and play it back to me the next morning and it will lose all value. Road trips demand classic rock, with a heavy emphasis on Creedence Clearwater Revival, while a backyard bonfire requires some Johnny Cash. Select hip-hop works for more vigorous parties(Tone Loc, anyone?), but when sipping some wine in my favorite easy chair, reading The Brothers Karamazov, Mozart is just the thing.
Music is everything! A stand alone art and an enhancer to just about any activity. Music can say anything. It can be a beautiful and thoughtful love song, or an angry and violent screed. Jealous, humorous, forgiving, informative, uplifting or depressing, on rare occasions all of these at once.
So, one of my dream jobs (the other being, international trust fund playboy), is music coordinator for the Edward Jones Dome and thus St. Louis Rams home games.
Sadly, my experience with attending NFL games is limited to exactly one contest between the Seahawks and 49'ers back in 1997. That was in the old KingDome and between the beer, dodging falling ceiling tiles and the gal I was trying to impress at the time, I wasn't paying a lot of attention to how the music was used. The 49'ers won, by the way. So, using my vast powers of research, I have compiled some songs that I would use at Rams home games, mostly based on in game events and to enhance the experience, for the all important season ticket holders. *(See notes, below)
First, some pre game crowd warmers...
So, now the crowd is warmed up...no...PUMPED! The anticipation is palpable and the preliminaries are over, the team is about to take the field! They enter with this...
Now, Sam and Co. take the field...They get their own kick ass intro...
It suits the offense well, I think, although one has to wonder, with Brian Schottenheimer running things, is this a command or a plea?
And now, my personal favorite, the "D" intro song!
Some of you may remember this from the old "Headbangers Ball" on MTV. For you youngin's - yes, MTV did, in fact, play music back in the day. The one hour loop, is certainly not necessary, but it is the only version I can find that doesn't include 'Sgt. D' as well. I only wanted the 'March of the S.O.D.' part. Does it get any more intimidating? Perfection, in my book. Robert Quinn and pals take the field...Watch. The. Hell. Out.
Next up. Touchdown theme! This will get played a lot next year, right?
Oh yeah! That works! Tavon, Zac, Brian and Stedman can rock that in the endzone!
How about a big play on defense? For an interception, sack or turnover...
Ok, there was a generic version of this song on YouTube, but this one includes pictures of a really bad ass fighter plane. More to the point, Robert Quinn gets another sack...appropriate?
How about when the offense breaks loose with a big play? This! Oh yeah...
So, these are my selections. What songs would you use?
*NOTE- I am a product of the '80s and therefore have a rather natural inclination to the heavy metal. I attempted far more than you would think to mix it up a bit, but another thing I kept in mind whilst doing this is the season ticket holders. Filling the stadium is paramount for any successful team, and making sure that the ticket buyers - especially the season ticket holders - have a good time, is a high priority. I think my selections reflect that. After all, they are trying to sell a product and I am in the demographic that they are catering to. This does not at all mean that that every seat warmer is a middle-aged head banger, but the combination of personal preference, demography, event and musical 'presence' formed this list. Such is my rationale.
**NOTE Do realize, that with the possible exception of "March of the S.O.D." we would only be playing snippets of these songs, not the entirety of them. As example, when the team takes the field, only the intro to "For Whom the Bell Tolls" would be played... the slow build up, then...the onslaught!