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Welcome to the my Web site, v. XII. The blog is typically published Monday - Saturday. My primary topics tend to be the Nats, Penn State (esp. football), BeltwayLand, transportation, media, photos and more. The rest of the site gets updated as warranted and is noted on the blog.

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Earworms on Radio Lab - William World News - William F. Yurasko's blog

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Earworms on Radio Lab

The latest edition of Radio Lab, a public radio program from WNYC featured locally on WAMU at 6 p.m. on Saturday, focused on pop music. Of particular interest is the segment about earworms -- songs that get stuck in your head. I have not listened to it yet, but look forward to when I get a little downtime.

My current earworm is "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. I love the rhythm guitar.



Stupid video, but a great song.

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posted by WFY @ 12:11 PM | |

Nats: Which is more annoying? - William World News - William F. Yurasko's blog
Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Nats: Which is more annoying?

In the last week it has been a cause célèbre in the blogosphere and elsewhere to dump on the song "Nuts About the Nats", (courtesy of Eliot In the Morning) created by p.a. announcer emeritus Charlie Brotman. A few blogs, which I won't bother to link to because I'm busy and don't want to reward bad behavior, have really gone off on it. The song, which strikes me as bland and seemingly inoffensive, has been called a train wreck and abortion; some have said they'll boycott Nats games over it. They also a lot of f-bombs flying around to make the point. OMG. You. Guys. Are. So. Baaaaad. Do you wear baseball caps sideways and use only one backpack strap too?

Anyway, I may be a little biased because Brotman is such a good guy. I profiled him back in 2005 and during my interview with him, he told me about a song that he was coming up with over 50 years ago when he was trying to figure what the first AL team's official nickname should be; it had lyrics similar to the ones in "Nuts About the Nats." I also met Brotman at the press conference announcing the Lerner group as the new owners.

As for the song, I kind of want it to stay since I have to listen to "In Da Club," "Twilight Zone," "Don't Stop Believin'," "Livin' On a Prayer," "Bring 'em Out, Bring 'em Out" I figure others should have to deal with something they don't like.

The other annoying thing is the constant articles about attendance. The team averaged over 29,000 for the month of April. That isn't great, but given the miscalculation by the Nats on getting to the ballpark and ticket prices, it isn't bad. It is all going to work out and they will have a solid total overall.

So, which is more annoying to you, the whining about "Nuts About the Nats" or the whining about the attendance?

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posted by WFY @ 12:55 PM | |

Music Tuesday: Buddy Holly - William World News - William F. Yurasko's blog

Music Tuesday: Buddy Holly

Can you believe this song came out 14 years ago?



This song just reminds me of summertime, driving around with windows down. Weezer has done nerd-rock as well as anyone ever did. Now, find me my copy of Windows95 so I can install this on my hard-drive.

If you were hoping for the real Buddy Holly, here he is:



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posted by WFY @ 12:02 PM | |

Heh, if you want a copy of Win95, I have one at home. :)

# posted by Blogger Erica Yurasko : Tuesday, May 06, 2008 3:40:00 PM  

we are officially O-L-D.

BTW, did you text me re: the Derby? 202 number?

# posted by Anonymous tortcaesar : Tuesday, May 06, 2008 5:27:00 PM  

Nah, that was someone else -- I'm 703.

# posted by Blogger WFY : Tuesday, May 06, 2008 8:29:00 PM   Post a Comment

Music Tuesday: One Mint Julep - William World News - William F. Yurasko's blog
Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Music Tuesday: One Mint Julep

I went with the Ray Charles version.



The Kentucky Derby party is just a few days away.

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posted by WFY @ 12:02 PM | |

Music Tuesday: In the Meantime - William World News - William F. Yurasko's blog
Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Music Tuesday: In the Meantime

I thought Spacehog was going to be a band that lasted a really long time.



Unfortunately, this video cuts off the very end of song which sounds exactly like the beginning of "Roundabout" by Yes.

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posted by WFY @ 12:23 PM | |

Music Tuesday: Taxman - William World News - William F. Yurasko's blog
Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Music Tuesday: Taxman

What else would I play today?



We got our taxes done on Saturday. I have never been so happy to be a homeowner.

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posted by WFY @ 5:40 AM | |

Music Tuesday: Tighten Up - William World News - William F. Yurasko's blog
Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Music Tuesday: Tighten Up

By Archie Bell & Drells (Wikipedia) -- a really good parody version, possibly by Bell himself, was used to open the Don & Mike Show for a while.



Dedicated to Don Geronimo as he goes into retirement.

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posted by WFY @ 5:32 AM | |

Music Tuesday: Excitable Boy (live) - William World News - William F. Yurasko's blog
Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Music Tuesday: Excitable Boy (live)

Great, catchy song by the late Warren Zevon.



Enjoy every sandwich.

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posted by WFY @ 12:02 PM | |

Heartless - William World News - William F. Yurasko's blog
Friday, March 28, 2008

Heartless

Bustin' Loose' and 'Beautiful Day' Make Nats Play List - WTOP
"Heart" from the musical Damn Yankees came in fourth in fan voting for the 7th inning stretch song. Nats fans -- you have let me down.

At least "Bustin' Loose" will be the home run song.

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posted by WFY @ 12:00 PM | |

As long as there's no more Sweet Caroline. I can't stand that damn song . . .

# posted by Blogger Fritz : Friday, March 28, 2008 2:07:00 PM  

Post a Comment

Two for Music Tuesday: Sleepwalk - William World News - William F. Yurasko's blog
Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Two for Music Tuesday: Sleepwalk

After posting about the need for Danny Gatton music at Nationals games, I feel that this week's Music Tuesday should include something by him. I've gone ahead and included a video of his version of Sleepwalk.



It is quite a more intense approach than the Santo & Johnny original which I am including as well.



I used to always play this when I would eat at the 29 Tastee Diner in Fairfax after a long night of work at now-defunct Friendly's in Oakton. I know, foolish consistency, hobgoblins, etc. I don't think I could stomach the food there again, too much grease, but I really enjoyed it at the time.

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posted by WFY @ 12:02 PM | |

Danny Gatton needs to be played at Nats games - William World News - William F. Yurasko's blog
Monday, March 24, 2008

Danny Gatton needs to be played at Nats games

I am kind of embarrassed that it took me four seasons to think of this -- there needs to be some Danny Gatton songs played at Nationals games.

Gatton, a native Washingtonian, was a virtuoso guitarist who pioneered "redneck jazz" in D.C. clubs during the 1980s. Guitar magazine called him the "World's Greatest Unknown Guitarist." Sadly, he killed himself in 1994 for reasons that were never determined. His fame is probably greater in death than it was in life.

"Fingers on Fire" (heard in the background of this video) would be a great addition to middle inning contests, etc. I'm sure "Funky Mama" (below) could be worked in as well.



It is not too late to write-in Danny Gatton (while selecting Bustin' Loose and Heart for the home run and 7th inning stretch song, respectively) on the Nats You Make the Call form. The movement starts now!


More Danny Gatton:


  • Search results for Danny Gatton on youtube
  • Wikipedia entry

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    posted by WFY @ 12:02 PM | |

  • Nats: You Make the Call update - William World News - William F. Yurasko's blog
    Wednesday, March 19, 2008

    Nats: You Make the Call update

    The Nationals sent out an email with the preliminary results of the You Make the Call song choices update.

    Home Run Song Leaders
    1. Bustin Loose by Chuck Brown
    2. Song 2 (Woo Hoo) by Blur
    3. Off We Go (Air Force Theme) by Robert Crawford
    4. Because We Can by Fat Boy Slim
    5. Kernkraft 400 by Zombie Nation
    The right song is leading. I'm kind of surprised that Kernkraft 400 is so low.

    7th Inning Stretch Song Leaders
    1. Shout by Otis Day and The Knights
    2. Twist and Shout by The Beatles
    3. Build Me Up Buttercup by The Foundations
    4. You Gotta Have Heart by Damn Yankees The Musical
    5. September by Earth Wind and Fire
    6. The Gambler by Kenny Rogers
    7. YMCA by the Village People
    8. Rock Me Gently by Andy Kim
    Meh. Most of these are nonsensical and only Heart (the real name) makes sense.

    Victory Song Leaders
    1. Beautiful Day by U2
    2. Celebration by Kool And The Gang
    3. Dancing In The Streets by Martha Reeves and the Vandelas
    4. How Do You Like Me Now by Toby Keith
    5. Rock and Roll Part 2 by Gary Glitter
    Again, nothing special, but I'm glad Rock and Roll Part 2 is last. The song was overplayed a decade before Glitter was convicted of being a pederast. I think the "Throne Room" from Star Wars would work.

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    posted by WFY @ 6:09 PM | |

    As long as Sweet Caroline has been relegated to the trash heap, I'm happy.

    # posted by Blogger Fritz : Thursday, March 20, 2008 8:56:00 AM  

    We gotta get Heart back to the top!

    # posted by Anonymous Kristen : Thursday, March 20, 2008 11:23:00 AM  

    Post a Comment

    Music Tuesday: Life in Mono - William World News - William F. Yurasko's blog
    Tuesday, March 18, 2008

    Music Tuesday: Life in Mono

    I'm starting a new feature called Music Tuesday. Basically, I will post a YouTube video of a song I like and tell you about it.

    This week's entry is "Life in Mono" by Mono. It was their only hit, appearing in 1997's Great Expectations, a movie I never saw. The duo featured Siobhan de Maré, who sang, and Martin Virgo who did everything else. This is easy my favorite harpsichord song.



    Sadly, this feature will probably never be as good as Monkey Tuesday.

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    posted by WFY @ 5:42 PM | |

    BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH - William World News - William F. Yurasko's blog
    Saturday, March 15, 2008

    BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH



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    posted by WFY @ 7:45 AM | |

    Nats say they will let fans pick the songs - William World News - William F. Yurasko's blog
    Wednesday, March 12, 2008

    Nats say they will let fans pick the songs

    Staring at 9 a.m. tomorrow, on nationals.com, fans will be able to vote for the songs to be played during following a Nats Home Run, Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and at the end of victories. Some cliched suggestions are included, but not Sweet Caroline -- progress! I don't mind that song in general, but the Red Sox alreday use it. If they are going to rip-off someone else's idea, I'd go for Brass Bonzanza (old Hartford Whalers theme) after homers. However, there are a couple of selections that are quite appropriate for Washington's baseball team. These are so obviously right, they should just be included period.

    My suggestions:

    Following Take Me Out to the Ballgame - "Heart" from the musical Damn Yankees


    They can even shorten it up, just do something.

    After a home run - "Bustin' Loose" by D.C.'s own, the godfather of go-go, Chuck Brown (would work for 7th inning as well)


    I don't have much of an opinion on what should be played after a win.

    During pregame, commercial breaks, etc., Heart ought to be played on an organ. Some Duke Ellington ought to be included as well.

    Now aren't those better than the cliches we hear at every other sporting event? Do you part to keep us from an onslaught and crappy country music and hip hop and vote for Heart and Bustin' Loose.

    H/T: Nats320

    By the way, the contest is called "You Make the Call" which makes me think of the old IBM/NFL commercials which, tragically, are absent from YouTube. Oh well, we all know the answer: a touchback!

    Nats Pick Stadium Music - DC Sports Bog, washingtonpost.com

    RETCONNED FROM METROBLOGGING DC:

    Nats instant tradition contest


    We've got "Heart", so let’s play it at RFK


    Also, Barry Svrluga and Mark Zuckerman will be chatting at 1 p.m. on their respective newspaper Web sites.

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