Monsoon Martin's Forecast Update / National Anthem Critique
Really: John Oates is the best they could muster to sing the National Anthem at last night's Phillies World Series game???
A few things came to mind when I saw him belting out that swelling paean to militarism:
- What--Daryl Hall wasn't available? He's the better-known of the two, and judging from Oates's missed high notes, the better singer.
- There is a bagger at my neighborhood grocery store who looks like John Oates (at least, to me she does) and every time I see her, I hear the snippet in my head: "I can't go for that, no, noooooo..."
- The National Anthems at the three Phillies home games were sung by Taylor Swift, Patti Labelle, and John Oates. I'll give you Patti, who is a Philly institution, despite her screeching, vocal gymnastics-filled rendition on Sunday night. But surely there were singers with Philly ties who would have been far better choices than Wyomissing's mewling country star Swift and the lesser half of Hall & Oates...
Tim McGraw. I hate his music, and he's from Louisiana, not Philadelphia. But at least he's got a legitimate tie to Philly: he's the son of late Phillies relief pitcher and World Series champion Tug McGraw.
Al Alberts. Of the Four Aces, and "Al Alberts Showcase" on channel six when I was growing up. "Try a Little Love"?! Would have been freaking classic. He could have even had dolled-up little kids telling lame jokes afterward.
Frankie Avalon, Philly-born teen idol.
Boyz II Men. Come on! I can hear the old-school harmonies now.
Fabian. Speaking of teen idols...
G. Love and Special Sauce. Could have injected a little blue-eyed funk into the proceedings...
The Delfonics. "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)" - great Philly soul. Or The Stylistics ("I'm Stone in Love With You"). Anything with a connection to songwriting greats Gamble & Huff.
Will Smith. Could have done a rap duet with Philly-born Eve. Would have been off the hazizza.
The Roots, with Jill Scott. These Philly-born and bred hip hop and neo-soul greats would have done an unforgettable and subversive version of the National Anthem.
McFadden and Whitehead, who wrote "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now," which was the unofficial anthem of the Phillies' 1980 championship run. Oh, shit, they are no longer alive.
Just a thought...I wonder if they'll have a fourth National Anthem and team introductions for tonight's (or tomorrow night's) continuation of the suspended Game 5? If so, the Phillies would do well to take some of the suggestions above...
A forecast update for the next several days:
Today: Expect rainy, windy (with strong gusts), chilly conditions with highs only getting into the low 40s at most. Rainfall will be fairly steady but will not generally be heavy in our area.
Tonight: As temperatures dip into the low 30s this evening and overnight, we could see some wet snow mixing in with the rain. Persistent wind, leaves on the ground, and some periods of wet snow could reduce visibility and make the roads slippery in spots. Might be a nice night to hang out at home. Still pretty windy with a low of 31. No appreciable snowfall accumulation, except perhaps in areas like Allentown, northern Berks, and points north.
Phillies game: There's a churning system that's just taking its sweet time getting up and out of our area, so my feeling is doubtful that the Phillies game will be played tonight.
Tomorrow: Continued windy and chilly with a rain shower here and there. A snow shower or two early cannot be ruled out. Clearing and very cold late. High 43, low 29.
Thursday: Sunny and seasonably milder with diminishing winds. High 52, low 33.
Friday: Sunny and warmer still. High 59, low 35.
The weekend: Plenty of sunshine and seasonable with Saturday's high in the upper 50s and Sunday's high in the mid 50s. Lows both nights will dip into the mid 30s.
Next week: partly cloudy and autumnally ordinary for most of the week. Look for highs in the upper 50s to near 60; lows in the upper 30s to low 40s.
Beyond: Rainy, then cooler.
Go Phillies!
First of all, thanks to Steph for the tip: actually, Hall and Oates had been scheduled to perform the Anthem prior to Game 5, but since Hall fell ill, all we got was Oates. Also, after I uploaded the post, I checked the news on Google and saw that Major League Baseball had just announced that Game 5 will not be resumed tonight. Look for the conclusion of the game--and Philadelphia's first major sports championship in 25 years--on Wednesday evening. Maybe Hall will be recovered by then and can sing the harmony vocal for the Anthem, thus completing the rare Oates, then Hall H&O performance.
Monsoon
A final addendum: man did I hear from some Pink fans about excluding her from the list!
Alecia "Pink" Moore grew up in Doylestown--and in a Monsoon connection, sat behind Weatherlister Steph Luckey's friend in homeroom at CB West! She is best-known for the hit song "Get the Party Started," but my favorite Pink song has got to be "U + Ur Hand" from her latest release, an empowerment anthem whose speaker is tired of getting "hit on" in bars by sketchy men and assures all comers that, sorry, but "it's just you and your hand tonight." Harsh, but deliciously postfeminist!
Monsoon