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Name that tune, hockey fans!

a

AND THE HOCKEY SONG

». Jay Schreiber
& arts editor

ho here loves a good hockey
game? What’s better than
going down to the old skatin’

rink to see two teams duke it and put the
puck in the net? I'll tell ya, one of the
things that we toque-wearin’ , beaver-
lovin’, hockey fans don’t realize is that
part of the hockey game experience lies
in the music we hear during breaks in
the play. With the Olympic hockey face
offs right around the corner, here now

is a list of the best music to hear at a
hockey game.

 

¢ Kickstart My Heart — Motley Crue
This track is known best for its
chugging guitar riffs and ‘80s
“let’s get pumped for the sake of
pumping up” attitude. Usually
a good song for a team to skate
out onto the ice to, it’s hard for
fans to not go crazy when they
hear this.

° Fortuna — Carl Orff
One of the few pieces of
classical music you'll hear at a
hcckey game, this Carl Orff’s
famous piece from Carminas
Burana. Also associated with
drinking Rickard’s Red beer,
this orchestration usually comes
out at a pivotal point during the
game, like if home team’s down
a point and there’s two minutes
left in the third.

¢ Thunderstruck — AC/DC
Try going to any sports
game and you'll find that
“Thunderstruck” is a universal

 

  

crowd pleaser. A driving guitar
line and shots of “Thunder”

in the background gets people
cheering like morons.

The Hockey Song — Stompin’
Tom Connors

This is what it’s all about. This
track perfectly sums up the
hockey game experience and has
everybody in the stands clapping
along with it. If you ever need to
represent Canada in a drinking
competition, the first verse of
this tune can also double as our
national drinking song.

I’ve Got The Power — Snap
Nothing sends hockey fans off
their rocker more than old school
hip hop from the 1980s. Mixed
with a TR-808 drum machine
and the feeling of “having the
power,” this one is a good tune
to play after scoring a goal.
Baby Elephant Walk — Henry
Mancini

It’s deep into the second period,
nobody has scored since the

first 20 minutes of the game

and the crowd is anxious for a
goal—what do you play? “Baby
Elephant Walk” is one of those
tracks that sounds best coming
from the house organist and
usually either makes you chuckle
at its corny melody or frustrate
you with lack of seriousness.

O Canada — Calixa Lavallée
The game can’t start until
everyone in the stadium stands
to salute our nation. I’m sure that
everyone in the world will be
familiar with this ever-so sing-
able melody come the men’s
Olympic gold medal game.

 

 

 

Jeff Bridges and great music make Crazy Heart a treat

 

Bd

Jeff Bridges

By Karin Keefe

of 2010? I have a feeling I won’t see

a better movie this year than Crazy
Heart, but I must admit up front to being a
country music fan.

Jeff Bridges delivers a memorable
performance, winning a golden globe as
57-year-old country singer Bad Blake.
The movie starts with Blake driving to his
latest gig in a dusty New Mexico town.
He pulls up in his beat-up El Dorado, gets
out, zips up his pants and takes a plastic
milk bottle filled with yellow liquid from
the front seat and empties it onto the dusty
ground. He looks around and realizes
his manager has booked him a gig at a
“fucking bowling alley.”

Blake balances his world-weariness
with wit and charm that come through
even when he’s at his lowest point. Believe
me; he sinks pretty low, like when he has
to take a break during a song to puke ina
garbage can in the alley.

Blake is so broke he is forced to trade

on his name in the local liquor store

to get a bottle of whiskey for the price

of dedicating one of his songs to the
shopkeeper’s wife. He plays to small
crowds at bowling alleys and bars,
sleeping with women who have also seen
better days, until he meets Jean Craddock
(Maggie Gyllenhaal), a journalist who
interviews him for the local paper. Jean is
a good-hearted woman who falls in love
with Blake and makes him realize he wants

|: it too early to have a favourite movie

another kick at the can. Does this sound
familiar? It should, as it is the subject of
many movies and country songs. But the
beauty here is that this movie manages to
rise above cliché, due to the understated
performances by Bridges and Gyllenhaal,
and the great screenplay written by Scott
Cooper, who also directed the film. There
are some very funny lines that in the
hands of a less talented actor might have
come off as cheesy. Such as when Blake
introduces himself to Jean: “I’m Bad
Blake. My tombstone will have my real
name on it. Until then I’m just gonna stay
Bad.”

Crazy Heart also features Colin
Farrell as a “new country” star who got
his start as Bad Blake’s protégé. Farrell
and Bridges do their own singing, and pull
off the vocals very well. Robert Duvall,
as well as producing this movie, makes a
small appearance as the mentor and old
friend of Blake.

Music is a big part of the success
of this movie. The soundtrack was
produced by T-Bone Burnett, who was also
responsible for producing the soundtracks
for O Brother, Where Art Thou? and
Walk the Line. Burnett and Texas singer-
songwriter Ryan Bingham wrote the theme
song “The Weary Kind,” which has won a
few awards, including a Golden Globe for
Best Original Song.

Crazy Heart is about redemption and
second chances; as the song says “Pick up
your crazy heart and give it one more try.”