You're listening to FM 91.1, serving southeastern Idaho's public radio needs for over five years.
This is KISU Pocatello.
The clock has started. Here's the theme.
Hello there, I'm Peter Schickele.
And this is Schickele Mix, a program dedicated to the proposition that all musics are created equal.
Or as Duke Ellington put it, if it sounds good, it is good.
And speaking of good, our bills are paid by the good sports at this radio station,
and the program is distributed to the various franchises by PRI, Public Radio International.
Hey, basketball. I love basketball.
That's true. No, I've been to a basketball game.
I mean a pro basketball game. My daughter took me a few years ago.
And I've been to a baseball game and a football game.
In fact, I think I've been to two football games in my life.
I'm still talking pro here.
I'm not talking about when I played bassoon in the Fargo Central High marching band at halftime.
And actually, you know, I never went out for teams or anything,
but I played a lot of vacant lot softball when I was a kid.
And even as a teenager, when I was practicing piano and bassoon every day,
I often found time to go out and join a punishing game of touch football.
But listen, a lot of musicians are real jocks, either as fans or even players.
I don't know if it's still true, but there used to be very serious softball
at the Aspen Music Festival in school in the summer.
There was sort of an unspoken rule that a pitcher, for instance,
might not try to snag a sizzling line drive that whistled by him.
And he wouldn't worry about it since all his teammates knew that you need all 10 fingers
to play the Brahms piano concertos.
When I first met Itzhak Perlman, all he talked about was basketball.
And I was at a Juilliard alumni dinner once.
I was at a table with the president, Joseph Polisi and his wife,
and some of the others. It was a long time ago.
But Itzhak Perlman and a famous metropolitan opera baritone,
and I don't remember who else.
Anyway, at one point, Mrs. Polisi and I just sort of looked at each other.
We were the only people there who couldn't talk sports.
I mean, the rest of them weren't just saying, hey, how about those Mets?
They were talking about, hey, they're crazy. They're trading pitchers.
They can't do that. They don't have the depth.
The singer said he'd just gotten off the phone with Dave Winfield,
and believe me, he's just as upset about his injury as everybody else.
Anyway, welcome to the show.
Grab a six-pack, take off your shirt or your blouse,
and hunker down for an hour of jocular banter.
A little play on words there, jocular. Get it?
Okay, everybody, it's a call-in show today.
If you want to shoot your mouth off about something, let's hear from you.
Give us a call at 1-900-273-9754.
That's 1-900-Brewski, and we'll put up with you for a few seconds at least.
But before I take any calls, you know,
I listen to a lot of stuff to prepare these shows,
and every once in a while I hear something that, well, that makes me say,
whoa, wait a minute here, Peter.
You're in the presence of something special.
I heard a song a few days ago, a song of such moving profundity
that it made me realize that not only is life a game,
that's not a new thought, everybody says that,
but that also a game is life.
You know what I mean?
And I think that when we forget that, we tend to lose sight of
just exactly what it is that it is.
Life, I mean, and games, too, both of them, what they are.
It's sort of a Zen thing, really.
I'm standing alone on the tee
Wondering how this shot will be
I think how I've played
Shots that I've made
Some were okay
Some went astray, who knows why
But as I set up and prepare
Suddenly I become aware
That possibly my next shot could be
Truly magnificent
A feeling begins to take hold
It's not really new, it's not really old
It just feels good to think that I could
Possibly do something that's beautiful
I take a deep breath and I sigh
My shoulders are broad, my head is high
The feeling is real
And it feels truly magnificent
Magnificent
The feeling won't let go
You know it's what I've always longed to be
Magnificent
Doesn't matter if I try and fail a hundred times
My next time could be
Maybe that's it, that's the game
The game that I really want to play
It's not near the pin where I win
I realize now it's really the courage to allow
For what I might do
In everything my whole life through
And it seems to me
That would be
Truly magnificent
Magnificent
Sung by either Beth Reynolds, Jeanette Sartain, or Connie Marshall
I can't tell which
On an album called Extraordinary Golf
Songs of a Wonderful Game
By Pete and Fred Shoemaker
Definitely a hole-in-one
Okay, let's take a call
Now as you regular listeners know
I'm usually here all by myself
But a call-in show sort of needs a producer
To, you know, screen the calls and everything
So Mrs. Mudridge, the receptionist here at the station
Is helping me out today
So who's on deck?
Mrs. Mudridge, can you hold
Can you just slam the card down a little?
The light's glaring on it
Okay, we've got Fred on line one
Hi Fred, you're on the air
Uh, yeah, you know, it's really true
Golf really is like the game of life
How's that?
Well, like the cup is your goal, you know
What you want to achieve in life
And the stroke, see, your swing
Is how you're going to achieve it
Achieve your goal
So who's your favorite golfer, Fred?
Well, I'd have to say Tiger Woods
Okay, why Tiger Woods?
Well, it's really because of his name
Hey, he's a good player
But there are a lot of great golfers out there
Yeah, yeah, but see, I've always loved Tigers
Because Corn Flakes is my favorite breakfast cereal
Corn Flakes
And, you know, Tony the Tiger
They're great!
Okay
And then Woods, I mean, how neat is that?
Having a last name that's, you know
One of the, like, tools of your trade
I never thought of that
It's like if you had a tennis player named Rick Rackets
Or a bowler named Lucille Ball
I get it
Or, hey, if Dennis Rodman was a fisherman
Okay, Fred
Oh, okay, speaking of basketball, here's a good one
What if Larry had an aristocratic brother
Who was a duck hunter
And his name was Flip Da Bird?
Now, that would be good
Okay, thanks, Fred
I think it's time for some more music here
Although, actually, I don't know of an awful lot of music about golf
But I do have a couple of things here
The second one's a song
But the first number in this little sweetlet
Is a solo piano piece
No words
The reason we know it's about golf
Is because it's called Golf
And it's accompanied by a little programmatic note here
The colonel is dressed in scotch tweed of a violent green
He will be victorious
His caddy carries the bags
The clouds are threatening
The holes are all trembling
The colonel is there
He's going to make his shot
His club bursts into cheers
And let me just add that this first piece was written years before Tea for Two
Just had a lesson and I'm really psyched
This game is easy if you do it right
I got the perfect tips on how to hit the ball
Now all I have to do is remember them all
Imagine you're inside a great big wheel
Play the ball off of your front heel
Place your feet about a shoulder's width apart
Put your knees and arch your back before you start
Lean your weight towards the balls of your feet
Pretend that you're about to take a knee
Make sure your grip is not too tight
With the bottom of the feet just slightly to the right
That sure was easy, now I'm on my way
I feel a little awkward, hey, but that's okay
I got my stance and I remembered everything
And now I'm ready for a real smooth swing
Take the club back, low and smart
Don't break your wrists until they have to go
Rotate your weight and slightly bend your knees
Don't drop your club by more than 90 degrees
Lean with your hips on your way down
Tuck in your elbow, take it inside out
Release your wrists and bring your weight up too
Don't lose your balance on the follow through
Sway your shoulders to the line of flight
I must have been lined up too far to the right
Draw an arrow from the ball to look in
Or maybe I was lined up left and coming outside in
I've got the secret to this game at last
I'm gonna turn my scores around real fast
If I think of everything I really hit it great
So all I have to do is concentrate
Relight your elbow when you make the turn
Make sure your weight shift is your main concern
Don't regret when you're at the top
Before your downswing have a half-second stop
Keep your head down as you begin
Rotate your shoulder, tuck it under your chin
Make sure your swing plane is low and flat
Hit the ball first, take the divot after that
Keep your left arm straight going back
One more little detail and I'll get back on the track
Tuck in your elbow as you come through
I can feel it coming cause I know what to do
I've got directions from the tee to the cup
I'm gonna make it, I'm not giving up
Winners never quit and quitters never win
So I'll be here tomorrow, now I'm walking on in
Put your left foot in front of your right
Flex your leg, don't keep your knee too tight
Swing your arm out with the opposite leg
Don't lean forward any more than you should
Push your leg off and bring it through
Place your heel just in front of you
Shift your weight over through your hip
Watch where you're going so that you don't slip
Put your left foot in front of your right
Flex your leg, don't keep your knee too tight
Swing your arm out with the opposite leg
This is an R at the end of mine, which is Peter
As in Peter Schickele, the host of Schickele Mix
From PRI, Public Radio International
Schickele Mix Sports Radio!
Alright, we're talking and we're talking sports
And you know, these days when the salaries
that players make are as much a part of the news
as the games they play, I'd just like to
tell you a nice little story about
Sport et Divertissement
that we just heard part of
It was written in 1914
and according to a note by Edward Cole here
this set of 21 pieces were composed
it seems to me that should be this set of 21 pieces
was composed, but anyway
composed to serve as a musical counterpart
to a set of drawings by Charles Martin
and I've seen that book by the way, it's really beautiful
big oblong book, with the drawings as I remember
on the left, and each piece by Satie
none of them longer than one page on the right
and I remember that the music had more than one color ink
maybe red and black. Anyway, here's the part of the story I like
Stravinsky originally had been requested to write the music
but his fee was too high
Satie was suggested as an alternate for the task
and the publishers set the fee beforehand
and it was much lower than Stravinsky's
Satie replied that he felt it was enormous, far too much for the job
and several weeks of negotiations followed
until the publishers lowered to a figure he found acceptable
That's a great story
but I would like to point out
just in case you're thinking of using it
as an idealistic commentary
on the relationship between commerce and art
I want to point out that most people, myself included
consider Stravinsky by far the greater of the two composers
so maybe you do get what you pay for
although it's a terrific piece
but anyway, listen, let's take another call
We've got Bernard on the line
Are you there Bernard?
OK Bernard, what's on your mind?
You see, you have just now told about Eric Satie
that was very informative
because you see, Stravinsky was not French
he was Russian
Satie, he was French
and the French, they do not care about money
they never think about it
unlike, by the way, you Americans who think about nothing else
you think about money all the time
they never think about money, money, money
Well, you know, Bernard
You know, Bernard, there are times when I actually think you're right
but I don't know that much about France
No, no, it's really true
I'm telling you, you couldn't pay me enough to move to America
But you know, I must admit that I do love the sport
the American pastime national
the ball
Bien sur, that's what I have said
the ball, the ball
I am hoping that you would play my favorite song
of the ball, the ball
Take me out to the ball game
Do you know this song?
Well, it is so charmant
Take me out to the ball game
Well, I'm glad you like baseball
but I'm not going to do that particular song
I've got some things that are a little bit more out of the way
Our buzz-a-buzz suite has three numbers
and the first is part of an opera about baseball
called The Mighty Casey
This excerpt is from the middle of the opera
We'll hear the crowd in the stands
and then the pitcher and the catcher of the opposing team conferring
The second number is another solo piano piece
called Some Southpaw Pitching
Maybe the title explains the sometimes fierce activity in the left hand
Then the last number is a vocal one again
this time from a musical
We'll call this suite Three Bass Hits
And don't go away, sports fans
I'll be back in about eleven minutes
Some Southpaw Pitching
We can, we can, we can, we can, we can.
What a place! What a place!
But will, but will it happen again?
In silent, silent despair?
There's hardly a breath.
Your heart, your heart skips a beat.
You're glued, you're glued, you're glued, you're glued to your seat.
Before we wake, it's a decent break.
The picture, the picture, the picture, the picture is grim, grim, grim.
He's out, he's out, out, out, he's out on the limb, limb.
It's a hit, hit, a hit, and that's it, and that's it.
Sky, sky, sky, sky, sky, sky, sky, sky, we will never, never, never, never.
We can't, we can't, we can't we can't we can't, no we must, we must, we must, we can't,
we must, we must, we must, we can't, we can't we can't, we must, we need the heart.
Sky, sky, sky, sky, we can't, no, we can't, but we must be proud.
Yeah!
Hey, when things work out,
be a perfect team, a glorious team. Be a perfect team, a glorious team.
Be like, be like, surprise, surprise, surprise, surprise.
We can't, no, we can't, but we must believe our eyes.
Don't make when things go in trouble.
Be a perfect team, a glorious team.
Neuro, be free, and glorious team.
When, when, when, when things were trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble,
he did, he did, he did, he did, he did,
In a perfect game, a perfect game, a glorious game, a glorious game,
In a perfect game, a glorious game, a glorious game.
When things go in trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble,
Eeyah!
Squire Stebandard!
rell
You're doing fine, kid.
Keep it up!
And stand there nodding your head
Like we're talking about something really important
You remember the strategy
The signal for a hide inside the ball
That's right
When I scratch my ear
Now work easy
Casey's edgy
This delay
Makes him edgy
Now don't go wild on me, boy
Don't go throwing him any out-curves
And please, please
Keep him away from his knees
He can practically kick him out of the ground and murder him
You're doing fine, kid
Keep it up
And act like it was in the bag
Keep nodding your head
Like we're talking about something real important
Okay, boy, put this guy away
And you get the biggest beer in town
The biggest cheer in town
That's right, get him, now we're gonna pitch to him
Show him we got the Indian sign on him
Burn it in, boy
But work easy
Just work easy
Work easy
When we met in 1938
It was November
When I said that I would be his mate
It was December
I reasoned he would be
The greatest husband that a girl had ever found
That's what I reasoned
Then April rolled around
Strike three, ball four
Walk around, don't tie the score
You're blinded, you're blinded
You must be out of your mind
Six months out of every year
I might as well be made of stone
Six months out of every year
When I'm with him
I'm alone
Six months out of every year
When I cook for them it never pays
Instead of praising my goulash
They're appraising the plays of Willie Mays
He's out, he's out
Strike three, ball four
Walk around, don't tie the score
I might as well be wearing great
And he's win again today
By this, just another more to which I tie
He's out, he's out
You're blinded, you're blinded
You must be out of your mind
April, May, June, July, August, September
Six months out of every year
He's out, he's out
He's out of the game
Three bass hits, one by William Schumann,
one by Charles Ives,
and one by Adler and Ross.
The excerpt from Schumann's one act opera
The Mighty Casey was performed by Gregg Smith,
conducting the Adirondack Chamber Orchestra
and either the Long Island Symphonic Choral Association
Association, or the Greg Smith Singers, or maybe both. The catcher was Richard
Mewins. Alan Mandel played some Southpaw pitching by Ives, who as a student, by the
way, played on the Yale baseball team. And finally, six months out of every year
from Damn Yankees with Shannon Bolin and Robert Schaefer. That's from the
soundtrack of the movie version. And now it's tidbit time here on Shickly
Mixed Sports Radio. And I'll come right out and say it. I'm looking for a little
help here, folks. Our tidbit today is based on da-da-da-dum-da-da-dum. And I
heard recently somewhere that that snippet has something to do with
baseball, but I don't know what. I myself associate it with some of the old Spike
Jones recordings, but I've never known what it came from. So if anybody out
there has a clue, all right, we've got a caller. Mrs. Mudridge, excuse me folks, our
station receptionist is helping me out today, being my call-in coordinator. We've
got this TV monitor set up with a camera in the lobby. Mrs. Mudridge, you have to
hold the card up higher. It's behind the FICA tree. Okay, that's good.
Denny. Denny is on line one. You're on the air, Denny. How you doing? Listen, that thing you sing is from a baseball song, and the words are,
Over the Fence is Out, boys! Hey, well, thank you very much. You know, I've always
wondered about- It's a baseball song, and I wrote it. Hey, wait a minute. What do you mean, you wrote it? The piece I'm about to play, which is based on that song, was written in the 19th century. I don't care. I wrote it. You play it, you pay me royalties. I don't believe this. There's no way- Hey, listen, pal.
You play, you pay. Eh, wrong, buster. I'm not- Don't f**k me, you motherf**ker. Classical music f**ks. Money makes the f**king world go round. You don't f**king like it, you can f**k yourself. But you're not gonna f**k me, you f**king cafe latte drinking f**k. You f**k me, and you'll f**king wish you f**king never f**ked. F**k, f**k, f**k, f**k, f**k. You hear what I'm saying? I'll tell you what, I'm not hearing any more of what you're saying, you bellicose bum.
Man. Hey, I gotta hand it to you, Mrs. Mudridge. You were really on top of it there with the cuss canceller. I've never seen such virtuoso bleeping.
Whew. What's that? Hold it up. Bernard is on line one? Oh, all right. You're on the air, Bernard. You see, I told you so. Money, money, money, money. Thanks a lot, Bernard. Give me a call if you ever get low on euros. I might be able to tide you over. Okay, let's do our tidbit. Come what may.
This is by John Knowles Payne, a 19th century American composer, and it's based on Over the Fence is Out, Boys, but it's not your standard song setting.
Dribble on down the road. We started with Shaquille O'Neal and No Love Lost. Then came Meadowlark, sung by the Harlem Globetrotters.
I've always wanted to see them live. Their act is real vaudeville and I love it. And we ended with Babe the Blue Ox doing Basketball.
Okay, I've got to put my cards on the table here. Truth in advertising. It's a good song, but aside from that, I had to play that song.
Because the people mentioned at the top of the song... Here, let me just cue up that opening again.
Matthew passed to Carla, and Carla passed to me.
Well, that's my kids they're talking about there. Yeah, they've known Tim and Hannah and Rosalie for years and play basketball with them.
Hey, I am so proud of my kids. You know, they've grown up so great, and they're both involved in music, and they really rock, but they're really nice too, you know what I mean?
What's that, Mrs. Mudry? Carla's on line one? Hey, Carla.
Dad!
Okay, okay, I'll shut up. Let's take it on out here. This is something a little different.
Another example of program music in which I don't think anybody could guess what it's about just hearing the music.
But when you know that the piece is called Fencing School, you see that the composer was inspired by the subject to write things he might not otherwise have come up with.
Here's the European Community Baroque Orchestra under Monica Huggett performing Fencing School by the 17th century composer Johann Heinrich Schmelzer.
Fencing School by the 17th century composer Johann Heinrich Schmelzer
by Schmelzer and okay our clock is running out here so listen folks thanks
for dropping in to Shake-A-League-Big Sports Radio and remember it ain't over
till it's over we're gonna go out with Charlie Chaplin's music for the boxing
match scene from City Lights great scene great movie played by Carl Davis in the
City Lights Orchestra Chaplin obviously feels a connection between boxing and
bullfighting
Oh
you
Oh
and that's sickly mix for this week our program is made possible by the
with funds provided by this radio station and its members thank you
members and not only that our program is distributed by PRI Public Radio
International we'll tell you in a moment how you can get an official playlist of
all the music on today's program with album numbers and everything just refer
to the program number this is program number 164 and this is Peter sickly
saying goodbye and reminding you that it don't mean a thing if it ain't got
that certain zunus a qua you're looking good see you next week
if you'd like a copy of that playlist I mentioned send a stamped self-addressed
envelope to sickly mix that's SCH ICK ELE sickly mix care of Public Radio
International 100 North 6th Street suite 900 a Minneapolis Minnesota five five
four zero three PRI Public Radio International