Wednesday, July 02, 2008

ROBOT HORSE.*

“I like baseball, but the world knows I’m a football guy,” Jon Bon Jovi said at a City Hall announcement Monday. “I own an arena team. I live and love football.”

“Major League Baseball wants All-Star Summer to be the ultimate celebration for baseball fans in New York City,” said Tim Brosnan, the executive vice president for business for Major League Baseball.

Okay, who woke up and decided that Jon Bon Jovi was going to become the official rock band of Major League Baseball? Has Bud Selig ever *listened* to Bon Jovi? I know I have bitched in the past about the various country bands getting in on the act, but at least I feel like they were genuine choices that represented a majority of MLB fans, not to mention their players. I am trying very hard to figure out how this decision was made, except for the one that’s most obvious to me: it’s the one most likely to appeal to the white frat boy type, at least in the minds of someone at MLB. However, the only people I know that still care about Bon Jovi are women, not that coveted 21-35 male demographic that MLB slavishly worships in a manner not suitable to describe to a family audience.

Why doesn’t this “honor” get to go to an artist who is legitimately a huge baseball fan - or even just a fan? I realize it’s tough to find someone who the world actually knows and cares about, but - the Hold Steady? Pearl Jam? I realize that six people in the world care about The Baseball Project but half that band are in or perform with R.E.M., who are still capable of selling out Madison Square Garden.

Finally, this concert offends me not just because I fucking HATE Jon Bon Jovi more than I hate most bands on this planet, but because it’s such a obvious pander to the white male 21-35 demographic. It’s not representative of the baseball audience in New York City, which is where the All-Star Game is being held. Of course, Mayor Bloomberg would have never ever approved a concert in Central Park with Daddy Yankee or any reggaeton act on the bill (just like he wouldn’t allow the protestors against the RNC in 2005 to use the park, but was a-ok with Dave Matthews being there), which is of course an incredibly popular musical genre amongst the Latino players in the MLB.  (He wouldn’t have approved Metallica or any heavy metal band, either, for what it’s worth.)

Finally, for the highest of high comedy, I present to you the New York Times’ City Room blog (written by the awesome Sewell Chan) discussing the concert. Please be sure to read the comment thread. Do not consume liquids while doing so.

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*Bonus points and some kind of prize if you can tell me where this reference is from.