There's a controversy brewing at T-Mobile Park, and it's not about the starting lineup or the price of a beer.
The Seattle Times reports that after 32 seasons of following the traditional singing of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" with "Louie, Louie" by the Kingsmen during the 7th inning stretch at Mariners home games, the team has decided to dump the 1960s pop classic.
Starting at the Ms home opener earlier in April, they've been playing "Can't Hold Us," the super-catchy anthem from Seattle hip-hop hero Macklemore.
The Mariners' marketing guy says it's all about bringing "fresh energy" to the ballpark, which makes sense when you think about the fact that the Kingsmen first had a hit with "Louie, Louie" in 1963 -- in other words, the song's basically 60 years old. "Can't Hold Us" was released 10 years ago, in 2012.
According to the Times story, some fans are outraged, while others are taking the change in stride.
Let's be honest, if you've ever been to a wedding reception where the DJ plays "Can't Hold Us," it's a certified banger for young and old alike. Everybody loves to throw throw their hands in the air and make that "touch the ceiling" move with their palms when the chorus comes around.
And I'm going to say that while it's true that many people don't generally like change, by the middle of the seventh inning of a baseball game many more people have had a Manny's Pale Ale or three, so any song with a beat sounds pretty damn good. If it's got a catchy refrain, and it's a song by a local singer who seems like a pretty good guy, and who by all accounts does his best to give back to this city, what's the problem?
Here, you watch the videos and see if you can move past "Louie, Louie" . . .
. . . and see if you can live with the new normal of a 7th inning stretch starring Macklemore. (Scroll ahead to the 1-minute mark if you want to skip the artsy-fartsy intro and go right to the peppy part:)
Traditions are great, but when you consider the fact that the Ms have been playing the same song since 1990 in the Kingdome, maybe a little refresh is a good thing. It's sure not going to stop me from going to the ballpark. How about you?
