Monday, June 22, 2009

My New Favorite Reader

Most of the time, a blog is a one way mode of communication. Only a small fraction of those who read posts make comments and an ever tinier percentage feel compelled to write an email to us saying that they enjoy the site, there is an egregious error in one of our posts or to ask why there are no women listed as contributors. It's really exciting whenever that happens because I get to connect names with the numbers I see on Google Analytics and have actual proof that writing for this blog isn't a complete and total waste of time.

Well, over the weekend I received far and away the best email in the history of the site from a reader named Giles McNamee (presumably of no relation to this man). Here it goes:
Dear Jay:

I was just over at Fenway Park with some friends who were recording your friend Youk and a couple of the other Socks players singing Sweet Caroline and Dirty Water. Youk is putting out an album for his charity.

Interesting that the Socks would play Sweet Caroline, a song which was written by a 40 year old man in tribute to an 11 or 12 year old girl, in the eighth inning of every game. “Touching me, touching you.” Think about it. This has to be on the pedophile classic hits top ten list, don’t you think?

Anyway I was there because a band I’m in laid down the instrumental tracks for the songs. As a Yankee fan, I only agreed to do this because I could then bring my kids, who are Bostonians and died-in-the-wool Red Sock fans, to meet Youk and some of the other players. Being a dad sometimes trumps being a Yankee fan... Sort of...

Anyway, I had Youk sign a ball to you because I thought you would enjoy it (see attached photo).

Shoot me an address and I will send you the ball.

Keep up the excellent work on your blog.

Best,

Giles

Pretty sweet, right? I don't gather that Giles told Youk that the person he was signing the ball for actually created a blog named after his hatred of him, but that is quite understandable. The event was for a good cause, after all.

I made sure he was okay with me turning the email into a post and his response he also added:
Four explanatory things for the record: (1) Youk’s charity is called “Hits for Kids” and it supports a number of worthy children’s causes in the greater Boston area; (2) The CD is being produced by Rounder Records and, in theory, all the bands who have played at Fenway Park (Jimmy Buffett, Bruce Springsteen, Phish, Dave Matthews, etc) are going to donate one song each to put on the album; (3) The little girl about whom Sweet Caroline was written was Caroline Kennedy which makes Neil Diamond seem even creepier; (4) My band is called EGGSLAP, a recent incarnation which includes myself and the drummer from my former band, the Rockhoppers.
So, Bostonian readers, keep an eye out for EGGSLAP appearing to a music venue near you. And if any of you happen to meet our boy Youk, you know what to do if you would like to star in your very own guest post. Operators are standing by.

5 comments:

  1. As opposed to the Yankees 8th inning tune, a hillbilly love song about a girl with syphilis. Look it up.

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  2. Didn't know that about Cotton-Eyed Joe and couldn't find anything about it on wiki. I doubt you'd find any Yankee fans that are supporters of that song being played anyway. That said, I'll take hillbilly std songs over pedophilia any day.

    For the record then, the Yanks use a 5th inning song from an openly gay vocal group about homoerotic activities at the Y and an 8th inning tune about syphilis. Great. At least God Bless America doesn't have any negative overtones...

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  3. That's awesome. Keep that shit right next to the autographed Details magazine.

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