Available Closer Entrance Song: Liszt’s Totentanz
Detail from Francesco Traini’s Triumph of Death, an inspiration for Totentanz.
While there are surely a number of factors to consider when assessing the degree to which a musical work might serve as an effective closer entrance song, the most important of these (i.e. these factors) is surely the degree to which the music in question gives an opposing team’s batters the sense that some manner of gross physical discomfort is about to be visited upon their respective persons.
It has recently come to the attention of this author that the opening minute-plus of composer Franz Liszt’s Totentanz — or, in English, Dance of the Dead — ably fulfills this most important of criteria.*
Note: the author is aware that Liszt’s piece is not technically a “song.” I’m merely using the term colloquially.
Liszt, who himself was known to visit hospitals and asylums as a recreational activity, never formally described the piece as “the soundtrack to an impromptu and forcible colorectal exam performed by the Devil himself” — although one assumes, while listening to the work, that this was his intention.
Here’s the beginning of Franz Liszt’s Totentanz, as performed by Michael Ponti and the Berliner Symphoniker:
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Music for a closer?
The heck. This is the music that was played throughout Britain the day Nathan Hale sprung forth from his mother’s womb.
i’ve always been the fan of classical arrangements or pieces used as entrance… the whole genre would be legit… and ultimately haunting.
take note, the movie warrior…. “ode to joy” is used as the entrance song for one of the fighters. trust me, i hate afflication as much as the next muscle-jealous chubby guy, but that filmed nailed something of which closers should take note.
oh… what about the sound-byte from “glengary glenross”? if any closer ever gains the nick “coffee” or “caffeine”….. search no more, coffee broxton.
I’ve been waiting for some daring, bold closer to come out to “Garry Owen”, the marching anthem of the 7th Cavalry. And I don’t mean played over loudspeakers; he marches slowly from the bullpen to the mound, complete with an ensemble of drummers and piccolo players, decorated in full mid-19th century army regalia.
Real fine music for say, a Ben Weber.
Or even if Mario Mendoza or Ray Oyler would come to bat to this, you feel the impending doom.
LOL, why Ben? He gives my son pitching lessons, just wondering why he came to mind?
I feel like Liszt’s Totentanz would be perfectly suited to Axford.
In response to Successful_Troll above, I think Garry Owen seems like a good for Papelbon for some reason.
This post has inspired me to suggest the Liszt transcription of ‘Isolde’s Leibestod’ for piano solo as the music accompanying a montage of slow motion video highlighting 2012 Red Sox bullpen implosions.
fire up those HotBot search engines people
My favorite hitter walk-up song of all time was the mustachioed Nick Johnson grooving most improbably to SexyBack.