Want a CD to get you in the game-time mood? Here are some songs that must be included on your Red Sox mix. Most can be purchased on iTunes or other music download services.
1. "Dirty Water" — The Standells: Naturally. The song that greets every home field victory by the Red Sox, you simply must shout "Boston, you're my home!" when the refrain comes up.
2. "Lean Back Red Sox Remix" — Terror Squad: I'm not quite sure who's responsible for the new first verse that got added to this song when it was played on New England radio just after we won the 2004 ALCS, but it's absolutely brilliant. It isn't available on iTunes, but you can experience it on YouTube.
3. "Sweet Caroline" — Neil Diamond: This song has been co-opted by almost every stadium in America, as far as I can tell, but nobody sings it better than the crowd at Fenway in the eighth inning.
4. "Tessie" — Dropkick Murphys: This song was ubiquitous the year the Red Sox won the World Series and still gets played at Fenway after "Dirty Water" finishes. Named for the song the Royal Rooters used to sing to support the Red Sox way back in the first World Series of 1903, it worked its magic again a hundred years later.
5. "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" — Dropkick Murphys: Somehow, this song became Jonathan Papelbon's theme song. Best listened to while step dancing in a kilt.
6. "Song 2" — Blur: Because every sports CD in the world should have this song on it, right?
7. "We Are the Champions" — Queen: You know what? We are!
8. "Centerfield" — John Fogerty: This song, rightly, seems to get played at some point during every baseball-game-going experience. It always makes me think of summer nights at a ballgame.
9. "The Boys of Summer" — Don Henley: Maybe not a song strictly about baseball, but baseball players are the "boys of summer" of the title.
10. "Mint Car" — The Cure: OK, this is another song not actually about baseball. However, there's a story behind this one. I happened to have a Cure CD in my car's CD player the morning after the Red Sox won in 2004. Driving to work, this song came on, and I suddenly realized that it captured perfectly the entire experience. From "I really don't think it gets any better than this" to "Never guessed it got this good / Wondered if it ever would / Really didn't think it could / Do it again, I know we should," the lyrics always remind me of that terribly giddy time.
11. "At Last" — Etta James: When Fox ended its coverage of the 2004 World Series, this is the song it played over the closing credits. Never has Fox matched music to moment so effectively.
12. "100 Years" — Five for Fighting: Another song Fox played during that final game of the World Series, when it looked like we just might be headed toward victory...
13. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" — Bonnie Tyler: There was an eclipse the night we won in 2004, remember? And yes, Fox played this song for us.
14. "White Flag" — Dido: Include this on your mix to remind yourself of all that heartbreak that came before. NESN used this song when recapping the disastrous 2003 season. Who knew it would seem so far away just a year later?