The Fenway

Yesterday was a big day at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox got their World Series rings and then went out and trounced the hated Yankees 8 to 1.

I am not a Red Sox fan nor am I a Yankees fan.  But I am a fan of sports, rivalries, drama, and fandom.

And for all of that, there is nothing better than Yankees vs. Red Sox.

I am also a fan of Boston.  I spent four years there in college and lived in Kenmore Square in the shadow of Fenway Park.

There is another Fenway Park in Boston, called The Fenway [click on this link - it's a cool satellite image of The Fenway and Fenway Park].  It's a grand urban park in the vein of Prospect Park or Central Park, but its fallen on somewhat hard times.  It's not what it once was.

But I loved to wander around The Fenway when I was in college.  It has this magical feel to it.

Jonathan Richman also loves The Fenway.  His Rockin and Romance album is out of print, but I got my $15 copy of the digital master from TwinTone yesterday.  I listened to it last night.

My favorite song on the record is The Fenway.  Jonathan captures the magic of the place so well.  Give it a listen in tribute to Boston, Fenway Park, the Red Sox, and The Fenway.

Comments

[RobertG]

Fred,

Came over here from alarmingnews.com. Very nice site. Curiously enough, I bought both the new Beck and the Killers just this past weekend. Your "best of" is pretty cool as well. As an off-and-on DJ for a few years, I appreciate the wide variety. Anyone who includes both "One Nation Under A Groove" the first Velvets album is A-OK with me!

Cheers,

Robert

[Karen E]

Here in Boston, Fred, we love ya back. It's a wonderful time here to love the Red Sox and because it's sports, sort of unreal, it just multiplies the aimless love in the world. I knew I guy once, well into his 30s, who would go to Kinko's every February, and make incredible copier-art Valentines for everyone in his life. It's like that, Red Sox love, just general-duty extra love for the world.

[steve]

The Fenway is actually in decent shape, and getting better. It looks worse than it really is because the view is always dominated by these huge reeds that grow along the banks of the Muddy River, which flows thru thr Fenway. Well meaning but, I would argue, bizarre and silly, locals and enviornmentalists teamed up to stop the city from spraying to destroy the weeds -- as had been done for literally decades, and longer -- to kill the reeds and clear the river banks and restore the gorgeous views, as Frederick Law Olmstead intended, and as Bostonians had enjoyed for so long. But no, the greens killed the weeding, and now you can't look anywhere in The Fenway without having the view literally blocked, dominated by 10 foot tall overgrown ugly and horrible looking weeds. The whole thing is ridiculous because you CAN'T restore The Fenway to a natural state -- it is not itself natural, but is rather a man made park, created out of whole cloth by Olmstead, as was Central Park, et. al. Imagine if environmentalists forced NYC to never again mow the grass or trim the greenery in Central Park -- that's what we have here at The Fenway. Blecch.

[Bill A]

Fred, you're the second New Yorker this week with the class to acknowledge the Red Sox - the first being the Yankees as a team, who stood in the dugout and applauded while the Red Sox Nation did their victory dance at Fenway. I'm a Sox fan myself, and a show of respect deserves respect in return.

Thanks for the tip about the digital version of "Rockin and Romance". Thought you'd connect with "Now Is Better Than Before", when he sings that even compared to "the days of Fenway and Kenmore, this is better than before." And who else would write a song about Walter Johnson?

If your portfolio decisions are even half as sharp as your musical choices, your VC career has a long and happy future.

[Joe Pickering Jr.]

Dear Fred:

Thanks for making the suggestion to listen to Jonathan Richmond's The Fenway. It is excellent. You may want to listen to my song FENWAY at www.kingoftheroadmusic.com

Best to you.

Joe P.