Prompt: "A song that takes place at a sporting event"
Selected by Joe
"The Big Game (Movements 1 & 2)"
Sledding with Tigers
Come On and Slam EP, 2015
I was like "damn, I know I've written about this song before" but I couldn't remember exactly where, and the blog search engine indicates that I've already written about it three times, which is probably too much to be mentioning it again here, but fuck it. If you're saying you're getting tired of reading Puke on Your Birthday because you already read the 2022 Best EPs Top Five list and now you're seeing some recycled content, well then I'll consider that a win, since that proves that you're reading the blog, and not falling into the trap of staring at a different screen every 47 seconds. Are you still reading this paragraph? Or are you already thinking about whether anyone updated their Instagram story?
As all those with any semblance of impulse control already know, this song and this EP are about Space Jam, the '90s half-animated Looney Tunes film featuring the non-actor Michael Jordan. From what I remember, it's a decent film. Definitely children's fodder, but that doesn't mean it has to be bad. There are some funny parts, even now. But what I like about the song is that it takes a pretty boilerplate kiddie sports movie moment and gives it real stakes. That buildup to the point in the song when MJ makes the point and then the song explodes into a campfire singalong? That's some perfect shit right there.
As all those with any semblance of impulse control already know, this song and this EP are about Space Jam, the '90s half-animated Looney Tunes film featuring the non-actor Michael Jordan. From what I remember, it's a decent film. Definitely children's fodder, but that doesn't mean it has to be bad. There are some funny parts, even now. But what I like about the song is that it takes a pretty boilerplate kiddie sports movie moment and gives it real stakes. That buildup to the point in the song when MJ makes the point and then the song explodes into a campfire singalong? That's some perfect shit right there.
I call it "perfect" even though it only exists because Space Jam has somehow turned into a token nostalgia piece for my generation. This is the reason that Pam hates this movie (and, by extension, this song), and on certain days, I can't say I disagree with her. An undying love or even meme-fueled obsession with Space Jam betrays a protracted adolescence. There is a way that liking a children's film too much ruins the film, and the way my basic peers revere this film definitely runs up close to ruining it for those of us who acknowledge that it was pretty good for what it was at the time.
There was only one way to address this current concern that I had as I was formulating what to write for this blog post—we are watching Space Jam. Please excuse me as I pause writing this blog post for a day or so.
There was only one way to address this current concern that I had as I was formulating what to write for this blog post—we are watching Space Jam. Please excuse me as I pause writing this blog post for a day or so.
Okay, I'm back. We watched the movie. "We" is me and the kids (no Pam because she was out with pals, which made it the perfect night to watch Space Jam). The five of us (cat not included) have had a good tradition going over the past (checks notes) 21 weeks, simply named "Family Movie Night." For the past 21 Fridays (sometimes Thursdays or Saturdays depending on conflicting Friday plans but mostly Fridays), the kids have chosen a film—with help and guidance from their parents—to watch all together on Friday night.
The movie usually stretches past the normal bedtime, which is the main motivating factor for their willing participation in the ritual. If you ask me, though, I'll say that this is my favorite new family tradition for a bunch of reasons. First, there is a rule that it has to be a movie that Willow and Martha have never seen before. This will hopefully instill a love of seeking out worthy art, and a desire to challenge the self, instead of falling back on old standards.
Secondly, and probably less importantly (but more importantly for the purposes of this blog post and the point I'm trying to make), it helps build and/or sustain the ability to focus on one single thing, i.e. one single screen, for an extended period of time. For somewhere between 80 and 120 minutes, we are sitting on the couch and watching one single thing, together, without distraction. It's been working as a great antidote to the usual fifteen-minute quick-hit episodes on Disney+ and, worse, the empty-calorie, soulless trash that usually pops up on YouTube (despite so many channels already blocked on the app).
I get worried about their ability to focus on a task because I myself find that I struggle with it sometimes. Just because nine times out of ten I'm checking my phone to see if there's anything on the pure, stimulating, ad-free blog that needs to be addresses doesn't make it any more okay the frequency at which I'm picking up my phone and turning it on. I can feel it when I try to read a book on the train, and getting through 30 pages requires an act of stamina, since the phone is right there, burning a hole in my pocket, nudging me with a fresh slab of reddit top posts that might as well be hot air the way they pass through me. I don't want that for my kids.
And so we watched Space Jam.
Secondly, and probably less importantly (but more importantly for the purposes of this blog post and the point I'm trying to make), it helps build and/or sustain the ability to focus on one single thing, i.e. one single screen, for an extended period of time. For somewhere between 80 and 120 minutes, we are sitting on the couch and watching one single thing, together, without distraction. It's been working as a great antidote to the usual fifteen-minute quick-hit episodes on Disney+ and, worse, the empty-calorie, soulless trash that usually pops up on YouTube (despite so many channels already blocked on the app).
I get worried about their ability to focus on a task because I myself find that I struggle with it sometimes. Just because nine times out of ten I'm checking my phone to see if there's anything on the pure, stimulating, ad-free blog that needs to be addresses doesn't make it any more okay the frequency at which I'm picking up my phone and turning it on. I can feel it when I try to read a book on the train, and getting through 30 pages requires an act of stamina, since the phone is right there, burning a hole in my pocket, nudging me with a fresh slab of reddit top posts that might as well be hot air the way they pass through me. I don't want that for my kids.
And so we watched Space Jam.
It wasn't too bad! The Looney Tunes' style of slapstick comedy still works really well. It's timeless. And everything you remember about Michael Jordan's acting skills is exactly correct—it's probably the worst major acting performance ever, in any medium. But hey, man, 80 minutes of Bugs Bunny doing his shtick is not the worst way to spend a Saturday night. I think the kids liked it too. They didn't complain at all or say that they didn't want to watch it anymore because they were "tired," which is a promising. They were into a movie for its entire length! Fuck you, YouTube! Fuck you, tablets! A win for concentration!
Honestly, the weirdest part was hearing "Space Jam" and all the "come on and SLAM!"s in its original format, by Quad City DJs. I haven't seen this film in at least a decade and probably way more than that, and I have heard "The Big Game" by Sledding Tigers at least once a month for the past nine years, and when I hear the phrase "Everybody get up, it's time to slam now!", I hear it in a major key and with a bunch of 20-something dorks singing along to some other dork strumming the acoustic guitar and the key dork playing the violin. That might be the most impressive aspect of this whole affair—that some shitty, corny EP from a decade ago was able to overcome, in my mind at least, one of the key nostalgic exercises from my generation's childhood. Space Jam is dead, long live Come On and Slam EP.
I don't know if the eighteen-minute runtime of the EP versus the 83-minute runtime of the movie has anything to do with it. Like maybe I theoretically would have more trouble concentrating on even a relatively short movie compared to a really, really short album, and that has something to do with it, I don't know. I don't give a shit. I don't PLAY by your rules. And the important part is Bill Murray's there. Everybody get UP, it's time—
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