iTunes Playlist: Vince Young and the Longhorns Comin'

Jack: Who are those guys?
Bernie Casey: They're my theme music. Every good hero has some.

I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, 1989

So what follows is our theme music for the Saturday safari to Columbus by way of Ann Arbor. I've arranged it to follow the tempo of a football game, with a little pregame, four quarters, and a number by the band at the finish. Enjoy...

1. The Eyes of Texas - Or, as my friend Brian Heffern from Syracuse would call it, "that railroad song." The only way to start this thing off.

2. Ohio, by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - The famous song about the Kent State shootings in 1970. The tempo is confrontational and resolute, as I hope the Horns will be...

3. Country Road, by James Taylor - A great road trip folk song by one of my favorite songwriters.

4. East Bound and Down, by Jerry Reed - Seeing as what we are trying to accomplish strongly resembles the premise of Smokey and the Bandit, I would call this the title track. "Just put that hammer down, and give it hell!"

5. Don't Stop Believin', by Journey - Jacob is a big hair rock fan. I'm sure he'll more than approve...

6. We Ready, by Archie Oversole - A standby on the PA's at DKR or the Drum, and our favorite pre-game hip-hop track. Simply crunk.

7. Texas Fight - I know I'm a little biased, but this is the greatest fight song in college football, unqualified. This would be the time in the playlist where the team is running out on the field through a cloud of smoke...

8. Battle Without Honor or Humanity, the RZA - From the Kill Bill soundtrack. Perfect mood song for taking on an army of 100,000 single-handedly. This represents kickoff.

9. Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy), Big and Rich - This begins the first quarter. The video is allsome. Thanks to Tom for introducing me to these guys.

10. I Play Chicken with the Train - Cowboy Troy, as I've mentioned before, graduated with an Economics degree from the University of Texas, and is the pioneer of Hick-Hop. There's no way I don't include him...

11. COH, 5'NIZZA - 5'NIZZA (pronounced pyot-NEET-za) are two guys from Russia who play an inventive brand of music that blends reggae, hip-hop, and jazz, featuring little more than two guys and a guitar. Best band in the world that no one west of Poland has ever heard of.

12. Deep in the Heart of Texas - The traditional end-of-first-quarter selection for the Showband of the Southwest.

13. The House is Rockin', Stevie Ray Vaughn - We're rollin' through the puddle, just like Stevie Ray and Double Trouble...

14. Long Tall Texan, Lyle Lovett and Randy Newman - Lyle Lovett has achieved most-favored Aggie status in my universe, so much so that he merits inclusion in this, the coup de resistance of my Longhorn-linked playlists (so far)...

15. Texas Playboy Rag, Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys - A little number from the King of Western Swing, and certainly something you won't hear much of in Ohio. Halftime...

16. God Bless America Fanfare
17. American Salute
18. The Battle Hymn of the Republic, all by the University of Texas Longhorn Band - These three compositions come from the excellent patriotic halftime show the band did in the months following 9/11.

19. Stomp, Phil Keaggy - Phil Keaggy probably releases two to three instrumental albums a year. I own about ten of them. This track comes from 220, perhaps the best (and most successful) of all of them, and features several guitar melodies overlaid on one another. iTunes has a nice collection of Phil Keaggy here.

20. Theme from Shaft, Isaac Hayes - Keeping things funky here, in the middle of the third quarter...

21. Bad Moon Rising, CCR - Three chords, Jon Fogerty, and a guy from California writing songs about life on the Bayou...

22. Wabash Cannonball - The Texas band plays this after every third quarter. It cracked me up to find out a couple of years ago that Kansas State plays it as their fight song. That's right - Our third quarter fan amusement = Kansas State's battle anthem. No wonder they were the worst football program in the history of major college football until ten years ago.

I'm obviously baiting Ellen at this point. Let's see if she bites...

23. Friends in Low Places, Garth Brooks - For his first three albums or so, Garth Brooks actually gave a crap, and put out some good music. Thereafter, he prolifically produced albums with the singular motive of breaking the all-time sales record of the Beatles. That doesn't change the fact that this is a great song.

I had a friend from Garth's hometown of Yukon. He was a white rapper named Casey Ford. Great guy. I miss him. I wonder if he knows Cowboy Troy...

Last note: Apparently, Garth Brooks hasn't condescended to iTunes yet, so the hyperlink above goes to a version by a guy named Mark Smith. Just thought I'd mention this.

24. Texas, George Strait - A discovery from two nights ago. When I play it, things get dusty. Since this is the fourth quarter, you could even say they're getting Dusty Mangum...

25. My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys, Willie Nelson - I guess the theme for the fourth quarter of my playlist is "Texas Pride." There are few we are more proud of than the red-headed stranger from Abbott, even if the IRS aren't crazy about him...

26. Texas Fight - Signalling the final gun, and followed by...

27. The Eyes of Texas - ...Goosebump time.

28. We Don't Run, Willie Nelson - A great coda song, as we go on to the next game. From Spirit, one of Willie's very best albums.

This game that Jacob and I are going to is probably the biggest for Texas football since the time we played Notre Dame in 1996. Willie sang the national anthem that day, contributing to an unmistakable Big Game Atmosphere. I'll be interested to see what it'll be like in Columbus.

More to come tomorrow...