TS: Gretzky vs. Mario

Hockey is a rock and roll kind of game. From Stompin' Tom Connors to the Tragically Hip to Warren Zevon, here are the best hockey songs, capturing the spirit of a spin on the ice, a night at the rink or a game and a beer.

1) "Fifty Mission Cap" - The Tragically Hip
"Bill Barilko disappeared that summer/He was on a fishing trip/The last goal he ever scored won the Leafs the Cup." Great song by a first-rate rock and roll band. From their album "Fully, Completely."

2) "Hockey" - Jane Siberry
"The sun is fading on the frozen river/The wind is dying down/Someone else just got called for dinner... Sunday afternoon." Siberry's wistful portrait of kid's hockey, which appears on her "Bound By The Beauty" album, is a minor masterpiece. There's also a terrific version on her live album, "Child: Music For The Christmas Season."

3) "The Hockey Song" - Stompin' Tom Connors
"Oh, the good old hockey game/Is the best game you can name/ And the best game you can name/Is the good old hockey game." Any questions? Stompin' Tom's minimalist tribute is a toe-tapping classic.

4) "Hockey Night In Canada" - The Shuffle Demons
The Demons kick off their album "Bop Rap" with this guerilla jazz take on the stately television theme song. Includes an appropriately frantic play-by-play break.

5) "Gordie And My Old Man" - Grievous Angels
"Gordie and my old man on a Saturday night/Watchin' the Blackhawks and gettin' tight." This working class stomper closes the Angels independently released debut album, "One Job Town."

6) "The Ballad of Wendel Clark, Parts I and II" - Rheostatics
"Well I heard Wendel talking to Dave Hodge last night/And he said that he was confident and keen./And he said that Jacques Plante didn't die so all of us could glide/He said that hard work is the ethic of the free." Guaranteed to bring a tear to the eye of any true Leafs' fan. The album is called "Greatest Hits."

7) Puck Rock, Volume 2
Hard to pick a favorite from this collection of bangers and grinders. "Blood On The Ice," perhaps. Or maybe "You High Sticked My Heart."

8) "Hit Somebody! (The Hockey Song)" - Warren Zevon
"He never lost a fight on his icy patrol/But deep inside Buddy only dreamed of a goal/He just wanted one damn goal." Co-written by sportswriter Mitch Albom, with a guest appearance by David Letterman. The album is "My Ride's Here."

9) "The Zamboni Song" - Gear Daddies
"Now ever since I was young it's been my dream/That I might drive a Zamboni machine/I'd get the ice just as slick as could be/And all the kids would look up to me." This internission favorite is a hidden track at the end of the album, "Billy's Live Bait."

awesome--i need to hear this

That's Van-COUVER, we Torontonians remember '94 all too well! I remember a guy sitting behind the Leafs bench with a sign stating "WENDY'S A BURGER!" Some kinda arcane attempted homophobic slur, I think, 'cause there were rumours that Clark was gay, just because he rented a house from Toller Cranston.

I don't know if there ARE any great hockey songs! Tom Cochrane's and the Tragically Hip's efforts did nothing for me, and the Hanson Brothers' daytime gig (Nomeansno) is far more rewarding. Joni Mitchell's "Raised On Robbery" is great, but a single lyrical reference to the Leafs hardly makes it a hockey song. (Ditto "River", which mentions skating!) So, I'll have to think up my own. And since it's time for my obligatory MX-80 Sound mention, I'll kill two birds with one stone.Here are actual MX-80 songs whose titles could SUGGEST they're about hockey:

"Train To Loveland" (That's Loveland, Ohio, home of high school team the Loveland Tigers!)
"Checkmate" (as in "You're too soft, mate! I want to see you throw a body check, mate!)
"I Left My Heart In San Francisco" ("I lost all interest in hockey when my beloved Golden Seals folded.")
"Someday You'll Be King" (A fortune teller predicts the unthinkable: Wayne Gretzky is about to be traded to LA)
"Man In The Box" (Geez, that Tiger Williams sure takes a lot of penalties!)
"White Night" (Nearly everyone in the arena dressed completely in white, to honour their beloved Winnipeg Jets' last-ever game before moving to Phoenix.)
and, finally, two obvious ones: "Crushed Ice" and "You Can't Win 'Em All"

Walter Gretzky had a son
He grew up to be the Great One
...
He came from Brantford Ontario
His rival's name was Mario
Actually I like the Hawks
But boy-o-boy Wayne Gretzky...rocks

"Risky, playing yourself is risky
And the flows mad jazzy like Dizzy Gillespie.
And the sound be harmonious and deadly
like a harpy call me the great one like Wayne Gretzky"

I doubt Wayne's ever heard of either Jeru or Groove Armada, but I smile every time I hear this.

And Gretzky is way better than Mario. I'd even rank Bobby Hull ahead of Mario.