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So March Madness officially kicked off yesterday and though I haven’t been following college hoops to the extent I normally do, it’s safe to say that production will be slowing down over the next two weeks.  Gotta watch those betting lines.  In that tradition, an overlooked component to the games played on the courts is the music being played off it.  Whether you’re one of the best hoops teams or one of the best college marching bands in the country, chances are these two weeks will be your time to shine.

It can seem that the pep bands are forever behind the times, playing from song lists borrowed from classic-rock radio stations and wedding-reception D.J.s.

But there is a method to their madness — and to their Madness (“Our House”).

“We try to play songs that not only appeal to the blue-hairs in the crowd, but also to our students,” said Jim Hudson, director of athletic bands at Arizona State.

The brass-heavy 30-piece ensembles (the tournament allows no amplification — meaning no electric guitars — and only 30 band members for each team) are typically subsets of the university’s much larger marching band. And there are plenty of reasons why the song lists (most bands arrive ready to play 40 to 60 songs) can seem dated.

Mostly, it is because fans want it that way. Bands are looking to get toes tapping and chins wagging no matter the listener’s age.

There are other reasons. Rock anthems, with their catchy melodies and complex chord progressions, often lend themselves to arrangements better than other genres. Older songs have become part of each band’s familiar repertory and never leave. Copyright issues and costs can limit the possibilities for fresh tunes.

And, perhaps — admit it, occasional pep-band listener — the bands are sometimes too hip, playing songs so fresh that they are not recognized. Most fans pay little attention to a game’s background noise, only when a familiar tune catches the ear: Wait. No way. Is that Journey they’re playing?

“Well, we do have a lot of Journey,” the Cal student director Stephen Gamboa said.

Nothing better than a great marching band.  I often wish more professional sports teams would have marching bands of some sort instead of faked piped in music.   The atmosphere the bands create during games truly elevates college sports into something special.

Also: There’s a great website, Fight Music, that has tons of music files to download and listen to of all your favorite college marching bands.  Most major schools, their fight songs and a bevy of others are all represented.  I suggest heading over there as your life will never be the same again.

It was a nice weekend. Finally some great weather here in Boston, great for rolling down the windows and driving around.

• 300 slayed the box office as Leonidas slayed a million Persian hordes. Not surprising that it came in at number one, but it is surprising the movie racked up almost $70 million at the box office. The good news is this means they’ll be more willing to allow Zak Snyder the chance to move forward with his Watchmen adaptation. I was frakking floored by the movie, but I’ll chime in later today with some thoughts on it.

• Lead singer of 70’s arena rock superstars Boston, died over the weekend. Brad Delp, who also sang with the band Beatle Juice – an awesome Beatles tribute band by the by – was found dead in New Hampshire. There’s been some sadness but mostly this was just an otherwise noted blip on the radar of dead rockstars. It’s sad. Though no one would admit it, Boston was by all accounts a pretty awesome band. Though most of their songs all sounded similar they had some damn great songs and their record sales indicated as much. Steve Morse pays his respects as does Bob Lefsetz.

• The real question in all of this is: who had the better spaceships, Boston or ELO?

• Snoop Dogg was arrested in Sweden over the weekend. What are the odds Snoop had some illegal narcotics in his system? 3 to 2? Even money? Would you take that bet?

• Blues Traveler frontman John Popper was arrested as well.   Guns and drugs during a traffic stop.  Who’s next from the 93 HORDE tour?

• Halliburton is moving their offices from Texas to Dubai. It’s a move, I’m sure that will make Dick Cheney happy, what with not having to pay taxes and adhere to American business laws. But doesn’t it sort of feel like a kick in the balls if you’re a serviceman? I’m sure they’re moving there for the new Tiger Woods golf course or the Burj Al Arab Hotel, right?

• Gas prices rose 20 cents over the weekend. The average price for a gallon of gas is $2.55. Which is still significantly cheaper than a gallon of milk, how’s that possible?

• It’s tourney time and ESPN has your brackets to print out, fill out and begin gambling with.  Somehow Syracuse didn’t make the field of 65 and this makes the Hulk angry.  Oh well, there’s always the NIT.  I almost say that with a straight face.
• Glide Magazine’s Hidden Track Blog is down at Langerado and they have the pictures and posts to prove it.

So, yeah, we chose to take yesterday off, since it was the first day of the Big East Basketball tournament. We’re not hugely into sports, but we do enjoy tourney week, Selection Sunday and then March Madness. How could you not with office pools, chicks picking winners based on school mascots or uniforms, dudes tirelessly scouting teams to find sleepers – only to have their picks lose anyways. It’s just a great time to be a sports fan.

So we were elated and dejected yesterday while watching our beloved Syracuse Orange take on UCONN yesterday afternoon. It was a great performance from the boys as we took down our hated rival for the third straight year in the Big East Tourney!

But what’s up with those unis? It looks like Helen Keller picked them out.