Soundtrack Of A Steeler Nation
By chris
It’s ironic that the biggest “scandal” of Super Bowl XLV has been Ben Roethlisberger singing karaoke at a piano bar. I put “scandal” in quotes because only a humongous tool would think Big Ben did anything wrong by enjoying a night out with his teammates. And I say ironic because music seems to be Steeler Nation‘s second favorite pastime after watching the Pittsburgh Steelers. Every day for the past two weeks, my inbox has been deluged with odes to the most decorated franchise in NFL history.
Of course, the most popular is Pittsburgh native Wiz Khalifa‘s “Black and Yellow.” I’m not really much of a rap/hip-hop fan but if someone petitioned Mayor Raven SteelersStahl to make that the city’s official anthem, I’d sign up. I dare any proud yinzer (or ex-yinzer) to watch that video and not swell (or swool as the rappers say) with hometown pride. To show the power of Steeler Nation, the single has been certified Double Platinum (ie: two million units sold) and currently sits at #3 on Billboard’s top 100. I know I have a nationwide readership so those of you around the country, please call or email your favorite radio station requesting that song so we can take over the airwaves like we take over opposing teams’ stadiums.
The Green Bay Packers have struck back with a song by Lil Wayne called “Green and Yellow.” This is hilarious because, for one, Lil Wayne is from New Orleans. He’s not from Green Bay nor has he probably ever been to Green Bay. I can’t really blame them for seeking outside help since, let’s face it, tipping over cows during the dead of night passes for “creativity” in Wisconsin.
Anyway, I’ve been deluged with Steelers Fight Songs, so I decided to devote a post toward the end of the week to them. Personally, I’m happy with “Renegade” but I’m a huge fan of 80s hair bands. Leave a comment on which one(s) you like the best. Hopefully some of these get you FIRED UP!
Since this is a fairly long post, click the Continue Reading button to jump to the videos.
Up first, we have the Point Park U’s lovely Emily McVicker singing her version of “Here We Go.”
Next, we have one by Chad Alexander and The Rockstar Collective with three different titles but I prefer “The Ballad of Ben.”
Do you like Bollywood movies? I’m a movie buff so I admit to finding their penchant for breaking out in song at random moments very entertaining. With some sampling from Myron Cope, BlackMahal has produced the first ever Indian-style Steelers song called “Black, Gold, And Silver.” Silver for all our Lombardi Trophies, natch.
BlackMahal is a 10-piece live music experience complete with drums, DJs, horns, hip-hop MCs, and the godfather of Punjabi-American music – Ustad Lal Singh Bhatti. Lal ‘Blitz-Singh’ Bhatti is regarded as the godfather of Punjabi-American music. Bhatti has collaborated with this year’s halftime entertainment, Black Eyed Peas, as well as one of my favorite bands of all time, The Doors. This video shows Steeler Nation is truly a worldwide phenomenon.
Next we have “Walking In Pittsburgh” by one of my fellow Carnegie Mellon alums, Tim Ruff.
He sings like Josh Groban, I blog about football… Wonder which of us attracts more groupies?
Finally, we end with a cute little girl named Molly who has turned Lady Gaga’s horrible “Bad Romance” song into an ode to the Black and Gold. I’m a sucker for the ukulele.
These talented people have plenty of Steeler Pride. Speaking of which, don’t forget my Steelers Pride contest which will run all the way up through kickoff time on Sunday. So click here for details of how to enter and win some cool stuff. Go Steelers!