As Ernie would say, let’s play two

Somewhere, The Skip is happy.

His beloved Chicago Cubs have backed into won the National League Central title.

We have watched the Cubs and our once-beloved Milwaukee Brewers stagger down the stretch, neither seemingly capable of clinching in a timely manner. However, the Cubs took care of business on Friday night, while the probably-a-year-too-young Brewers — as usual — did not.

Might as well cheer for the Cubs now. They have the best music anyway.

Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune had a terrific blog post earlier this week on how folk singer Steve Goodman’s “Go Cubs Go,” written in 1984, has been revived this year. Read it here.

I prefer Goodman’s “A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request,” written in 1980, but the Cubs clearly are not “the doormat of the National League” this year.

So, as you burn a mix for your Cubs-watching parties, let’s play two:

“Go Cubs Go,” Steve Goodman, from “No Big Surprise: Anthology,” 1994.

“Slide,” Chicago Cubs Clark Street Band, 1969. It’s the first of 17 great cuts on Larry Grogan’s recent “Soul Organs, Vol. 1” mix over at Funky 16 Corners. Check ’em all out.

Here’s how Larry describes this cut:

“This instro originally appeared as the flip side to a recording of the 1969 Chicago Cubs singing a reworked version of Little Willie John’s ‘Fever’ (I shit you not), called ‘Pennant Fever.'”

Larry has more to say about the origins of “Slide” on this earlier post at Funky 16 Corners. He suspects it originated in Philadelphia, not Chicago.