The Monday night playlist

One of the good things about aging: your relationship with Monday night football totally changes. As a kid on the east coast, Monday night football is defined as something you always miss. School, work, parents — they conspire against you well into college. When you’re done with all that, you realize this inherent paradox: Proper adults have less free time on the whole but more free time on Monday nights. This is why people are so possessive over Monday night football. It’s TV’s answer to adult swim at the local pool. It’s sacred because it’s inconvenient for everyone else.

As always at the Daily Jolt on Mondays, we’ve put together a list of song to put you in the mood. All fall somewhere between good-to-great and, in a pinch, are capable of calling plays for the Redskins.

“Los Angeles” by Counting Crows. This is an exceptionally good Counting Crows song that had the misfortune to be released in March 2008, 10 years after the band’s sell-by date. Had this song come out a decade earlier, hearing it would undoubtedly conjure up memories of the Dole campaign. Instead it’s just another song, which is a shame.

“I Am Mine” by Brooke Waggoner. I love Brooke Waggoner and can’t understand why she hasn’t broken out. Great voice, great lyrics. Her third album came out earlier this month, and if you don’t download it, Sherm Lewis will come in and take over your music-buying duties. You’ve been warned.

“The February Train” by Beat Circus. Hipsters don’t like the Beat Circus, but then again, they also helped “Where the Wild Things Are” gross $32.5 million this weekend. So maybe indie cache isn’t something you want to shoot for.

“Oh James” by Blonde Redhead. Blonde Redhead rocks about a thousand times harder than the name suggests. All the appeal of Vivian Sisters, except you can actually understand the lyrics.

“Comin’ from Tucson” by Limbeck. Since I’m sure you’re dying to know, I went a dismal 5-8 on my picks Sunday. People always ask me if I bet all the games I pick. The answer is no. There are certain teams I’m doomed to incorrectly evaluate. The key is to recognize this and stay away from them. What I’m saying is, take anything I say about the Cardinals, Jaguars, Jets, Texans, Seahawks and Bills with a grain of salt. Unless I start hitting them. Then I know what I’m talking about.

APBill Belichick, ambassador to the UK.

“Alcohol” by The Holloways. A solid track from a non-lame British dance band to celebrate the Patriots and Buccaneers going to England this Sunday. This strikes me as the kind of mission that appeals to Bill Belichick’s sense of history. This thread of Belichick’s personality has really emerged in recent years and is responsible, I think, for the subtle softening of his public persona. He really does seem to be a fan. I don’t know if anyone caught him in that AFL documentary Showtime has been running, but he was practically gleaming when he talked about Lamar Hunt. Those of us who like Belichick have seen that side all along, but for critics, it may have been the most revealing look at the Patriots’ guru to date.

“Souvenirs” by Grandpaboy. Has Paul Westerberg ever been a bad choice? He’s like drafting a linebacker with a mid-first-round pick.

Follow me on Twitter: RayGustini

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