Have you heard “Baby Shark” roughly 687 times in your life? Would you like to hear its repetitive aquatic-themed drivel again during an especially tense moment at a baseball game? Someone, somewhere, answered yes to both questions and requested the egregiously overplayed children’s song during a Red Sox game this year.
But Fenway Park organist Josh Kantor is always pleased to oblige.
It’s a Boston sports tradition at this point: When baseball season ends, Kantor summons his records and shares an exhaustive list of fan requests he performed during Red Sox home games that year. 2021’s tally includes 705 songs, spanning the new (Lil Nas X), the old (Louis Armstrong), and the obscene (Fucked Up).
In addition to “Baby Shark,” some other WTF moments from this season include songs by Paris Hilton, Hillary Duff, “Chocolate Rain” YouTube sensation Tay Zonday, and fictional children’s band The Backyardigans.
2021’s request list also displayed a hearty helping of music from Boston bands and regionally affiliated acts, such as Beeef, Western Education, The Lemonheads, Letters to Cleo, The Modern Lovers, ‘Til Tuesday, Buffalo Tom, Guster, Throwing Muses, Belly, Breeders, and Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. Of course, there were ample requests for usual suspects: Aersomith, Pixies, The Cars, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Boston, and “The MTA Song.”
It’s tough to confirm without straining our eyes, but The Beatles and Bruce Springsteen appear to the most popular artists this year, with 14 and 11 requests respectively.
“Felt good to get back this year to doing the dumb thing I do,” Kantor shared on Twitter. “Thanks to everyone who submitted one of these 705 requests that I played. And if your name/band/song appears on this list, congratulations and/or I apologize.”
Grab a magnifying glass and see the full list below.
Felt good to get back this year to doing the dumb thing I do. Thanks to everyone who submitted one of these 705 requests that I played. And if your name/band/song appears on this list, congratulations and/or I apologize. pic.twitter.com/dtPlZ8qTd0
— Josh Kantor (@jtkantor) October 29, 2021