01Bear said:

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evanluck said:

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01Bear said:

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evanluck said:

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calumnus said:

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ducky23 said:

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wifeisafurd said:

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It has been used by others (most notably FIFA) but 7 Nation Army would be my favorite. It is simple, has a great beat, is current, and has great guitar riffs. But heck yea if not this, I want something brash, with a beat to wake up the fan base at Memorial. Cal games need some adrenaline.

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Yeah....no on 7 Nation Army.

In my opinion, here's the criteria that should be followed for any song:

1. MUST be unique to Cal. Cannot be prominently used by any other teams, cannot be some generic sports song (see 7 Nation Army).

2. Intro must be iconic so the fans immediately know what song is coming (see Jump Around - Wisconsin)

3. Song needs to be catchy, danceable yet edgy (NOT GENERIC)

4. Song should at least be within the last 30 years (preferably newer - even though I'm not a huge fan of contemporary music)

5. Song should have some sort of tie-in to Cal or Berkeley or the Bay Area or California (see ND and Dropkick Murphys, USC and Tusk, Alabama and Sweet Home Alabama, etc)

The only song that has been suggested around here that comes close to fitting even some of that criteria is California Love, though I feel like that song has lost its edginess, isn't necessarily something an entire stadium can dance to and TuPac is east coast. But its at least close to what we should be looking for.

The problem is that any bands with Cal/bay area ties don't have suitable songs. Though there are many times when I think "Jumper" by Third Eye Blind is the pefect anthem for Cal sports.

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Yeah, he was originally from Baltimore, but Tupac repped the Bay. He was from Marin City where he went to high school and lived in Berkeley and Oakland. He got his start with Oakland's Digital Underground. That is the whole point of "California Love" it is a West Coast (California, north and south) rap anthem. Dr. Dre and Snoop represent LA (Long Beach and Compton), though Tupac later lived in LA too.

Oakland recognizes Tupac Day
https://www.kqed.org/arts/11696060/its-tupac-day-in-oakland-where-he-once-sued-the-police-for-10-million

National news story on UC Berkeley and Tupac



But the reason California Love is perfect:
1. Dr. Dre's intro and beat

2. Tupac is a legend with East Bay origins.

3. The unification of, and love for, the entire state ("Its all good from Diego to the Bay"), it affirms the entire state as "California" which is critical to our team branding, especially as we enter the ACC.

4. "California knows how to party"

5. It is a battle anthem, California versus the East Coast, again perfect for competing in the ACC, but expressed as Love for California.

6. Dre tells ACC visitors to CMS: "Now let me welcome everybody to the wild Wild West, a state that's untouchable like Elliot Ness."

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Other reasons why I like California Love has to do with the tempo and that it is both a song capable of firing up a crowd but at the same time producing an environment that is formidable and even intimidating. There is a toughness to the song in both rhythm and chord structure. That is not an easy combination to find in a song.

There is also an opportunity to hold a yearly contest for aspiring rappers to come up with verse lyrics that are specific to the team and even the players. It would be great to play the song just following the traditional Fight for California as the team takes the field pregame. This is an opportunity to play the extended version of the song even with an MC on the mic rapping Cal specific lyrics in the verse. Then it can be played in short versions after big defensive plays.

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"California Love" is a great song. It's easily a classic and I love it. Doubly so because it's from the 90s, when I grew up. Unfortunately, that also means it's now also outdated and unlikely to connect with today's youth. The song is almost 30 years old; today's kids will likely take to it as well as kids from my era took to songs by the Rolling Stones. Sure, we may appreciate the classics and the artistry, but the songs won't resonate with us. Similarly, I doubt today's "California Love" will resonate with today's kids.

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I get what your saying but searching for something modern is a snipe hunt in my opinion. Media is consumed in a very fragmented way nowadays. Things don't get globally popular in the same way they did even 20 years ago.

We live in the era of memes. The reason why things get popular is not really connected to the quality of the content. Everyone streaming their content at different times and pop trends are too diverse to find something iconic that everyone connects to.

California Love is not modern but it is modern enough. Just making a decision to choose a hip hop song is more modern than any Cal choice in the last 30 years and the connection of the song to the area and the classic quality of the song makes the choice fairly timeless in my opinion.

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The silly thing is we're a bunch of old farts in this forum trying to dictate what song(s) young people should prefer. That's the real thrust of my argument. It doesn't matter that the Boomers want 60 year old songs or that their kids wants 30 year old songs. It's just utterly naive to think young people would relate to songs that meant anything to their parents and grandparents. How many of you rock out to "The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" or "Jeepers Creepers?"

If Cal's fight songs are too old-fashioned or outdated for today's Cal students, let them decide what they prefer.

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I'm not trying to dictate what young people should prefer. I'm proposing we attempt to establish a new tradition by co-opting a well known hip-hop song and turning it into a new Cal fight song. It is no different than playing Big C and Fight for California and Sons of California and encouraging freshman to learn the words and sing-a-long.

Virginia Tech using Enter Sandman (released in 1991) isn't to try to appeal to young people as much as it is to use a near perfectly designed musical build up to fire up to the crowd to the point of explosion just as their football team take the field.

Good music used in the right context doesn't require a personal connection to enjoy.

Check out these two young men who have a YouTube Channel where they react to all kinds of music. They listen to Phil Collins, Al Green and a bunch of other classic songs for the first time and give their honest reactions. Here is their episode on California Love.

For a short time, Louie Louie seemed to be headed in this direction. It was big at Harmon with the Straw Hat Band.

Everyone is missing the obvious Berkeley connection, a singable and energetic song,:




Imagine a Memorial Stadium full of people doing the hand gestures and then whistling at the end together. This shiznit writes itself.

Yes, it would be great to have a group of students come up with something! Or students and young alums.

Regarding the fight songs -- heck, a lot of the lyrics seemed archaic when I first learned them 40+ years ago -- we can have both, just like someone enjoys different genres of music.

AunBear89 said:

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For a short time, Louie Louie seemed to be headed in this direction. It was big at Harmon with the Straw Hat Band.

Everyone is missing the obvious Berkeley connection, a singable and energetic song,:




Imagine a Memorial Stadium full of people doing the hand gestures and then whistling at the end together. This shiznit writes itself.

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Louie Louie was for Campanelli. "Who let the dogs out?" for Mad Dog? (Let's face it, probably not . . . )

Walk Like an Egyptian: Very catchy tune, high energy, stays in your head. Could even be "current", if we can just sign that 5-star from Egypt. Wait: I bet there are several cities in the US named "Cairo" . . .

Or, we walk like a Golden Bear.

AunBear89 said:

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For a short time, Louie Louie seemed to be headed in this direction. It was big at Harmon with the Straw Hat Band.

Everyone is missing the obvious Berkeley connection, a singable and energetic song,:




Imagine a Memorial Stadium full of people doing the hand gestures and then whistling at the end together. This shiznit writes itself.

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RIP Lou

evanluck said:

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01Bear said:

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evanluck said:

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01Bear said:

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evanluck said:

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calumnus said:

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ducky23 said:

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wifeisafurd said:

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It has been used by others (most notably FIFA) but 7 Nation Army would be my favorite. It is simple, has a great beat, is current, and has great guitar riffs. But heck yea if not this, I want something brash, with a beat to wake up the fan base at Memorial. Cal games need some adrenaline.

---

Yeah....no on 7 Nation Army.

In my opinion, here's the criteria that should be followed for any song:

1. MUST be unique to Cal. Cannot be prominently used by any other teams, cannot be some generic sports song (see 7 Nation Army).

2. Intro must be iconic so the fans immediately know what song is coming (see Jump Around - Wisconsin)

3. Song needs to be catchy, danceable yet edgy (NOT GENERIC)

4. Song should at least be within the last 30 years (preferably newer - even though I'm not a huge fan of contemporary music)

5. Song should have some sort of tie-in to Cal or Berkeley or the Bay Area or California (see ND and Dropkick Murphys, USC and Tusk, Alabama and Sweet Home Alabama, etc)

The only song that has been suggested around here that comes close to fitting even some of that criteria is California Love, though I feel like that song has lost its edginess, isn't necessarily something an entire stadium can dance to and TuPac is east coast. But its at least close to what we should be looking for.

The problem is that any bands with Cal/bay area ties don't have suitable songs. Though there are many times when I think "Jumper" by Third Eye Blind is the pefect anthem for Cal sports.

---

Yeah, he was originally from Baltimore, but Tupac repped the Bay. He was from Marin City where he went to high school and lived in Berkeley and Oakland. He got his start with Oakland's Digital Underground. That is the whole point of "California Love" it is a West Coast (California, north and south) rap anthem. Dr. Dre and Snoop represent LA (Long Beach and Compton), though Tupac later lived in LA too.

Oakland recognizes Tupac Day
https://www.kqed.org/arts/11696060/its-tupac-day-in-oakland-where-he-once-sued-the-police-for-10-million

National news story on UC Berkeley and Tupac



But the reason California Love is perfect:
1. Dr. Dre's intro and beat

2. Tupac is a legend with East Bay origins.

3. The unification of, and love for, the entire state ("Its all good from Diego to the Bay"), it affirms the entire state as "California" which is critical to our team branding, especially as we enter the ACC.

4. "California knows how to party"

5. It is a battle anthem, California versus the East Coast, again perfect for competing in the ACC, but expressed as Love for California.

6. Dre tells ACC visitors to CMS: "Now let me welcome everybody to the wild Wild West, a state that's untouchable like Elliot Ness."

---

Other reasons why I like California Love has to do with the tempo and that it is both a song capable of firing up a crowd but at the same time producing an environment that is formidable and even intimidating. There is a toughness to the song in both rhythm and chord structure. That is not an easy combination to find in a song.

There is also an opportunity to hold a yearly contest for aspiring rappers to come up with verse lyrics that are specific to the team and even the players. It would be great to play the song just following the traditional Fight for California as the team takes the field pregame. This is an opportunity to play the extended version of the song even with an MC on the mic rapping Cal specific lyrics in the verse. Then it can be played in short versions after big defensive plays.

---

"California Love" is a great song. It's easily a classic and I love it. Doubly so because it's from the 90s, when I grew up. Unfortunately, that also means it's now also outdated and unlikely to connect with today's youth. The song is almost 30 years old; today's kids will likely take to it as well as kids from my era took to songs by the Rolling Stones. Sure, we may appreciate the classics and the artistry, but the songs won't resonate with us. Similarly, I doubt today's "California Love" will resonate with today's kids.

---

I get what your saying but searching for something modern is a snipe hunt in my opinion. Media is consumed in a very fragmented way nowadays. Things don't get globally popular in the same way they did even 20 years ago.

We live in the era of memes. The reason why things get popular is not really connected to the quality of the content. Everyone streaming their content at different times and pop trends are too diverse to find something iconic that everyone connects to.

California Love is not modern but it is modern enough. Just making a decision to choose a hip hop song is more modern than any Cal choice in the last 30 years and the connection of the song to the area and the classic quality of the song makes the choice fairly timeless in my opinion.

---

The silly thing is we're a bunch of old farts in this forum trying to dictate what song(s) young people should prefer. That's the real thrust of my argument. It doesn't matter that the Boomers want 60 year old songs or that their kids wants 30 year old songs. It's just utterly naive to think young people would relate to songs that meant anything to their parents and grandparents. How many of you rock out to "The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" or "Jeepers Creepers?"

If Cal's fight songs are too old-fashioned or outdated for today's Cal students, let them decide what they prefer.

---

I'm not trying to dictate what young people should prefer. I'm proposing we attempt to establish a new tradition by co-opting a well known hip-hop song and turning it into a new Cal fight song. It is no different than playing Big C and Fight for California and Sons of California and encouraging freshman to learn the words and sing-a-long.

Virginia Tech using Enter Sandman (released in 1991) isn't to try to appeal to young people as much as it is to use a near perfectly designed musical build up to fire up to the crowd to the point of explosion just as their football team take the field.

Good music used in the right context doesn't require a personal connection to enjoy.

Check out these two young men who have a YouTube Channel where they react to all kinds of music. They listen to Phil Collins, Al Green and a bunch of other classic songs for the first time and give their honest reactions. Here is their episode on California Love.

---

Again, you're still trying to impose your preferences for hip hop on the younger generation. Just because you may be familiar with "California Love" for decades now, doesn't mean today's kids are familiar with it. Why would they feel a connection to it any more than they would to "Big C" or "Fight for California?"

If we're going to replace the old traditional Cal fight songs, let the kids figure out the songs that speak to them and choose those songs as their new fight songs. We old people need to step the eff back and let the kids take the wheel.

Big C said:

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Yes, it would be great to have a group of students come up with something! Or students and young alums.

Regarding the fight songs -- heck, a lot of the lyrics seemed archaic when I first learned them 40+ years ago -- we can have both, just like someone enjoys different genres of music.

---

Personally, I'm in favor of keeping the traditional fight songs. It connects the current generation of Cal students to all those who came before them. But if we're going to replace the fight songs, let the kids figure out what they want. The old farts (who are closer to the end of their lives than the beginning) need to step back and stop suggesting songs we grew up with or that spoke to us in our youth. Let the kids take over.

AunBear89 said:

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For a short time, Louie Louie seemed to be headed in this direction. It was big at Harmon with the Straw Hat Band.

Everyone is missing the obvious Berkeley connection, a singable and energetic song,:




Imagine a Memorial Stadium full of people doing the hand gestures and then whistling at the end together. This shiznit writes itself.

---

Oh h-e-l-l no! That song is racist as eff!

01Bear said:

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evanluck said:

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01Bear said:

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evanluck said:

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01Bear said:

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evanluck said:

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calumnus said:

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ducky23 said:

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wifeisafurd said:

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It has been used by others (most notably FIFA) but 7 Nation Army would be my favorite. It is simple, has a great beat, is current, and has great guitar riffs. But heck yea if not this, I want something brash, with a beat to wake up the fan base at Memorial. Cal games need some adrenaline.

---

Yeah....no on 7 Nation Army.

In my opinion, here's the criteria that should be followed for any song:

1. MUST be unique to Cal. Cannot be prominently used by any other teams, cannot be some generic sports song (see 7 Nation Army).

2. Intro must be iconic so the fans immediately know what song is coming (see Jump Around - Wisconsin)

3. Song needs to be catchy, danceable yet edgy (NOT GENERIC)

4. Song should at least be within the last 30 years (preferably newer - even though I'm not a huge fan of contemporary music)

5. Song should have some sort of tie-in to Cal or Berkeley or the Bay Area or California (see ND and Dropkick Murphys, USC and Tusk, Alabama and Sweet Home Alabama, etc)

The only song that has been suggested around here that comes close to fitting even some of that criteria is California Love, though I feel like that song has lost its edginess, isn't necessarily something an entire stadium can dance to and TuPac is east coast. But its at least close to what we should be looking for.

The problem is that any bands with Cal/bay area ties don't have suitable songs. Though there are many times when I think "Jumper" by Third Eye Blind is the pefect anthem for Cal sports.

---

Yeah, he was originally from Baltimore, but Tupac repped the Bay. He was from Marin City where he went to high school and lived in Berkeley and Oakland. He got his start with Oakland's Digital Underground. That is the whole point of "California Love" it is a West Coast (California, north and south) rap anthem. Dr. Dre and Snoop represent LA (Long Beach and Compton), though Tupac later lived in LA too.

Oakland recognizes Tupac Day
https://www.kqed.org/arts/11696060/its-tupac-day-in-oakland-where-he-once-sued-the-police-for-10-million

National news story on UC Berkeley and Tupac



But the reason California Love is perfect:
1. Dr. Dre's intro and beat

2. Tupac is a legend with East Bay origins.

3. The unification of, and love for, the entire state ("Its all good from Diego to the Bay"), it affirms the entire state as "California" which is critical to our team branding, especially as we enter the ACC.

4. "California knows how to party"

5. It is a battle anthem, California versus the East Coast, again perfect for competing in the ACC, but expressed as Love for California.

6. Dre tells ACC visitors to CMS: "Now let me welcome everybody to the wild Wild West, a state that's untouchable like Elliot Ness."

---

Other reasons why I like California Love has to do with the tempo and that it is both a song capable of firing up a crowd but at the same time producing an environment that is formidable and even intimidating. There is a toughness to the song in both rhythm and chord structure. That is not an easy combination to find in a song.

There is also an opportunity to hold a yearly contest for aspiring rappers to come up with verse lyrics that are specific to the team and even the players. It would be great to play the song just following the traditional Fight for California as the team takes the field pregame. This is an opportunity to play the extended version of the song even with an MC on the mic rapping Cal specific lyrics in the verse. Then it can be played in short versions after big defensive plays.

---

"California Love" is a great song. It's easily a classic and I love it. Doubly so because it's from the 90s, when I grew up. Unfortunately, that also means it's now also outdated and unlikely to connect with today's youth. The song is almost 30 years old; today's kids will likely take to it as well as kids from my era took to songs by the Rolling Stones. Sure, we may appreciate the classics and the artistry, but the songs won't resonate with us. Similarly, I doubt today's "California Love" will resonate with today's kids.

---

I get what your saying but searching for something modern is a snipe hunt in my opinion. Media is consumed in a very fragmented way nowadays. Things don't get globally popular in the same way they did even 20 years ago.

We live in the era of memes. The reason why things get popular is not really connected to the quality of the content. Everyone streaming their content at different times and pop trends are too diverse to find something iconic that everyone connects to.

California Love is not modern but it is modern enough. Just making a decision to choose a hip hop song is more modern than any Cal choice in the last 30 years and the connection of the song to the area and the classic quality of the song makes the choice fairly timeless in my opinion.

---

The silly thing is we're a bunch of old farts in this forum trying to dictate what song(s) young people should prefer. That's the real thrust of my argument. It doesn't matter that the Boomers want 60 year old songs or that their kids wants 30 year old songs. It's just utterly naive to think young people would relate to songs that meant anything to their parents and grandparents. How many of you rock out to "The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" or "Jeepers Creepers?"

If Cal's fight songs are too old-fashioned or outdated for today's Cal students, let them decide what they prefer.

---

I'm not trying to dictate what young people should prefer. I'm proposing we attempt to establish a new tradition by co-opting a well known hip-hop song and turning it into a new Cal fight song. It is no different than playing Big C and Fight for California and Sons of California and encouraging freshman to learn the words and sing-a-long.

Virginia Tech using Enter Sandman (released in 1991) isn't to try to appeal to young people as much as it is to use a near perfectly designed musical build up to fire up to the crowd to the point of explosion just as their football team take the field.

Good music used in the right context doesn't require a personal connection to enjoy.

Check out these two young men who have a YouTube Channel where they react to all kinds of music. They listen to Phil Collins, Al Green and a bunch of other classic songs for the first time and give their honest reactions. Here is their episode on California Love.

---

Again, you're still trying to impose your preferences for hip hop on the younger generation. Just because you may be familiar with "California Love" for decades now, doesn't mean today's kids are familiar with it. Why would they feel a connection to it any more than they would to "Big C" or "Fight for California?"

If we're going to replace the old traditional Cal fight songs, let the kids figure out the songs that speak to them and choose those songs as their new fight songs. We old people need to step the eff back and let the kids take the wheel.

---

Not proposing that we replace the traditional Cal songs. I love most of those songs and know the lyrics to almost all of them, even the obscure ones by heart.

This is a strange phenomenon when someone tries to judge your intentions without being in your head and does it erroneously. Also the Cal experience is for all Cal fans. Of course we want to acknowledge and give the students the same consideration that we had as students. But the engagement level of the current students combined with their work load and their lack of continuity over the span of decades that even modern Cal fandom encompasses makes it unlikely that students will provide leadership in this regard.

Alumni can play a role in defining the game experience to improve their own enjoyment, engagement and the experience for the rest of the fans. New things have to be tried. If they don't take off so be it. The fans be they students or alumni will have spoken through their lack of enthusiasm and participation.

Stifling ideas based on some notion that anyone other than students has no role or place in creating or improving the game day experience creates a void of ideas and interest and allows the athletic department to affect the experience negatively in an attempt to maximize revenue.

This one works great for the 'Quakes. It was purpose written for them. Counting Crows maybe writes something for us? Never say Die is pretty close to our vibe, though. Maybe they adapt it to … we are blue n gold…

Interesting tidbit. Oklahoma's famous Boomer Sooner song is a mashup derived from Yale's Boola Boola and Carolina's Tar Heel born. And to give OU credit they openly give that credit. GO HEELS! #GDTBATH

So the thing with CA love, is it isn't much of a singalong other than some very short choruses.

I'm sure there are others, but the closest things I can think of to a Berkeley/East Bay/Bay area roots song that would work would be rewritten lyrics for CCR, Steve Miller, or Green Day, maaaaybe E40 (not popular enough but could catch on over time)

Gobears49 said:

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Read the article and you will learn which songs/chants are being shown, but most are pretty obvious. As a former Cal yell leader, I am a bit jealous seeing and hearing them. Stanford's "All Right Now" song is really good, but only a few fans sing it. Unfortunately, Cal doesn't have anything to be considered in this category.

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Stanford "jump" All Right Now.

stanford band all right now

rkt88edmo said:

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So the thing with CA love, is it isn't much of a singalong other than some very short choruses.

I'm sure there are others, but the closest things I can think of to a Berkeley/East Bay/Bay area roots song that would work would be rewritten lyrics for CCR, Steve Miller, or Green Day, maaaaybe E40 (not popular enough but could catch on over time)

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Good singalongs don't have to be long. In fact it is better that they are short. The chorus of Sweet Caroline is a good example.

Also there can be different songs for different contexts. I always thought of California Love as a defense song. This means it will be played after big defensive stops where there isn't a ton of time to play a long song. The design of the song is very good for this. It has a short imposing intro followed by a recognizable chorus that is easy to singalong to and that whole chunk only takes 44 seconds.

There can be other songs for longer TV timeouts or breaks during the game that could include some of the songs you are mentioning. But the most important thing about these song choices is that they are iconic and have an anthem quality.

Don't Stop Believin' checks a lot of boxes for a longer song. It's a bay area band and an iconic song with a positive message that fits with the Cal brand. It also has the advantage (or disadvantage depending how you think) of already being used by a local sports team.

evanluck said:

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rkt88edmo said:

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So the thing with CA love, is it isn't much of a singalong other than some very short choruses.

I'm sure there are others, but the closest things I can think of to a Berkeley/East Bay/Bay area roots song that would work would be rewritten lyrics for CCR, Steve Miller, or Green Day, maaaaybe E40 (not popular enough but could catch on over time)

---

Good singalongs don't have to be long. In fact it is better that they are short. The chorus of Sweet Caroline is a good example.

Also there can be different songs for different contexts. I always thought of California Love as a defense song. This means it will be played after big defensive stops where there isn't a ton of time to play a long song. The design of the song is very good for this. It has a short imposing intro followed by a recognizable chorus that is easy to singalong to and that whole chunk only takes 44 seconds.

There can be other songs for longer TV timeouts or breaks during the game that could include some of the songs you are mentioning. But the most important thing about these song choices is that they are iconic and have an anthem quality.

Don't Stop Believin' checks a lot of boxes for a longer song. It's a bay area band and an iconic song with a positive message that fits with the Cal brand. It also has the advantage (or disadvantage depending how you think) of already being used by a local sports team.

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California Love is perfect for what we use it for: a pre-game intro song. "Welcome to the Wild Wild West, a state that's untouchable like Eliott Ness."

Sing alongs are generally between the third and 4th quarter. Yes, they need a recognizable chorus. My vote is for Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds (Bears)" which is used as a singalong in Europe at soccer games but to my knowledge is not adopted by any college as of yet. "Three little birds" is easily Calified in the Cal tradition to "Three Little Bears" which evokes the three bears of the Grateful Dead, another Berkeley tradition and the chorus "Dont worry, bout a thing, cuz every little thing's gonna be all right" is easily sung and fits the Cal zeitgeist whether we are leading or otherwise.