There are so many wonderful things about a hockey game. The sport itself is fast-paced and exciting, and the crowd tends to get quite involved and boisterous. Oftentimes the things that fans shout out during the game are entertainment in and of themselves. One of my favorites of all time actually belongs to our esteemed Fiver creator, who loudly heckled the Worcester Sharks thusly: “The City of Worcester has no viable economic plan!”

One aspect that might not necessarily be thought of as integral to a hockey game is the music that is used. Music can get us pumped up, encourage us, and make us laugh, all of which is part of the game. During my time in Tampa, I became a devoted Lightning fan (yes, there is hockey in Florida), and had the opportunity to observe through regular attendance how much fun the music chosen can be.

And so, to celebrate the beginning of hockey season, and the extra dimension that music can bring to the game, I present to you:

Top 5 Clever Choices of Song During A Hockey Game

1. “Yakety Sax,” Boots Randolph
There is nothing quite like hearing the theme to “The Benny Hill Show” as the opposing team skates onto the ice for warm-up. Priceless.

2. “Walking On Broken Glass,” Annie Lennox
What happens when two 230-pound men hit the boards simultaneously with momentum from skating across the ice? The glass above the boards shatters and falls out, that’s what. This is a song I would never expect to hear at a sporting event, but it worked quite well in this situation.

3. “Song from M*A*S*H (Suicide Is Painless),” Johnny Mandel and Mike Altman
Hockey can be kind of like war, right? And those boys certainly need to be stitched up sometimes. So why not use this classic theme during the announcement of scratches and injuries?

4. “The Waiting,” Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
When a goal goes under review in an NHL game, the refs skate over to the sidelines and call the War Room in Toronto. So while the folks up there take another look at the play and hand down the verdict, the fans sit and … well, wait. It is, indeed, the hardest part. Except if you’re a Lightning fan, in which case the hardest part is hearing that Toronto has screwed you over again.

5. “Hook,” Blues Traveler
Oops! Someone got called for a hooking penalty. Now he’s got to go in the box, all by himself, for two minutes, and feel shame.

Hockey All The Time!

War, recession, unemployment, Glenn Beck … with such darkness surrounding this day and age, how will we ever see the sun? Sometimes all it takes is a song.

1. “Fisherman’s Blues,” The Waterboys
There’s nothing bluesy about “Fisherman’s Blues,” and despite the longing in the lyrics, it’s a song that makes you want to smile.

2. “Just For Me,” Blues Traveler
Blues Traveler knows a thing or two about struggles, but they also know how to put it in perspective and how to celebrate with music.

3. “Headlong,” Queen
“There used to be a man with a stick in his hand/there used to be a woman with a hotdog stand!” So goes the lyrics to 1991’s “Headlong,” an oft-overlooked rockin’ tune by Queen. What does it mean? Who cares, just boogie down, man!

4. “There’s Always Someone Cooler Than You,” Ben Folds
Although it sounds like a put-down, “There’s Always Someone Cooler Than You” is the furthest thing from it. This song is about the joy that can be found simply by letting go.

5. “Top of the World,” Shonen Knife
If you’re going to sing a super-happy fun song by The Carpenters, you ought to be part of an all-girl punk band from Osaka, blaring it away with a heavy Japanese inflection. Only then does “Top of the World” achieve its fullest flower.

Discuss: What do you play to make you feel better?

Super Happy Number 1!

No, wait, those were the last words of Vigo the Carpathian in Ghostbusters 2. I don’t know what Pachelbel’s last words were. Probably something like “Nuremberg Wild Cats rule!” or “Organists do it with their hands and feet!” Maybe it was, “If it ain’t Baroque, don’t fix it!”

Canon in D’s influence in popular music is sometimes felt directly; sometimes it’s hinted at during a chord progression. Recently, I was paling around with my good friends Carla and Andrew. I was playing “Hook” on guitar when, with the aid of a change in time signature, tempo, and good ol’ fashioned Fleischman’s Whiskey, I wound up playing “Cryin’.” Carla and I wondered just who thought of this chord progression first, when Andrew mentioned both progressions seemed based on Taco Bell.

“Taco Bell?” I asked, suddenly craving nachos (remember, whiskey was involved).

“No, Pachelbel. Now start blogging, Dexter.”

Top 5 songs where Canon in D rears its head (but first, a special message on Taco Bell Pachelbel from theFiver):

1. “Hook,” Blues Traveler
2. “Cryin’,” Aerosmith
3. “Piano Man,” Billy Joel
4. “Basket Case,” Green Day
5. “Fullness of Wind (Variation on Canon in D),” Brian Eno

Canon in D Variations

Runners Up: “All Together Now,” The Farm; ” “I’ll C U When U Get There,” Coolio.

Meanwhile, “Titanic” was embraced by critics but shunned by young women everywhere, grossing a mere four dollars at the box office. America was captivated by TV’s Marcel, David Schwimmer’s stand-in on “Friends.” TV network juggernaut UPN stunned the world with “The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer,” a show so successful that ratings for its series finale rivaled those of M*A*S*H. Also, some music happened:

Top 5 more-or-less successful musical partnerships of the 1990s

1. “6th Avenue Heartache,” The Wallflowers (backing vocals by Adam Duritz of Counting Crows)

2. “Hold My Hand,” Hootie and the Blowfish (backing vocals by David Crosby)

3. “What Would You Say,” Dave Matthews Band (harmonica solo by John Popper of Blues Traveler)

4. “Past The Mission,” Tori Amos (backing vocals by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails)

5. “‘Til I Hear It From You,” Gin Blossoms (produced by Marshall “Power Pop Darling” Crenshaw)

Top 5 more-or-less successful musical partnerships of the 1990s

John Popper of Blues Traveler performs Aug. 1 at L.L. Bean in Freeport, Maine. (John Swinconeck photos)

Blues Traveler’s concert at L.L. Bean proved at least one thing – a lot of people still really like Blues Traveler. The band performed a free show at the Freeport, Maine flagship store Aug. 1. There’s a reason why Blues Traveler, touring in support of their new album, “North Hollywood Shootout,” has a reputation as a solid live band, and they damn-well proved it. Also, kudos to whoever was on the mixing board.

Best Numbers:

• Busting out “Sweet Talking Hippie” early in the set seemed more than a dedication to Jerry Garcia – it was almost a greeting to thousands of hippies in attendance.

• An extended version of “But Anyway” gets thumbs-up for keeping the band’s signature jams in step with a very catchy melody.

• “Hook” never ceases to amaze.

• “Brother John” morphing into a cover of the Isley Brothers’ “Shout” was a nice way to wrap things up.

Important Observations:

• If you go to a popular concert at LL Bean, set up your lawn chair well ahead of time – like the night before.

• About 90 minutes before the opening act, the Jason Spooner band, took the stage, legions of hippies appeared, seemingly out of no where. It was enough to make one wonder if hippies spring forth from the ground as if from Middle Earth.

The artist known as Tex gets us all to do the wave.

• Everyone sitting in the bleachers to the left of the stage needs to pay tribute to a man in a loud shirt known only as “Tex.” Tex got us to do the wave. He thrilled us with his dance moves. And when the Freeport Police tried to stop his barefoot gamboling upon the sidewalk, we made our displeasure known (there could have been rioting). Hail Tex!

• Also appearing in the audience was the irony-slinging purebred hipster douchebag.

• Music played as Blues Traveler left the stage: “I’m So Ronery,” from Team America: World Police. Brilliant.

Left the concert feeling:

Blues Traveler's John Popper and Chandler Kinchla Aug. 1.

• Concern for a lovely woman who lent me a lens, but disappeared before I could give her the lens cap that she accidently left on the ground, like a Cinderella fleeing the ball who likes Canon.

• Secure knowing that LL Bean had clean, indoor bathrooms.

• Hey! I got to see Blues Traveler for free! Yay!