I originally was thinking about classic pairings. There are many in the wine world: Chablis and oysters, Bordeaux and lamb, and so on, but how about music and cocktails? Miles Davis for a Manhattan, Fugazi for a Last Word? Once again, if you’ve read any of my ramblings, at least I stop myself and consult a professional.Bring in TJ Connelly, DJ to the stars.

I often write about how great certain restaurants, chefs and other industry professionals are at attracting — and holding– my attention on social media. But behind the scenes, what exactly are those restaurants thinking about as they hit “send” on those 140-characters?
Yesterday, I was invited for a lunch and discussion about social media with some of the best and the brightest minds in the Boston restaurant industry. Hosted by West Bridge, the lunch was assembled to foster an open discussion about how restaurants are using social media to propel their business, attract customers and make a name for themselves in the Boston hospitality scene.

The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd, the love it/hate it chorus of “Sweet Caroline”: the experience of a Sox home game is as much aural as visual. And some of us will always now associate the Dropkick Murphys with an Irish-dancing, World Series–winning closing pitcher. We go behind the Green Monster to meet the people who make the musical magic happen: DJ TJ Connelly and organist Josh Kantor.

Come for the spicy goat stew, stay for the ’80s ballads. The hipster mecca is perhaps best known for their monthly spelling bee, but to overlook the Wednesday night karaoke with Red Sox DJ TJ Connelly would be a shame. The song list runs the gamut from pop classics to Pitchfork-approved indie tracks. Grab some liquid courage from the bar and get ready to do your best Morrissey impersonation.

The Boston Red Sox could not have prepped me better for a job I had performed only in my head as a kid. Stepping up to the flat rock that served as home plate in our backyard, my brother Lionel waiting with a baseball covered with black electrical tape because of the pounding it had taken on the stone wall that served as our backstop, not pitching until I had silently announced, “Now batting, the left fielder, No. 8, Gor-don EEEE–ddssszzz.” Echo, echo, echo.

Having a bartender you can trust to make your favorite cocktails is as important as having a consistent barber or tattoo artist, according to some Hub drink mixologists. “I go to one person to cut my hair, and I wait if I have to,” said Alex Homans, bar manager at Temple Bar. “Same goes for becoming a bar regular -— you have that exclusive relationship with your bartender.”

The specialization of the cocktail world means that, for aficionados, it’s no longer sufficient to pop into whatever bar you pass and hope they’ll know how to make your hand-selected house barrel five-rum-blend tiki flip. Knowing ahead of time who’s behind the bar on a given night can help bar-hoppers plan more efficiently. A new free application (for iPhone and Android systems) designed by developers TJ Connelly, of Cambridge, and Ian Stanczyk, of the North End, called On the Bar, helps cocktail fans connect with their favorite bartenders. We asked the duo to explain how it works.

“Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” “Sweet Caroline” and “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” are all familiar sounds of Fenway Park, and for TJ Connelly, they’re a part of his daily soundtrack. Connelly is the Red Sox music director, the person in charge of the tunes you leave the park singing to yourself. The former Improv Asylum DJ knows just what David Ortiz wants to hear during batting practice and also how to get you on your feet after Big Papi hits a home run into Boston’s bullpen.

When you go to get a beer between innings at Fenway, you might get distracted by a catchy hook in the song that’s echoing into the bleachers. Those songs don’t just happen; they’re curated by TJ Connelly, Fenway’s DJ since 2005. When he’s not in the broadcast box, you can find him Tuesday at Charlies Kitchen or Wednesdays at Highland Kitchen where, during the karaoke sessions he helms as part of the five-person collective, the People’s Karaoke, you can spot him giving tunes a test run, of sorts, to see how a song sounds blasted out for listeners. Or catch full-fledged DJ sessions at Trina’s Starlite Lounge in the offseason. We’ll root for that.

If you go to Fenway Park while in Boston — and who doesn’t during baseball season? — you’ll get to experience TJ Connelly’s work. He’s the guy charged with finding the perfect song to bring to life pivotal moments of the game and bring the crowd to its feet.