Category Archives: Songs

Songs

Disney Girls

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People of a certain age understand the widespread sense of loss and sadness brought about by the death yesterday of forever Mouseketeer Annette Funicello.

Annette became a teenage TV idol in the ’50’s, at a time when the idea of a TV idol was still new. Today it is considerably more common for an attractive young person to have her or his real persona distributed to a global audience for profit and entertainment. Back when the Disney Corporation did this with Annette Funicello, maintaining the aura of innocence in the midst of a marketing campaign was still possible. To her credit, she was able to maintain that image in spite of the usual pressures of fame.

I was a few years too young to catch the full blast of Annette-mania among ’50’s and ’60’s youth, but when I think of her it’s not the Mouseketeers theme song that comes to mind as readily as this one – a Beach Boys classic written and performed here by one of the least-famous Beach Boys, Bruce Johnston. It comes from a BBC2 program called “The Old Grey Whistle Test.”

What kind of fantasy world would you like to live in?

Songs

Look On The Bright Side

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Celebrated Python Eric Idle turns 70 today.

I liked the group’s TV shows and sketches, though I have an extra helping of fondness for Eric Idle’s work as a funny lyricist. His “Galaxy Song” is a long-time favorite. And as someone who enjoys the puzzle of trying to piece together a set of comical lyrics, I think I at least have an appreciation for the challenges he faces even if I can’t approach Eric Idle’s skill and accomplishments.

And really … how could anyone dream that a life of inspired clowning around would lead directly to an opportunity to play this role on a global stage?

(You’ll have to click through the link to watch it on You Tube. Thanks, Olympic Committee!)

This must not be the version we were allowed to view on U.S. television, since he casually drops what we in the American broadcast industry call an S-Bomb – an official part of the written lyrics to this song, which is why I couldn’t play it on the radio.

But the song is catchy, and our end-of-March weather is certainly changing my outlook. With the extra hours of increasingly powerful sunlight, you can’t deny we’ve turned an important corner, weather-wise.

What song do you sing when you want to cheer up a bit?

Songs

H.B., James Taylor

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Today is the birthday of the most extravagantly talented and popular mellow-sounding person ever to record a song, James Taylor.

There is some kind of narcotic effect that takes hold when I hear him sing that I find comforting and pleasurable in the extreme.

Unfortunately, chasing after a similar narcotic effect for his own enjoyment completely derailed Taylor in his younger years and nearly took his life. He may not have made it to this 65th birthday without intervention, treatment and considerable help from family and friends. So let’s be grateful that several generations of music fans got the chance to hang onto James Taylor.

http://youtu.be/-T35WXFOmwI

What do you listen to when you want to relax?

Songs

Dukes of Dexterity

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Today might be Mississippi John Hurt‘s Birthday. Or not.

Many sources list the day as July 3, 1893, but there’s a tombstone in Avalon, Mississippi that claims it’s March 8th, 1892. Not that the date matters all that much. I’d be in favor of adding several dozen dates to the list to create more confusion, because any excuse to listen to John Hurt works for me.

Since Hurt was born in the 19th century, he came from a world where “digital content” was something you made with your fingers. One oft-told story is that when the classical guitar master Andrés Segovia heard one of Hurt’s solo recordings, he asked who was playing the second guitar. I like it that we get a chance to see his hands work in this video.

http://youtu.be/YEjyBLm9–4

There is more certainty about today being the birthday of another remarkable string player – Bob Brozman. Speaking of talented hands, in this clip he’s a percussionist too.

Ten fingers in good working order – what a gift!

How do you express your dexterity?

Songs

H.B. Fats Domino

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Today is New Orleans musician Fats Domino‘s birthday – he’s 85 today, despite rumors to the contrary that he died during Hurricane Katrina.

I’m especially happy to have him around in 2013 when everything is so dark and serious because the Fats Domino songs are full of cheerful energy and light. Even Blue Monday has a bit of a respite when we get to Saturday morning.

These tunes can lighten any mood – a handy tool to have in this week leading to the imminent sequestration debacle in Washington. It makes me want to sing.

In fact, I’m delighted to see that Fats Domino has so many memorable sequestration-friendly four syllable song titles, like Blueberry Hill, Ain’t That A Shame, Jambalaya and My Blue Heaven.

Calamity calls.
Disaster is nigh.
We’re gonna try sequestration.

We can’t raise a tax.
Too much debt on our backs.
That leads us to sequestration.

We’re gonna cut defense, the border fence, and baby’s shoes.
Let’s roll the dice. It won’t be nice. What’s left to lose?

Goodbye to your job. Don’t be such a snob.
You gotta love sequestration!

Name a song that could be adapted as a sequestration ballad.

Songs

Near Miss

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Hot on the heels of the Holiday of Closeness, an apartment building-sized asteroid called 2012 DA 14 will make a pass at us and it has already got our attention. The experts assure us there will be no impact, which is good news since the archeological record suggests that a small rock going very fast can have a lasting effect on living things when it hits.

Today’s near miss is the closest encounter ever detected with a space object this size. For some reason the unusual proximity of this rock has me thinking about a favorite old song.

If a boulder from outer space
drew a bead on your place
You’d avoid an asteroid
close to you

If a chunk fell out of the sky
would you stop to ask why?
You’d avoid an asteroid
close to you

One thing about asteroids that’s very disconcerting,
And the dinosaurs found out that this is true.
If a rock from space collides with Earth
there isn’t very much that you can do!

That is why, when some space debris
vaporizes the seas
‘Cest la vie. That’s when I’ll be
toast to you.

So far, our scientific advances have done little more than improve the chances that we’ll know about the next asteroid impact at least a few days ahead – just enough time to panic, say goodbye, or organize a sing-a-long.

What songs are in your asteroid apocalypse playlist?

Songs

Birthday People

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Astrology is a bunch of hooey. There’s no way the position of the stars in relation to the Earth on a particular day has any influence at all over the sort of person you become. All you have to do is look at any one day’s host of birthday people – artists who launched themselves into a certain form of expression and ultimately wound up in very different places.

Like today’s birthday people in music. February 9th boasts:

Carmen Miranda in 1909
Ernest Tubb in 1914
Carole King in 1942.

If astrology had any truth to it, these three different performers would fit this description from astrology.com.au

You are a zesty individual, having tremendous amounts of energy. You are determined and forceful in how you deal with people. You want to express your ground-breaking spirit in everything you do but unfortunately you won’t always able to break free of the limits that are imposed upon you. Some Aquarians learn through their family life that before you can be the master of your own destiny, you have to serve. In some extreme cases Aquarians are controlled and dominated by others throughout the formative period of their lives which is why it’s so difficult for them to submit to others.

Most of that could apply to anyone. But in the case of these three, it’s not true at all. Well, OK. Maybe the “zesty” part. And all three had great chart-topping success for a time in the music business. Each eventually found some disappointment in the limitations of the entertainment industry and the fickle nature of stardom.

Two of them are always seen wearing hats. Two were listed among the most creatively and financially successful women of their time.

But only one of them attempted to shoot a music producer in a hotel lobby. And only one had a heart attack on the Jimmy Durante show and died the next day.

See? Very different.

Astrology: Is it charlatanism, quackery or just pure hooey?

Songs

Final Resting Place

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Far better than anything coming out of the Super Bowl was Sunday’s news that the Brits have discovered the bones of Richard III under a parking lot.

Lovely.

There were no parking lots when the hunchbacked king died on the battlefield in 1485. He was buried in a church but the church was later razed and the parking lot put over him. So it goes. But having an intact skeleton may help to rehabilitate Richard’s image, tarnished by Tudors, Time and the Theater, most notably that reputation-killer, Shakespeare.

But it does put an exclamation point on the notion that once dead, you are no longer in the driver’s seat. You could be under it. And it’s up to those who follow you to honor your memory – or not.

Ultimately, does it matter where the remains land? Here are three songs making last requests about final arrangements. Short of drawing up legal papers that say essentially the same thing as your lyrics, I don’t think putting your internment instructions in a song brings any hope of success, and certainly no guarantee.

You just don’t get to call the shots after you’re gone.

http://youtu.be/WAbFXffZ7Wc

You can ask for one place NOT to be buried. Maybe we will listen.

Poems, Songs

Super Rhyme XLVII

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Here’s a Super Bowl poem from Trail Baboon’s rhyming poet laureate, Schulyer Tyler Wyler.  A common question on the Monday after the world’s largest remaining Roman Numeraled Event is “Did you watch the Super Bowl?”  I suggested that phrase as a title for the poem, and told STW he could come up with the rest as long as it doesn’t go on for too many verses.

STW said he was willing to take on this project under three conditions:

  1. He could base the poem on the rhythm and rhyme scheme of the song “Do You Hear the People Sing?” from Les Miserables. “I just saw the new film version and that stupid song is stuck in my head,” he said. “‘Do You Hear The People Sing’ and ‘Did You Watch The Super Bowl’ have the same number of syllables, so I should be able to do it in ten minutes flat, and maybe this will help me banish the thing from my brain at long last.”
  2. I would not require him to actually watch the game or know anything about it.
  3. I would pay him in advance.

Since I AM interested in watching the game and did not want to have to come up with a blog post for today, and since STW and I always deal in make-believe money,  I agreed to pay him $1,000 pretend dollars and he got to work immediately.

For reference, here’s the original song, from the 1998 film version.

http://youtu.be/FgQgzKVX9jc

Did you watch the Super Bowl?
There was a lot of stuff to see.
There was a ton of advertising
pushing stuff that’s not for me.

There were men who came to play
fighting about an oblong ball
but what they did I cannot say
for I don’t recall.

I saw puppies and a baby.
Sloppy kissing and a car.
Some beer was drunk by people
but don’t ask me who they are.
It all was a blur, and so noisy.
I watched in a bar!

Did you see the Super Bowl?
Yes but it all went by so quick.
There was a time when I blacked out.
I’m sure the nachos made me sick.

There were fortunes that were lost.
There was a bunch of money won.
But it did not appear to me
anyone had fun.

There were folks with painted faces
wearing beads for Mardi Gras.
There were men so overweight
they needed girdles and a bra.
And that was my family, I hope that
nobody else saw!

Did you see the Super Bowl?
Well yes I knew that it was on.
And I suppose I watched a little
bit while stifling a yawn.

I am sure they’ll play again.
Two super teams will get their shot.
And which teams played the game this year
I will have forgot.

I’m pretty sure I did not get my make-believe money’s worth from rhyming poet laureate Schuyler Tyler Wyler, but that’s what the morning after the Super Bowl is for – waking up with the feeling that you’ve just thrown away a bunch of time and money on something meaningless.

And I think he was lying about not watching the game. That line about blacking out is a clear reference to the 3rd quarter power failure at the Super Dome.

What do you do when the electricity goes out?

Songs

I’ve Just Seen A Face

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There’s a fresh kerfuffle over an imagined proposal to use Neanderthal DNA to produce a clone of our prehistoric cousins.

The professor who supposedly made the suggestion claims his comments were poorly translated and misunderstood. Ethicists say it’s a bad idea in any case.

No one is enthusiastic about the concept of bringing back to life some distant relatives who might have been boyfriend/girlfriend material for early humans in the unregulated, romantic days of yore.

Far flung, anything-goes Yore.

Yes, everybody’s against cloning the Neanderthals, though I’m guessing the songwriters would see some intriguing possibilities in the adventurous sexual dynamic that could develop. Imagine, if human / neanderthal dating had been a possibility when The Beatles wrote this:

It might have come out more like this:

I’ve just seen a face,
that was extinct. With hairy grace
I think she winked. She’s a Neanderthal
but I don’t think my folks will care at all.
Na na na na na na

Had I loved some missing link
I might have worried what they’d think
Neanderthals are just like us
Except they’re stronger and they never cuss
Na na na na na na

CHORUS:
Cloning. Let’s do some cloning.
Start Twilight Zoning them back again.

I love every ridge
of her thick skull. Her name is Midge.
She’s never dull. A prehistoric Miss
My human heart, each time we kiss, is full.
Na na na na na na.

CHORUS

Yes I’d like a chance
To take a fossil to the dance
It’s not impossible to clone a date
No love affair has come as late as this.
Na na na na na na.

Who was your least (or most) compatible date?