I Bless The Rains Down In Africa

This video may have just made me hate this song. Which sucks, cause we are mere days (hours even!) away from being on the beach with all our beloved classic soft rock hits playing on a constant loop. Toto's Africa is like the first song I want to play when I get here:

I don't know why. We aren't going to be any closer to Africa than we are now, but it's not the song's subject matter that's important here. It's that damned synth solo that sounds like steel drums. It just assumes that you are staring at an ocean, fruity beverage in hand, drunken grin on your face. Right? But this video is full of nerdy librarians in big glasses. And yes, I realize I am myself a member of that particular tribe, but these guys take things a bit over the top. According to the band, this is what the song is about: "A white boy is trying to write a song on Africa, but since he's never been there, he can only tell what he's seen on TV or remembers in the past." What? First off, why is this dude writing a song about a place he's never been? (Hmmm, Toto?) And B) if he's never seen or done Africa, what past is he remembering from? No, let's not try to get too real here, Toto. You guys weren't making a statement or saving any African children with this one. It's just a nice song to pass out in the sun to. OK?

 

So, note to self, watch this once (because the part where the "white boy" has some sort of revelation after finding the one book on the shelf titled Africa is so redonkulous) and then never watch it again. Just close your eyes and listen...and drink...and make sure the tide isn't coming in before you nod off. And for a refresher course on appropriate and top-rated beach jams for Hubby, Bug and I, just revisit last year's pre-vacay post. Some things just don't need changin'.

 



 



I Have Watched You On The Shore

Yesterday Hubby found a surfboard.

This is important because for the past two weeks he's been telling me he was going to buy a surfboard. And then yesterday he just found one. On the side of the road. On his way to take Bug to school. Seriously? Seriously. He found a frickin' SURFBOARD. In downtown Atlanta. Where there is no surf. Are we all clear on this? Ok, good.

So in his excitement over said surfboard (ok, in all honesty it's a wakeboard, but surfboard sounds cooler to me) he began to hum (ok, in all honesty he was full out singing and then I joined in with my perfect harmony) The Beach Boys' Surfer Girl. Yep, there we sat on our front porch watching Bug play a wicked game of T-ball all by himself, randomly singing Surfer Girl for all our neighbors' listening pleasure. It was a moment, people. A really special moment.

And naturally this lovely tune is still stuck in my head this morning. It really is a pretty song in all of it's beachy, romantic simplicity. And I hadn't heard (let alone thought) about it in a very long time. Probably since I threw away my Beach Boys Greatest Hits cassette tape sometime back in the 90's after realizing that the only "cool" Beach Boys album allowed in the realm of Indie/Punk rock fandom was Pet Sounds. So I think it's about time I revisit the pre-marijuana influenced music of these guys! Hey, does anybody else remember that made for TV movie about the Beach Boys (that was also sometime back in the 90's?) No? Well I do. The scene where a supremely intoxicated and depressed Brian Wilson tries to drown himself in a pool was riveting. Just riveting.

Anyway, here's what the Boys have taught me today. A Woody (as sung about in Surfer Girl) is not just a character in Toy Story or a reference to, well, you know. It's this. Which is pretty cool, man.

Now, let's hit the damn beach already!

Sundown All Around

In exactly two weeks we'll be heading to the beach. In my brain I am already there, so to celebrate my pre-vacation vacation, I played hooky yesterday and sat in the sun drinking cerveza and listening to my and Hubby's favorite beach jams. Granted I had to pretend the sound of the city bus going up and down the street was something akin to a crashing wave on the shore, but still, it was nice. And even though all I really wanted to do was listen to Toto's Africa on repeat for a few hours, I stumbled upon this little gem and decided it definitely needed to be added to the regular beach jams rotation. Sweet, sweet Belinda Carlisle with Circle in the Sand. I mean, it's about sand and the beach and also it's Belinda Carlisle so it works on several levels.

According to Wikipedia, there is absolutely nothing interesting about this song. Huh.

But if we're talking about Belinda then we have to mention the Go-Gos, and they can claim the fun factoid of being the first all girl band who wrote their own music and played their own instruments to have a No.1 hit record, Beauty and the Beat. Let's hear it for girl power and stuff! VAGINAS! Sorry.

Hey, remeber when Jane Wiedlin was on that show The Surreal Life? Yes? No?   ...   Well, I do.

So, you'll just have to pretend that the quality of this video is better. And is it just me or is she a bit overdressed for a beach stroll. Hubby, Bug and I could definitely give Belinda some pointers on the finer points of beach etiquette. Rule number one would definitely be something like: No Black Coats...or creepy abandoned crosses...or hard backed wooden chairs. I mean, come on girl, you're at the beach! Chillax!

Rule number two is: Always bring extra Doritos for the Donalds (that's seagulls to you land lubbers.)

Belinda Carlisle - Circle In The Sand by jpdc11

See you soon, Frank.

Enough Of The Jealousy And Intoleration

That's kind of an odd lyric, isn't it? You don't hear the word "intoleration" in pop songs all that often, do you? Ah, they just don't write the hits like they used to back in 1978...

So this morning I was awakened from a dream involving speedboats (don't ask) to a crying Bug demanding to sleep in our bed, (accompanied by Piglet and blankie, as per ushe) and also REO Speedwagon blasting in my ear. Not literally, of course. Bug was not rocking out at 5:00 a.m. or anything (we take away, a.k.a. reclaim, all of his iShit at night-night time.) But you know, inside my head. Yep, Kevin Cronin's very distinctive voice was saying "RISE AND SHINE!" at this ungodly hour, and even though I briefly fell back asleep, he just would not be deterred. Amazingly enough that voice still sounds pretty much the same as you can tell from this video. Side bar: Is it weird that he seems to play the majority of the song solely with his left thumb? No? Are you sure? Because it looks pretty weird...ok, just asking.

Anyway, it's quite possible the best thing about Time For Me to Fly is the title of the album from whence it came. You Can Tune a Piano, But You Can't Tuna Fish. Was this pun funny in 1978? I don't remember. I was one. But I can tell you that the album cover that goes with the title is definitely chuckle-worthy in 2013. Agreed?

Fun factoid for today: Dolly Parton covered this track on her 1989 album White Limozeen, which is also a pretty badass album cover. Go girl.

(It might also have been one of the first times someone purposely mispelled a word to make it cooler. Let's face it, the letter Z is so much more in your face than the letter S. Even Bug knows that. Thanks Sesame Street...er, Zesame Ztreet.)

And I'm gonna keep on lovin' YOU, 80's hair. So masculine...

I Wrote A Song For You

A certain someone who will remain nameless by request (hint: he lives in my house and is over the age of two) is responsible for this morning's earworm. I don't know why this person is embarrassed to admit this song is stuck in his head, I mean the bizarre and random selection is what makes earworms so fun! But I promised to be sensitive to his request, so Hubby's name will not appear anywhere in this post.

Oh.

Oops.

Well, moving on. Coldplay's Yellow is today's tune despite the fact that there are a total of zero Coldplay records in our house and I'm pretty sure Hubby doesn't listen to the radio. The first time I remember hearing this song I was sitting on a bus full of strangers driving through Spanish countryside. I know, it sounds like I'm making this up. The yellow sun was shining on some fields and they were in fact, a little bit anyway, "all yellow," so I thought the song had some deep, intuitive meaning for me at the time. What that meaning was, I don't recall, so clearly I was incorrect. More recently GrandPop saw an interview with them on 60 Minutes and decided he liked this crazy new rock n' roll band. I bought him a CD for his next birthday. It remains unopened. Yes, I realize this is a fascinating story, but my point is I believe this band's music to be really interesting and lovely for a moment and then you can totally forget they exist and move on to getting drunk on Spanish wine. Or any wine of your choosing really.

Fun factoid of the day (even though it's not Friday:) The song is titled Yellow because Chris Martin happened to glance at a copy of the Yellow Pages in the studio when they were recording.  It could just as easily have been called Playboy. This sad truth makes me feel a little better that I never bothered to delve too deep into the lyrics to find that meaning I was looking for...pass me the wine.

This video is boring and not at all yellow. Go figure.

I Hope It Don't Kill You

OK, so really this was yesterday's earworm and would have been much more appropriate for a Monday, but I hate Mondays and couldn't get motivated and so I'm late. But I'm always late, so really everything is normal. And besides, none of you care anyway.

So, thanks to Hubby the earworm of the day is Welcome to the Working Week by the ever brilliant Elvis Costello. Elvis. Where to even start? The list of amazing songs by this "pop encyclopedia" is just too long to delve into in this itty bitty bloggy. At one point in time, This Years Model was a constant in my CD player. My first year of college I forced all of my new Phish-loving-wanna-be-hippy friends to listen to it in the vain hope of saving their musical taste. I think I got through to a few of them, but let's face it, if you have to be forced to see the genius that is Elvis Costello, well, you're probably too far gone to be saved. So in an effort to be brief, here's my list of:
Top 5 Reasons To Love Elvis (Costello, not the other one, although he's good too.)

1. All of his music (OK, that one's a bit of a cheat.)
2. His glasses.
3. He's married to Diana Krall (and she rules.)
4. He wrote a bunch of songs with Sir Paul.
5. His work with the Jazz Foundation of America to save the homes and the lives of America's elderly jazz and blues musicians, including musicians who survived Hurricane Katrina         (Ctrl C + Ctrl V = thanks Wikipedia.)

As for the song, it's catchy, poppy, upbeat and yet the lyrics are about something real (unlike so much pop fluff today, she says rolling her eyes with her nose in the air.) But, there's also this (and I know not everyone clicks on these links, but please, just do it.) Now, I'm not sure what's happening here, or what this is supposed to represent, or what on earth it has to do with the song, but I think I like it. I think. I'm not sure why these kids chose this song, but hey man, they're making art, so it's cool. NOT!!! What the f**k is happening here??? They look like a bunch of Teletubbies in an orgy gone wrong! Oy! So if you can figure that one out, you're a wiser man than I. Also, I'm not a man.

So this video gives you more than just he one tune (you're welcome) and I thought it was a better representation of his character than a video of him hocking a new album on Letterman. Dig?

What I Know, I Can't Do

So, last night Hubby and I finished up part two of the Martin Scorsese documentary about George Harrison, Living in the Material World. (I can't help it, that title just instantly conjures the Madonna song for me.) But this is not a post about Madonna, because there are just too many awesome George Harrison songs on All Things Must Pass (a major focus of the film) to have stuck in my ear right now. But before I get to the earworm du jour I have to say that I am astonished at how little I actually knew about "the quiet Beatle," considering my obsession with these guys for so long. I mean, I know the major solo hits, and The Traveling Wilburys were the jam, and I definitely think it's time to read Pattie Boyd's autobiography, but his midnight gardening tendencies, his random hoarding of ukuleles, the film company he started for Monty Python just because he wanted to see The Life of Brian and no major studio would produce such blasphemous material (stupid EMI.) These tidbits are all new to me. I mean, I must have watched that movie 800 plus times and never made the connection. And he's even IN the damn movie! How did I miss this?! And here's a fun trivia fact: HandMade Films is still making movies today. Yep.

Anyway, What is Life is the pick of the day, a great song, and sooooo catchy. And here's another fun factoid (I know, two in one post, so exciting!) Olivia Newton John had a UK hit with her version in 1972. Sans leotards and leg warmers. Also, this "pop-anthem" has made it to a lot of movie soundtracks (I'm pretty sure you could play the Kevin Bacon game with it, see previous post) and has been much debated in its meaning. Love for a woman or love for God? Well, either way, it's just a damn good track and there's no point in saying anything more than that. Just listen. Repeatedly.

And if you watch the film, be on the lookout for an intensely odd looking Phil Spector (and his Wall of Sound...and his toupee.) It's one of the highlights, for sure.

I'll Try To Use My Words

If I'm being totally honest here, the real earworm of the past couple of months is the theme song from Go Diego Go! Bug is a toddler obsessed. And Hubby and I are going insane. I am so sick of Diego's high-pitched excitement over rescuing baby animals (one day that jaguar is gonna grow up and eat you, Diego) from ridiculous situations that they shouldn't have gotten themselves into in the first place that I refuse to let him have an entire post to himself. Take that, Diego! I do however enjoy the "rescue pack mambo," and have been known to force Bug to shake his tail feathers with me whenever it comes on. Which is OFTEN. Bug usually just yells "MOVE!" so he can see the TV. Ah, quality family time...

Fun Friday factoid: Rosie Perez is the voice of la camara in Go Diego Go! She sings the same song every episode. It makes me want to shoot things. With a gun. Not with a camera.

Moving on. What's really important today is that the Super Bowl is coming up, which means the Super Bowl halftime show is coming up, which means Beyonce. Will she be singing live or won't she?!? She says yes, definitely. Just talked to her. But in the meantime, there is this. And I am so, so, SO thankful for this. So, yeah, go team (watch out for that tight end penetration, y'all) and pass me the nachos. I think Beyonce's gonna win it this year.

Ah Ah Ah AAAHHHH Ah...

This is totally the sound of my soul, y'all. Yep.

You know, I started off with something else stuck in my head this morning. The song Human by The Human League (not sure what's making them SO sad, their lack of originality in titling things or the weight of their earrings) is on some commercial at the moment and I woke up singing it this morning.  But somehow that has now morphed into Spandau Ballet's True. Didn't Tears for Fears cover this song? Anyway, clearly the most bizarre thing about these guys (aside from the fact that they're still around) is the name of their band. What the heck does Spandau Ballet mean? Well, I'll tell you. You knew I would.

So they started out as The Cut (should've stopped there in my opinion,) then for a brief period they were The Makers (OK, not too shabby,) but changed their name again when a friend of theirs saw the words 'Spandau Ballet' scrawled on the wall of a nightclub bathroom in Berlin. So basically, they found their name in the toilet. Hmm. But wait, there's more! This name refers to Spandau Prison and the many suicides by hanging there. The victims were said to twitch and jump at the end of a rope, in some sort of morbid dance. How uplifting! And so, for whatever reason, the name stuck. Despite the fact that as far as I can tell their only real German link is that they liked to hang out in clubs and listen to Kraftwerk. Right.

It's a tough call deciding what I like best about this video. The cheesiness of dude's over dramatic lipsynching in split screen, or the totally unnecessary sax solo in split screen. Or the hexagonal drums. I give up. You decide.

You Make Me Testify

So I know that haters gonna hate and that I'm gonna get made fun of for this one in certain social circles, but let's just get something clear. If there is a dude, let's call him an artist, who performs music that makes people jump around and smile, and who performs with a backing band that busts out choreographed (and very well-synchronized) dance moves WHILE playing horns and guitars, and if that music has a good beat and I can dance to it, then I'm gonna be into it people. That's just the way I roll. None of you would argue with me if this was a post about James Flippin' Brown! But it isn't...

Bruno Mars, folks. That's what I'm into today. The only thing I really can't take about this guy is his ridiculously over sized fedora. (I mean, seriously guy, you are small and your head is largish. Big hats should not be a wardrobe staple. Just rock that fro, yo!) But his talent, I am digging. And for a little dude, he's got a fair amount of it. And even though Locked Out of Heaven is, like, way up there on the charts these days, I really had no idea who he was until I happened to see this little ditty on SNL a couple months ago. And this is where he got me. Bands that dance and play at the same time (and manage to sound decent on SNL) are guaranteed to entertain (me.) I can't vouch for any more of his music, maybe it's all total crap, but this song makes me want to get off the couch...to go pour another glass of wine! And on the way back to the couch I bust out some wicked dance moves of my own...without spilling the wine! I'm not necessarily lacking in talent myself, you know.

Anyway, here's a fun fact for today: B.M. (hee hee, B.M...) a.k.a, Peter Gene Hernandez, is the son of a hula dancer and a percussionist. Also, among other instruments, he plays the congas. Yep.

And apparently he got his nickname because his Old Man thought he looked like this guy. Maybe his dad needed glasses?