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?

I Betcha Five Dollars He'll Kill You Dead

Happy New Year, ladies and gents! Let's ring in 2013 with a fresh little earworm from the Dixie Cups. Who are the Dixie Cups? Well, we'll get into that a bit later. First, the song. Iko Iko is in my brain because of a very music-driven movie I recently watched, and I woke up singing what I thought were the words this morning, only to find out that (shocker) I was wrong. But what is really more interesting than the fact that as per usual I am singing incorrect lyrics, is the fact that I had no idea this is a Mardi Gras parade song. And here I thought I new about all things Mardi Gras! Once again (shocker,) wrong. Supposedly it's about two Mardi Gras Indian tribes having a confrontation about who's flag should fly and who's should burn. The song doesn't mention this, but I'm pretty sure the resolution was something like, "Ah, screw it. Let's just get drunk and eat some crawfish. Ca c'est bon, cher!" I could insert some pretty embarrassing pre-Bug pics here of me and Hubby, in full Mardi Gras (throw me somethin' mister!) regalia, but I'll spare you. And you're welcome. Just beware of catching a chicken foot at your next Mardi Gras celebration. Trust me, it's gross. Now the sparkly purple thong on the other hand...

Anyway, as we dig a little deeper, (sorry, I'm feeling a bit librarian-ish today...occupational hazard I suppose) the story gets even more interesting (to me, anyway.) The Dixie Cups were originally from the Calliope housing project in New Orleans and grew up singing this song because they heard it from their grandmother. Not realizing the origin of the song or even it's meaning, it was just something they knew and sang as a matter of habit. Once in a New York studio they were clowning around and started singing it while tapping out the rhythm with drumsticks on ashtrays. Little did they know, the tapes were recording. Later session producers went back and added drums and bass, and, PRESTO, a song that so easily gets stuck in your head it's ridiculous!

So L'aissez les bons temps roulez! And in case you were wondering, Fat Tuesday falls on February 12 this year. Get your beads out.