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 the 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?

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.

I Wrapped It Up And Sent It

Feliz Navidad and stuff! I can say with absolute certainty that I am not at all ready for Christmas. Hubby has the flu, Bug's daycare is closed (which means he's at work with me, which means I'm not getting any work done,) and we have an eight hour (at least) car trip ahead of us tomorrow (which means I'll be driving all day while Hubby vomits out the window and Bug kicks the back of my seat and screams.) Also, I'm not packed and we're hosting a last minute cocktail party tonight. Clearly I have lost my mind.

But in the spirit of the season, I have a little holiday-themed earworm to pass along today. It's been stuck in my brain for about a week now, but I just haven't had the time to post it. You know, with all of my many social engagements to keep up with. And by social engagements I mean season one of Homeland. But I digress, today the stuck music is brought to you by Wham! (and George Michael's awesome hair...and his gay earrings.) As previously stated, Last Christmas has been playing on a loop for about eight days now (which might be significant if G.M is partially Jewish), despite the fact that I only know the words to the chorus. And actually I think I keep getting them wrong too. But still it's one of the less annoying Christmas pop songs, so I guess things could be worse. What I think I love most about this video (and this is a close runner up to the plethora of over sized coats from the 80's) is the fact that he's singing about some chick when we all know he'd rather be sticking it to the other dude in Wham. Also, the fact they they are all just pretending to take sips from their wine glasses is kind of hilarious. Were they not 21 yet when they shot this video? Was the director scared of things getting out of control with all the rampant Chardonnay sippage? I feel an investigation coming on...

So Merry Christmas and pass the egg nog! And thank you baby Jesus for another happy (most of the time) year with Hubby, Bug and of course, Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou. Peace out.

Climb Aboard, Get Ready To Explore

"We're going on a trip in our favorite rocket ship." If you don't have young children I bet you can't name that tune! Hubby and I, however, can name it in two notes or less. Beat that, bitches! We are so familiar with this little ditty that we actually both woke up singing it this morning. Bug just told us to be quiet. He can be so unappreciative of our morning duets.

So the earworm du jour is the theme song from Disney Jr.'s Little Einsteins, currently young master Bug's favorite show. For those of you who don't know (and are probably 112% uninterested) the concept of this show is actually right up my alley. It teaches famous composers and artists, music theory and terms, mixed in with a bit of geographic exploration of places with major architectural or historical significance. In reality it is totally bizarro. The rocket ship in which these four parent-less tots zoom around time and space (totally unchaperoned!) is fueled by Rocket Soup made of cheese, peas, and musical jumping beans. And yet somehow said soup is bright tomato red. This makes no sense. Neither cheese, peas, or musical jumping beans (I have seen them, so I know) are red. And still, red soup. This doesn't seem to bother Bug, but I just can't get past it. Anyway, all 13 of my readers should consider this their lucky day, because I managed to track down a video of the song sung in six (yes, SIX!) different languages BACK TO BACK!!! You get to listen to it six times in a row, people! English, Spanish, Italian, Japanese (my personal fave) and French. If you make it to the French without developing some sort of nervous eye twitch, you score 70 bonus points. Good luck in your mission. Start the count down...

Don't Call My Name

Blogging is hard work, y'all. Like, for reals. First off, where do I find the time? I am just soooooo busy! I mean, I have to pretend to work for 8 whole hours a day, then I have like 5 hours of TV to watch when I get home. Not to mention the fact that Hubby and Bug can be so needy with all the requests for food and water and poop-free diapers (those are mostly just for Bug.) Phew, what's a girl to do?! OK, so the reality of the situation is that I am lazy and uninspired and that's why the blog has been on hiatus. Now that we have that cleared up, let's move on.

Lady Gaga. I am fascinated, intimidated, grossed out by, and a little in awe of this woman. I do not understand the meat dress. I totally love the bubble dress. I like that she is an actual musician. I do not like that she has that fab body because of eating disorders. But all of that aside, what I'm here to discuss today is the song Alejandro. I just don't get what's going on here. Who the f**k is Alejandro? And if he's important enough to have an entire song about how irresistible he is, why does she also mention some other dudes (Roberto and Fernando?) Is she having a 4-way? Or trying not to have a 4-way? I'm confused. And the chorus. What's up with that? She just says his name over and over and calls it a day. Was she suffering from writers block while penning this little snippet of Americana? And the video does absolutely nothing to clear any of this up. I mean, we get it, you like to prance around in funky costumes (or your underwear) and fancy lighting while topless men dance-fight (or simulate raping you) for your enjoyment (don't we all?) But what the hell does that have to do with the damn song, woman?!? Eating a rosary? Now that makes sense.

Seriously, help. Somebody please figure this one out for me. In the meantime I'm going to go develop an eating disorder of my own. Why should she get to have all the fun?