Hey, Listen to This Song.

One day at the library, I was looking for something else and stumbled across the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego soundtrack. How great is my job, right?! I finally got around to listening to it today and I tell you what--it isn't good. No indeed. So I was very surprised when BAM! out of nowhere, there was a song on it that actually made me cry:



If you stop listening before the weird bagpipe part kicks in, it's really good. Click here to read more . . .

Favorite Christmas Songs

(Blogsplosion Post #8)

I shall now break down my favorite Christmas songs by category.

Favorite overall: "Carol of the Bells". "Carol of the Bells" is funny because it doesn't sound like anything else you'd usually consider "Christmas-y." It's not merry, it's more wild and strange. But it's also awesome. I used to be very picky about the versions I would listen to, but I'm starting to branch out a little. I just got this awesome bluegrass one--I unfortunately can't find it on YouTube, but it's on iTunes (off the album Christmas Grass) and there's a sample on this page if you're curious and don't have iTunes. It's just really cool.

I only saw Home Alone once (and did not care for it), but this is a pretty perfect version of the song.

Most quintessential: "The Christmas Song" (the Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire one) by Nat King Cole. It's not my "favorite" per se, but I feel like if I were stranded on a desert island and could only have one Christmas song, it would be the right choice.



Favorite to sing: "Angels We Have Heard on High". Gloooo-o-o-o-o-oooo-o-o-o-o-oooo-o-o-o-o-oooo-ria!

Favorite from a Christmas cartoon: "O Christmas Tree" by the Vince Guaraldi Trio, from A Charlie Brown Christmas. I bought the whole Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack and frankly, all the jazz starts to sound the same after a while, but this one is always fun.



Favorite that has nothing to do directly with Christmas: "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch". It's funny how a song that's just a long list of insults can put me in such a cheerful holiday mood.



Favorite that makes me sad (but, you know, holiday-sad): "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" by Judy Garland. I know that it was originally sung by a young Judy in Meet Me in St. Louis, but her voice in it always makes me think of older, sad, drunk Judy. And on top of that, it's just a sad song about not being able to be with somebody on Christmas. I love it anyway.



Favorite that is not "good": "Donde Esta Santa Claus" (or, as I thought it was called until I looked it up just now, "Mamacita".) This one makes me laugh on its own merits and because it reminds me of some college hijinks.



Favorite oldies Christmas carol: "White Christmas" by the Drifters. I don't like it as much as my dad does, though.



Favorite newer popular artist Christmas carol: "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings" by the Barenaked Ladies and Sarah MacLachlan. Gotta love that stand-up bass.



Favorite church-type Christmas carol: This is the hardest category by far, since this is where all the classics live. After much deliberation, I'm going to go with "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," because it's so triumphant, it has an exclamation mark right there in the title.

Most quintessential, church carol division: "Silent Night". It's actually harder to imagine Christmas without "Silent Night" than without "The Christmas Song," even the Nat King Cole version.

What about you guys? Favorites? Categories I missed? Suggestions for songs I should acquire? Seriously, I'm always in the market for more good Christmas carols. Click here to read more . . .

J'ACCUSE!

Apple is obviously doing wonders for lots of quirky, indie-types bands, since their ubiquitous commercials always feature catchy, quirky, indie-type songs. But whatever they paid to their newest protege, I hope that some of that money is going to Gary Lewis and perhaps his Playboys.

I submit as evidence these YouTube videos, although my argument is encapsulated in the first eleven seconds of each one.

Miss Li's "Bourgeois Shangri-La" (2009):


Gary Lewis and the Playboys' "Count Me In" (1965):


It's a lot more obvious than "My Sweet Lord" and "He's So Fine," so if George Harrison had to cough it up to The Chiffons, how is the iPod song OK? Click here to read more . . .

This is My Extremely Timely Michael Jackson Post

The Michael Jackson fervor has obviously died down quite a bit (it went like this: "Whoa, Michael Jackson died?! I've only been thinking of him in his capacity as a possibly-criminal weirdo. Now I remember that he sang several very good songs!"). It's not gone completely--people are still putting Michael Jackson CDs on hold with alacrity at my library. (The powers that be at the library clearly anticipated this. Many of the CDs that pass through my hands--on their way to the hold shelf or to the patrons that ordered them in--are very very new. ["Whoa, Michael Jackson died?! We had better buy several copies of the very good songs he sang!"])

I observed Michael Jackson Times by purchasing The Essential Michael Jackson on iTunes. Unfortunately, I have yet to warm up to any Michael Jackson songs I hadn't already known and enjoyed. On the other hand, the ones I already liked are really good. And since I haven't slapped together some YouTube videos for awhile, here are--from the 38 tracks on the album--my top four.

4) "Beat It." Not only is this a good song, but I am fairly awesome at it in Guitar Hero: World Tour. Just so you know.



(There's an ad that has babies "skating" and "break dancing" to "Beat It," but I find it more creepy than cute.)*

3) "Billie Jean." You can criticize the hair, but how could you criticize the song?



"Be careful what you do, because a lie becomes the truth." Now those are lyrics, man.

If you are familiar with my taste in music, it will not surprise you that my top two (and there's a big gap in my affection between #s 3 and 2 on this list) are Jackson 5 songs. Ebullient!

2) "The Love You Save." This song sounds so cute, and the lyrics have a lot of schoolyard metaphors, but the real message is "You are acting like a woman of easy virtue. 'Ware lest you lose your prospects for marriage!"



Wow, the Jackson boys were bad lip synchers. Good dancers, though.

1) "I Want You Back." It's similar to the more famous "ABC," but "ABC" is inferior. This video has, again, the terrible lip-synching, but that's only the second-most distracting thing about this. The winner is the inexplicable JERMAINE splashed across the back wall.





*I made it through that whole thing without an "Eat It" reference! I'm surprised, too. Click here to read more . . .

British People: Adorable

If you follow YouTube sensations at all, you've probably already got this topic covered. Last week, Susan Boyle, who can be concisely described as a cat lady/spinster (and I believe--although I'm not British so I can't vouch for it 100%--she could also be described as "cheeky") appeared on Britain's Got Talent! and became an instant hit thanks to her unexpectedly great singing voice. Then this morning, I saw headlines that there's a new Susan Boyle: twelve-year-old Shaheen Jafargholi, who is cuter than any button you have ever seen. Also, he sings real good.

For some reason, all the Susan Boyle videos have "embedding disabled by request." (I hate it when that happens.) So, you can click here to watch one that's just her on stage, or here to get a longer version with her backstage interviews (which include the tidbit that she's never been kissed).

And here's a link to Shaheen, now that his embedding has also been disabled.

A few observations:

1. I think Susan's singing has been oversold a bit. She's very, very, very good, yes, but from the headlines (and the judges' reactions), I would have expected "transcendent." The kid, though--that kid is good.

2. Sometimes I watch American reality TV and think that the editing/production is heavy-handed. As British reality TV proves, it ain't nothin'.

3. Could Piers' "compliments" to that lady be any more backhanded? I'm glad that it turns out she wasn't really listening, because he basically told her, "I am pleasantly surprised that someone as ugly as you has any redeeming value!" Shut up, Piers.

4. People in the American Idol crowd are stupid for thinking Simon is evil. Sure, he's acerbic, but most of the things he says, he says to be helpful. The Shaheen video is a perfect example: when the kid started singing that first song, I was like, "Oh, he's all right," but then after Simon told him to switch, he was amazing.

5. Blonde lady? Calm down. Click here to read more . . .

He's Alive!

Click here to read more . . .

Quick Question

Which of these faux-'80s music videos is better? (I have poll over there on the right hand side, for those too shy to comment.)

"Let's Go to the Mall" from How I Met Your Mother



"Pop! Goes My Heart" from Music and Lyrics

Click here to read more . . .

Things I Need to Stop Doing

1. Getting into political argument with strangers on the internet. This is never rewarding, and yet I keep taking the bait. It has to stop. (Especially on other people's facebook statuses. Sorry about that, Chestertonian Rambler.)

2. Looking for live singing performances from the Sixties on YouTube, because no matter how hard I try, I will never find something that tops Lesley Gore singing "Judy's Turn to Cry." I found it for my blog yesterday, and it is mesmerizing. The Sixties were awesome. I know you didn't click on it yesterday, so have at it now:



3. Drinking Pepsi, or maybe just drinking Pepsi with Chinese food? I'm not very observant about how my body reacts to stuff (it's an area of dumbness I have), but it's been hard to miss that sometimes after I drink Pepsi--or maybe just when I have Chinese food and also Pepsi?--my stomach gets very angry at me. Seriously, I think it wants to walk off the job right now, Alien-style.

That's my excuse for not coming with a better blog post. Not feeling so hot over here. Click here to read more . . .

Stuck in My Head

I've had a song in my head all day, which has been more annoying than usual because it's an unusually annoying and terrible song. It's "Bobby's Girl," an Oldies radio staple, which I dislike not so much for the mediocre music as for the lyrics, which are embarrassing for all womankind.

Let's break this down.

It starts with a chorus of glum-sounding dudes singing:

(You're not a kid anymore)
(You're not a kid anymore)

Then the young lady singer chimes in:

When people ask of me
What would you like to be
Now that you're not a kid anymore
(You're not a kid anymore)

I know just what to say
I answer right away
There's just one thing
I've been wishing for...

So, what do you want to be when you grow up, young lady? An astronaut? A nurse? No, that's silly.

I want to be Bobby's girl
I want to be Bobby's girl
That's the most important thing to me...

And if I was Bobby's girl
If I was Bobby's girl
What a faithful, thankful girl I'd be

Then it turns from the sad-even-for-1962 into just creepy:

Each night I sit at home
Hoping that he will phone
But I know Bobby has someone else
(You're not a kid anymore)

Still in my heart I pray
There soon will come the day
When I will have him all to myself...

Really? He's already got a girlfriend? Can't you just imagine singer-girl going up to her (let's call her Cindy) and being like, "Oh Cindy, by the way, my life's one and only, consuming ambition is date your boyfriend." This statement would surely be followed up by maniacal laughter and Cindy telling her dad to make sure to lock the doors at night.

And then the point about her only reason for existence is driven home a little more:

I want to be Bobby's girl
I want to be Bobby's girl
That's the most important thing to me...

And if I was Bobby's girl
If I was Bobby's girl
What a faithful, thankful girl I'd be
What a faithful, thankful girl I'd be

I want to be Bobby's girl
I want to be Bobby's girl
I want to be Bobby's girl

Oh man. It's just so much worse than the similarly-themed "Johnny Angel" (which is still a little sad, but far more reasonable) and, I submit, more sexist and self-loathing than even "Judy's Turn to Cry" (the sequel to "It's My Party," in which the protagonist is THRILLED that the scumbag who dumped her on her birthday takes her back. Side note: the video I linked to on "Judy's Turn to Cry" is FANtastic).

Rant over. Click here to read more . . .

Songs I've Downloaded Recently

Three categories here: Guitar Hero, How I Met Your Mother, and Weird Al.

I've downloaded several songs that I enjoy playing on Guitar Hero, the most recent of which are Wolfmother's "Woman"


Blue Oyster Cult's "Godzilla"


and the Scorpions' "Rock You Like a Hurricane." (Sorry, there was nothing they would let me embed that wasn't a live show accompanied by an orchestra, footage from Guitar Hero, or a small child playing bass over a cassette tape.)

That last one doubles as a How I Met Your Mother song--there's an episode where Barney has a mix CD, and as he explains, his mix CD philosophy is not that it should rise and fall. It should be "all rise!" I found a playlist of this CD through an old link to the CBS website, which is how I knew that "Rock You Like a Hurricane" was on there. The only song they play on the show is Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name." (Ditto on the embedding problem, except replace "small child with a bass over a cassette tape" with "clips from NCIS for some reason.")

Because when you hear those first few lines? How can you not get pumped?!

In a different, and possibly the greatest ever, episode of HIMYM ("Slap Bet"), it is discovered that Robin was a teen singing sensation in her native Canada. I had to download the song from the fantastic music video:


Finally, Weird Al has a new single out (well, fairly new to me--I forgot to check his website for quite a while). Like his best songs, it gets ever funnier as it goes along.
Click here to read more . . .

Music Quiz!

(I took this from Meg.)

Step 1: Put your music player on shuffle.
Step 2: Post the first line (unless the first line reveals the song title) from the first 25 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing.
Step 3: Strike through the songs when someone guesses both artist and song title correctly.
Step 4: Looking them up on Google or any other search engine is CHEATING!

(I didn't entirely follow the rules--I discarded bunches and bunches of songs. [I went through about 100 to get these 25.] I have a lot of obscure and, frankly, many boring songs. Mostly though, I didn't realize until I went through this exercise how very many songs have their title in the first line. Bucketloads, people. Bucketloads.)

1. Standing on the dock at Southampton, trying to get to Holland or France
2. Get a load of me, get a load of you, walking down the street and I hardly know you
3. I could feel it from the start--couldn't stand to be apart
4. Billy Ray was a preacher's son, and when his daddy would visit he'd come along
5. I don't care if you wreck my car or shave off all my hair
6. Well, I had two weeks of vacation time coming after working all year down at Big Roy's Heating and Plumbing
7. We've been together for so very long but now things are changing and I wonder what's wrong
8. I don't want to hold you and feel so helpless
9. Tale as old as time, true as it can be
10. I am just a poor boy though my story's seldom told
11. Oh the shark, babe, has such teeth, yeah
12. I got sunshine on a cloudy day
13. Momma, hey Momma, come lookin' for me
14. Caroline (Caroline); Oh Caroline all the guys would say she's mighty fine
15. Is this the real life, is this just fantasy?
16. Oh baby baby, how was I supposed to know something wasn't right here?
17. We've been together since way back when, sometimes I never want to see you again
18. I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind
19. All I can ever be to you is the darkness that we know, and this regret I got accustomed to
20. I packed my bags last night pre-flight
21. Does he love me, I wanna know--how can I tell if he loves me so?
22. Dear, I fear we're facing a problem: you love me no longer, I know
23. I had a match, but she had a lighter; I had a flame but she had a fire
24. Well, let me tell you a story 'bout a man named Charlie on a tragic and fateful day
25. Life was kinda hectic and I was having trouble sleepin'


ETA: I realized once I came back to cross things off that I don't know how to do strikethrough in Blogger (help, anybody?), so that's why the "got" ones are italicized.
Click here to read more . . .

Covers

I used to be dead set against all covers of all songs. In high school, I got into a debate ("argument" would be too strong a word) about it with the art teacher, whose position was that it some ways, there are no truly new ideas.

(Before you ask--and I know you're thinking it--Weird Al doesn't do covers. Unless you count his polka medleys, but those are so ridiculous as to also fall under the umbrella of parody.)

I still think most covers out there are pretty derivative, but there are some that are truly excellent. For instance, did you know that Aretha Franklin's "Respect" is a cover? Otis Redding did it first, and let me tell you, it is not in the same universe of good (also, it just doesn't have the same kick to it coming from a dude).

But there are a couple of covers I have in mind that are not only pretty fantastic on their own merits, but give me new appreciation for the originals--one version makes me love two songs, basically.

The first is Stevie Wonder's "We Can Work it Out," which is probably not everyone's cup of tea. But I love because it's just so . . . exuberant!


Before I started listening to Stevie's version, I liked the Beatles' version fine, but it didn't really stand out from the pack of Beatles songs. But now, the differences between it and the cover bring out the elements of it that are really interesting that I never really noticed before.

More embarassingly, I also really like the David Cook version of "Billie Jean." You know. . . . American Idol #7.



(Try to ignore the audience, who can't figure out that they should be neither clapping nor doing the arms-waving thing.) Sure, it's angsty, but it's a pretty angsty song when you think about it. And I suppose that's what my point is: when you're presented with a really different version of a song you know well, it makes you think about it anew.


(I guess this post was pretty dry. I don't feel very funny today, I just felt like telling you about some songs. Sorry.) Click here to read more . . .

Yes, I Am the Highly Suggestible Type

Sometimes, ads work on me. Like the time I saw a Reach toothbrush commercial, and it pointed out that all dentist's tools are bent at the very same angle as their toothbrushes, and I was like, "That's TRUE!" and the next time I bought a toothbrush, it was a Reach. Also, that Dyson vacuum cleaner guy consistently convinces me that he's a vacuum cleaner genius. Lucky for me I'm not going to buy a vacuum anytime soon.

I am also apparently susceptible to songs in commercials. Well, if they're good. I have now purchased two songs on iTunes because I liked them so much on ads: the one for that very lightweight Mac (actually, come to think of it, I bought the singer's entire album) and, now, the McRib song. You know--the McRib song:



I'm pretty pleased with it.


*Note: the title is a quote from The Simpsons. Homer starts getting involved with a cult, and Lisa tells him, "Be careful Dad. You're the highly suggestible type." And the title is his answer. My opinion: it's funny every time! Click here to read more . . .

Aaaand . . . We're Back!

So, it's been awhile since I've posted here, and even longer since I've posted regularly. Sorry about that. Here are some of the things I've done since I last updated the ol' blog:

Taken in my wedding dress to get it altered. The dress I got (because it came in a petite size) was so close to perfect that I don't need to get it taken in or out or anything, but I do need the slightest of hems. But no matter how slight, it's the same price (read: expensive).

Purchased the entire album of that lady from that song on that MacBook commercial. It's pretty good--more songs are in Hebrew than are in English, but foreign languages make for good study music, because it's less distracting.

Finished a paper that's been crushing my soul since December! I did that yesterday, so now I can focus on the more important stuff, like my master's thesis.

Speaking of, I guess this is as good a time as any to tell you--I've officially decided that once I finish that master's thesis (probably this summer), I'm out. That is, I'm not going to go to grad school anymore.

I thought that getting a Ph.D. and becoming a history professor was what I really wanted to do, but it turns out I was mistaken. What it boils down to is A) I'm just not self-motivated enough for the whole process (for example, that soul-crushing paper was due in December, but in grad school [at least, at my grad school], they let you take more time, which is just terrible for a procrastinatrix like myself.) and B) there's always something more to do; you're never totally done with your work.

That was one of the greatest things about that year off I took--when you have a job, you do it, and then you go home and (in most cases) you're not doing it anymore. When you're in school, you're in school 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your work isn't measured by time, it's measured by the pages you need to write or the time you think you need to study to get the grade you want. Grad school is like that, except more so, because you're supposed to know as much as you can possibly know, so if you really want to do well, you can never be done. And I realized that it would continue to be that way if I became a professor. At least, if I wanted to be a good professor.

So anyway, grad school/professoring is not the answer to Finding My Life's Purpose. There are some big upsides to this, like going out and getting a Real Job that will pay me some Actual Money, and of course that the gentleman caller and I aren't going to have to try to find two professor jobs at the same place or in the same area. Even with "spousal hires" and whatnot, that was not going to be easy.

The biggest downside is that I have no idea what I do want to do (besides A Job for Some Money). . . . Any suggestions? Click here to read more . . .

This Just In!

I bought the song from that MacBook Air commercial. (If you've been watching any basketball at all [or, perhaps, any television programming whatsoever], you know which one I mean.)

I'm very pleased with my purchase.

Here's the video:
Click here to read more . . .

A Questionable Purchase

So . . . I just spent 10 American dollars on The Very Best of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. You know. The high-pitched guys.

Here's what happened: I used to think that the Four Seasons were good for making fun of. Exclusively. But then, once I got my satellite radio, I realized there were several songs of theirs that I got a kick out of listening to, so I tagged them as a favorite so I'd get alerted whenever they were on. And you know what? Every time they're on, I listen, and I enjoy it. Is that so wrong?

So now I have the whole thing on iTunes.

And I'm pretty happy about it.

P.S. Another thing I'm happy about? There's a new Terry Pratchett book coming out on September 18th! I'm so glad I went to Amazon to research this blog entry!

P.P.S. Speaking of things Amazon knows I like (it's a little creepy how good at that it is), how have I not bought Season 3 of House yet?

Click here to read more . . .

The Most Played Songs on My iTunes

For no particular reason, I bring you my top ten most played songs on iTunes. This is of course skewed toward songs I've downloaded since I've gotten this computer, because when I first get a song, I listen to it over and over and over. It's also skewed toward the 1776 soundtrack. (What can I say? I just never get tired of that show. So good.)

10. "Ain't No Other Man" by Christina Aguilera (62 times). What? It's good! Shut up!

9. "Yours Yours Yours" from the 1776 soundtrack (65). So sad. John and Abigail can't be together because of the fight for freedom and duty and responsibility and stuff. But they're so in love!

8. "Only Want to Be with You" by Dusty Springfield (67). NOT to be confused with the similarly titled song by Hootie and the Blowfish. No sir.

7. "But, Mr. Adams" from the 1776 soundtrack (69). It's my favorite part of the show, because it's hilarious when the rest of the Declaration Committee marvels that John Adams, too, misses--ahem--his wife.

6. "Love Child" by the Supremes (70). Fantastic.

5. "Is Anybody There?" sung by William Daniels, from the 1776 soundtrack (74). This one is great for when you feel like the world is against you, but are you going to give up? No! Just like John Adams.

4. "I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues" by Elton John (92). My favorite part is how the song title gets sung more emphatically each time it comes up.

3. "If You Really Love Me" by Stevie Wonder (108). Man, I love Stevie Wonder.

2. "We Can Work it Out" by Stevie Wonder (122). Yes, it's a Stevie Wonder cover of the Beatles song. It's not only good and fun in that lovely Stevie Wonder way, but it's also interesting to marvel at how different it is from the original.

1. "Colors" by Amos Lee (123). Has anybody else heard of this song? I only discovered it because it plays over the end of an episode of House. It's simple and sweet and sad and I apparently like it a whole lot. Click here to read more . . .