Jeux Sans Frontieres

100. I Want to Die Before I Get Old

2008-04-23T13:41:00.006-05:00

I began following geriatric1927 on YouTube about a year ago. I think I was checking out videos of older folks on the internet, thinking, perhaps, my dad might want to be interviewed. I was interested in how videos of older people were accepted on YouTube. geriatric1927 has quite a following.

Last April he was involved in a media event to raise money for a cause called Age Concern. He, together with about 40 elderly folks formed a group called The Zimmers. They even have a myspace page which you should check out because of all the extra videos there. Here's their end product -- My Generation. Watch it to the end -- it's worth it.

This video is relevant for me these days, having spent a couple of weeks with my mother and her friends. (not that they are quite as old as the folks in the video).

Gave up the good life for me...

2007-08-30T18:11:00.000-05:00

Oh boy - you're in for it now...

I found a stack of LPs and a few 45's from my childhood and just purchased an ION USB turntable so I can upload all those old songs to my web space (at least until the RIAA yells at me, or worse) and allow you to listen to them while you read my stories.

The most embarrassing of the finds is one I'd completely forgotten about, but remembered immediately upon finding it. (Ok, the B-side was a little worse -- maybe I'll upload that one if I run out of stories)

Glen Campbell released The Dreams of the Everyday Housewife in 1968. I was 12. Somehow I became the owner of the 45 with this song on it. Because I remember the song, I think I may have been older when I liked it, but who knows... Perhaps I was really 12.

Here's a copy from a 45 I found on a closet shelf in my mother's vacation home in Hazelhurst, Wisconsin.

----------------
Now playing: Glen Campbell - Dreams of the Everyday Housewife
via FoxyTunes

Back to Bethesda

2007-06-15T09:57:00.000-05:00

Not going to backdate this one, will just fill in between the day I stalled until this day.

Sitting in my childhood bedroom listening to WXRT. Don't Go Back to Rockville just came on the radio.

I've been in Elgin, caring for my dad, for 9 days now and look forward to seeing Rockville very soon. I miss my family. I miss my house. I miss Bethesda. And even Rockville.

Strange Fascination

2007-05-31T06:42:00.000-05:00

We now have a decent radio station in the DC area called The Globe. Some of the same DJs that were on WHFS are on The Globe. Each time I listen in, I'm sure to hear at least one song that either brings back memories or is something I'd like to listen to again. This morning I heard David Bowie singing Changes. I actually didn't know it was David Bowie until the DJ announced it was him. While I would not have guessed the singer, I knew it was him on some level (thanks to hindsight).

It was appropriate that I was driving past morning-weary teens on their way to school when these lines were sung:

And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're going through

Not even sure that song holds many memories for me, but my ears perk up whenever I hear it.

Here's a YouTube video of Bowie singing Changes:

96. Meadowsweet and lady smocks Gentian, lupine and tall hollihocks

2007-05-30T19:23:00.001-05:00

As silly as it may sound I like the song about English Country Gardens. Clare and I want to start growing one in our yard - we call it a fairytale garden. We've got the hollyhocks (for flower dolls) and foxglove. We really just need to make the space and fix the soil. (We have horrible soil here - mostly red clay).

I assumed it would be easy to find a source for this song, but it seems this is the only link to most of the song. I don't know who that character is. I'm going to have to buy a cd that contains the song and upload it. Or something.

Oh wait - if you like obnoxious midis, here you go.

95. A hat wouldn't have helped - maybe an asprin would have?

2007-05-29T22:36:00.000-05:00

I've mentioned Jeremy before. He's the English guy I knew in the 70's. We were going to get married, but didn't.

I've not mentioned his stroke - at least not here. About 9 years ago he was taking a walk and had a stroke up on a moor. I didn't know the taking a walk on the moor part - I found that out today when I heard he'd been honored by the British Stroke Association with a Life After Stroke award in art.

That got me thinking about Ilkely Moor. Have you seen the moors of Yorkshire? They are desolate, but have an uncanny beauty - something that haunts you when you leave them. Ilkely Moor is just another moor, but there is a Yorkshire folk song written about it.

Basically it's about a guy who dated someone else's girlfriend but forgot to wear a hat on the moor while he was dating the girl. His friend warns him that if he continues to go on the moor without a hat he may get a cold, die, and be eaten by worms that in turn are eaten by ducks. The guy whose girlfriend he dated may the duck and "get his own back". Kinda gross, I know, but funny too. I have a tea-towel with the words and some cartoony drawings.

Here are the lyrics. A YouTube video of a bunch of rowdy Yorkshiremen singing the song follows.

94. Happy Birthday Kevin

2007-05-28T22:25:00.000-05:00

Speaking about my brother - he's celebrating his 44th birthday today. I have no idea if he still likes the Georgia Satellites or not. He and his wife tried to get me interested in them, but I never saw the appeal.

But here they are singing in 1985 - about a year after I saw them at Popular Creek with Kevin.

93. Tacos anyone?

2007-05-27T22:12:00.000-05:00

Way back when my brother was still married to his first wife and before either of us had children, I attended what was probably a great concert at Popular Creek Arena outside Chicago. He was a huge Georgia Satellites fan at the time, and the Georgia Satellites was opening up for Tom Petty.

I knew the band that warmed up for the Georgia Satellites made me think to want to eat a Tex-Mex meal. For twenty years I've thought it was either Los Lobos or the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Wrong.

It was the Del Fuegos. Huh. Whadaya know.

92. Hoppin' and a-boppin' and singing his song

2007-05-26T08:10:00.000-05:00

The robins have been very busy in our backyard lately - gathering building material for nests and snapping up worms for their young. Our neighbor has a nest in her holly tree - lucky woman.

Here are the Jackson 5 singing Rockin' Robin on Top of the Pops (Performed 28th December 1972).

91. He used to sing this song to his liver?

2007-05-25T18:55:00.000-05:00

Fun show last night. Dave Wakeling is one cheerful fellow! The Birchmere was packed - busier than I've ever seen it. Most people were at least swaying - if not outright dancing.

It kind of looked like this, but the crowd was younger and there were more people (this one cracks me up though:

Here they are singing it. It sounds like Dave is saying "I used to sing this song to my liver." (he said the same thing at the concert) Perhaps he did say that - he made quite a few references to drinking and he didn't drink anything but water. Maybe he gave it up to save his liver.

90. You can watch yourself while you are eating

2007-05-24T18:39:00.000-05:00

Note: While this was actually written on Sunday, May 27, I'm pretending it was written Thursday, May 24.

Going to see the English Beat tonight at the Birchmere. My husband has a few of their albums - and played them a lot a while ago, but I don't remember much of what they wrote. Just looked them up and saw they sing Mirror in the Bathroom.

I know that song...

89. Document everything that you do

2007-05-23T09:03:00.000-05:00

As mentioned several posts ago, I first heard about Dan Bern on NPR May 23, 1997. Ten years later I have been to close to 30 of his shows and own countless recordings, both studio and bootleg.

Of his hundreds of songs it is hard to pick a favorite, but I'm pretty sure I like Run Away the best. I like the tune and the words. I may have heard him sing it live once, but it's possible I never have - and probably never will.

I was going to write him a note and request it at the last show - after all it was close to our ten year anniversary. But He wouldn't have played it, I'm sure of that - he played more of a Dan Bern greatest hits kind of show.

Without further ado, here's Run Away. If you'd rather see & hear him play it, YouTube has a version (uploaded by fellow Dan Bern fan, Luther) - but the sounds of the guitar are too loud for my ears in that version.

He said document everything that you do
Mark it so your children will know it too
But it’s harder, when you’ve outstayed your welcome
It’s hard to do
One time Johnny tried LSD
Had a great revelation, but he
Found he couldn’t put it into words
So he started drawing pictures of birds
With ten eyes
Men with 50 arms
I wanna run run away run away run away (3x)
From here
In the afternoon my Dad would draw the blinds
Sleep till I woke him up with my mind
I was only 3 or 4 years old
I lost that power long ago
Ridin’ through the rain on a motor bike
Babe Ruth lookin at a called third strike
Charles Manson working at the fair
Lettin all the little kids pull his hair
I wanna run run away run away run away (3x)
From here
Let me go and I will tell you stories all my life
If you don’t catch up I’ll make it up to you in the next life, I promise you
I live on the margin, I live on the side
Don’t sit with the bride groom, or the bride
I sit with the engineer
Who takes me fishing on the edge of the pier
I’ve come to believe we made up time
Like we made up rhythm and made up rhyme
But it don’t bug me, it’s OK
Livin in endless Saturday
I wanna run run away run away run away (3x)
From here….

88. Annabaglish

2007-05-22T12:42:00.000-05:00

The Internet is pretty cool when you want to research something. A number of years ago I found a website dedicated to a branch of my ancestry. The family name McCornack is not that common, so anyone with blood connections to that name is probably a blood relative of mine. That site, and Mr. McCornack himself, were helpful when I was planning our 2002 visit to Scotland. I'd always wanted to see our ancestral home and maybe meet some Scottish relatives - but never really thought I'd get the chance. Here was a man that had done it - he visited Annabaglish in Kirkcowan, near Newton Stewart (which is in Dumfries and Galloway), Scotland and was willing to assist anyone else who wanted to do the same.

My mom was along on the trip - it is through her that I am related to the McCornacks. Her father's grandmother was, I think, a McCornack. I'd have to check the family tree to be sure.

Anyway, we visited the farm and met the current (non McCornack) owners. They said that every so often Americans stop by to visit the ancestral home. They invited us into the house and onto the grounds where we had a bit of a look around.

A couple of years after our visit I looked up Annabaglish, hoping to get to the McCornack site again, but misspelled it Anabaglish. I was taken to this site. It turned out that a distant relative of mine, Jane Freeberg, had also taken the trip to Annabaglish and used a photo of the house as the cover of a CD she and her band, Queen Mab, released. After a couple of false starts I ended up getting in contact with Jane Freeburg. We exchanged a few emails and she sent me a small handmade book she'd put together about her trip to our ancestral home.

I also bought a few copies of the CD - one for me and one for my mother and aunt. I love Celtic music so this was a perfect find.

Listen to some samples of some of the songs from that CD.

An Phis Fluich

Back to the Hills

The Morning Dew/Toss the Feathers

87. Last time you didn't fake me out

2007-05-21T09:40:00.000-05:00

Not sure where I first heard of Ike Reilly. I'm sure it was the Internet, but don't know what lead me to his music. I like lyrics with a bite - funny, topical and or political. I like music that doesn't overwhelm the lyrics. Reilly's music and lyrics were what I was looking for. Maybe the fact that Ike Reilly is from the Chicago area made me give him a listen. However I heard of him doesn't really matter. I bought a couple of his CDs and tried so see him live at least twice, finally succeeding in doing so at one of my favorite venues. Unfortunately I wasn't impressed with his live show persona.

I love the opening stanza in the first track on his out-of-print album Salesmen and Racists.

Last time I couldn't make you come
Last time you didn't fake me out
Last time I got a little bit wasted
But this time I don't think you'll mind
'Cause I'm funny:

more>>

This song was described as

"...the most infectious song you'll never hear on commercial radio. Here, Reilly roasts pinheads of all shapes and sizes whose sins are forgiven because of their humor..."

-Music Box Online, November 2001, Volume 8, #11

I'd rip the track off my cd and upload it but Ike kinda scares me a little. Wouldn't want to get on his bad side.

If you get a chance to hear the song, do.

He's funny.

86. Everybody gonna feel alright

2007-05-20T08:16:00.000-05:00

What's not to like about this creative effort from the minds of Paul McCartney and Michael Gondry and featuring Natalie Portman?

85. Studyin about that good ol way

2007-05-19T18:36:00.000-05:00

Last night we were temporarily child-free so we took the opportunity to go out for dinner. We would have seen a movie at the AFI in Silver Spring, but the times didn't work out and besides, we had three Netflix movies at home.

Because I chose the movies in our queue, Dean got to pick the movie we'd watch last night. Out of Mumford, Closer and Anything Else he chose Closer - which is what I hoped he'd choose.

We were not really impressed with the dialogue, plot line nor the characters but did like the music.

Then, because I had to pick Andrew up at school at midnight, I watched another movie on cable. We have a plethora of movie channels so finding one that suited me wasn't hard. I'd been wanting to see it, even though I don't like most of Woody Allen's films.

Match Point was better than Closer - at least it went somewhere. The background music was really interesting - I don't usually notice the soundtrack, but this one must have been important.

But this post is not about Closer or Match Point. It is about my favorite song in one of my favorite films.

Down in the River to Pray - Allison Kraus from Oh Brother Where Art Thou

84. 'when it's right, it's right'

2007-05-18T18:31:00.000-05:00

Because I'm feeling a little silly. (For the record I really didn't this movie much)

83. morning after

2007-05-17T10:48:00.000-05:00

Around the time I was heavily into Dan Bern, I also listened to a bit of Paula Cole. I bought her second album and loved most of the songs on that album.

Here is a video of a song of hers I'd never heard, but since I'm feeling a little ordinary today I thought I'd give it a listen.

82. You come through fine

2007-05-16T08:03:00.000-05:00

Because I'm seeing Dan Bern tonight at the Birchmere, here are two of my favorite songs that he wrote and sings:

Walking Through Glass - Recorded 2000 - Lyrics
(Or if you prefer - watch and listen on YouTube)

Children of the Cold War - Recorded in the Early 1980's - Lyrics

Interesting how his voice has changed over time. What do you think?

81. Code Monkey just waiting for now

2007-05-15T11:38:00.000-05:00

I spent all of yesterday working on some html documents and I have many more days to go. Imagine a couple reams of word documents sitting in my IN box. I need to code all that using very convoluted web forms that make the task of creating HTML ten times harder than it should be. But I have to use them, even though they are unfinished and very buggy - I work for a gov't contractor and the customer is always right.

No wonder Jonathan Coulton's Code Monkey is going through my head...

Code Monkey have every reason
To get out this place
Code Monkey just keep on working
See your soft pretty face
Much rather wake up, eat a coffee cake
Take bath, take nap
This job “fulfilling in creative way”
Such a load of crap

80. How could I help if tears were starting

2007-05-14T20:30:00.000-05:00

I've mentioned my parents' Mitch Miller Album in another post. It had sheets of paper with the songs written on it attached to the middle of the cover — like the pages of a book. I'm thinking there were several copies of the songs — so you could have your friends over, put the song on the Hi-Fi and have your own Sing-Along with Mitch.

The only other song I can remember from the album always made me think of my Uncle Dick and his wife, Jean. They divorced when I was young, but old enough to know they didn't like each other much. I remember once sitting in their living room — they were babysitting my brother and me — and out of the blue Aunt Jean yelled "what are you looking at?" to Uncle Dick. Even so, when they got divorced I was sad for them, and imagined they were just drifting apart — but really still in love.

The song Harbor Lights seems to be about a sailor whose boat is getting ready to sail off somewhere and his love is on shore. The tune is melancholy and the words end on a bitter note. I used to imagine my Uncle Dick singing this song to his ex-wife as she departed from his life.

Funny - my dad was in the Navy when he met and became engaged to my (very young) mother. I never of thought them when I heard Mitch Miller and his "gang" sing this song.

I saw the harbor lights
They only told me we were parting
The same old harbor lights that once brought you to me
I watched the harbor lights
How could I help if tears were starting
Goodbye to tender nights beside the silv’ry sea

Watch and Listen to The Platters sing Harbor Lights

79. Happy Mother's Day

2007-05-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

Two songs about two mothers:

Sylvia's Mother - Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show

Stacey's Mom - Fountains of Wayne (as told by Naruto characters)

78. PEI, Adieu

2007-05-12T09:01:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite vacations ever was taken before kids. I'd just read the Anne of Green Gables series of books and had a strong desire to see the red soil of Prince Edward Island.

We drove up through New England, stopping to visit our friends, Neal and Marie in Massachusetts on the way. We spent one night in a town in New Hampshire (Jefferson perhaps?) that was having an arson issue - and a fire occurred the night we slept there. It was mentioned on the news later that summer - by Dan Rather I think.

We also stopped a couple of places in Maine - so I could visit the former haunts of my best friend from junior high. We went to Bar Harbor and visited the College of the Atlantic where she went to college. Then we drove to Lubec where her family had a summer house (and her mother still lives, it turns out). In between we stopped in Lincoln where I saw my first Loon.

We drove through New Brunswick where we stayed the night in a cabin on the edge of a cliff.

In Nova Scotia we spent at least one night at a B&B that once was a home of Alexander Grahame Bell, according to the current owner. From that B&B we took a boat ride to see Puffins and other pelagic birds.

This was before the bridge to PEI, so we boarded a ferry for the ride to our final destination. We spent 3 or 4 days exploring the island, visiting Lucy Maud Montgomery's home, communing with nature, milking cows and eating mussels. We also did a little shopping. At a small, out-of-the-way pottery shop I heard beautiful music coming from the PA system. I asked what it was. The owner of the shop told me it was Teresa Doyle - a native of PEI. She also had some of her albums for sale. I bought one and listened to it often. I just looked her up, and it looks like she released 8 albums after the one I bought.

I'd love to someday go back to PEI. I loved that tiny island. I tried to get my daughter interested in Anne of Green Gables, but she just didn't like the stories. So who knows. Perhaps I'll visit again, perhaps I just need to keep the memories.

Listen to the title track of Prince Edward Island, Adieu sung by Teresa Doyle.

77. Do Geese See God?

2007-05-11T12:10:00.000-05:00

I recently read that some 5 year olds think that Bob Dylan is a weird man.

Bob? No way.

Now this is weird -

76. Just forget the world

2007-05-10T11:42:00.000-05:00

Clare has a little over two years left at home - she's a Sophomore this year. I don't dwell on the day she leaves for college, but it's always there, in the back of my mind. That's why I don't mind driving her to school a few times a week - it gives us some good in-the-car time where we can be ourselves (I'm sometimes still in my pajamas, much to Clare's amusement) and interact on a basic mother-daughter level.

The other day, when I was driving her to school, a song came on the radio and we both exclaimed "I like this song!" Clare didn't know the name of it, and neither did I, but since we both liked it I got in the longer drop-off line so we could finish listening to the song. Clare noticed and thanked me.

Damn, I'm gonna miss her.

Oh, the song was Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol.

75. When the fairies sing

2007-05-09T18:27:00.000-05:00

White coral bells upon a slender stalk
Lilies-of-the valley line the garden walk
Oh don't you wish that you could hear them ring?
That will happen only when the fairies sing

My mom didn't sing to me much, but she did sing White Coral Bells to me when the Lilies of the Valley were in bloom. They grew in a patch of earth near the end of the driveway and we both looked forward their tiny white flowers and sweet scent.

I was weeding the garden yesterday evening and saw that our lilies of the valley were in bloom and I could hear my mother singing White Coral Bells.

Listen to Laurie Berkner sing White Coral Bells.

74. All creatures great and small

2007-05-08T06:33:00.000-05:00

Clare saw a fox in our backyard this morning. We knew they were around, Dean and Andrew saw one in the front yard one night last fall, but it's always exciting to see something unusual.

It's sad the foxes have moved into the suburbs from the surrounding area - there are fewer miles of open country between cities these days, the critters need to go somewhere. Foxes seem to have adapted to suburban life. My friend, Joan, had an entire fox family living in her backyard a couple of years ago.

This morning's sighting made me think of that British hymn, All Things Bright and Beautiful. I loved the James Herriot books and TV series that took their titles from that hymn, but that's a story for a blog not yet begun.

Watch a video containing the hymn mentioned above.

73. For Todd

2007-05-07T13:42:00.000-05:00

My husband called me this morning to tell me that Todd's wife, Roberta, died last week. I'd only met Roberta once - at their wedding and had not seen Todd since that wedding about 15 years ago. My husband saw him occasionally - usually at work meetings or for lunch. We talked about inviting Todd and his wife for dinner sometime, but never did. They always sent us a Christmas card - we don't send Christmas cards anymore. All-in-all - we were crummy friends.

We knew Todd in Pittsburgh where he and my husband were grad students at Carnegie Mellon University. We spent a fair amount of time with Todd during those years, then when we both ended up in the DC area, we hung out a bit the first couple of years as we grew accustomed to being grow-ups. Todd was always a good listener, and I think I was a good listener for him. I think we also got along well because we were destined to meet. He and his family used to visit my hometown of Elgin sometimes - they were either related or very good friends of a classmate of mine. Todd also used to spend summers playing in a band in the town where my family has vacationed for years.

He was born with a condition that affected his bones - they didn't grow correctly. In Pittsburgh he was shorter than me - and he was good natured about it. A few years after moving to DC he had surgery on his hips and the doctor said he could give Todd a few more inches and Todd said, why not? After that Todd teased me that he was finally taller than me. (which is not very hard to be)

Todd's hobby is music. He was the friend who wanted me to see Mary Chapin Carpenter. He's also a musician. He's played the trombone for several big band orchestras in the area, most recently Radio King Orchestra.

If you go to the CD Baby page for RKO, click on the triangle before Night Train (track 10) and you'll hear him playing his horn.

I didn't know what big band music was until I met Todd. I had seen the Glenn Miller story, but didn't realize it was Big Band until I heard Todd's band playing String of Pearls at a gig once.

72. hmmmm hmmmm hmhmhmhm hmmmm hmmmm hmhmhmhm

2007-05-06T14:52:00.000-05:00

My son got a letter from his high school welcoming him to band. The trouble is - he didn't sign up for band next year. He's tired of it, finally, after five years of playing an instrument bigger than himself.

In 4th grade when the elementary school students met with the band teacher we expected he'd want to play an instrument. We hoped he would not want to play the drums - too loud, but would have put up with the noise. I secretly wished he'd want to learn the saxophone, because I like the sax. We were surprised. No we were shocked, when he told us he wanted to play the baritone.

He told us he chose it because he'd get in band for sure in middle school because there were few people who played the baritone. We asked him to reconsider. Did he know how heavy the instrument would be? He had to walk the few blocks to school carrying not only the baritone, but also his backpack. He assured us that the baritone was his instrument of choice, his destiny.

The first year he played the baritone we rented it from a shop in Wheaton. It was not cheap to rent a baritone, our son seemed genuinely interested in learning to play. We encouraged him to practice in the family room - a basement level room with lots of carpeting and a door that closed.

After the first month he grew tired of lugging the heavy instrument the three blocks to school and back - so I often drove him the days he had band practice.

The second year we rented the instrument from a more reasonable rental company, except we didn't get the deposit back at the end of the year since it looked as if Andrew had used the instrument for batting practice.

When he went to middle school the band instructor convinced Andrew to play the tuba. I was not pleased. The tuba, as I pointed out to the teacher was about the size of a small car. He assured me Andrew would not have to lug the tuba back and forth - the school had one they could use.

So, now moving on to high school, considering his track record, I assume they would expect him to play the sousaphone. Luckily he talked to his counselor today. He's taking electronic music instead.

In 5th grade (I think it was 5th grade) he composed a song to play at one of the concerts. The band teacher was very sweet and let anyone play a solo - even their own compositions. Andrew worked for months on this tune, I remember him humming it, then playing it, asking if it sounded good. However he neglected to really practice it just before the concert.

Watch Andrew play his own composition on his baritone in 5th grade.

71. Someday you will understand

2007-05-05T09:11:00.000-05:00

I'd never heard of a hidden track until I bought Dan Bern's Fifty Eggs CD. It was the first CD I'd ever heard about before its release, and the first I bought the day of its release.

Fifty Eggs has a hidden track, and it is one of my favorite Dan Bern songs to boot.

Since I wrote about my friend Suzanne, here is a live version of Dan's song called Suzanne.

Suzanne

70. Send her victorious Land where my fathers died,

2007-05-04T07:06:00.000-05:00

The visit of Queen Elizabeth II to our neighboring state this week reminded me about this song story.

In 1974 I, along with about 15 other juniors from my high school, traveled to England for a 3-4 week stay. Our first week was spent in London where we were purely tourists and visited all the main tourist attractions. We also saw a couple live shows.

One of the live shows we saw was probably Sunday Night at the London Palladium. I don't remember the show at all, but I do remember that when the show was about to begin the orchestra began playing a familiar tune. The audience stood and soon began singing.

In the few moments between the first notes of music and the first words of the song, I thought it was darned nice of the owners of this huge theater to play a patriotic song for the few Americans in the audience. Then I thought that possibly this was American night at the Palladium. Then I wondered why this song was chosen over The Star Spangled Banner.

Then I heard the words:

God save our gracious Queen,
Long live our noble Queen,
God save the Queen:
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us:
God save the Queen.

Then I was embarrassed because I was singing:

My country, 'tis of thee,

Sweet land of liberty,

Of thee I sing;

Land where my fathers died,

Land of the pilgrims' pride,

From every mountainside

Let freedom ring!

I can never hear that tune without remembering that evening at the London Palladium.

Oh, and then there is the Jimi Hendrix version.

69. Focal point of a distant gaze

2007-05-03T07:25:00.000-05:00

I admit to having strong negative opinions about certain musicians and types of music. For instance, I won't listen to rap nor hip hop music. And I don't like country music. That's why I've never had a taste for Jimmy Buffett* and until last night I didn't know what he looked or sounded like. Except for Margaritaville, I couldn't have told you one song he sang. And - get this - if a Jimmy Buffett song happened to play on my lastfm or pandora radio song streams, I'd immediately ban it. Just because it was Jimmy Buffett.

But last night changed things for me a little. I watched the movie Hoot with my daughter. We'd listened to the book on tape at Christmas time, during our drive to Elgin and thought we'd enjoy the movie.

The movie was ok. It followed the book, which was ok.

There is a scene in the movie where two teenage boys are hanging out in Florida, walking on the beach and running through fields. The song that plays during this scene sounded, to Clare and me, like Tom Chapin. We were sure it was Tom Chapin. This morning I looked it up. We were wrong. It was Jimmy Buffett singing Floridays - but the version on the soundtrack is much faster, more upbeat than what I could find on YouTube.

Not only do I now know what Jimmy Buffett sounds like, but since he played the cool middle school science teacher in the movie, I know exactly what he looks like. And I'll quit banning Buffett's music - and maybe listen to some voluntarily. Hmm, think there is a rap or hip hop artist I should listen to?

*I assumed he played country music

Jimmy Buffett

Jimmy Buffett (born James William Buffett on December 25 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi) is a singer and songwriter, best known for his "island escapism" lifestyle and music including hits such as "Margaritaville" (# 234 on the list of 'Songs of the Century'), and "Come Monday". He has a rabid, but genial, fan-base known as "Parrotheads." They call the youngest members "Parakeets." more...

[via FoxyTunes / Jimmy Buffett]

68. Multi-Colored Rainbow Roach Affair

2007-05-02T08:03:00.000-05:00

While my first rock concert was to see the band called Boston, I'd been to at least one other concert before that - I saw Arlo Guthrie at the Hemmens Auditorium in Elgin. I went with my friend Dan and some of his friends. Until that night I don't think I'd heard of Arlo Guthrie, but it may have been what started me on my love of folk music.

We had good seats - up front and center. I don't remember any of the songs he played except for one song that had everyone laughing. I remember that I laughed too - partly because everyone else was, and I didn't want to seem as if I had no sense of humor, but also partly because the song had such absurd lyrics. It told the story of politicians getting "stoned" by eating chunks of colorful bugs. The bugs were also attached to missiles.

After the show Dan asked me if I understood the song about the multi-colored rainbow roach. I said that I sort of understood it - but couldn't figure out why people wanted to eat bugs, even if they were colorful. Dan then explained to me what a roach was in this case - and it was not an insect. I'm not sure his explanation made it any more funny to me - I was quite ignorant about drugs at that time.

The lyrics are nowhere I could see on the Internet and the 20-minute song can only be found on iTunes as far as I can tell. I splurged this morning and downloaded it from iTunes (which I hate) just to hear it again. I can see why people laughed at it, it's a lot like his song commonly referred to as "Alice's Restaurant"

67. I could have said it was in my way

2007-05-01T07:47:00.000-05:00

It's getting to the point where I am struggling to come up with a song each day. It might just be blog-block, or it could be I've run dry of relevant songs.

This morning I thought I'd write about bumping my head the other day. I was rushing around getting dinner ready and walked into an open kitchen cabinet door. I said lots of curse words. The kids felt bad for me - got me ice, rubbed my neck and said comforting things like, "Wow! Mom! That's a huge bump!" and "It's going to turn all sorts of colors like yellow and green and blue." and "Now it's the size of a Cadbury Cream Egg!"

What song could go with bumping my head? Wasn't there a kids' song about it? About an old man who fell out of bed and bumped his head and couldn't get up in the morning?

Then I remembered another song - a song adults knew - a popular song at one time. It had a chorus that contained the words, "I almost bumped my head."

I looked up those lyrics and didn't find anything except stories about people almost bumping their heads. I tried the tap a song website and tried tapping the rhythm with my keyboard. No luck.

Then I did a Google search using wildcards and discovered I'd misremembered the lyrics.

Maybe I got a concussion when I bumped my head. And I'm not feeling up to par. It increases my paranoia...

Anyway, here is David Crosby singing Almost Cut my Hair.

66. Woke up this morning...

2007-04-30T18:43:00.000-05:00

I had no idea that the intro song to The Sopranos was by a rapper. At least that is what I get when I do a search on "woke up this morning and got yourself a gun". But there is no mention of that song on Wikipedia. And everyone knows Wikipedia is always right.

My husband is calling me now to come watch the next episode we've rented from Netflix and I'm going to hear:

"Woke up this morning and got yourself a gun..." as Tony Soprano drives into his driveway.

Hmm. Interesting. I'm getting tired of all the killing and mafia gangster angst.

65. Happy Dance Day to You

2007-04-29T09:35:00.000-05:00

Went to a party last night (very rare for me - I'm not much of a party girl these days). An acquaintance turned 50 and threw herself a big party complete with tent, band and DJ. One of the first songs the DJ played was Get This Party Started - a fun song to dance to, so my husband and I danced (another rarity - I have no rhythm but had consumed enough Pinot Noir that I lost my dance related inhibitions).

This morning I didn't know what to write about, considered that song, but thought better of it until I discovered that today is International Dance Day.

What better than to write about a song that gets me dancing? I had no idea it was by Pink until I looked it up just now...

So put on your dancin' shoes and dance today. Pink will get your party started.

64. Washing Machine

2007-04-28T07:41:00.000-05:00

Going to a 50th birthday party tonight, but before that I'm up to my neck in piles of laundry that need to be washed.

Here's what Kate Bush has to say about laundry in Mrs. Bartolozzi.

63. The party had just begun

2007-04-27T06:51:00.000-05:00

NPR Remembers Bobby Pickett

62. Sometimes I wish they were bigger

2007-04-26T06:19:00.000-05:00

I was going to save this song until the PGA Tour Event this summer that will bring Tiger Woods to the area, but couldn't pass up this opportunity - it was perfect.

I don't often use instant messaging anymore, but yesterday I signed on and saw that my friend, Joan, was also signed in. I hadn't talked to her since her jewelry party a couple of months ago, and knew she'd just had elective surgery.

At the party she announced that she was having a procedure that would give her what she fondly referred to as "twins". No, she wasn't giving birth, but getting a larger bust line.

So I IMed her:

Cedar: hey, how are you? Did the surgery go well? Happy with your new look?
Joan: yes it went well. i enjoyed the rest :-)
Joan: i do like the new look...sometimes they look big, sometimes i wish they were even bigger!

Of course this reminded me of Dan Bern's song called Tiger Woods whose last stanza goes like this:

But even though my balls are big
Sometimes i wish they were bigger
Even bigger
Big as the wheels on tractors
Big as the golden arches
Big as the Golden Gate Bridge
Big as the state of Kansas
Big as Mars and Jupiter
Big as the swing in Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods

YouTube came through again. Watch and hear Dan sing Tiger Woods.

61. Shining like the memories

2007-04-25T07:58:00.000-05:00

I am not a fan of country music (although I used to listen to it - in my youth). I do make occasional exceptions, however.

We lived in Alexandria, Virginia for several years. The first year we lived there I didn't have a job, so I stayed home, cleaned house, and made friends with senior citizens.

I also listened to a lot of public radio.

One day while listening to the radio a singer-songwriter was interviewed. She spoke of her home in Alexandria (she had a house on one of the cobblestone streets) and of playing at local venues. Then she sang a song that I fell in love with enough to buy her album.

A friend of ours really liked her and invited me to the Birchmere to see her play, but that was in the days when I didn't like live music.

Watch and listen to Mary Chapin Carpenter singing This Shirt

60. We all stand together

2007-04-24T07:06:00.000-05:00

I like Rupert Bear. I've explained my fascination on a no longer updated website. My little McDonald's Rupert goes everywhere with me these days.

Paul McCartney is also a Rupert Bear fan and he wrote and recorded We All Stand Together in Rupert's honor. I own the DVD and two singles of this song.

Watch it on YouTube (hurry - it's bound to be removed at some point)

59. The Day is Full of Birds

2007-04-23T08:14:00.000-05:00

The weather is finally warm enough to keep the windows open at night. My favorite part of open windows is being awakened to birdsong in the mornings.

I always think of the first track on side two of Kate Bush's Aerial when I hear the birds singing in the morning and say, to myself — or out loud is someone is in the room, "The day is full of birds".

Listen to Prelude

Mummy...
Daddy...
The day is full of birds
Sounds like they're saying words.

If you've not checked out Kate's website, do so now. Especially if you like birds.

58. Earth Day

2007-04-22T06:46:00.000-05:00

I remember the first Earth Day. I don't remember what we did, but I remember thinking it was a new beginning - a way to save the Earth.

In 1986 or thereabouts my husband and I walked from our house in Alexandria to an Earth Day rally in Washington DC. Tom Cruise was there. We walked home too. We got sunburned and blistered feet.

We didn't do anything this year for Earth Day. You'd think we'd care more now that we have kids and global warming is a reality instead of a theory.

Here's a song for Earth Day that I found on an IM contact's weblog:

57. Ron - this song's for you

2007-04-21T18:12:00.000-05:00

My mom called me today to tell me that her next door neighbor, Ron, saved my dad's life this afternoon. Dad choked on a McDonald's cheeseburger and Ron performed the Heimlich Maneuver on him.

I've been trying to think of a way to thank him. How do you thank someone who saved the life of someone you love? I wanted to dedicate today's song to Ron.

Listen to Norwegian Wood. It's Ron's favorite.

He also likes Springsteen's Born to Run. So, Ron - you get two songs.

56. Is it warm in here?

2007-04-20T17:26:00.000-05:00

My aunt sent me this in an email.

55. The worst car bombing

2007-04-19T09:02:00.000-05:00

Twelve years ago today I entered the staff break room at school to stunned faces and news on the television that a bomb had been set off outside a Federal Building in Oklahoma City. When I saw babies being taken out of the smoking ruins on television, all I could think about was getting home to my children. That day was one of the longest I could remember.

My husband worked in a Federal Building in Bethesda but my children were in a church preschool, not one associated with my husband's workplace. Nevertheless, I needed to hold them.

After the bombing, Dan Bern wrote the following song.

Oklahoma

54. We are singing and dancing in perfect time

2007-04-18T17:02:00.000-05:00

Not long after I finally saw The Exorcist and found out about Tubular Bells I found a record in a shop by Mike Oldfield's sister, Sally. I'm not sure why I decided to buy it - probably the references to Lord of the Rings. I wasn't disappointed - I think I liked all the songs on the album, and still do.

And she's even on YouTube. Here she is singing Mirrors.

53. Kids' Prayer

2007-04-17T05:57:00.000-05:00

"...one of our students."

-Charles Steger

52. A High Wind in Bethesda

2007-04-16T19:15:00.000-05:00

It is very windy here in Bethesda today. We've lost branches on our trees and shingles from our roof. The wind is blowing into vents on our house, making an eerie sort of music. It's nearly as bad as when Isabel blew through, but we've not [touch wood] lost power.

This wind reminded me of one of my favorite movies as a child, A High Wind in Jamaica. Have you seen it? I saw it several times on television growing up. Then I didn't see it again until about two years ago. I think I might buy the DVD.

I remember being very moved at the end. And I liked the theme song. I always thought it was Roger Whittaker, but it seems it was a Mike Leroy who sang the lead song which was a ballad kinda song.

I wish I could link to the song.

I can see why I thought it was Roger Whittaker. He sang a song called Last Farewell which was a ballad and involved a ship sailing to England - pretty much what A High Wind in Jamaica is about.

51. Who Killed Laura Palmer?

2007-04-15T08:16:00.000-05:00

Quick one.

I cannot hear the opening theme song for Twin Peaks without craving some coffee and a slice of cherry pie.

Damn, I loved that series. I even bought the soundtrack.

50. Disco Demolition Night

2007-04-14T19:01:00.000-05:00

I've already written a little bit about disco, but I have a little more to say. After all, I was a young adult in the late 70's, early 80's when disco was popular. I didn't like disco, but had a roommate who did. In fact she claimed to have introduced disco to the UK by requesting a Blondie song on the radio. I doubted her at the time, and still do doubt her, but I believe she thought she was telling the truth.

Julia and I went to a couple of disco dances. I don't really remember much, except it was loud, bright and crowded. I think I danced, but who knows? Maybe I tried the tap-step, one-two-three moves that Tim taught me in London. Maybe I just went wild with the music. Maybe I'm remembering it all wrong.

I do, however, remember the Disco Sucks campaign by Steve Dahl and friends. Secretly I was on their side - disco did suck. And they had an absurdly humorous name for their organization: Insane Coho Lips.

Watch Steve Dahl's parody of Rod Stewart's Do You Think I'm Sexy?: Do You Think I'm Disco on YouTube.

Outwardly, however, I aligned myself to the more glamorous side - the flashy side. The side without the geeks. Julia and I even had our own motto: Insane Coho Lips Suck. Julia even had a tee-shirt made up with that saying on it.

I remember the build-up for Disco Demolition Night as well. I'm not sure if it was heavily advertised or if I covertly listened to Steve Dahl on The Loop.

Watch a news broadcast about the Disco Demolition Night. It seems there might even be a movie made about it.

49. Memory soundtrack #2

2007-04-13T18:18:00.000-05:00

My cousin Beth had a boyfriend that, I'm pretty sure, was mean to her. She didn't deserve anyone being mean to her - she was a sweet girl. But this isn't about him being mean, this is just about the song that goes through my mind when I remember the times we spent together - Beth with her boyfriend and Jeremy and me. I always thought it as a song Beth's boyfriend might sing to her. (actually - it might have been "their song" - although it came out a couple of years before my memory).

48. Memory soundtrack #1

2007-04-12T10:13:00.000-05:00

I've probably seen too many sappy romance movies because sometimes I insert a soundtrack to my memories. Here is the song that plays during a memory of meeting up with Tim on a London street - just after I bought a teapot at an outdoor market.

47. A doll named Dido - and a singer too

2007-04-11T15:52:00.000-05:00

I rarely listen to the radio - even NPR - unless I'm stuck in a car on a long drive with my husband. A couple of years ago we were listening to a radio station somewhere between Maryland and Illinois and a song came on that we both really liked. Radio stations do not always give the name of the song and artist, so I used the search function on my cell phone to search the Internet for the snippet of lyrics I'd memorized: "no white flag above my door".

The first link on Google took me right to the lyrics of a song by Dido.

Ok. We found a song by Dido. We liked it. The end.

That is not the exciting part!

The word Dido clicked a switch in my mind - it completed a circuit that had been going haywire for a couple of years. See, I'd been searching the Internet in vain for reference to a book about an evil doll that I'd read over and over as a child. I found a website dedicated to finding lost stories, but never found reference to the story I'd read. But now I had a name for the doll. It wsa Dido.

I'd been searching using the terms evil doll. There are a number of stories about evil dolls out there. But search for Dido evil doll and you get a link to a book called a Candle in Her Room by Ruth Arthur. Bingo! I eventually bought the book at a reasonable price - from somewhere - don't recall where though. My limit was $25 including shipping and handling.

Unfortunately when I read it as an adult, the story fell flat.

Oh well, it makes for a good story.

Thanks Dido! (we bought the album too)

Watch her singing White Flag on Letterman

46. Spring Cleaning

2007-04-10T13:48:00.000-05:00

Have you ever thrown everything out of a closet while looking for something? I have. Today I was looking for a cd I knew I had and cleared out our CD cabinet. The coffee table is now piled high with CDs.

I'd been planing on straightening it out anyway. So here is my chance. I'm also ripping all the CD's I care about and putting them on an ultra portable hard drive - so they are readily accessible to whatever computer I may be using.

I've even found some CD's we will probably donate. The kids don't like Aaron Carter anymore, and Dean never liked the Sugar Cubes CD I gave him. I'm also planning on storing most of my Dan Bern bootlegs elsewhere. There is not enough space for all of them.

There were also some CDs I'd forgotten we had. For instance - the soundtrack to Room With a View.

I liked the movie okay- although I only saw it once - but I've not listened to the soundtrack in 15 years. I bought it for one specific reason - to listen to while I gave birth. However the music did nothing for me at the time - just made me cranky. I think a character on Thirtysomething used it as her labor music, so I, being also a thirty-something woman who was about to go through labor, thought it would help me. Nope - Kate Bush helped me more.

I just listened to some of the soundtrack. I still am not all that impressed - and I'm not even giving birth.

45. 'cept under our feet*

2007-04-09T10:14:00.000-05:00

The first time I heard Michael Franks was after school one day during my final teaching year. Carolyn and I shared a room - she was the mainstream teacher, I was the special educator. After Carolyn left for the day, Howard would slip around the folding wall that separated the rooms. We'd talk about life and marriage. Teaching and children. Books and music. Blacks and Whites.

One day Howard played an album I'd never heard of. I liked it immediately. I don't remember the song that hooked me, but Howard told me how he and his wife loved the music of the musican, Michael Franks. How they tried to get to his concerts whenever he was in the area. He showed me the album cover - a man's hands cupped, holding a dragonfly. The album cover was in sepia tones, as are the photographs in the liner notes.

Howard loaned me the album, but after a while I decided to buy one for myself. I liked listening to it in the car on the way home from teaching. It calmed me down before getting home to my own children. My husband thought the music was ok, but he didn't really like it all that much - typical of his reaction to most music I listened to.

A couple of years later I bought another Michael Franks album and was in for a shock: Michael Franks is white. Michael Franks is not African-American. Michael Franks is not Black. He is white.

See, Howard was African-American. I assumed that his favorite musician would be too. The album cover was ambiguous. It still looks like a Black man's hands holding the dragonfly.

When I listened to the songs again, after the discovery, they sounded different to me. Isn't that weird?

Here he is playing Eggplant (which is actually one I don 't know)

And wouldn't you know it - he's going to be at the Birchmere this weekend!

* obscure reference to Dan Bern's Different Worlds

44. Dawn Chorus

2007-04-08T08:12:00.000-05:00

I had a great idea for a post while in Savannah. Every morning while we were at our Tybee Beach Cottage I'd wake up to lovely but loud birdsong, so I was going to get up a little earlier and record some birdsong from the beautiful wrap-around porch, post it online, link to it and write a post called Yardbirds or something like that.

As you can see, I didn't do that. No excuse except laziness.

However I will post a link to a track from an album I bought many years ago. Our friends, Neal and Marie, told us about a public radio program that began with birdsong. We never got Morning Pro Musica down here in the DC area, but I was able to buy a copy of a record album with the bird song from Morning Pro Musica.

Whenever I am awakened, especially in the spring, to the music of birdsong, I think of this radio show that I never heard.

Listen to some dawn birdsong. It might have been from Savannah, but I suspect it was from Massachusetts.
One
Two
Three
Four

43. See me, feel me, touch me, hear me

2007-04-07T07:49:00.000-05:00

I thought that I first heard The Who's Tommy, on my own, but just recalled that it was my cousin Pam who introduced it to me. I remember sitting in her bedroom listening to the album and crying over poor Tommy's predicament. Her brother, Jeff, was annoying us by making fun of our tears.

The next time I remember Tommy was when I saw the stage play in London with Tim, George and Candy.

When I met my husband-to-be, he was also a fan of the Who - although not a fan of Tommy so much.

My daughter and I watched the movie on cable a couple of months ago. She loved it so much that we got out our Tommy albums (Dean, the purist, owned the Rock Opera and I'd bought the soundtrack to the film) and listened to them. Clare has since moved on to other music, but the brief interlude where our tastes meshed was sweet.

42. I'm just a kid again, doing what I did again, singing a song

2007-04-06T05:36:00.000-05:00

On the way back from Savannah last Sunday we listened to a rebroadcast of Prairie Home Companion. About half-way through the show a woman with a beautiful voice sang Red, Red Robin. She sang it in almost a melancholy way, much different from the song I'd memorized while listening to my parents Mitch Miller's Sing-along album back in the 1960's.

The Red, Red Robin I remember was a lively, cheerful song that would bring me out of the blues when I heard or sang it - which I did often, along with Mitch Miller's chorus. The album even had the words for me to read and memorize.

I don't remember much of the Mitch Miller Sing-along on television, but I do seem to remember that the words of the songs being sung were superimposed over the video, and a bouncing ball let the viewer know which word to sing at any given time.

Am I making this up? (A quick visit to Wikipedia tells me I'm not.)

In the car ride, after Ms Dworsky finished singing, my husband, Dean, and I sang it again, the way we remembered - all the way through. The kids said nothing - they were either speechless with embarrassment or just used to our silliness.

Just follow the bouncing ball:

WHEN THE RED ROBIN COMES BOBBIN' ALONG
(written by Harry Woods )

When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along, along
There'll be no more sobbin' when he starts throbbin' his old sweet song:
Wake up, wake up you sleepy head
Get up, get out of your bed
Cheer up, cheer up the sun is red
Live, love, laugh and be happy

What if I were blue, now I'm walking through, walking through the fields of flowers
Rain may glisten but still I listen for hours and hours
I'm just a kid again doing what I did again, singing a song
When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along

When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin'
When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along
There'll be no more sobbin' when he starts throbbin'
There'll be no more sobbin' when he starts a throbbin' his old sweet song
Wake up, wake up you sleepy head
Why don't you get up, get up, get out of bed, cheer up
Live, love, laugh and be happy

What if I were blue, now I'm walking through fields of flowers
Rain may glisten but still I listen for hours and hours
I'm just a kid again, doing what I did again, singing a song
When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin'
When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along
Along, along, along, along, along.

The Internet Archive has two mp3 versions:

One by Al Jolson

Another by The Golden Gate Orchestra

41. Show me that you love me too

2007-04-05T15:09:00.000-05:00

I have few vivid memories of my Uncle Don - they are mostly vague feelings of being loved. I remember one Eastertime and he peeled me a colored egg that I think he'd cooked. I didn't want it because the yolk was greenish. I'm pretty sure he died a couple of months later.

I also remember the Christmas he and Aunt Leila gave me clothes for my brand new Barbie Doll.

What I remember most, however - the one true, good vivid memory I have of my Uncle Don (who gave me his name) was the song, Put Your Head on my Shoulder. I remember him putting the record on his HiFi, scooping me up in his arms and singing softly into my ear as he swayed with the music; and I slowly, and deliciously, drifted off to sleep.

Put your head on my shoulder
Hold me in your arms, baby
Squeeze me oh so tight
Show me that you love me too

Until today I had no idea it was recorded by Paul Anka. I didn't know that Paul Anka was singing in the 60's. (He was 14 when he had his first hit - wow). I guess I need to show that guy some respect. If ever a song made me feel loved, it's Put Your Head on my Shoulder.

My Uncle Don died when I was six - a few months before John F. Kennedy was assassinated. After Kennedy died, I pictured Heaven as a grand cafe. Uncle Don was sitting next to John Kennedy at a small table, drinking a beer. As more people I knew left this life, that table in Heaven grew more populated. When I think of it today, I see many familiar faces - all smiling, all chatting, all friends.

40. Hey Hey, Rock-n-Roll is here to stay

2007-04-04T06:33:00.000-05:00

My parents have a vacation house in Hazelhurst, Wisconsin which is close to Minocqua. One day my daughter and I were browsing the shops in the Boardwalk Shops of Minocqua. We both love books and were happy to find a bookstore there. We walked in and were greeted with the smell of old books, coffee and familiar music coming over the sound system. Clare immediately said - Mom! It's Dan Bern. I replied that it couldn't have been Dan Bern. Not here in this small bookstore in Minocqua. I said it was probably a Dylan song that sounded like one of Dan's. As I walked further into the store I realized that the song was indeed by Dan Bern (I don't remember which song it was) and cried out. DAN BERN!

The shopkeeper, who was helping another customer, looked up and said, "Yes. Dan Bern. Do you know his music?" We then chatted for 45 minutes about how we knew about Dan and what albums we owned. (In my case it was every album plus hundreds of bootlegs and live recordings - in his case it was just one compilation he'd put together while working at a radio station that played Dan's music).

I bought a couple of books, then mentioned that I was interested in expanding my horizons within the singer-songwriter arena and asked for his advice. He pointed out a couple of musicians, but the one that thought I'd like most was Todd Snider. The fact that there was a song called Statistician Blues on the album he showed me was the final factor (my husband is a statistician).

The shopkeeper was right.We loved Todd Snider. He was funny and a good singer. Even my husband liked some of the songs (but not the one about the statistician).

The kids favorite was Beer Run. You can hear Beer Run on this Vox page, but be aware that it plays as soon as it loads.

Here he is playing Talkin' Seattle Grunge Rock Blues

So it made my day a few weeks ago to see that Todd Snider was going to be playing at the Birchmere. With none other than Dan Bern.

I bought my ticket today.

39. you want to go antiquing

2007-04-03T09:41:00.000-05:00

I learned about Jonathan Coulton from Anna and Jason who do a weekly podcast I like. They mentioned him in passing - saying they missed his last concert, but had seen him recently, so I checked him out. I'm glad I did.

Last year he wrote a song a week. He called it Thing a Week and uploaded it to his website for free download. My favorite is Creepy Doll, although RE Your Brains is a lot of fun too.

Check out his You page for links for videos and other multimedia that people have made using his music. Some are are a hoot.

Here is a YouTube video of him performing Creepy Doll.

38. The prize winner of Harpers Ferry WV (we hope)

2007-04-02T07:40:00.000-05:00

Doug, my friend and hair stylist, has considered putting out a CD for years, but it never happened - the time was never right. He's made gift CDs of his music for friends, relatives and his salon clients. I think he has a great voice - and important things to say.

Doug entered a jingle contest for Chock Full O'Nuts coffee about 6 weeks ago, just after he returned from his second trip to Thailand. He'd read The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio on the airplane and heard about the contest a few days later and considered it a sign. (Although he admits that writing jingles was never a dream of his in his youth).

Two weeks ago, his network of family, friends and friends-of-friends faithfully voted for him on the Chock Full O'Nuts website. He made the finals and this week we are voting again.

37. Mistaken identity

2007-04-01T07:24:00.000-05:00

Stealing this one from Deloney -

On the way to Savannah we did something unusual. We stopped for lunch at a sit-down restaurant.

It was Ruby Tuesday's (Cracker Barrel, next door, had a long line).

Clare wanted to know why it was called Ruby Tuesday - Why Tuesday and not Sunday or Monday. I enlightened her.

Watching Deloney's link for B kiddo, I discovered I was mistaken - and now I need to tell Clare it was not the Beatles but the Rolling Stones.

Oops.

(Could I tell her it was a lame April Fools joke?)

36. Savannah on my mind...

2007-03-31T19:33:00.000-05:00

Completely cheating on this one.

I have no history with this song, but maybe I have a future. I've never been to Georgia (except to drive through it on the way to Florida, picking up fire ants on the way)

I've had Georgia on my mind for the past few weeks since we decided to visit Savannah and Tybee Beach for our kids Spring Break. So there you have it. I may or may not be around until after Easter Sunday.

Ray Charles - go at it.

35. Simple Pleasures

2007-03-30T09:34:00.000-05:00

There used to be a fun radio program on WETA on Sundays in the DC area called Songs for Aging Children. One Sunday they played an entire episode (2+ hours) about Phil Ochs. I'd never heard of this singer-songwriter before this radio program introduced me to his music, but immediately went out and bought his Pleasures of the Harbor album. Later I bought the CD version of I Ain't Marching Anymore.

Pleasures of the Harbor has a number of good songs - in fact I like them all.

I love Phil's voice - it's clear and lovely. I love his words - topical at the time they were written, and still mostly true.

Sorry - no links. Check out samples on Amazon.com though.

34. Take a chance on Muriel's Wedding

2007-03-29T09:12:00.000-05:00

I was never really into ABBA, but their music was catchy and I didn't hate it.

But I do like the movie Muriel's Wedding which has a lot of ABBA's tunes. If you've not seen it - rent it soon. It is a sweet film and it's cool to see crazy Brenda from Six Feet Under and the mother from The Sixth Sense and Little Miss Sunshine talking with their native Australian accents.

33. Underground, Overground, Wombling Free

2007-03-28T06:26:00.000-05:00

I remember being surprised that men dressed as large furry creatures could produce music good enough to be considered pop hit music, but then again - I wasn't all that into music at the time.

I don't remember when I first heard about the Wombles, but once I did, their catchy tunes had me interested enough to buy a 3-record set. It might have been the fact that I spent three months at college in London right across from Wimbledon Common (although I think I knew about the Wombles before that).

For those of you who don't know what Wombles are - they are furry critters that live on Wimbledon Common. They pick up litter and make useful things out of it. There were the books by Elisabeth Beresford, then the television series, then the band. I understand that the series is back on UK television.

Anyway, I liked their music and played it a bit after I bought the 3-record set. One of the quirky things about my past, I suppose.

Here you go - a YouTube embed for you: Remember You're a Womble - Enjoy!

32. Funerals of friends and strangers

2007-03-27T12:16:00.000-05:00

This morning I went to a memorial service for someone I'd never met. Her son and my son wrestled on the same team. I don't always go to the wrestling practices, tournaments and meets and neither did she. I didn't know anything about her, but as the morning progressed I learned that she was a great cook, had a wonderful sense of humor, was a loving mother and an incredible friend.

The Temple Emanuel in Kensington was filled - extra seating was set up in back. Several friends of the departed spoke about their friendship with her and her family.

It made me want to be a better friend. It made me want to foster the friendships I had and make new friends.

At 50, I'm not sure how to do that.

Anyway, at least the name of this song is appropriate for this post.

Elton John - Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding on YouTube.

31. Car tunes

2007-03-26T06:29:00.000-05:00

When I found out that Harry Chapin had a brother who was a musician, and that I’d seen him on TV I asked a couple of friends if they wanted to see him perform at the Birchmere. This was the old Birchmere - the cozy one.

Tom Chapin is mostly a children's singer - and sings whimsical songs about family life and animals and kids. He did sing a couple of Harry's songs, and said some self-depreciating remarks. I felt bad for him - as he seemed to think the patrons were expecting Harry's Brother, not Tom Chapin.

I'm pretty sure I'm the only one in my party who enjoyed the music, but we had a good enough time. During the intermission I ran into Tom Chapin in the little store at the Birchmere. He asked me how I liked the warm-up act, I said I thought she was good, he said he did too. I wanted to tell him that I was there to see him, not Harry. That while I liked Harry and his music, I was ready to be entertained by a different musician. But I didn't say any of that.

That night I bought a couple of his recordings. We'd play them in the car for our children on long car rides - we soon learned many of the lyrics and would all sing along. Don't tell their friends, but my kids still like to hear Tom Chapin's songs in the car.

Here's a video someone made on YouTube using one of the songs we liked:

30. Pachelbel makes me cry

2007-03-25T07:11:00.000-05:00

I don't remember the first time I heard Pachelbel's Cannon in D, but I remember the first time I was aware of hearing it. We'd gotten a new kitten (my birthday gift to my husband-to-be) and Cannon in D came on the radio. I scooped up Spike and danced, twirling about the living room with her in my arms.

Against my wishes, my husband-to-be occasionally let Spike outside. We lived on a bus route and Spike was killed by a Pittsburgh City bus when she was just under a year old.

A week after Spike's death, our best friends, Neal and Marie, told us they were moving away from Pittsburgh to Rhode Island and a few days later my parents' best friend died. It was the worst week of my life (thus far).

One day when we were visiting Neal and Marie in their new home Marie put a record on the turntable. It was Pachelbel's Cannon in D. I burst out crying. Everyone was shocked and none of us could figure out my reaction - but later I remembered having danced with Spike while that music was playing. So as much as I love Pachelbel's famous cannon, my mood changes when hear it. I no longer burst into tears, but I'm temporarily transported back to a dance with kitten and stricken with a taste of bittersweet nostalgia.

Listen.

29. I fell in love again

2007-03-24T15:25:00.000-05:00

The other day I went to a cafe with a couple of friends. The wine is on wine racks and you can pick out your bottle, the staff will open it and you can drink it with dinner. None of us know a whole lot about wine - I know to avoid certain kinds and labels, but don't really know what's good or not. So Alison decided on a cab/shiraz/merlot blend from Australia - not because she liked the brand or the wine inside, but because she liked the look of the label (shown on the right). I was slightly concerned. The wine was fine though. Sometimes judging a book by its cover doesn't work, but sometimes it does.

Another time it worked out well was when I was shopping at Target. I don't know what I was looking for, but a CD caught my eye. Normally I stick with musicians I know and like or were recommended to me. I'd been thinking a lot about my hometown in Illinois, so when I saw the title "Illinoise" in bright yellow letters I looked a little closer. The names of the songs were amusing and I felt like I needed a new CD anyway. So I bought it even though I'd never heard of the artist, Sufjan Stevens.

I played it when I got home and both my husband and his friend (from Illinois - and musician himself) immediately loved the songs on it. I did too. Our favorite, as a family, is probably his most famous so far - especially if you've seen Little Miss Sunshine. We sing along with it when we drive back to Illinois just as we enter Chicago.

28. Voices of new generations

2007-03-23T14:46:00.000-05:00

I have a confession to make. Until I became interested in Dan Bern, I'd never actively listened to a song by Bob Dylan. Oh, I knew his name and might even have been able to name a song he wrote, but if I had an opinion of him it would have been - famous singer with the bad voice.

As for Bruce Springsteen - I knew who he was and knew a couple of songs he wrote and sang, however I had a grudge against him. It was a completely unfair grudge, but a grudge nonetheless. See, when my husband and I first began dating he led me to believe I'd be going to a Bruce Springsteen concert with him and some of his friends. Then he told me that I wasn't invited. That there were not enough tickets to go around. I was taken aback that he'd go without me, but he did and had a wonderful time. Not only that, the person who'd either gotten the tickets or promised him the tickets was a girl I was already jealous of. So Bruce was not spoken of around me. Ever.

I did know who Woody Guthrie was though - and liked his music.

Since discovering Bern, I've I've listened to music from all of the above, and have done a little reading about them. However, I've never found out if the story about Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan is true. Did Woody, on his deathbed, really tell Bob to go out and be the voice of the new generation? Anyone know? Del?

Here's Dan Bern's sequel to that tale.

Talking Woody, Bob, Bruce & Dan Blues

Well, when Woody Guthrie was sick and dying
Bob Dylan visited him as he was lying
In a hospital bed Bob sang him songs
Woody smiled and said I'm glad you come
You belong here
Go forth and be the voice of your generation

Well, above Beverly Hills one night real late
I snuck past a security gate
Parked by a Mercedes Benz
Climbed up a barbed wire fence and over
Couple of scratches, but I'd made it
To the home of Bruce Springsteen

Well, I found the boss asleep in bed
Pillows piled up round his head
I turned on the light took off my coat
Stuck a thermometer down his throat
Said don't talk
You look pale , Boss
Not at all well

I said you look bad and I asked him could he
Think of us as Bob and Woody
I said you just rest your pretty head
As I sing to you in your hospital bed
He said what the hell you talking about
I ain't sick
This ain't a hospital
And how'd you get past the security gate

I said I wrote you a song called Song To Bruce
With a tune I stole from one of yours
To his platinum records next I pointed
Said I just want to be anointed
Springsteen, I wrote you a song
'Bout a funny ol' world that's a coming along
Seems sick and it's tired it's hard and it's torn
It looks like it's dying and it's hardly been born
He started really looking sick
And I stopped singing

Then Patty his wife came in I said jeez
I'm sorry about your husband's incurable disease
I'm here to help any way I can
You know, Woody and Bob, Bruce and Dan
She said honey, what am I hearing?
He said baby, you know I'm in the prime of life
I said down to two million in sales last time out
Read the signs, Patty

He said some people think this record's my best
I said shhhhh, you need your rest
He said there's a madman on the loose
I said Woody and Bob, Dan and Bruce

He sprang out of his bed and said
All right, I've heard enough of this stuff
He grabbed my throat and dragged me hard
Down the hall and through the yard
Suprising strength for a dying man

Well, he threw me out the way I come
Barbed wire scraped my face and thumbs
I've been thinking ever since
Bob and Woody
Dan and the artist formerly known as Prince
Dan and Madonna
Bob and Woody-
Dan and Bob
So long, Bel Air
Howdy, Malibu

27. Tap, step one-two-three

2007-03-22T08:29:00.000-05:00

While we're in London in 1979, here's another one.

I cannot sing and I cannot dance. It is a fact, confirmed by both my college "kiddie music" professor and my former aerobics instructors. Oh, and the general public.

That doesn't necessarily stop me from doing either, or both, but the results are rather disastrous.

Tim didn't believe I couldn't dance, and since it was still the the days of disco he decided to teach me the Latin Hustle. It was at a Bring Your Own Baby party at Southlands College in London. (The college was Methodist and didn't allow alcohol - so we brought our own, but could not advertise it as such. So the posters said Baby instead of Booze. I sure bet we fooled the authorities!)

I only have vague visions of that night - maybe I had too much baby or maybe it was just too long ago. I do remember Tim showing me the steps - and saying Tap Step one-two-three a lot. I tap stepped one-two-threed a lot and he claimed I did well. I also remember being exhausted.

In later years, with different dance partners I tried to tap step one-two-three, but the results were much different - usually involving laughing and hurt feelings.

Never mind - I didn't much like disco anyway.

This video isn't Tim, (I don't' think it is Tim, cannot see his face) but it's someone Doing the Hustle. And there seems a lot more numbers (and fruit, imitation dairy products and animals) involved than I remember.

26. It's nice to be a lunatic

2007-03-21T07:27:00.000-05:00

Another London winter of student teaching song memory.

Bill was a fellow student teacher - a droll fellow with a dry sense of humor. He'd get on a subject and once he knew folks found it amusing, got us laughing and begging him to stop. His room heater was broken, and he didn't know that the flat enameled white thing under the window was a radiator. He just assumed that since it was England, there was no heat in the rooms. He kept quiet about it for a while, but finally mentioned it to me and it was fixed. He told the story over and over again about how he didn't expect much in London, but thought at least he'd have a little heat in his room.

Another ongoing, oft repeated joke of his was about the #1 song in UK in January 1979, Ian Dury & The Blockheads' Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick. He'd burst out laughing whenever it came on, then would move to the beat and sing along, waving imaginary sticks in the air, on tables, on people.

When I needed dowels for a project I was working on in the 2nd-year classroom where I student taught, I got a couple extra for him, decorated them and presented him with his own pair of rhythm sticks.

Nothing profound, nothing amazing. Just a fond memory of a funny guy and silly song.

Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick (Opens up a new browser at The Blockheads' Website)

In the deserts of Sudan
And the gardens of Japan
From Milan to Yucatán
Every woman, every man

Hit me with your rhythm stick
Hit me! Hit me!
Je t'adore, ich liebe dich
Hit me! Hit me! Hit me!
Hit me with your rhythm stick
Hit me slowly, hit me quick
Hit me! Hit me! Hit me!

In the wilds of Borneo
And the vineyards of Bordeaux
Eskimo, Arapaho
Move their body to and fro

Hit me with your rhythm stick
Hit me! Hit me!
Das ist gut, c'est fantastique
Hit me! Hit me! Hit me!
Hit me with your rhythm stick
It's nice to be a lunatic
Hit me! Hit me! Hit me!
Hit me! Hit me! Hit...

In the dock of Tiger Bay
On the road to Mandalay
From Bombay to Santa Fé
O'er the hills and far away

Hit me with your rhythm stick
Hit me! Hit me!
C'est si bon, ist es nicht
Hit me! Hit me! Hit me!
Hit me with your rhythm stick
Two fat persons, click, click, click
Hit me! Hit me! Hit me!
Hit me! Hit me! Hit me!

Hit me!
Hit me!
Hit me!
Hit me!
Hit me!
Hit me! Hit me!
Hit me!

Don't Panic, here is what the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has to say.

25. I'm lookin' for one thing real tonight

2007-03-20T17:08:00.000-05:00

Otter asked me what my favorite Dan Bern song was. I still don't really know, but for a while I considered One Thing Real to be it. He seemed to play it every time I saw him live the first couple of years. The one time I really remember was the time I worried about him most.

He'd been promised the Music Hall at the Birchmere. This is the same Birchmere that launched Mary Chapin Carpenter among others. The new Birchmere has a large room with a stage and seating for hundreds of people. Birchmere has a policy that if you don't sell a certain number of tickets before the show day, they don't put you in the Music Hall. My friend's boyfriend worked there at the time and told me the bad news.

I worried that Dan would be upset that he'd been denied the Music Hall. I got there early to get a good seat in the Bandstand - Pretty much just an extension of the bar. I didn't have to worry. There were a handful of people there. I sat front and center. I could put my feet on the stage if I'd dared. (for those of you thinking of ever seeing Dan Bern live - I'd suggest you not sit that close. See, he gets really into his songs and sometimes saliva is involved. If you like that kind of thing, then go for it. Otherwise, sit a couple of rows back).

So anyway, he got on stage and seemed out of it as I'd worried. He'd plugged his guitar in and sang a couple of songs. Then he sang my favorite, One Thing Real.

When he got to this part:

I'm up here singin' these songs every night
Sometimes I wanna just make 'em all up on the spot
Maybe they wouldn't rhyme too good, they might not make sense
But then at least I wouldn't be repeating myself
I'm lookin' for one thing real tonight

He stopped singing but still strummed his his guitar and he looked at the small audience. Then told us that if we wanted to we could crowd around the stage and he'd sing unplugged - since it was such a small audience. In retrospect, perhaps he was not angry - maybe disappointed, but wanted to give us a good performance as possible. And that meant intimate.

Although I was worried for him at the time and didn't really like the show, a friend gave me a CD he'd burned from a recording he'd made of the show. All-in-all, it was a good show and the intimacy made it all the better. If he had been on the big stage in the Music Hall it would have been so different.

One Thing Real
Dan Bern

24. Garage Band

2007-03-19T16:02:00.000-05:00

My dad was an appliance repairman, but before that he was a car mechanic - "the best damned speedometer repairman in Elgin" I heard people say (or perhaps it was just him saying it).

He kept us afloat by taking side jobs - cars or appliances and worked in the two car garage he'd built for that purpose. The only cars that went in that garage were other people's cars being fixed, and there were times that the entire space was empty, except for a refrigerator or air conditioner. Those times I would sneak out to the garage.

I'd set up my violin stand, remove the top part that holds sheet music, and start singing into my "microphone". It was better than a shower because your voice had farther to go, but nothing to cushion it.

My favorite two songs to sing were from Mary Poppins.

I'd first sing the Nanny Song.

...If you don't scold and dominate us
We will never give you cause to hate us...

We won't hide your spectacles so you can't see.
Put toads in your bed or pepper in your tea..

Hurry Nanny!

Many thanks sincerely,

Jane and Michael Banks.

Then I'd sing Sister Suffragette:

We're clearly soldiers in petticoats
And dauntless crusader for women's votes
Though we adore men individually
We agree that as a group they're rather stupid

Cast of the shackles of yesterday
Shoulder to shoulder into the fray
Our daughter's daughters will adore us
And they'll sing in grateful chorus
"Well done, sister suffragette"

(wow! Elsa Lancaster was in that movie -- the things I learn on YouTube)

I also used to bellow out poems in that garage. If anyone saw me, they would have fallen over laughing so hard, I'm sure. I was serious. But I also had/have a tin ear. So, while the the words may have been sung with feeling, the tune would not have been recognizable.

23. Knights in tissue paper and chicken wire

2007-03-18T12:31:00.000-05:00

As I've mentioned, I wasn't really into a variety of popular music in high school, so when our Junior class chose the theme, Knights in White Satin for Homecoming I was clueless. And I don't know why such and old song had been chosen. [Ahh, wikipedia says it was re-released in 1972 - that's why.]

Although I cannot find a photo of the float, I imagine it had a football player dressed as a knight all in white, stomping the opponents. I still don't know much about homecoming parades. They don't have them here in Bethesda.

So, my memory of this Moody Blues song is of being cold, riding in the back of a pickup truck tossing candy to kids along the way. That's me, in the pick-up truck. I'm the one wearing a black cap. You can see only my face.

22. An Irish Fantasy

2007-03-17T11:51:00.000-05:00

Because my last name is Patrick, St. Patrick's Day has always been special to me. I make Irish Bread, Corned Beef and Cabbage, have a Guinness and listen to Irish music. This year we are going to watch a movie that we've seen several times before, but it has such a delightful soundtrack and story, we keep coming back. (And I broke down and bought it this summer)

Watch the Trailer on IMDB

21. Two cats in the yard

2007-03-16T12:07:00.000-05:00

During my stay in London the winter of 1978 -'79, I was introduced to a bunch of new music. After Kate Bush, my favorite song was probably "Our House" by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. I don't even know if I heard it on a radio or stereo, but I do remember Tim and George singing it.

Once I returned to the states I learned it was by CSN&Y when I called up a local radio station to ask that it be played. They didn't play it, but I learned the name of the band, and bought myself the album.

I still stop dead in my tracks and get warm all over whenever I hear it played on the radio or over a speaker at a store. When I hear it at home I smile and have a sudden urge to let our two indoor cats into the backyard, throw some flowers in a vase and light a fire in the fireplace. (I don't really let the cats out)

Once Cindy and I got into a pretend argument because we wanted to claim that song the song of our present lives.

Here's a YouTube video of photos of a very very very fine house to the tune of Our House. (I wish it was my house - now I'm envious)

Edited to add this interview by Graham Nash explaining the song. (thanks Del!) I love it when something I love is explained. It makes it so much better. Usually. I love a good steak, but don't want to know that much about it.

20. First Rock Concert

2007-03-15T06:34:00.000-05:00

I remember very little about the first rock concert I ever attended. I'd heard of Boston, but didn't follow the band and probably couldn't name a song sung by the band. I certainly cannot name one now. With the lead singer's suicide last week, Boston has been in the news lately. Thus my memories of this band. (which are next to none)

It was 1978 and I was working as a waitress at an all night pancake house to pay for yet another trip to England. One of my co-workers - her name escapes me now but I'm pretty sure she's mentioned in my journal of the time - had an extra ticket to see Boston in Chicago and asked if I'd like it. We'd ride in together and it would be fun. I figured it would be an experience if nothing else, so accepted the ticket.

I don't even remember where the concert was although a website indicates it may have been at Comiskey Park. Our seats were pretty high up - I remember there were a lot of lights and maybe even smoke on the stage. The security was not very good because everyone around us was smoking pot - as were the folks I was with. On the way there, the guy who was supposed to be my date showed me a little glass vial he brought and explained it was a drug that you inhaled that opened your veins or something and you got high. He may or may not have used it at the concert - I don't remember. Much later I heard more about a drug called poppers and guessed that the vial contained a nitrite inhalant. I was glad I didn't try it like he'd suggested I should.

All-in-all, I cannot really say I was disappointed in my first rock concert because I had no expectations. However, the music was too loud, the people were too rowdy, the smoke was too thick. Not my cup of tea, I suppose.

But if you are a Boston fan, here's a little something for you.

19. Happy Pi Day to You

2007-03-14T06:48:00.000-05:00

Yesterday afternoon my daughter informed me that today was Pi Day and she could earn five bonus points if she brought a pie to geometry class.

Sure enough - it's Pi Day alright. The Internet told me so. And several musicians have written songs about it. Although it really is only Pi Day in the US because we put the month before the day when we write our dates. (Do any other countries do that? Canada perhaps?)

My favorite pie song is the Don McLean one though. I first heard American Pie the year it was recorded, in 1971. I'm sure of that. The day after I heard it I was standing outside my junior high school - it was 9th grade. I was fifteen. I was trying to describe the song to my best friend, Cindy. She was either not paying attention, or didn't care. I recall being frustrated, but not as frustrated as I was weeks later when she described the most fabulous song she'd ever heard. It was the same song. That happened a lot with Cindy.

I still like American Pie, but so does everyone else. It was my son's favorite song for years.

And then there's this.

18. Tchaikovsky makes me nervous

2007-03-13T06:26:00.000-05:00

My mom had a black enamel jewelry box painted with Chinese-type decorations. Pagodas and such. She rarely wore jewelry from it (mostly inexpensive costume jewelry). When she did, it meant she was going out. The jewelry box played the most recognizable tune from Swan Lake.

As a small child - probably up until I could babysit my brother - I'd panic when I heard that tune. It meant babysitter. Why I didn't like a babysitter is a mystery - I remember having fun with a few of them - but I hated it when my mom would go out. To this day that bit of Swan Lake makes me anxious.

That and the smell of Avon's Topaz Cologne.

17. Oh What a beautiful Girl who can't say no

2007-03-12T15:51:00.000-05:00

I took speech in 8th grade. Not the kind you take when you need help with your expressive and receptive language, but the kind where you have to embarrass yourself in front of a bunch of other 8th graders.

We did a lot of performances and not really any speeches. Maybe that's because our speech teacher was an actor of sorts. He liked to name drop and tell us who he'd most recently had lunch with. The only one I remember, or recognized was Sissy from Family Affair. That impressed me. In reality the class should have been called Drama.

Anyway. One of our assignments was to lip-sync song from a musical. I think the teacher said we could not use the Wizard of Oz, or I know I would have used a song from that musical. I remember going home and agonizing over it. The logical song would have been my favorite from Mary Poppins - The Perfect Nanny. I knew it by heart (and still do). However for some reason I promised a friend in class I'd let her use my album for that song.

Having eliminated the only two soundtrack albums I owned I was in a quandary until a friend of my mom came to the rescue and loaned me Oklahoma. I'd never seen the musical, but knew one song on this soundtrack - Oh What a Beautiful Morning. Sure, why not?

I played the song over and over again, reading the words from the record sleeve. I could silently belt it out as good as Gordon MacRae did in the movie. My mom helped me with my costume - a pair of her old straight-leg blue jeans, a plaid shirt and a bandanna around my neck. She even helped me fashion a lasso out of some rope we had left over from our laundry line.

I was excited, and knew I was going to do well. I sat in my regular seat and talked to Cindy who sat in front of me as the rest of the students seated themselves. When Bob S. sat down next to me I turned to him to ask what song he was performing. I didn't need to ask. He was wearing a cowboy shirt, a cowboy hat, cowboy boots, a red bandanna and chaps. Chaps? Where did he get chaps?

"You can't sing Oh What a Beautiful Morning!" I cried, "I'm singing that." I don't remember his reaction. I was already in tears. I do recall he tried to comfort me and offer me the use of his chaps.

The teacher was ok with having two Oh What a Beautiful Mornings, even though he'd earlier said we couldn't lip-sync the same song as someone else. I think it was my hysterics. I was adamant, however. I'd do something else. Since we were not going to get through all performances that day, I had until we met again two days later to prepare for my new song.

I turned to Oklahoma again - The Surrey with the Fringe on Top? No - How could I sing about something when I had no idea what it was? Oklahoma? No. People Will Say We're in Love? No I Can't say No? Sure, why not.

I listened and practiced and practiced and learned the lyrics. Mom found me an old dress and a women's old straw hat. I was ready.

I barely remember my time on stage except for realizing in the middle of the song that it was kind of odd that I, a shy, never been kissed, wallflower kind of a girl, was singing about not being able to say no to men.

16. I still remember you

2007-03-11T11:39:00.000-05:00

I wrote about Rosanne yesterday because I attended a wrestling tournament at the school where she teaches and that made me think about, among other things, a singer we both liked.

Rosanne and I had a lot in common. We'd both visited England the same year, we were the same age, we both taught special ed and we both liked Harry Chapin. She, however saw him in concert - and got a kiss on the cheek. I only planned on seeing him in concert - in Chicago - the summer he died.

I probably first heard of Harry Chapin through his Cats in the Cradle which played on the radio a lot in the late 70's. I bought his Greatest Shows Live album and remember listening to it in my first apartment.

On that album I liked a number of songs, but my favorite was probably Taxi. It told of a pair of former lovers who were briefly reunited in a taxi. He was the driver, she the passenger. The song talks about where they'd planned on being at this point in time and where they really were. I think the song was meaningful to me because of a recent breakup of mine. Thinking ahead to a point in time that if my former boyfriend and I were to meet, what we might say.

I can't tell you what Rosanne liked about Chapin. She could have liked that song best, or another. But it was great to find a friend with whom I had some musical tastes in common. We couldn't see Harry in concert together, so we went to see his brother Tom at the Birchmere.

15. Leaving on a Jet Plane - parting is not sweet

2007-03-10T16:44:00.000-05:00

I'll let my 17 year old self write most of this one:

I'm listening to my "John Denver's Greatest Hits" album. Leaving on a Jet Plane is playing now. It doesn't make me cry anymore - unless I'm feeling gloomy anyhow. I usually get gloomy after hearing it though. Good God! I was mistaken. It does bring tears to my eyes.

I always thought being in love as different than I know it. I guess I had in mind being with my love - most of the time - not the other way around. And everyone calls me "lucky". Anyone with a love so close doesn't realize how lucky they are. But then - I am lucky - not because I am in love with an English guy - but that the person I love loves me back - and that boy / man is Jeremy.

I wrote that on March 25, 1975 - over thirty years ago. I remember (maybe it is in a journal somewhere) that I used to imagine it was Jeremy singing that song to me.

I didn't marry Jeremy - we broke up nearly four years later after leaving on many jet planes. I don't know if this song would make me gloomy if I heard it again. Probably not. Nostalgic perhaps, but not gloomy.

14. Sealed with a kiss covers

2007-03-09T18:49:00.000-05:00

I spent significant amounts of time with my grandparents who retired to Chetek, Wisconsin. This song transports me to a summer I spent with them, pining over a boy upon whom I had a crush while eying a couple of other guys in a bar.

I've had some fun finding versions of this song online, although the version I remember was Bobby Vinton, I cannot find him just singing this song (in 1972 or whenever he recorded it). Although there is a video of a depressingly old Vinton singing it along with other songs. Like a medley. Of old love songs.

I did however find a cover by Brian Hyland from 1966.

Interested parties may also want to check out this song covered by Sam Hui, Agnethe, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Jordan McCoy, Bird, a cute little girl, a guy on a cruise and some random woman.

Then there were the homemade music videos.

Rebecca trailer

Someone's dear departed rodents and rabbits

Lovestruck Legos

Asian modern dance

Various kisses from movies of Gothic Romances

And it was even a movie!

13. I Like Olives

2007-03-08T13:25:00.000-05:00

There are a few songs called Jerusalem. The first song I'd heard with that title was the one they sing in England - the hymn - which Wikipedia tells me was originally a William Blake poem. I probably initially heard it on Masterpiece Theatre, but was amused to discover, on my first visit there, that they actually do sing it in England.

The second song I heard called Jerusalem was by Dan Bern. It is not a hymn. Probably the opposite. If Dan has a signature song, Jerusalem is it. It is also another song of his that gave me belly laughs the first few times I heard it - and it is always received well at his shows. People used to bring him jars of olives when he toured after releasing this song on his first two albums.

Sometimes Steve Earle is compared to Dan Bern (or visa versa) and I think I knew before today that Earle had a Jerusalem too, but didn't realize how much his voice was like Dan's until just now. Here it is on YouTube too. Hmm, I like this.

It would be interesting to be able to hear all the different songs called Jerusalem by the various artists, but I'm getting a little Internet search weary this afternoon.

12. Jonathan Livingston Seagull

2007-03-07T12:31:00.000-05:00

I don't remember when I first read Jonathan Livingston Seagull, I think my mom gave it to me for Christmas one year - or maybe my friend Cindy introduced me to it. Perhaps both.

I must have liked the message in the story - although I'm not sure now what it was. These days I try not to get caught up in the philosophy du jour, but back then I was young and impressionable, I suppose.

Of course I saw the movie when it came out and had to own the soundtrack. I don't remember if I was a Neil Diamond fan before this movie or not. I was a Neil Diamond fan for a while though - although thinking back, the only album of his I owned was JLS.

Listening to the music now, I can see why I liked it. It's easy to listen to. I can also see why I didn't bother digitizing it. The chanting is a little annoying.

It got me interested in seagulls - a bird rare on the US prairie back in the early 1970's. And that might have been one catalyst that brought me to being a birder.

I mistakenly identified the dove of peace necklace given to me by Mr. Topolewski as a thank you for playing along with his birthday present scheme. I thought it was a seagull, and called it Jonathan when I wore it.

Gulls now don't very often make me think of Jonathan. Unless they look like they are really enjoying their aerodynamic feats.

11. Smells like a car full of boys

2007-03-06T13:36:00.000-05:00

I'd heard of the band Nirvana and knew who Kurt Cobain was, even before Dan Bern sang about Cobain and before I heard Dan sing Pennyroyal Tea. But I didn't care. I still don't necessarily like Nirvana's music, but one song brings back a not-so-distant memory.

A few summers ago my kids and I visited friends in Lake Tahoe. It was my first time there and driving from Oakland to Tahoe was more experience than I'd expected. I was content to hang out at our friend's home and drive around the lake a bit.

One day the hosts decided we'd all visit Virginia City and my car was necessary to carry passengers there. I was nervous, but figured it would be good for me - to drive though the mountains once again before I had to drive back to San Francisco later that week. The kids were allowed to choose the cars they wanted to ride in. The two girls (my daughter and her friend) chose to ride in the van with the experienced mountain driver leaving me to ferry the boys to Virginia City. (What did they think? If I got too scared to drive the boys would push the car?)

They were all excited - after all, the airport had upgraded me to a bright blue PT Cruiser and it was a novelty car at the time. "The boys" included David and his friend - both 16, Artie - 15 and my son - 11. We started out and as long as I didn't look off the side of the road I was okay. The one thing I soon became aware of was the odor in the car. Three teenage and one preteen boy in a closed-up car in Nevada summertime made for a nose scrinching aroma.

To take my mind off the smell and mountain roads, I turned on the radio, but David handed me a CD. Artie, who was in the front seat, slid it into the CD player and as we sailed over the Nevada mountain roads the perfect song came over the speakers: Smells like Teen Spirit. Not only did I forget where I was, I let the boys roll down the windows and we played the song loudly several times. No fear and no smell...

Yeah, so the song is not about stinky boys, but I always think of that car ride when I hear it.

10. And Now for Something Completely Different

2007-03-05T20:47:00.000-05:00

I didn't watch much television when I was in high school. Not sure why, but I didn't. There were two programs that I did watch, however. Religiously. I put up a fuss if was forced to miss them.

Sunday nights were my TV nights. Homework was done and I'd earned a break. At 8:00 I watched Masterpiece Theatre. It was a perfect program for the Anglophile I was turning into. I don't watch it much anymore, but the theme music still makes me shiver with delight.

Right after Masterpiece Theatre, WETA in Chicago, ran Monty Python's Flying Circus. The theme music for that program cheers me up. I occasionally watch an episode of the Flying Circus. It doesn't give me the belly laughs it used to. Either I've lost my sense of humor, or I know all the jokes. My kids still laugh at the episodes though.

And now for something completely different...

9. Faaaaaaar Out!

2007-03-04T20:43:00.000-05:00

I tend to be a one musician at time person. I don't know if that is normal or not, but there you have it. After my fleeting interest in Jack Wild and before I discovered Kate Bush I was a huge John Denver fan. Like with Kate Bush, it was the lyrics that caught and held me. Except for hearing songs on the radio, practically the only music I listened to during that time was John Denver's music - the fact that I only had two of his albums meant that I listened to the same songs over and over and over...

One of my favorite songs on his Greatest Hits album was For Baby (For Bobbie). I pictured a man walking with his young son and showing him the wonders of nature. It was simple, and sweet and I liked it and made me think of what life would be like with a child of my own.

I remember seeing John Denver on a couple of TV specials, but the show that I remember the most was when he was on the Tonight Show - probably in 1973 or 1974. He may or may not have been wearing his signature glasses, but I suspect not. He was changing. When Johnny Carson (or Ed McMahon) urged him to say "Faaaaaaar Out!" he refused, saying, in essence, he was beyond that. I lost a little respect for him that night, and it was not much later that I put his albums away.

I never told too many people about my John Denver obsession - the ones I did, laughed at me. Still, when I hear a song that was on one of those two albums that I particularly liked, I usually smile and even tap my foot a little.

8. Marilyn - finally, a Dan Bern post

2007-03-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

Friday May 23, 1997 was a major turning point in my musical as well as personal life, and I owe it all to an NPR broadcast. Normally I listened to books on tape on the long commute from Alexandria to Bethesda. This Friday, however, I either was tired of the book or just didn't have one.

I was not paying attention to the first part of the broadcast, so missed the introduction, but when I heard a few lines from Marilyn, I was a changed woman. By the time they played Cure for AIDS I nearly had to pull off to the shoulder of the beltway because I was laughing at some of the lyrics. I don't know what it was about these songs - did I need them on this particular day? Or were they genuinely so good that I was sold on this new singer/songwriter?

I listened carefully at the end of the interview and dangerously wrote down his name on a scrap of paper: Dan Burn.

That weekend I ran out and looked in the record stores for an album by Dan Burn. No luck. I assumed he was not popular enough to have an album in Tower Records or Borders Books and Music. I didn't give up, though and turned to the Internet to find out what I could. Somehow I found out that I'd misspelled his name - it was Bern, not Burn and ran back to Tower Records and found his second album: Dan Bern.

I played it in the car, and nearly peed my pants laughing at some of the songs.

I was hooked. I became a rabid fan, joining email lists, traveling out of state to see him - the day after I saw him locally, buying all of his albums the day they were released, trading blank cds for upwards of 50 bootlegs, downloading mp3's by the gigabyte.

I've tried to interest most of my friends in his music, but so far no one has really taken to him. I've learned that obsessions are not transferable. So I made friends of some already converted folks through the years.

Consider yourself warned. This is not the last you'll see a post on Dan Bern in this blog. Not by a long shot.

Here's a Sony released Marylin YouTube video. It's kind of silly. Don't judge him based on this video. Please.

7. You are the keeper of Earth zoo.

2007-03-02T21:31:00.000-05:00

Where I first heard about Donovan is a mystery. It could have been at Cindy's - her parents were the closest to hippies that I knew - Cindy and her mom were vegetarians and Buddhist and they named their house Walden Oaks. Wherever I heard of Donovan, the idea of him caught my fancy. I bought myself his Essence to Essence album and played it in my attic bedroom, reading the lyrics as I listened to the songs.

I liked most of them, and different ones bring back different memories. Here's one about the first track: Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth.

When a friend and I decided it was time Woodruff and Edwards, one of the local factories in town, stopped polluting the air and river, we made picket signs with some of the words from this song (which we were also going to shout to passersby):

Don't pour filth into rivers,
Rivers are like the blood in our veins.
Don't pour filth into the air,
Air is the best thing that we can breathe.

We tried to talk our other friends into joining us on our protest - we had signs made and even a chant planned, but no one was interested (not even Cindy). We chose a day that we'd be off school and were ready to do our bit for a better world.

My friend decided, the afternoon before our scheduled protest, to call the factory to tell them they'd better fix their factory or we were going to come down the next day and picket in front of it. That they needed special anti-pollution caps on their smokestacks to stop their smoke from causing air pollution. She also said she suspected they dumped their waste into the Fox River.

She called me that evening and said our picket was off. The factory representative she spoke to told her that if we came down and picketed that the factory might close down because they couldn't afford to put the special caps on the smokestacks. Then the workers would be out of jobs. Did she want that on her conscious? She didn't and canceled our protest.

But I still liked that song, and would sing it when I passed the factory - or any factory for that matter. It wasn't until last year that I found out that the song was named after a book by R. Buckminster Fuller.

Some hippie I made.

Listen to Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth [mp3, 8MB]

6. There's No Place Like Home

2007-03-01T10:52:00.000-05:00

Each year, first around Christmastime then maybe at Eastertime, I eagerly awaited the annual broadcast of The Wizard of Oz. Even before we had a color TV I loved this movie. I hid my eyes when the Wicked Witch of the West first appeared in the forest, cried when Dorothy had to say goodbye to her new friends, and laughed through my tears when she was safely home again. My dad used to make fun of my crying each year because, as he pointed out, I'd seen it enough times to know the ending.

When I was in elementary school most of the "walkers" went home for lunch. We had an hour to walk home, eat lunch and walk back. My dad sometimes came home for lunch too, and on one of those lunchtimes, my dad brought me a large, flat, square paper bag. Inside was the soundtrack to The Wizard of Oz. The album cover opened like a book, and inside were scenes from the movie. I may have misremembered the time of day Dad brought this gift, but I won't ever misremember my feeling of joy and excitement. Now I could experience the Wizard of Oz every day of the year if I wanted to.

Each lunchtime after I got the record, I'd finish eating my toasted cheese sandwich and bowl of tomato soup and run into the living room to put the record on the turntable. I always began with the first side of the album and by the time that was over, it was time to head back to school, so I learned the songs and words to the first half of the Wizard of Oz by heart. Often the sun would shine though the large multi-paned window on the south side of the house and those days I pretended the sunshine on the golden carpet was the yellow brick road and I'd skip around the path until I was worn out.

To this day I remember all the words (that were on the album) up to the poppy field scene. I annoy friends and family by quoting from the movie and reciting the words when we watch it (which is rarely these days).

It was a pure act of love that my father brought this gift to me. He was not a fan of the movie and didn't necessarily like the music, but he knew how much I did and knew how much it would mean to me. We didn't have a lot of money when I was growing up, and luxuries like this were somewhat rare, especially for a middle-of-the-year for-no-particular-reason kind of gift.

Deleted Jitterbug Scene - see link for explanation. Another user has made a series of videos of Wizard of Oz synchronized with Dark Side of the Moon)

Images stolen from an ebay site. If you own them and want me to take them down, please leave a comment.

5. Everything's Coming up Woses

2007-02-28T11:34:00.000-05:00

Everything's Coming up Roses - Jack Wild [mp3, 3 MB]

I'd forgotten this brief obsession until, while watching the Academy Awards the other night, saw Jack Wild's name and face in the montage of the people who'd died during the year. That I'd not heard about it shouldn't have been surprising, but it was. And sad. After all, since I'd not seen him in anything since Oliver! (and maybe H.R. Pufnstuff), I expected him to still be the cute freckle-faced adolescent I had a minor crush on after David Henesy from Dark Shadows and before I'd discovered real guys were more fun than imaginary ones.

I don't remember where or when I bought his album, Everything's Coming up Roses, but I remember playing it a lot. I'd sing along with Jack, to the point of saying "woses" instead of "roses". I wasn't making fun of his missing R as much as delighting in that small idiosyncrasy of his.

I've kept this album, although when I transferred many of my vinyl albums to cd & mp3 format, I purposely set this one aside. I didn't think I'd want to waste computer space, a cd or my time digitzing it. Not until now, a day about halfway between the academy awards ceremony and the first anniversary of his death.

He didn't seem to do much in the way of entertainment between H. R. Pufnstuff, his few albums and his death. He was a heavy smoker and a heavy drinker and it is fairly certain that combination caused his eventual tongue and throat cancer. He had his larynx and tongue removed in 2002. This all certainly makes me reconsider having a second glass of wine with dinner these days.

Sorry for bringing our music discussion down a notch or three. I never said I had good taste in music.

4. The Kick Inside

2007-02-27T19:17:00.000-05:00

Flash forward to January 1979*. I'm student teaching and attending university in England and it seems like everyone in the college dorm is playing a record by a new female singer. At first I'm not so sure I like the music, but when I listen to the lyrics I find that I do. The musician tells a story with each of her songs, and her voice can do things I'd never heard. Plus, they tell me, she dances while she sings her incredible songs. I'm also told, by fellow American students, that she performed on Saturday Night Live the night after I left for England.

Of course I'm talking about Kate Bush. As soon as I return to the States I buy her album, The Kick Inside, and play it over and over again, listening to the words; hypnotized by the sounds. I force my friends and family to listen to her and we try to dissect the songs. What do they mean?

Of course we know what Wuthering Heights is about, but I was memorized by the title song, The Kick Inside. I suspected it was about sibling incest or suicide, but couldn't imagine either, so looked for some other meaning in the lyrics.

The first verse was obviously about death. I remember looking up the word chintz and because it sounded so old fashioned, thought perhaps this was an old woman's deathbed. She'd lived a long and happy life and was writing a note to a loved one (husband? child?) and saying she'd soon be with (a) God.

I've pulled down my lace and the chintz.
Oh, do you know you have the face of a genius?
I'll send your love to Zeus.
Oh, by the time you read this,
I'll be well in touch.

The second verse made it harder to fool myself. My first thought was that the kicking was an unborn baby, but that didn't mesh with my old woman theory. Maybe the kicking was pains from death. Maybe she's writing that note to her brother and not her husband or child. And the part about being under the quilt. Well, it was the olden days - they had to keep warm somehow.

I'm giving it all in a moment or two.
I'm giving it all in a moment, for you.
I'm giving it all, giving it, giving it.
This kicking here inside
Makes me leave you behind.
No more under the quilt
To keep you warm.
Your sister I was born.
You must lose me like an arrow,
Shot into the killer storm.

I'd deluded myself for years, loving this song, but not letting myself think what it could really be about. It wasn't until I began researching for this post that I discovered that it was about sibling incest and suicide and an unborn baby. God bless the Internet.

I'll write more about Kate Bush's music and her influence on me in later posts. I go in and out of my obsession with her work. Currently I'm out, but once I listen to her stuff again, I'm sure to be back in.

*It's possible I'd heard about Kate Bush earlier than January 1979 - in fact I'm almost sure of it, but my memories do not mesh with the dates. I thought I'd heard her in a 6th form break room at Benton Park Grammar School while visiting friends at that school, but the year she released The Kick Inside, I didn't visit England until early December. Maybe I visited the school before their winter holiday break. Still a month earlier doesn't make that much difference, I just like to get my memories straight. back

3. The Boy with the Moon and Star on his Head

2007-02-26T05:23:00.000-05:00

I wasn't much into music until around my junior year of high school. Before that I mostly listened to show tunes. In tenth grade our English teacher asked us to share the name of our favorite popular musician and favorite song. As my turn to share neared, I fretted - not having a clue who to name, and not wanting to admit I didn't listen to popular music enough to have a favorite. When the student ahead of me named her favorite musician, I decided I'd borrow my best friend, Cindy's, favorite musician - I even knew the name of the album and her favorite song on it, since she'd mentioned it a number of times and perhaps had even played it for me when I visited her house.

"I like Cat Stevens," I blurted out, feeling my face turn red. "I like The Boy with the Moon and Star on his Head from Catch Bull at Four." The teacher nodded and went on to the next student while I sat, embarrassed at my lie, knowing that the whole room of sophomores knew I'd been dishonest.

That moment stuck with me for about two decades until I eventually purchased a used copy of Catch Bull at Four at a record shop and listened to it. I could see why Cindy liked it, especially The Boy with the Moon and Star on his Head. By then had seen Harold and Maude and proclaimed it my Favorite Movie of All Time, so I was familiar with Cat Stevens' raspy voice and consistently upbeat lyrics.

Also by then, Cat Stevens had converted to Islam and become Yusuf Islam. By then he'd reportedly said he'd support the assassination of Salman Rushdie. So my late introduction to this musician was tinged with controversy.

In retrospect, I'd actually heard other songs by Cat Stevens, after the English class discussion and before I saw Harold and Maude, but never bothered to find out who the singer was. I feel somehow that I missed an opportunity to like a musician before he was hated and distrusted by much of the country.

Listen to: The Boy with the Moon and Star on his Head [quicktime required]

2. The Twist & Let's Twist Again

2007-02-25T18:42:00.000-05:00

The first song I remember liking enough to do something about was The Twist, sung by Chubby Checker. The song seemed to be everywhere when I was in kindergarten and first grade.

Ray Raynor showed us how to twist on the Ray Raynor Show, telling his audience to pretend they were toweling off after a bath. He demonstrated by holding a bath towel in his hands with the middle part behind the small of his back, then quickly pulling on either side of the towel as if he was drying his lower back.

When my kindergarten teacher played the song on the record player in her classroom, I was all set and knew exactly what to do, thanks to Ray Raynor. I held my fists out as if I had a towel by the corners and wiggled my butt and closed my eyes, dancing away. When I opened them, the song was over and Ms Freeman was standing near me trying hard not to laugh.

When I got a little older, I still liked the song and was pleased to see that my parents had a version of it. I'd put it on our HiFi and wiggle my butt and pretend to towel off, just as Ray Raynor told me to.

Come on everybody clap your hands
Now you're looking good
I'm gonna sing my song and you won't take long
We gotta do the twist and it goes like this

Come on let's twist again like we did last summer
Yea, let's twist again like we did last year
Do you remember when things were really hummin'
Yea, let's twist again, twistin' time is here

Though I'm not a dancer, just thinking about that song makes my hips begin to move back and forth and occasionally when I towel off after a shower I think about Ray Raynor and Chubby Checker and I want to Twist Again, like I did last summer...

(Ok, the shower image is a little disturbing.)

1. She is So Funqular

2007-02-24T10:49:00.000-05:00

In 1980 or thereabouts a song that played on the radio a lot caught my attention. I may or may not have known the musician - Peter Gabriel - at the time, but the song was catchy and I'd sing along with the chorus:

She is So Funqular
She is So Funqular
She is So Funqular

My boyfriend said funqular was a French word, but didn't know what it meant. I imagined it meant sexy in a cool way or something. We were happy in our ignorance, and sang along with the lyrics - none of which made any sense, but that was fine with us.

At some point we purchased the album and realized we were wrong about the lyrics in the chorus, but it took me a while to realize exactly what the song was about. I'd even been to a Jeux San Frontiers heat on one of my visits to England in the 1970's and had a bright yellow "It's a Knockout" poster among my souvenirs of that trip.

I must have carefully read the lyrics, or perhaps took the poster out of storage, or maybe just saw the video, but it finally occurred to me what the song was about. I remember putting the poster up in the basement and smiling every time I saw it or heard the song played on the radio or on our stereo. It wasn't until later that I learned that it was Kate Bush singing the chorus.

To this day, when I hear that song, I smile, and sing along with the chorus:

She is So Funqular
She is So Funqular
She is So Funqular

View and hear a more recent version of Games without Frontiers on YouTube.