Is it bad that I’m still as entertained by The Muppets as I was when I was three years old? I just saw a new viral of them covering Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody that had my attention like Sesame Street circa 1986. Watch it if only for the first 30 seconds  to see Animal’s cameo, he steals the show. If I watch this a few more times it may be stuck in my head longer than The Ladybug’s Picnic and that’s going on 21 years of non stop looping in my brain, is that normal? This video is so well done that I can’t stop thinking about what other music videos Fozzie and the crew should enhance. Here is my top 3hree:

3. Wicked Game by Chris Isaak- This video was my first introduction to sex on T.V. My parents hid MTV from me by deprogramming  the channel lineup and telling me that our the remote control was broken, solely because of the gratuitous boobage in this video. I believed this until I was 17 when I found out that you just had to manually type in channel 98 and press enter. Wouldn’t it be awesome to see Miss Piggy getting down with Kermit on a beach? No? I didn’t think so either. The Muppet penguins would probably make a sweet appearance though.

2. Nuthin’ But A “G” Thang- Dr. Dre and Snoop. This the most badass Gangsta rap video of all time. It has chicks, blunts, fortys, low-riders with hydraulics and more chicks. We all know that Kermit was down with the ganja, how do you think his skin got so green? How else would he be able to deal with Miss Piggy’s non-stop nagging unless he was stoned to the bejesus off some sour diesel? The “Caribbean Amphibian” has been wanting to cover this song for years but The Jim Henson Company is worried that he’ll ruin his wholesome image. I’d love to see a car full of Muppets get launched out of a bouncing cholo-mobile while pounding some O.E., tell me you wouldn’t. You can’t.

1. Thriller-Michael Jackson. Michael has been in the news a lot lately for some reason. All kidding aside, before he started getting weird with little boys, he happened to make the greatest music video of all time. It’s amazing that in all the years and all of the

Once, there was this kiiiiiid who....

thousands of music videos that have been made since 1983, nothing even comes close. Alright, Mmm mmm mmm by Crash Test Dummies comes close but besides that, nothing. The only thing that could ever top Thriller is if The Muppets are able to replicate it frame for frame. If a puppeteer is able to make Dr. Teeth  do the MJ zombie dance then we can easily say that the king has been dethroned. Is this possible? Can this be done without the help of C.G.I? I highly highly highly doubt it. Not to mention that half-dead Gonzo would also be some scary shit.

When we last spoke we had been spending some nice relaxed days in Sofia, Bulgaria. Well, shortly after our last bit of dialogue things changed, and for the best. We had had aspirations of a big party night, and this finally materialized on a fine Bulgarian Saturday eve. After exploring the main local strip we (a hostel crew of caught several taxis to the university area of the city. The first club was fairly bumpin, but they weren’t playing any Crash Test Dummies, so we opted to find another beer consumption station. After talking with a local, we followed him to what sounded like a fairly bitchin place for live tunes. Bitchin was right!! After several more beverages and music oriented discussions, the local guy we had come in with actually approached the band and proposed that I play drums with them on a track. They bought in immediately, and I joined them on stage very apprehensive of exactly what I would be playing with them. They selected “knockin’ on heaven’s door”, and I chimed in with a slightly revised drum line featuring multiple cow bell hits and waaaaaay too much double kick pedal. Not really, but imagine! It was really awesome though, and Derek got the call on the next song as well. Man things sure fall into place sometimes for a drummer in need…  Shortly after Derek and I got onto our hellish night train and made a break for Istanbul. What a shit show. We paid for tickets, then had to pay extra once we got onto the train to pay for our lay down beds. Oh, and we could only pay in euros… wicked. Fast forward approximately an hour later, a Swiss guy playing the role of translator, and our Serbian, Bulgarian and Canadian money being exchanged for Euros, and things were totally smooth. Our 2am border cross also meant us (as Canadians) paying over twice as much as a traveller from any other country for our Visa. BRUUUTAL. Oh well, Istanbul is worth it. Istanbul is a shock. People approach you here constantly claiming that they’re your friends, but you have absolutely no prior relationship. Like I’m talking nothing here, not ICQ, not Friendster, not Facebook,   they’re actually just using it as a ploy to sell you stuff. Can you belive it? Here I thought I was going to leave with such an extensive network of people that cared about me, but now I just find myself with a backpack full of ceramic horses, gyroscopes and those plastic spider things that can descend the walls of your house in under minutes! Talk about throwing your budget out the window! The Bazaars here are pretty wild, spices, teas, Turkish delight, kittens… everything a common Dave Leroux could ever want. All the RMSDL’s here are so friendly, tons of them, all homeless, but happy to lap up a bowl of milk, or any treats that any size of feline could ever wish for. Derek has been taking some pretty good pictures of people having their pictures taken, and I’ve had some nice times haggling with Bazaar shop keeps. My plans in the coming days are to take things that I no longer need and try to sell them to assorted Bazaar vendors in the exact same manner that they approach me. I’ll keep you posted.

Veckans tema i MusikFoto är Vatten, som ju finns i många olika former. Jag tror att jag kan komma på någonting positivt om alla utom snö (fy!); i flytande form är det härligt att bada i, som ånga är det skönt i bastun och vad vore fredagsdrinken utan is?
….Regn kan vara mysigt, men långt ifrån alltid. Kolla gärna in regnlåten i gårdagens inlägg.

Närheten till havet är en av de stora fördelarna med att bo i Malmö och därför har jag valt havsmusik i dag. Först en låt med Crash Test Dummies från plattan God Shuffled His Feet; en platta med idel topplåtar! (Spotify) Sedan är det dags för en video med ett av historiens största, viktigaste och bästa band, Led Zeppelin.
….Håll i er nu tjejer och killar, här har vi brallor som är lika avslöjande som en brottardress!

Länkar till andra bloggar om: musik, hårdrock, rock, pop, Led Zeppelin, Crash Test Dummies, Musikfoto, foto, fotografi, fotografering, fotobloggar, fotoutmaning, fotoutmaningar, bilder, bild, Malmö,

Last Thursday our online lecture was given by Daniel Meadows. Opinion about the lecture is split between those who saw it as irrelevant to journalists whose job is to report facts, and those, like myself, who think that finding alternative ways to tell the same old stories is what makes journalism interesting and gives creativity to an otherwise fact-based enterprise.

Daniel’s life has been fascinating. He has not worked for one ‘dinosaur’ organization all his life and, as a self-confessed ‘hippy’, has very much done the things that have made him happy. His first, and perhaps most interesting endeavour, was larking about on a bus for a bit taking photos. I won’t tell you all about it; check it out for yourself.

Perhaps why I was so impressed by Daniel’s approach to story-telling is my slightly art-farty, pseudo-magazine, approach to writing. Maybe (swinging it back to the lyrical aspect of this blog) it is because, essentially, lyrics and songs are alternative story-telling devices as well. As soon as Glynn, our online course tutor, offered a bottle of champagne to the best alternative story-telling submission my head swam with what songs I could put to video to tell a story.

One of the best examples of a stories told in song, Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat aside, of course, is ‘Mmm mmm mmm’ by the Crash Test Dummies. I am going to save the song for proper analysis later in the year but just give it a listen and listen to the stories. Haunting.

I was trying to match lyrics to stories in my head all day after the lecture. Stories that are told from a different angle – one that leaves the viewer/listener deciding some of the tale for themselves. Some of Daniel’s work which he showd us did this perfectly- his work at a psychiatric ward really left the story open to subjective explanation.

I like to think the world is not black and white, and alternative story-telling is a perfect way to expose the shades of grey.

Artwork. Paintings. Drawings. Stuff hung in the Louvre. It’s classic, right? I’d like to think that a great deal of it is. Untouchable? I dunno, I guess so. Not untouchable enough that it doesn’t end up on album covers from time to time. As far as changing the meaning of the original work, I could care less. Yes, it seems I’m reaching for a “don’t care” attitude with this blog. But honestly, I don’t wanna write a classic today. I just wanna bring to attention some famous artwork that also made for some decent album covers. Maybe with a bit of snark thrown in for good measure. I don’t feel like picking an attitude and sticking with it today. So, let us begin.

—-

Coldplay – Viva la Vida —–> Eugène Delacroix – Liberty Leading the People

Ah yes, what a grand and marvelous piece this was. Until someone let that wacky Chris Martin paint the name of his album on top of it.

—-

Weezer – Pinkerton —–> Hiroshege – Kambara Yoru no Yuki

We get it Rivers, you love Japan. Well, the top half wasn’t really a part of the original piece, so Goddamn that half-Japanese album cover.

—-

Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation —–> Gerhard Richter – Kerze

A candle is lit, and a musical revolution begins… or something. Great record, great lighting.

—-

Crash Test Dummies - God Shuffled His Feet —–> Titian – Bacchus and Ariadne

Oh those wacky Canadians! Now they think they’re Greek gods! With a deep baritone voice like that, who can blame them?

—-

David Bowie – “Heroes”/Iggy Pop – The Idiot —–> Erich Heckel – Roquairol

While not technically the actual artwork, both these two were apparently inspired by this. I see it in Iggy, but Dave’s pretty much doing his own thing as usual.

—-

Ween – The Pod —–> Leonard Cohen – The Best of

Now, I don’t have too many problems with the other artworks displayed being used, but geez Ween! You should be ashamed of yourself! How could you defile the stone-cold classic The Best of? As far as I’m concerned, Ween can go jump off a cliff and die. You don’t mess with something as precious and life-affirming as Leonard Cohen’s The Best of. An American classic ruined by two PA stoners.

-Trevor

Happy Hallowe’ekend!

Two clips to get you started right for the night of fright ahead.

Subliminal chills from The Exorcist

First, you are aware, of course, that The Exorcist is one of the scariest movies of all time, because it harnesses that bone-shaking fright of The Unknown, and worse yet, the Intimate Unknown, the thought that something real and horrible and pure evil has cracked your safety shell and is living its chaotic path right under your roof, its next move always unpredictable but you stuck there, powerless to evacuate the situation. But have you ever seen the original trailer for the 1973 movie, the one that was never released because it was deemed too scary for audiences?

If you can, turn the lights down and watch this and you will feel the hot breath of unwelcome demons breathing in your ear. This is not one of those cheap scares where some shit jumps out at you from a darkened corner. It’s just the right discomfiting combination of sound and images that makes your skin move on its own accord:

They don’t make em like that any more, the subliminal eeriness that invades your subconscious and sets your mind into unease in ways the eewy gory Saw movies don’t even comprehend.

Second, something lighter, but still — in the mind of my 6-year-old self, at least — almost as goddamned terrifying.

I will pass this off maybe as some sort of odd byproduct of growing up in Jersey, but for whatever reason one of my favorite parts of holidays was the cartoon specials on TV, specifically the works of Garfield, who, pre-Keroauc, pre-Thompson, pre-Chandrasekaran, pre-Ted Leo, was, I have to admit, a pretty heavy guiding force in my life.

The Halloween special I remember as being terrifying, and upon watching it again now, I still hold by the creeping-up-the-neck feeling it invokes, as it plays on childhood fears that are always on simmer during trick-or-treating — the sense of being out on your own in the blackness of the suburban night, pushing on for just one more house on the edge of town for just that little bit more of candy because you know this year you just have to get the biggest haul ever, until suddenly you’ve wandered to an unknown and unfriendly neighborhood where no other kids are around, the only people on the streets are strange big people with no candy bags and devilish looks in their eyes, and none of the porch lights seem to be on any more and you realize you don’t know what time it is or how long you’ve been out. You long to get back to your block to find your school friends but realize it’s a very, very long walk and you’re not even sure which direction to go in.

The basic set-up for this clip: the terminally diabetic Garfield works himself into a candy grabbing stupor throughout the day at the thought of the free bounty of sweets awaiting him the in the neighborhood. He even threatens a homeowner with violence at one point when they only offer up a measly few bits. Never sated with his bag of gluttony, Garfield eyes a presumably private island (Daufuskie?) off the coast and reasons that if he can get out there, all the candy reserves are his and his alone to claim (no consideration is really given for Odie). Why a private island with no children on it would even have candy ready for distribution is something Garfield does not seem to consider. That’s when they stumble upon this guy:

Yeah, you just try to stay still when the lightning flashes and all of a sudden the old man has disappeared to steal Garfield’s boat. Then at the very end, a twist!

Also worth noting is that the voice of Garfield is Lorenzo Music, one of the all-stars of voice acting of the 80s and 90s, responsible for not just the fat cat but also Peter Venkman, Tummi Gummi of the Gummy Bears, one of the Crash Test Dummies, and many others. And he’s from Brooklyn!

Both these clips remind highlight similar themes: the inherent comfort we feel in the safety of the known and the jarring disquietude that can creep in when that bubble is invaded. Watch your step out there this weekend.

BONUS: one of my fav Halloween playlist entries of all time

Misfits – Dig Up Her Bones

With many apologies to my sister Amy, I have got to say that the Miley Cyrus song Party in the USA has to be the absolute worst song I have heard in a long time.  I have listened to it a number of times, mostly because I have a 10-year-old daughter, but I have also listened to it on my own when it has come across my radio dial.  I have tried to like it, I really have, but the distorted vocals just keep reminding me of the Johnny Bravo episode of The Brady Bunch where Greg was hired because he fit the suit.  Other than the fact that is seems to put a smile on Molly’s face when she sings along, I can’t really find any other redeeming value to this song.  It is just plain irritating.  Having three kids, I have been subjected to a lot of bad music over the years, and for the most part I just grit my teeth and let them listen.  Stephanie was a big Britney fan, and at one time I could recite almost all the words to Oops, I Did it Again in my sleep, and I have had to watch the video to Lucky more times than I really care to remember.  Some of the music I didn’t mind so much, like when Alex got the Jonas Brother’s CD and had me play it every time he was in the car.  I also don’t mind Taylor Swift, but that song of hers about Romeo and Juliet get stuck in the brain for hours as soon as I hear it.  The other song that often gets stuck in my head is the LeAnn Rimes song from Coyote Ugly, but I think in that case it is not so much the song, but the movie I find irritating.  It is one of Stephanie’s favorite still, and I have a feeling Maureen would be a tad bit embarrassed to admit she likes it too.

So, I wanted to try and give Miley the benefit of the doubt, and I started a list in my head of the most irritating songs I could think of.  Please do not try this at home.  I am a trained, self-proclaimed specialist in this field.  You will only hurt yourself if you try.  Instead, let me do the work for you.  If you choose to keep reading, I have included for you my list of the Top 10 most irritating songs to me.  There are no magic criteria here, it is just my opinion.  I have restricted my choices based on the effect the song has had on my life personally, and also on the songs place in American Pop Culture.  Although there is any number of songs by Yoko Ono that would literally tear my spine out, the chances of me having to listen to them, accidentally or otherwise, are very slim.  For that reason they are not included.  Mostly the list will include songs that you know so be warned.  There is a good chance that you will be humming one of these tunes later today or tomorrow.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

So here we go, starting with number 10, let the countdown begin:

#10 Friends in Low Place -  Garth Brooks

This one makes the number 10 spot not so much for the original song, but for the sheer number of times I have been subjected to drunken karaoke versions of the song.  For some reason, this is also a popular song at wedding receptions.  The playing of the song is usually instigated by the Best Man or one of the other grooms men, as they circle around the groom to bellow out the chorus at him.  Most of the other lyrics seem to be muddled or forgotten, as this usually takes place towards the end of the night when the chance of sobriety is completely lost.  Also completely lost is the fact that the song is inappropriate for a wedding.  Listen to the lyrics guys.  They are dumping on the bride.  If you find yourself at a wedding and this song is suggested, just say no.  That is unless your intent is to break up the marriage before it even starts.  The bride will be pissed.

#9 – The Sweet Escape – Gwen Stefani w/Akon

Gwen can go ahead and send her thank you note directly to Akon for landing her on this list.  Although she did have a runner-up song of her own that could have easily made this list on its own merit with Hollaback Girl, it was Akon’s unrelenting “Woo Hoo” throughout this song that won it the number nine position.  Another favorite of my daughter Molly, it takes a quick hand and an even quicker ear to get it off the radio before she notices it.  But since the song starts right out with that damn “Woo Hoo,” it is an almost impossible task.  Alex will often try and help me out by talking very loudly directly at Molly when he hears the song begin to give me a chance to change the station, but as Molly gets older she has become wise to this ploy.  Woo Hoo.

#8 – Who Let the Dogs Out – Baha Men

For many people, this song would probably rate higher on the list, but two factors keep it relatively low on my list.  First, this song truly was just a fad song.  The highest it climbed on the Billboard Pop chart was only #40, and second it faded almost as fast as it arrived.  The only reason I have included it at all is because of its rampant use at sporting events.  The Baltimore Raven most notable used the song on their way to winning the Super Bowl in 2000, and while with the Seattle Mariners, Alex Rodriguez used the song as his walk up music.  Most people don’t even remember that there was an actual song beyond the catch phrase, and I doubt that anyone has heard or played the entire song in a very long time.  The song has basically become a joke, but is still often used in television and film for a quick laugh, most recently in the hit film The Hangover.  I believe you would have a very hard time finding anyone who would actually admit to liking the song, but the fact that the basic tag line has survived and is so recognizable, I feel it has earned it’s spot here on my list.

#7 – Barbie Girl – Aqua

I would never have thought it possible to get two equally annoying yet different voices on one record until I heard this song.  And I heard it a lot.  It only reached #7 on the American charts, but it was a number one hit all over the world.  It was also a hit with my oldest daughter and can unfortunately still be heard on the radio today.  The first time I heard the song myself, I actually thought it was some kind of radio joke.  But Mattel didn’t think it was a joke and the company filed a lawsuit claiming copyright infringement.  But the courts ruled that the song was protected under the First Amendment and that Barbie’s existence in the public domain left her open to parody.  So it was a joke, right?  Without the lawsuit, this song probably would not have gotten the airplay it did, and possibly would not have made it on the list.  It can be argued that Barbie Girl is a classic piece of Bubble Gum Pop, but for me the song is as irritating as a mosquito bite, so it will remain on my list.

#6 – Poker Face - Lady Gaga

I am pretty sure I just heard a collective gasp from all the Lady Gaga fans out there, but trust me on this one; ten years from now this song is Barbie Girl.  It is the only current song that appears on my list, and that might be the main reason it is here.  I still hear the song way too much.  And it was annoying from the very first time I heard it.  I will admit that I do enjoy Lady Gaga’s other hit song Just Dance, but it lacks that same mind numbing repetitiveness that Poker Face subjects us with.  Only time will tell for sure if this song will live up to its irritating legacy, but for now it is not going to disappear from my list.

#5 – The Chicken Dance – Werner Thomas

I credit Werner Thomas with creating this up-tempo polka tune because that seems to be the only thing that most people seem to agree upon about this song.  The tune itself is more than 50 years old, but the story and actual title of the piece varies from source to source.  It is the only instrumental tune on the list (don’t give me that crap about lyrics, I have yet to hear a recorded version with lyrics) and as far as I can tell the tune has never appeared on any music charts here in the United States.  But the fact that everyone reading this can hum the tune and knows when to flap their arms, shake their butts, and make little chirping beak faces with their hands, proves that the song meets the criteria I set of American Pop Culture, so it lands right here at number five.  My inclusion of The Chicken Dance is bound to bring distain form some readers, probably even more so than my inclusion of Lady Gaga.  But damn it, it’s my list.  It stays!

#4 – Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm – Crash Test Dummies

Dumb title, dumb song, dumb band.   The Billy Bob Thornton, Sling Blade, Karl Childers asinine mumbling chorus makes this song bad enough, but have you ever really tried to listen to the lyrics?  The song just makes no sense.  There’s a boy whose hair turns from black to white because of a car accident and a girl with birthmarks all over her body.  What the hell is this song about?  I can’t quite explain it.  Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm.  It very easily could have been number one.

#3 – Tubthumper - Chumbawumba

This song makes the number three spot because just like a cold sore on a prom queen, it just keeps popping up.  I have to admit, when I first came up with the idea of this list I couldn’t even remember the name of the song, but I knew it had to be included.  What I can never forget is the mish-mosh of nonsense lyrics.  “I get knocked down, but I get up again, no you’re never gonna keep me down.”  Please, for God’s sake.  Stay Down!  Even the name of the band is irritating.  I know very little about this band, and to be honest I don’t want to know anything about them.  I get the general idea that the song is about the working man and that no matter what “the man” does to him he’s just going to keep coming.  It is basically flipping a giant middle finger at the establishment, but Johnny Paycheck did it much better with Take This Job and Shove It and it didn’t make me want to stab my eardrums with knitting needles. 

#2 – Macarena – Los Del Rio

The only thing that kept this song from being number one was the fact that I have actually not had to listen to it in quite some time.  But taking into account its place in American Pop Culture, this song takes the cake.  This song spent 14 weeks at number one on the Billboard charts, tied for second as the most weeks ever.  The song still retains the number five position on Billboard’s All Time Top 100.  And who can forget the robotic Al Gore attempt at the dance during the 1996 Democratic National Convention.  Unlike the equally irritating Who Let the Dogs Out, this song was not a fad, and it still enjoys airplay at wedding receptions and bar-mitzvahs all across the country.  Grandmothers and young children everywhere are still willing to jump out onto the dance floor to give this one a try.  I will be waiting it out at the bar.  Better make it a double.

#1 – Mambo # 5 – Lou Bega

Another hot hit with the wedding reception crowd, this one I still hear all the time.  Besides the fact that I just heard this song again about a week ago, the main reason this makes the number one spot is that I find the artist just as irritating as the song.  Lou Bega is not Hispanic.  He is not even Spanish.  He’s German.  Ok, so his mother was from Sicily and his father was Ugandan, which did give him a somewhat exotic look, but he is about as Latino as me.  His real name is David Lubega, see how he cleverly just dropped the whole David thing, and he was born raised and still lives in Germany.  The song was “sampled” in its entirety for a 1949 song of the same name, and all Mr. Lubega did was provide his own lyrics.  And aren’t we all happy he did.  The main portion of the song is the “little bit” lyrics that also provide most of the irritation.  I do remember that the show Friends used the song extensively in their advertising because the first woman named on the list was Monica.  Myself, I prefer my German artist angry yet stoic.  Give me those 99 Luftballoons any day.

So, there you have it.  My 10 most irritating songs.  Take a little time to digest them and let me know what you think.  I actually had a lot of fun putting this list together, and I suppose I should give credit to another of my favorite blog sites, Listverse.  I have added them to my Blog Roll if you care to visit them, but it can be very addicting.  I might even visit this format again sometime myself.   But remember, this was all just for fun.  Please don’t threaten my life if I made fun of one of your favorite songs.  If one of your favorite songs was on this list, you have a lot more to worry about than just me.

Os acordais de Crash Test Dummies, si ese grupo que sacó el temazo MMM MMM MMM MMM que sonaba en todos los sitios ( yo por lo menos lo recuerdo así en mi entonces corta edad xDDD) . Esta canción es del disco God Shuffled His Feet (1993), que obtuvo tres nominaciones a los Grammy y vendió mas de 5 millones de copias en todo el mundo, después de este exitazo nunca más se supo y eso que siguen en activo, incluso han sacado disco en este 2009 “Toys” habeis oído algo de este último disco, pues yo tampoco jejeje. Os adjunto video de este curioso single del 93.

WORD

anathema [uh-nath-uh-muh] n. 1. a person or thing detested or loathed: That subject is anathema to him 2. a person or thing accursed or consigned to damnation or destruction 3. a formal ecclesiastical curse involving excommunication 4. any imprecation of divine punishment 5. a curse; execration

BIRTHDAY

Richard Stockton (1730), William Boeing (1881), Helio Gracie (1913), Walter Matthau (1920), Jimmy Carter (1924), William Rehnquist (1924), Roger Willams (1926), Tom Bosley (1927), George Peppard (1928), Richard Harris (1930), Julie Andrews (1935), Randy Quaid (1950), Youssou N’Dour (1959), Esai Morales (1962), Mark McGwire (1963), Christopher Titus (1966)

STANDPOINT

Short and sweet today. Listening to all you Philadelphia Eagles “fans” talk about Kevin Kolb and how unimpressed you were with his two starts makes me want to drown you.

The dude becomes the first QB ever to throw for over 300 yards in each of his first starts and, still, you’ve got negative shit to say.

In my humble opinion, you people are lucky to have any sports teams at all. You suck.

QUOTATION

I like when they bring a comedian on stage, they always tell you what else they do. But fuck, this is enough, isn’t it? He’s here tonight performing, because that is his job! But no, it’s gotta be, “He laid bricks in Philadelphia. And he repaired a car in Oklahoma. He has an umbrella store in Philadelphia. That’s the only city that comes to mind right now. Philadelphia, ’cause you can say “Philly” and the people from Philadelphia will not get mad. Like if you say “Frisco,” San Francisco people say, “Fuck off!” But if you say “Philly” they say, “Alright!” Because I don’t always have time to say “Philadelphia.” Sometimes I just need that word to be two syllables. Phil-a-del-phi-a. Fuck, five! Your town would be called Philly too if it had five syllables! ← Mitch Hedberg

(Note: While I think Mitch Hedberg’s stuff is supremely kind of funny at times, I disagree with the whole “Philly” thing. I’ve never liked it. I mean, in the grand scheme of things, how much longer does it take to actually pronounce “Philadelphia?” Maybe about .2 seconds? And, if you’re from here, how often do you really have to say the actual name of the city? ”Hey, next Tuesday, let’s meet in Northern Liberties. It’s a neighborhood in Philadelphia, where you and I both live. Just wanted to clarify.” For the record, if someone said that to me, I would stand them up. I can’t hang with that person.)  

TUNE

“Tim and Sam make music for the entrance foyer to heaven.” Those are the word of Megan Vaughan from manchestermusic.co.uk. She’s referring to Tim & Sam Band. And, possibly, Megan is right. Check out “Summer Solstice.”

GALLIMAUFRY

→ Man, things have gotten shitty for Washington Redskins fans. I can’t believe there are bids on this guy’s eBay offering. But, when your team loses to the Detroit Lions, there may be few other recourses.

→ For all the people out there who were worries, and I know that’s like almost all of you, my current health problems were due to an oversight in medications conflicting with one another. I’m fine now.

→ Earlier this week, I tried to explain my take on the problems with individual’s personal music tastes. And, I was wrong. Just a little. But I was mostly right. But Blender.com’s list of “The 50 Worst Artists in Music History” is more off than I was. Toad the Wet Sprocket? Spin Doctors? Blind Melon? The Doors? Crash Test Dummies? Oingo Boingo? Not the best bands in the world, but I’m betting this list was written by a bunch of people who attended college in the 1990s and spent every weekend watching everyone else go out and have fun while they sat around with their friend and argued about which reruns of The Simpsons to watch. Also, they probably argued about whether James T. Kirk or Jean-Luc Picard was the better captain of the USS Enterprise. Just so you know, it was Picard.

Tarzan wasn’t a ladies’ man
He’d just come along and scoop ‘em up under his arm
Like that, quick as a cat in the jungle
But Clark Kent, now there was a real gent
He would not be caught sittin’ around in no
Junglescape, dumb as an ape doing nothing

Superman never made any money
For saving the world from Solomon Grundy
And sometimes I despair the world will never see
Another man like him

Hey Bob, Supe had a straight job
Even though he could have smashed through any bank
In the United States, he had the strength, but he would not
Folks said his family were all dead
Their planet crumbled but Superman, he forced himself
To carry on, forget Krypton, and keep going

Superman never made any money
For saving the world from Solomon Grundy
And sometimes I despair the world will never see
Another man like him

Tarzan was king of the jungle and Lord over all the apes
But he could hardly string together four words: “I Tarzan, You Jane.”

Sometimes when Supe was stopping crimes
I’ll bet that he was tempted to just quit and turn his back
On man, join Tarzan in the forest
But he stayed in the city, and kept on changing clothes
In dirty old phonebooths till his work was through
And nothing to do but go on home

Superman never made any money
For saving the world from Solomon Grundy
And sometimes I despair the world will never see
Another man like him
(2x)

MMM MMM MMM MMM… MMM MMM MMM MMM…

Crash Test Dummies – Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm (1994)

post: Gustavo

Mind Kiosk - mmmm (2001)

Remember MMMM, that smashing hit song by the Crash Test Dummies? mmm…yeah? Well, this here got nothing to do with it. Although…if you think about it: Was the Crash Test Dummies song about speechlessness? Not knowing what to say? Maybe thats the same reason why this record is called mmmm. “Hey Mind Kiosk, whats your record gonna be called like?” – “mmm…don’t know..”

mmmm is also a popular method of expressing tastyness. “How’s the icecream?” – “mmmm, yummy”. And yes, this is a tasty record. In fact, it is so tasty, that back then when it was released, Berlins radio station Radio Eins (Eins as in “One”) made it their record of the month. It contains beautiful ballads called Laugh About It and On Fertile Ground, but also straight hit material like Mr. Important and Summer Camp, along with psychedelic psychic things such as Nothing You Can Do.

All this came from a young promising band that had another song, Corrective Lenses for Earthling Souls, played by the master himself in John Peels Radio 1 show.

With all this airplay by various Number One Radios, you may wonder why Mind Kiosk never became a number one band and why you haven’t heard of them yet? Well, just after mmmm was pressed, the band fell out with their record company due to disagreements over their record contract (who wants to sell their souls for nothing?) and allmost all of the vinyls were destroyed. So this is defnitely the rarest record I have.

For you without the vinyl, there is last.fm. Also, if you missed that one episode of John Peels radio show, here’s another chance to listen to and read about Corrective Lenses.

Princeton are a three-piece from LA, not Jersey

PREVIEW: Princeton songs streamed free on imeem

Don’t let the name fool you! Princeton may not be from Princeton, NJ, or even go to Princeton University, but their EP Bloomsbury is filled with nerdy analogies and euphemisms.  Unlike the EP’s title reference, the band’s first album Cocoon of Love, which drops September 29, show no signs of Victorian England.

“Calypso Gold,” the band’s first single off Cocoon of Love, starts off with a fresh opening sound of maracas comparable to The Beach Boys‘ “Kokomo,” the song quickly takes a turn toward electric and new wave.  There is a definite indie influence in the band’s sound, but there is something refreshing about Princeton’s lead singer’s deep voice, reminiscent of that of Crash Test Dummies‘ Brad Roberts.

Other tracks by Princeton prove their sound addictive.  The band knows how to mix up their music to create a diverse energy that leaves the listener craving more.  “Calypso Gold” is similar to a mixture of 90’s rock and some classical background symphonies. “Ms. Bentwich,” off of Bloomsbury, sounds like something The Beatles could have easily released.

That’s probably what the band was going for.  Bloomsbury compiles music inspired by the members of London’s Bloomsbury Group (Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, and E.M. Forster, among other writers and artists).  The EP combines a good idea with fine execution.

Nothing less than perfection is expected from them come September. In addition to the release of Cocoon of Love, Princeton is set to perform on September 9 with Ra Ra Riot in Ithaca.

Either way, Princeton is an act to look out for!

– Alex Zuckerman

It’s funny how the mind works.  How one simple word can spark off a series of images, remembrances, or songs, all jumping from one thought to the next to another akin to a bee pollinating flowers, and it’s interesting to see where the journey takes you.

I was sitting drawing this morning, watching a video tutorial and the word ‘phalanges’ was said.  Instantly, the mind was spurred into action, and found myself singing the lyrics: “They call them digits, but technically they’re known as the phalanges” from Here I Stand Before Me by Crash Test Dummies.

It doesn’t so much as sneak up on you, but rather pounces on you.  There’s no choice involved, it’s an automatic response – cerebral Rorschach tests (thinking Watchmen at this very moment – movie, graphic novel, comics, superheroes – another train of thought).

Anyway, I was thinking Crash Test Dummies, and how I’ve not heard their album for a long time, the next thing I know I’m singing Two Knights and Maidens– a song about two knights who fancied two maidens and pestered them, but the maidens had other ideas and drugged them into seeing what they thought were two maidens, but were in fact tigers.  Cruel cruel maidens.

Now I’m thinking ‘The Tiger’ by William Blake.  You know, “Tiger tiger burning bright, in the forests of the knight”. This sparks twofold thoughts:  Shere Khan being burned in Jungle Book and the film Dead Man in which Johnny Depp stars as a man named William Blake, who goes to a godforsaken town in the wild west, only to meet a native American, by the name of Nobody, who thinks he is the poet William Blake.  A very strange but thought provoking film about our journey towards death.  This is where that line of thinking broke off, as I’m coming back again and again to Crash Test Dummies songs.  Another train of thought starts up.

My hubby said to me he watched the film Apocalytpo last night.  I asked him if it was about the Aztecs or was it the Incas, and I was inclined to go with the Aztecs thinking the Aztec civilisation was much older than the Incas, but this isn’t the case.  I was getting mixed up.  I then thought perhaps it was about the Mayans.  This made me think of Mayan Blue, and I said to my hubby that scientists had never been able to perfectly replicate the colour.  Now Mayan Blue was associated with the rain deities and people were painted this colour before being held up for sacrifice. This led me to think of the Ice Mummies found in South America, who were left high in the mountains by the Incans as part of their ritual sacrifice.  There are a few exquisitely preserved mummies which are now on display, which leads me further to think and feel that this isn’t right.  We don’t dig up our grandparents and leave them on display in our living rooms. 

So, something that started out earlier as thinking of fingers (phalanges), ends up with me thinking of digging up grandparents to be put on display. It would be easy to imagine the first thought and the last thought as directly following each other – fingers digging up the soil to dis-inter our grandparents, but that would take a very strange mind…wouldn’t it?

Weird creatures indeed…Heavenly Creatures…Peter Jackson…

Ellen Reid, Canadian musician (Crash Test Dummies)

I can’t get the awful Crash Test Dummies’ MMM-MMM-MMM song out of my head.  I have no idea how it got there, but if I could find the section of my brain where it resides, I would remove it with a rusty pair of pliers.  Allow me to share my hell with you (I’m evil like that).

Hello once again dear readers, like I’ve said before it is my aim to get back to more regular posting so here comes the second one for the Jumping month of June. I thought doing this post after a serious spillage incident on the train last week. There I was crammed into my tiny space (otherwise known as a seat) on the 7pm Kings Cross to York train with my nose in a good book (1983 by David Peace for those of you who asked!) Then lo and behold the coffee angel arrived in the aisle with the drinks trolley, now obviously I can’t resist a good coffee so obviously (a repeat word…… obviously) I had to order one, which I did, along with a Kit Kat. At the moment the Coffee Angel was about to place my drink on the pathetic excuse for a fold down table the train rocked (and not in a heavy musical way either) and faster than you can say Caffe Americano with a double shot I was the subject of a minor caffeine downpour. I thought it was rather amusing, my suit needed a dry clean anyway, but coffee angel was worried I was going to complain, but I didn’t and my reward was…….. a free Kit Kat and a fresh cup of coffee. Actually now Ive read that back it sounds dull enough to be condensed to 140 characters and posted on Twitter. But enough of that drivel during the rest of the journey I was moved to come up with a list of coffee related songs for this post. So without further adieu here they are and each one contains a frothy topping and a sprinkle of trivia.

The coffee was better in those days but clearly the coffee angels weren't!

First cup, er sorry first up is “Starfish And Coffee” which is obviously a favourite breakfast menu of ‘The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, Then Known As Roger Or Symbol And Now Known As Prince Again’ or TAFKAPTKAROSANKAPA for short. Prince’s sister is called Tyka, I wonder if her nickname was Chicken at school? Staying with Prince and a loosely related coffee theme, the diminutive one once wrote a song for Sheena Easton called “Sugar Walls” probably not the type of sugar you’d put in your coffee though. But there’s a prize to the first person to tell me what that song is about without the use of explicit language!

Prince had clearly overdone the froth on his Cappucino

Second dose of caffeine is “Black Coffee In Bed” by Squeeze and written by the Lennon-McCartney of their generation; Difford-Tilbrook. They were joined by the rather talented Paul Carrack who in addition to Squeeze and as a solo artist has also had hits with Ace and Mike & The Mechanics. He has also played on sessions by many other bands including Roxy Music, The Smiths and the Pretenders. In a strange coincidence he also sang vocals and played keyboards on a relatively minor Mike & The Mechanics hit called “Another Cup Of Coffee”

You won't like him when he gets angry and Mr Carrack gets very angry if he has no caffeine

The next one of our Barista favourites is “One More Cup Of Coffee” from the wonderful Mr Zimmerman or Bob Dylan to his friends. The song is taken from Dylan’s ‘Desire’ album and is a duet with Emmylou Harris. The song was covered extremely well by Jack and Meg on the first White Stripes album and is occasionally covered live by Calexico. Also none other than Robert ‘Percy’ Plant off of Led Zep recorded the song for his ‘Dreamland’ album in 2002. The song was written at a corner table in the ‘Other End’ nightclub in Greenwich Village New York. I was kind of hoping it had been written in a coffee bar!

Bob tries to find inspiration over a coffee..... come on Bob, Noel Gallagher sat at the same table and wrote "Roll With It"

The next one of our old beans in this post is the excellent Canadian band the Crash Test Dummies. Their biggest hit in the UK was “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm” but they also released a song called “Afternoons And Coffee Spoons” Both songs were taken from their excellent album ‘God Shuffled His Feet’ In 1995 they recorded a splendid cover of XTC’s “The Ballad Of Peter Pumpkinhead” for the Jim Carrey movie ‘Dumb And Dumber’

In the early days the band even dressed as Crash test Dummies and it certainly didn't harm their pulling power judging from this picture

The next act to bring us a cuppa is Holly Johnson off of Frankie Goes To Hollywood with his solo single “Americanos” It was Holly’s second solo hit and reached number 4 in the UK charts. It also features on the soundtrack to the 1989 movie ‘Cookie’ which starred Emily Lloyd, Peter Falk and Jerry Lewis. I know that strictly speaking the song is not about coffee, well not even strictly speaking, it’s actually got nothing to do with coffee. But Caffe Americano is undoubtedly my favourite coffee so I had to include it here. I always drink it black (often with an extra shot) with no sugar and many coffee houses (in this case Costa Coffee) give this an acronym of BAM (as in Black Americano). This lead to me gaining the nickname BAM BAM Bill for a while. Maybe not a great nickname but at least it wasn’t Pebbles! Over the years I have also noticed that black coffee seems to be the drink of choice for the majority of Project and Programme Managers. Does anyone agree?

"Relax" said Holly as he ordered coffees for him and his 'flat' mate Ronnie

I like a cup of coffee when I am deeply engrossed in a good book but Blur clearly prefer theirs in front of the telly! Well judging from their song “Coffee And TV” Vocals on the verses were from Graham Coxon and  Damon Albarn sang the chorus. the lyrics were all Graham’s and apparently deal with his attempt to give up alcohol. The video for the song features a milk carton called Milky which was created by ‘Jim Henson’s Creature Shop’ Blur were originally called Seymour, I’m not sure that works as well as Blur though. I have seen them live twice at festivals, once with Graham and once without. I certainly prefer them with Graham in the band. So it’s great news that they are reunited for a few gigs this year and possibly some new recording too.

Now either he's really excited or they're both seriously injured

The final coffee song in this post is one of my favourites, it’s by the minimally named ‘A’ from Leeds and it’s called “Starbucks“. The original members of the band included three brothers; Jason, Giles and Adam Perry. Since the band took a hiatus (is that code for breaking up?) Jason has worked with Matt Willis off of Busted and has also produced for McFly! Jason do us all a favour and get ‘A’ back together and stop working with these pop muppets! But to be fair Charlie off of Busted’s current band Fightstar are quite good! (Did I really just say that?)

With the proceeds of the single the band bought the worlds first Starbucks Jet Pack

So do you have any favourite coffee songs or indeed favourite coffees? Let me know by adding your choices in the comments

No it was just the earth moving for Milky in the Blur video

I will end this post by saying a big thank you to those wonderful people at ‘Dusk’ in York where I did many of my early posts in this blog. Excellent coffee, good food, free wifi (are you reading this Starbucks?) and great company. Check them out and if you know their web address please let me know

Dusk in York