Over the past few months, we've been negligent on the posting, so you've missed her new favorite. It even, most certainly, surpasses Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. The band: Gogol Bordello. The song: "Start Wearing Purple." Yes, our kid really loves a song about getting drunk on red wine. On vacation in August she even went through a brief phase of singing along to the lalalalalaaaas.
Her favorite version is from their 2008 appearance at Coachella. Just watch her reaction:
Just a little smile and then she turns into Zombie Baby.
Here is the link to the You Tube video:
Gogol Bordello at Coachella
Friday, October 14, 2011
At least is isn't Barney...
Ella seems to love all 15 minutes of this Tiny Desk Concert from NPR:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWIvfE01J0k
It could be worse. It could be Barney or some otherwise hateful kids' music. All of the songs are absurdly catchy and I've had "Home" in my head for two days straight. If only I didn't find that song to be cloyingly sweet... Sigh. It is the only thing that we've found so far that will keep this kid's attention for 15 WHOLE MINUTES. It means I can put her in the bouncer, take a shower, switch the laundry and maybe even dry my hair, all with no tears.
My fear, however, is that we are giving her ADD or something.
And if you haven't checked them out, the Tiny Desk Concerts are a lot of fun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWIvfE01J0k
It could be worse. It could be Barney or some otherwise hateful kids' music. All of the songs are absurdly catchy and I've had "Home" in my head for two days straight. If only I didn't find that song to be cloyingly sweet... Sigh. It is the only thing that we've found so far that will keep this kid's attention for 15 WHOLE MINUTES. It means I can put her in the bouncer, take a shower, switch the laundry and maybe even dry my hair, all with no tears.
My fear, however, is that we are giving her ADD or something.
And if you haven't checked them out, the Tiny Desk Concerts are a lot of fun.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Cellphones Dead - Beck
Beck is just one of those musicians who are forever reinventing themselves. He will move from Folk/Hip Hop to Electronica to straight up rock-n-roll. Each album is a completely different type of work. The thing is, played side by side, even if they are completely different in style, they will work. His "Sea Change" disc is a true classic, and contains not a single song that most of public knows. I would say I'm a huge Beck fan, but something always holds me back. Possibly knowing that Beck is a Scientologist? Maybe it's just that he is a little weird? Either way the guy is a musical genius.
Cellphones Dead is off of "The Information." This disc came out a few years back, and contains some real fun stuff. For one the disc has an entire second disc that contains each song in video form. Really low budget video's, but real fun at the same time. This song, while not my favorite off this album, is a really great song. For some odd reason I had it playing in my head, and threw it up on YouTube while hanging out with Ella at 6:30 this morning. I could tell she really dug the song even when she was rolling around on the floor, so I replayed it for her. Same result. To confirm this I watched it a third time with Christine, and bingo same result. She really enjoyed the song. I think it's all about the vocals with this song. It has a nice rhythm to it, along with a really good sound.
Here is a link to the video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfmHPH94dsE
Cellphones Dead is off of "The Information." This disc came out a few years back, and contains some real fun stuff. For one the disc has an entire second disc that contains each song in video form. Really low budget video's, but real fun at the same time. This song, while not my favorite off this album, is a really great song. For some odd reason I had it playing in my head, and threw it up on YouTube while hanging out with Ella at 6:30 this morning. I could tell she really dug the song even when she was rolling around on the floor, so I replayed it for her. Same result. To confirm this I watched it a third time with Christine, and bingo same result. She really enjoyed the song. I think it's all about the vocals with this song. It has a nice rhythm to it, along with a really good sound.
Here is a link to the video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfmHPH94dsE
Friday, June 3, 2011
The Boss
Ella absolutely loved Born to Run. She loved it so much that she managed to sit through all 5 minutes and 33 seconds:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxuThNgl3YA
She really liked the rocking saxophone solos and completely loved Bruce's singing. She got a little distracted during the other instrumental breaks, but she had a surprising attention span for this one.
Just for fun, I played this, too. She totally sat through the whole thing:
http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/video/neil-young-and-bruce-springsteen-whip-my-hair-111610/1260532/
She told me that she enjoyed that the Boss has a sense of humor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxuThNgl3YA
She really liked the rocking saxophone solos and completely loved Bruce's singing. She got a little distracted during the other instrumental breaks, but she had a surprising attention span for this one.
Just for fun, I played this, too. She totally sat through the whole thing:
http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/video/neil-young-and-bruce-springsteen-whip-my-hair-111610/1260532/
She told me that she enjoyed that the Boss has a sense of humor.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Gary Numan - Cars
When this song came out it was so incredibly futuristic. I guess the only thing I could compare it to was stuff that Kraftwerk was doing. Thirty years later and this song still sounds so ahead of its time. Admittedly I am a big fan of Gary Numan. While beyond “Cars” he had no real hits here in the United States, he was very popular back in the UK. Songs like “I Die, You Die” and “Are Friends Electric” were songs that placed high in the charts in the UK, but barely graced the airwaves here (great songs by the way). Today, you will find bands like Nine Inch Nails and the Foo Fighters saying how influential Gary Numan was to them.
Back to “Cars.” I would have to say that this is probably one of my absolute favorite songs. Since there is little to compare it to, and it has such an infectious hook to the song, it’s hard not to love it. So, this morning when I for no other reason than it just popped in my head, I put this song to the Ella challenge. Guess what! She loved it! It was pretty amazing. She was on the living room rug playing with some toys, and when this song came on there was a noticeable reaction. Since I was playing it on my computer she just focused her eyes there. At some point midway through she decided she was going to make the move over to where I was sitting (which, now that she can crawl, is pretty quick). I decided to quit iTunes and pull the video up from YouTube. As with before, she sat through the entire song. I wasn’t sure if it was coincidence, so I waited a couple of hours, and later played the video again when Christine came down. Ella responded the same way. What’s amazing to notice is that she seems to focus on songs that are heavy on lyrics. Lots of singing going on. With “Cars” the final two minutes of the song there are no lyrics. Now I would be lying if I said she didn’t start to putter out around the 3:20 mark, but that still means she is engaged for a solid minute and a half of music. My theory is back to the opening statement about the song. It is just so different, so futuristic, that it’s hard not to take notice. So much so that a seven month old feels the same. That or she is just damn cool (which is also pretty high on the theory list).
Back to “Cars.” I would have to say that this is probably one of my absolute favorite songs. Since there is little to compare it to, and it has such an infectious hook to the song, it’s hard not to love it. So, this morning when I for no other reason than it just popped in my head, I put this song to the Ella challenge. Guess what! She loved it! It was pretty amazing. She was on the living room rug playing with some toys, and when this song came on there was a noticeable reaction. Since I was playing it on my computer she just focused her eyes there. At some point midway through she decided she was going to make the move over to where I was sitting (which, now that she can crawl, is pretty quick). I decided to quit iTunes and pull the video up from YouTube. As with before, she sat through the entire song. I wasn’t sure if it was coincidence, so I waited a couple of hours, and later played the video again when Christine came down. Ella responded the same way. What’s amazing to notice is that she seems to focus on songs that are heavy on lyrics. Lots of singing going on. With “Cars” the final two minutes of the song there are no lyrics. Now I would be lying if I said she didn’t start to putter out around the 3:20 mark, but that still means she is engaged for a solid minute and a half of music. My theory is back to the opening statement about the song. It is just so different, so futuristic, that it’s hard not to take notice. So much so that a seven month old feels the same. That or she is just damn cool (which is also pretty high on the theory list).
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
The Hardest Button to Button
It was a sad day when the White Stripes broke up. Not that many people actually care. While the band was really a Jack White project, where he did literally everything except play the drums (which is sort of funny since that is the instrument that he plays with the Dead Weather), this was the one project of his that had the most complete sound. The White Stripes put out fun, interesting, and most importantly really great songs. So, it was sad to see them go.
"The Hardest Button to Button" is one of my favorite songs by the group. It comes from their Elephant disc, which also featured the equally thumping "Seven Nation Army." In fact the entire disc is chuck full of solid bass drum backbone. This song in particular has a great build with a steady beat of the bass drum. The guitar comes in slow before really kicking in. If anything it is a catchy number.
Which brings us to Ella. Normally Ella seems to just love a steady beat, and this song has one for sure. Funny though, Ella can't seem to get into it. I tried this song a variety of times, all with the same result....no interest. So, even when I play the video (which seems to add about 10 additional seconds to her interest level) she showed zero interest in the song. As a side note, the video is terrific - directed by Michael Gondry (think Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Dave Chappelle's Block Party). It is an incredibly trippy video, with an innovative form of filming called pixilation animation. Just the same, zero interest from Ella. So, what do we do, we pull up the Simpsons cover version of the song with Bart playing the drums. Nope, nada interest.
Oh well, White Stripes go down, but they might not be out.
"The Hardest Button to Button" is one of my favorite songs by the group. It comes from their Elephant disc, which also featured the equally thumping "Seven Nation Army." In fact the entire disc is chuck full of solid bass drum backbone. This song in particular has a great build with a steady beat of the bass drum. The guitar comes in slow before really kicking in. If anything it is a catchy number.
Which brings us to Ella. Normally Ella seems to just love a steady beat, and this song has one for sure. Funny though, Ella can't seem to get into it. I tried this song a variety of times, all with the same result....no interest. So, even when I play the video (which seems to add about 10 additional seconds to her interest level) she showed zero interest in the song. As a side note, the video is terrific - directed by Michael Gondry (think Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Dave Chappelle's Block Party). It is an incredibly trippy video, with an innovative form of filming called pixilation animation. Just the same, zero interest from Ella. So, what do we do, we pull up the Simpsons cover version of the song with Bart playing the drums. Nope, nada interest.
Oh well, White Stripes go down, but they might not be out.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
The 3 Flavors of Country
Well it’s been a while since we have done real updating of the blog here, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been experimenting with some music. A death in the family, everyone getting sick (including little Ella), and a wealth of travel put a real dink in our blog updating. With that we are back, and with sort of an experiment.
A good friend of mine consistently throws requests at me to play some “good music, you know Country music” to her. The inherent problem there is that while we both love Country it seems we love two completely different Country music’s…. Me I love good ole’ Country. Stuff you heard in the Opery 50 years ago. I also love what they call “Alt Country” music. Now my friend is a huge fan of what I like to call “Bubble Gum Country” or “Pop Country”. While I have little interest in “Pop Country” I thought for experimentation sake that I would try all three types of music. So with that here are the results.
Johnny Cash – Delia’s Gone. This one is not really fair, as we sorta knew that Ella liked this one already. Whenever we would put on Johnny Cash’s “American Recordings” (by the way if you don’t own this album, buy it!) the first song on the disc is “Delia’s Gone.” Once again, without fail, put that sucker on and Ella is entranced by what she is hearing. She loves it! If you are not familiar with this song, let’s just say it is told from the view point of a man in jail for murdering Delia (who seems to have had it coming).
Neko Case – At Last. This one is off of “Fox Confessor Brings The Flood”, one of my absolute favorite discs. If you are not familiar with Neko Case you are missing out. She has one of the best voices in the music world; unique and unforgettable. I remember taking Ian to see Neko Case a few years back. She was an opening act for Rufus Wainwright, and only played for 30 minutes. In that brief time she was simply amazing. It was her, a guitar player, a drummer, and a back-up singer. Ian was simply blown away. So, if you are not familiar with her, run out and get this disc (or any of her discs for that matter). So, back to “At Last”. The wonderful thing about this song is that it follows the principal that we learned from The Ramones. Under 2 minutes works best for Ella. This song clocks in at 1 minute, 27 seconds. Perfect. That said, play this for Ella, and she sits there mouth agape. Works every time. Either the song is just short enough that she doesn’t know what to make of it, or she does indeed love this song. My opinion is this, that this song is probably the best song that feels that it really is not completed. By that I mean it is utterly beautiful, but suddenly the song ends, as if there should be more. Every listen for me I am equally captured, and always left wanting more.
Shania Twain – Any Man of Mine. Well, this song here typifies “Pop Country.” Along with a string of other performers Shania Twain blew “Pop Country” right up! She made it successful and huge. At the hands of her husband (the legendary Mutt Lange – think AC/DC, Def Leppard, The Outlaws, The Cars) he is one of the best recording producers out there, so it makes perfect sense that Shania Twain gets big. I guess her looks didn’t hurt either. Anyway, this particular song was requested by my dear friend Lena who insists that I work this one. And Ella’s reaction? Well she seems to like the first 20 to 30 seconds each time, but that might simply be the “what is this?” factor. After that she has zero interest in the song. I tried a live version I found on YouTube, the official video for the song, and some crazy mock-up somebody out there made. Each time to the same result. Sooooo, does this mean “Pop Country” is dead for little Ella? Too early to tell. We will do another round of “3 flavors of Country” later with completely different artists to see what the results tell us. For now – traditional country 1, alt country 1, and pop country 0.
A good friend of mine consistently throws requests at me to play some “good music, you know Country music” to her. The inherent problem there is that while we both love Country it seems we love two completely different Country music’s…. Me I love good ole’ Country. Stuff you heard in the Opery 50 years ago. I also love what they call “Alt Country” music. Now my friend is a huge fan of what I like to call “Bubble Gum Country” or “Pop Country”. While I have little interest in “Pop Country” I thought for experimentation sake that I would try all three types of music. So with that here are the results.
Johnny Cash – Delia’s Gone. This one is not really fair, as we sorta knew that Ella liked this one already. Whenever we would put on Johnny Cash’s “American Recordings” (by the way if you don’t own this album, buy it!) the first song on the disc is “Delia’s Gone.” Once again, without fail, put that sucker on and Ella is entranced by what she is hearing. She loves it! If you are not familiar with this song, let’s just say it is told from the view point of a man in jail for murdering Delia (who seems to have had it coming).
Neko Case – At Last. This one is off of “Fox Confessor Brings The Flood”, one of my absolute favorite discs. If you are not familiar with Neko Case you are missing out. She has one of the best voices in the music world; unique and unforgettable. I remember taking Ian to see Neko Case a few years back. She was an opening act for Rufus Wainwright, and only played for 30 minutes. In that brief time she was simply amazing. It was her, a guitar player, a drummer, and a back-up singer. Ian was simply blown away. So, if you are not familiar with her, run out and get this disc (or any of her discs for that matter). So, back to “At Last”. The wonderful thing about this song is that it follows the principal that we learned from The Ramones. Under 2 minutes works best for Ella. This song clocks in at 1 minute, 27 seconds. Perfect. That said, play this for Ella, and she sits there mouth agape. Works every time. Either the song is just short enough that she doesn’t know what to make of it, or she does indeed love this song. My opinion is this, that this song is probably the best song that feels that it really is not completed. By that I mean it is utterly beautiful, but suddenly the song ends, as if there should be more. Every listen for me I am equally captured, and always left wanting more.
Shania Twain – Any Man of Mine. Well, this song here typifies “Pop Country.” Along with a string of other performers Shania Twain blew “Pop Country” right up! She made it successful and huge. At the hands of her husband (the legendary Mutt Lange – think AC/DC, Def Leppard, The Outlaws, The Cars) he is one of the best recording producers out there, so it makes perfect sense that Shania Twain gets big. I guess her looks didn’t hurt either. Anyway, this particular song was requested by my dear friend Lena who insists that I work this one. And Ella’s reaction? Well she seems to like the first 20 to 30 seconds each time, but that might simply be the “what is this?” factor. After that she has zero interest in the song. I tried a live version I found on YouTube, the official video for the song, and some crazy mock-up somebody out there made. Each time to the same result. Sooooo, does this mean “Pop Country” is dead for little Ella? Too early to tell. We will do another round of “3 flavors of Country” later with completely different artists to see what the results tell us. For now – traditional country 1, alt country 1, and pop country 0.
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