I sure did. Find a reason. To play this song again and again and again. Ella loves the Cat Power cover of "I Found a Reason," almost as much as she loves her boyfriend, Langhorne.
We discovered it on our drive back from Michigan, by chance on random shuffle, but it made her cease and desist mid meltdown. Today when I was dragging the poor kid around on random errands (including fixing a toilet in my tenant's apartment), she was freaking out about being in the car again. Even Langhorne wasn't helping her mood, so I put this song on on repeat and she chilled right out and even fell asleep. The next test is to see if she likes the VU version...
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
A Couple from the Stones
It was a tough weekend. We have been out in Michigan with Christine's family, which has been big fun, but at the same time we are here as Christine's grandmother is passing away. Throw in Easter, and it makes for a tremendously busy weekend.
With that we ended up listening to a few Rolling Stones tunes with Ella. We already had an inkling that "You Can't Always Get What You Want" was a favorite of Ella's. Christine has it on a playlist especially put together for Ella. Either way I thought I would start with a live version I found on YouTube. That version starts with an acustic guitar, without the boys choir, so I think it threw Ella at first. As soon as the vocals kick in ther was an "inning, I know this one" moment. So, yeah she LOVES this song. Weird, right? For one, even the version we ended up watching was over 5 minutes, totally ruining the around 2 minute rule. What I think she loves is the chorus part of the song. It works for her. Either way it grabs her.
Next up - "Get off of my Cloud". Ella makes it 30 seconds, and has lost all sense of interest. So, knowing how much she loves "You Can't Always Get What You Want" I think to try again later. Needless to say, she only makes it 30 seconds again. Not a winner. Funny, since it has that type of chorus that I think she would like, but for some reason falls flat to her.
Last song of the weekend..."Street Fighting Man". Turns out Ella loves this song! We watched a live performance from 1973, with Mick Taylor playing lead guitar. Mick was his prancing all over the stage self. Maybe she was taken with the moves, or maybe it was the song, but Ella sat there talking away to the screen for a whole five and a half minutes. We will need to play this in the car on the way home to be sure of what is what.
So Ella goes with 2 out of 3 from the Stones. I'm sure there will be a few more from them on this project. Will have to see.
With that we ended up listening to a few Rolling Stones tunes with Ella. We already had an inkling that "You Can't Always Get What You Want" was a favorite of Ella's. Christine has it on a playlist especially put together for Ella. Either way I thought I would start with a live version I found on YouTube. That version starts with an acustic guitar, without the boys choir, so I think it threw Ella at first. As soon as the vocals kick in ther was an "inning, I know this one" moment. So, yeah she LOVES this song. Weird, right? For one, even the version we ended up watching was over 5 minutes, totally ruining the around 2 minute rule. What I think she loves is the chorus part of the song. It works for her. Either way it grabs her.
Next up - "Get off of my Cloud". Ella makes it 30 seconds, and has lost all sense of interest. So, knowing how much she loves "You Can't Always Get What You Want" I think to try again later. Needless to say, she only makes it 30 seconds again. Not a winner. Funny, since it has that type of chorus that I think she would like, but for some reason falls flat to her.
Last song of the weekend..."Street Fighting Man". Turns out Ella loves this song! We watched a live performance from 1973, with Mick Taylor playing lead guitar. Mick was his prancing all over the stage self. Maybe she was taken with the moves, or maybe it was the song, but Ella sat there talking away to the screen for a whole five and a half minutes. We will need to play this in the car on the way home to be sure of what is what.
So Ella goes with 2 out of 3 from the Stones. I'm sure there will be a few more from them on this project. Will have to see.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Radiohead - Give up the Ghost
Radiohead is probably my favorite musical group. They create music that is so different from most anything else that is out there that they have sort of become a genre themselves. What that generally means is that there are some people who love them, such as myself, hate them, like my son, and can take them or leave them like my wife. More often than not it is the extremes that people feel about them. Me I LOVE the music they make. Done. End of statement.
"Give up the Ghost" is off of Radiohead's new album "King of the Limbs". As with just about every Radiohead album to come out, I downloaded it the day it came out. It went promptly onto my iPod, and has been in regular rotation from that point on in the car. Shorter than the rest of their stuff, but no less cutting edge. In fact this is the most layered, laid back effort for the group. Honestly it took me about four or five listens to proclaim it truly great (then again I do really love them).
For this Ella Music Project Moment this song came about by sheer chance. We had just spent 10 hours in the car on a 600 mile trip to Detroit from our home in Philadelphia. We were in the final stretch and Ella had reached her breaking point. I was ready to try anything and hit play on the iPod plugged into the car stereo. "Give up the Ghost" just happens to be the song that comes on. To my utter disbelief Ella is literally brought back from the brink. For the next four minutes she sat completely silent and listened. Amazing, when the song wraps up she is completely mellowed out. Radiohead is the last group that I thought Ella would give a listen to, but maybe I'm wrong. The song is so completely different. For those that are unfamiliar with Radiohead, check this song out for something completely different, and equally beautiful. Will definitely need to try this song again with Ella, but for today it was a complete life saver.
"Give up the Ghost" is off of Radiohead's new album "King of the Limbs". As with just about every Radiohead album to come out, I downloaded it the day it came out. It went promptly onto my iPod, and has been in regular rotation from that point on in the car. Shorter than the rest of their stuff, but no less cutting edge. In fact this is the most layered, laid back effort for the group. Honestly it took me about four or five listens to proclaim it truly great (then again I do really love them).
For this Ella Music Project Moment this song came about by sheer chance. We had just spent 10 hours in the car on a 600 mile trip to Detroit from our home in Philadelphia. We were in the final stretch and Ella had reached her breaking point. I was ready to try anything and hit play on the iPod plugged into the car stereo. "Give up the Ghost" just happens to be the song that comes on. To my utter disbelief Ella is literally brought back from the brink. For the next four minutes she sat completely silent and listened. Amazing, when the song wraps up she is completely mellowed out. Radiohead is the last group that I thought Ella would give a listen to, but maybe I'm wrong. The song is so completely different. For those that are unfamiliar with Radiohead, check this song out for something completely different, and equally beautiful. Will definitely need to try this song again with Ella, but for today it was a complete life saver.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
The Ramones - Sheena is a Punk Rocker
I really started liking punk music when I was in my mid to late teens, early twenties. I started out with the Clash. I remember buying London Calling at the Wee Three Records store in the Granite Run Mall. That store is long gone, and from the news I have been hearing lately so might the mall. I would play that record endlessly. I just loved the cover, and side one just was so perfect. Granted, that album would later go on to be in the top 10 of Rolling Stones greatest albums ever made, but at the time it just seemed so right. When I saw the Clash in 1983 I was transfixed. Most of my friends at the time had no interest in the group, or the music. For some reason it just stuck with me. Later I would go on to see bands like Black Flag, the Circle Jerks, the Dead Kennedy's, and X.
The Clash introduced me to the Ramones. The Ramones defied the average stereotype of punk rock. They wrote fun, catchy pop numbers with serious punk attitude. “Sheena is a Punk Rocker” is a perfect example of this style. With the chorus “well she’s a punk, punk, a Punk Rocker” throughout it is just so infectious that it’s hard not to like this song. While everyone seems to know “Blitzkrieg Bop”, “Sheena is a Punk Rocker” is my favorite of their hits. When Ella was first born Christine and I would often sing the main chorus to the song, but inserting Ella instead of Sheena.
For this song, I played her a video of the Ramones playing the song live. At first Ella is giving the screen a “what the heck is this” look. While we sang the song to her frequently when she was born, I don’t really think we played it much around the house. So, this was probably the first time hearing the song start to finish. At just over 2 minutes (as is most Ramones songs) it was the perfect length to hold her attention. Whenever Joey would sing Ella would sit still and watch, in those brief moments when there was no singing she didn’t seem all that interested. I think she enjoyed the song, but it won’t go down as one that totally grabs her. Oh well, maybe when she gets older. Just the same, if I were making an Ella mixed tape she would probably have me put this song on there.
The Clash introduced me to the Ramones. The Ramones defied the average stereotype of punk rock. They wrote fun, catchy pop numbers with serious punk attitude. “Sheena is a Punk Rocker” is a perfect example of this style. With the chorus “well she’s a punk, punk, a Punk Rocker” throughout it is just so infectious that it’s hard not to like this song. While everyone seems to know “Blitzkrieg Bop”, “Sheena is a Punk Rocker” is my favorite of their hits. When Ella was first born Christine and I would often sing the main chorus to the song, but inserting Ella instead of Sheena.
For this song, I played her a video of the Ramones playing the song live. At first Ella is giving the screen a “what the heck is this” look. While we sang the song to her frequently when she was born, I don’t really think we played it much around the house. So, this was probably the first time hearing the song start to finish. At just over 2 minutes (as is most Ramones songs) it was the perfect length to hold her attention. Whenever Joey would sing Ella would sit still and watch, in those brief moments when there was no singing she didn’t seem all that interested. I think she enjoyed the song, but it won’t go down as one that totally grabs her. Oh well, maybe when she gets older. Just the same, if I were making an Ella mixed tape she would probably have me put this song on there.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
The Namesake
Ella Fitzgerald – Nice Work If You Can Get It
My wife bought me “Ella in Hollywood” a while back, and it became a regular item in the CD carousel. Ella Fitzgerald is one of my all time favorites. I’m not exactly sure when I started listening to her, probably sometime in my early 20’s. The song “Round Midnight” is one of my favorite songs of all time, and her version is my absolute favorite version. That’s the first song by Ella that I remember actually identifying with “Ella” (even though the song was originally composed by Thelonious Monk). I have several of her recordings, but the “Ella in Hollywood” set is my favorite of all the ones I own. There are 4 discs in the set. They are recordings thought to be long lost of a 12 night stand in a small club in Hollywood. After their initial recording they went into a recording vault, were forgotten about, and then found almost 50 years later. They are a marvelous set. Ella sounds amazing! The band is super tight. The selections of songs are incredible. Simply amazing! When Christine was pregnant we would listen to those discs quite a bit. It seemed as if they were always on. When they weren’t on we would often find ourselves mimicking Ella talking to the crowd, along with her distinctive “thank you!” that she was always delivering (you would need to hear the CD’s to know what I mean). When our daughter was born we had narrowed our list down to a few names. Ella was my outright favorite. Partly because I loved the name, and partly because I love Ella Fitzgerald. That said, I was certain that Christine was not on board, but turns out….she was. Ella is officially Ella Miller Cruiess, but unofficially she is Ella Fitzgerald Miller Cruiess. The unofficial version will be the one she grows up knowing....weather my wife knows this or not.
So it seems fitting that the first artist in the Ella Music Project be her namesake. I thought I would start with an easy one – “Nice Work If You Can Get It”. This is a Gershwin song that Ella initially recorded in 1959 for the Ella Gershwin Songbook. Here is a link to listen to a portion of the song - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3EtGeQ6-HY
Ella’s reaction….. The song comes in at 3:34. At first Ella seems uninterested, but as soon as the vocals come in she sat stock still. That is until around the three minute mark, just as the song is winding down. At that point she seems to lose interest, and by the end of the song has completely lost interest. Good reaction, but not the best. Maybe we need to take note of the length of the songs... Clearly this is a low key number, so it doesn't have to be upbeat for her. Just the same it is a good start to the project.
My wife bought me “Ella in Hollywood” a while back, and it became a regular item in the CD carousel. Ella Fitzgerald is one of my all time favorites. I’m not exactly sure when I started listening to her, probably sometime in my early 20’s. The song “Round Midnight” is one of my favorite songs of all time, and her version is my absolute favorite version. That’s the first song by Ella that I remember actually identifying with “Ella” (even though the song was originally composed by Thelonious Monk). I have several of her recordings, but the “Ella in Hollywood” set is my favorite of all the ones I own. There are 4 discs in the set. They are recordings thought to be long lost of a 12 night stand in a small club in Hollywood. After their initial recording they went into a recording vault, were forgotten about, and then found almost 50 years later. They are a marvelous set. Ella sounds amazing! The band is super tight. The selections of songs are incredible. Simply amazing! When Christine was pregnant we would listen to those discs quite a bit. It seemed as if they were always on. When they weren’t on we would often find ourselves mimicking Ella talking to the crowd, along with her distinctive “thank you!” that she was always delivering (you would need to hear the CD’s to know what I mean). When our daughter was born we had narrowed our list down to a few names. Ella was my outright favorite. Partly because I loved the name, and partly because I love Ella Fitzgerald. That said, I was certain that Christine was not on board, but turns out….she was. Ella is officially Ella Miller Cruiess, but unofficially she is Ella Fitzgerald Miller Cruiess. The unofficial version will be the one she grows up knowing....weather my wife knows this or not.
So it seems fitting that the first artist in the Ella Music Project be her namesake. I thought I would start with an easy one – “Nice Work If You Can Get It”. This is a Gershwin song that Ella initially recorded in 1959 for the Ella Gershwin Songbook. Here is a link to listen to a portion of the song - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3EtGeQ6-HY
Ella’s reaction….. The song comes in at 3:34. At first Ella seems uninterested, but as soon as the vocals come in she sat stock still. That is until around the three minute mark, just as the song is winding down. At that point she seems to lose interest, and by the end of the song has completely lost interest. Good reaction, but not the best. Maybe we need to take note of the length of the songs... Clearly this is a low key number, so it doesn't have to be upbeat for her. Just the same it is a good start to the project.
How it all began...
A infant and 365 days of music!
It all began with a song… Well actually it began with a crying baby. Ella, our now (almost) six month old was having a moment. That moment basically was her crying, overly tired, and simply aggravated with everything. In the background my computer was playing iTunes, and was set to mix. Just when I was about to pick her up and move her upstairs to her crib a new song came on the computer. All of a sudden Ella became completely composed. She turned her head towards the computer, and the music. For the next 3 minutes she just looked at the computer. I honestly thought she must have just noticed the music playing, but as soon as the next song came on she started to stir and move around. So, I thought to myself, let’s see what happens if I were to play the same song again. Once again, Ella was this quiet, composed baby looking at the computer. It was the weirdest thing. The song is “Rebel Side of Heaven”, a little obscure song by a musician named Langhorne Slim. Over the course of the next few days I experimented with Ella when she was having other “moments” by seeing if the same song would elicit the same reaction. In the car, at night when she was having a terrible fit, you name it we tried it. My wife Christine ended up putting it on her iPhone and playing it. We had it queued up with YouTube on the iPad. Every single time it had this magical reaction. It seemed to just calm her down.
We thought to ourselves, well if Langhorne (who we now call Ella’s boyfriend) can have this reaction, what other songs are out there that also get the same response. It honestly was a game of “how about this one, or this one, or this one…” More often than not the song would grab Ella’s attention for a few seconds, and then she would move on. But, a few stuck. One interestingly enough was Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy”. She particularly loves the stripped down version that we found on YouTube of the group at Abbey Road studios (just pull up Crazy hq and you will find it).
This leads us to the Ella Music Project. For the next year we plan on experimenting with a song a day to see what music Ella is in to; sort of a mash up of Ella meets American Idol. Clearly Langhorne is at the top of the mountain. That song will pull her back from the brink of insanity (i.e. face the color of a tomato, real tears flowing, and screams loud enough that they can be heard a block away…). So, that is one end of the spectrum. Our goal is to not only find the ones she loves, but the ones she clearly hates too. The trick is, what we found from prior experimentation is that sometimes she likes the group (or singer), but is not crazy about the song. Which leads to the rule – if it seems she might like the group, we can experiment with a few other songs by that group on the same day to completely rule out our first thought that she might like the group. We will give this at least three songs, but no more than 5 rule. Other than that, we will make the rest of the rules up as we go along.
It all began with a song… Well actually it began with a crying baby. Ella, our now (almost) six month old was having a moment. That moment basically was her crying, overly tired, and simply aggravated with everything. In the background my computer was playing iTunes, and was set to mix. Just when I was about to pick her up and move her upstairs to her crib a new song came on the computer. All of a sudden Ella became completely composed. She turned her head towards the computer, and the music. For the next 3 minutes she just looked at the computer. I honestly thought she must have just noticed the music playing, but as soon as the next song came on she started to stir and move around. So, I thought to myself, let’s see what happens if I were to play the same song again. Once again, Ella was this quiet, composed baby looking at the computer. It was the weirdest thing. The song is “Rebel Side of Heaven”, a little obscure song by a musician named Langhorne Slim. Over the course of the next few days I experimented with Ella when she was having other “moments” by seeing if the same song would elicit the same reaction. In the car, at night when she was having a terrible fit, you name it we tried it. My wife Christine ended up putting it on her iPhone and playing it. We had it queued up with YouTube on the iPad. Every single time it had this magical reaction. It seemed to just calm her down.
We thought to ourselves, well if Langhorne (who we now call Ella’s boyfriend) can have this reaction, what other songs are out there that also get the same response. It honestly was a game of “how about this one, or this one, or this one…” More often than not the song would grab Ella’s attention for a few seconds, and then she would move on. But, a few stuck. One interestingly enough was Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy”. She particularly loves the stripped down version that we found on YouTube of the group at Abbey Road studios (just pull up Crazy hq and you will find it).
This leads us to the Ella Music Project. For the next year we plan on experimenting with a song a day to see what music Ella is in to; sort of a mash up of Ella meets American Idol. Clearly Langhorne is at the top of the mountain. That song will pull her back from the brink of insanity (i.e. face the color of a tomato, real tears flowing, and screams loud enough that they can be heard a block away…). So, that is one end of the spectrum. Our goal is to not only find the ones she loves, but the ones she clearly hates too. The trick is, what we found from prior experimentation is that sometimes she likes the group (or singer), but is not crazy about the song. Which leads to the rule – if it seems she might like the group, we can experiment with a few other songs by that group on the same day to completely rule out our first thought that she might like the group. We will give this at least three songs, but no more than 5 rule. Other than that, we will make the rest of the rules up as we go along.
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