cooltunes

They covered some songs the crowd didn’t quite expect, including Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms and Rare Earth’s I Just Want to Celebrate.

He wore heavy coats and gloves in mid-summer. Recording engineers tried to eliminate his constant humming throughout his studio sessions. For most of his life, he played while seated in a chair modified by his father. He seemed to be able to practice mentally.

I’ve just begun listening to the earlier version of his Bach’s Goldberg Variations.

It may not be such a rare thing where you are, but here in the Bay Area, we don’t experience it that often.

So there I was, coming out of the post office to find one of my favorite feel-good songs on the radio. Just as I was turning onto the road home, the whine and bleat of the Kenny G horn crept in, reminding me once again that it is possible to rape a great song.

And that there are actually those who feel this version is better than the Louis Armstrong classic.

Sometimes late on a Sat. night when I’ve gotten very little done from my weekend to-do list, I waste even more time by checking out the celebrity playlists at iTunes.

And that’s how I find out that Underworld is a fan of Melt Banana.

I have salvaged something from the day after all.

With an intro by a physicist, not that the song has anything to do with physics, but everything to do with memory and nostalgia. And no annoying popup windows with this link.

The little guys have spent part of their infancy touring with Mom. From People magazine.

From ages 5 through teens in the UK, it’s fast becoming the instrument of choice.

Yesterday, I had to endure the high-pitched whine and muted, but persistent buzz of assorted dental tools that inflicted various degrees of discomfort. Sweating to the oldies took on a new dimension.

I asked my dentist if that was her music of choice. She explained that the oldies were a compromise. The staff (all women, average age 30 - 40) fell asleep to songs without lyrics.

While the staff struggles to stay awake, the patients are willing themselves to be calm and cool. Interesting challenge.

The next time I go in (3-hour appointment during which I will be unconscious, thank goodness), I will present them with something a little different, because the next umpteen times after, I will not be under the nitrous.

California Dreaming - Queen Latifah
When Will I See You Again - Three Degrees
Lustral - Everytime
I Will - Art Garfunkel
Sierra - Boz Scaggs
South of the Border - Chris Isaak
The Look of Love - Dusty Springfield
Dreams - The Cranberries
Fields of Gold - Eva Cassidy
Quando Quando Quando - Michael Buble
Only a Dream in Rio - James Taylor
This Never Happened Before - Paul McCartney

For many, mid-October means the frantic pace of high school bands competing for honors with the equally pressured duties of parent volunteers who keep the kids nourished, hydrated and cheered.

The man who drives the Marching Storm is much, much harder to please than your average public school band teacher.

Remember what the dormouse said.

Perhaps it’s not such a great idea to go looking for dormice in casseroles and whatnot in restaurants in Italy.

To its credit, the link contains a recipe for macaroni with dormouse and thrush sauce. If that’s the sort of thing that gets you all worked up. Pay close attention though, prepping that dormouse is a labor-intensive task.

And all these years I thought it was, ‘Keep your head. Keep your head.’

Last weekend was the city-wide garage sale in Cupertino. I stopped by in the afternoon when some were already closing up, having sold most everything. However, I did find a few where the sellers were still putting out stuff. I’m always looking for photo props.

One lady saw me picking through her stufffed animals (more on that another day), and decided I needed the furry chicken. Ah, but it was much more, it was a dancing chicken. To the great amusement of a family member in the car, she began to gyrate after she turned the thing on. She danced and whirled around till I got embarrassed, and said no, thanks.

So what did I get elsewhere? Two lovely plates with Greek gods on them and an African instrument. Walking in the door back home, I was engrossed in figuring out how the instrument worked, forgetting the plates clutched in the other hand. Which slid to the floor and broke into at least 50 pieces.

Fortunately, a family member managed to glue most of them back together.

Is he the Fred Astaire of our generation or what.

Across the pond, journalists are wondering if all the best names are already taken, one citing the example of the group, Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jongs.

I always thought that when naming time came, there were two, maybe three hats. Someone tossed random words in them, and there was some gathering of members and others. Beer and other substances generally involved. They just kept putting these words together till something sounded good enough. Is that close?

The author of the Guardian blog offers up ‘Red Mist’. This certainly does not work for me. It wasn’t so long ago I read Widow of the South by Robert Hicks, in which he describes the vaporizing of soldiers (via close contact with cannon, I believe) using that very term. It does stick in the mind, but perhaps not so well for a band.

The neurologist who wrote Awakenings and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat examines how music played a role in some of his patients’ disorders (including his experience with his own leg). A review from Slate.

Via the Telegraph, Charmed Life (De Souza mix) as either an m4a (iPod) or a wma file.

Up at the jr. high field, the high school band is performing during lunch. On a very windy day, all that drifts over is drums.

This must be from last year’s show. I still get a little misted up watching this stuff. Six years as a band parent will do that.

Do I miss it? Um, no.