ICP, Jack White and Mozart Walk Into a Bar...

Okay, so Insane Clown Posse and Jack White are teaming up to rework a Mozart song about...well, you can read about it. Mostly, I'm just too busy trying to figure out why Meg White wasn't invited along, because seriously, that is the only thing that would be more surreal.
You know what, nevermind: nothing can make this any weirder.

"Rocket Scientist" by Teddybears

I have this weird love of science songs. (See what I mean in that last sentence about weird?)
I actually first got into this song because of Eve, who I always liked for being a strong woman in the songs I heard her rap on. And then I really fell in love with this song for the heavy beats that sort of reminded me of a techno-influenced Spoon.
There's also something just really silly about this song. I think if someone read me these lyrics, I would think they were awful, but hear I am, dancing to this song.

Dancing in September

I love this song.  Years ago, I went on a trip with my Mom, sister, and some family friends.  They left an Earth, Wind and Fire CD, which I totally "borrowed" and listened to. 
I love to dance to this song. 

Baby Shower

I went to a baby shower with Madison, Lisa, Tori and Ashley.  Well, actually, at the beginning, it was just Madison, Lisa, Tori and I.  Ashley is notoriously late for things, and although no one was particularly surprised, no one was terribly happy about it either. 
Since the party was around lunch time, they served us salad.  There were different types of salad, and at one point Madison and I decided to switch like an old married couple.  A woman we didn't know who was sitting at our table thought this was really funny, even though Madison and I have been friends for ages. 
Madison talked to us about going on a road trip with her boyfriend soon and Lisa talked about her new job.  Tori, who was helping out with the party, was mostly too busy doing stuff to really sit and talk to us. 
Ashley finally showed up after most of the food had disappeared.  She was an hour and forty minutes late.  Tori had even lied to her and told her the party was starting a half hour before it really was, and which means she thought she would be two hours late.  Tori went and got her a salad. 
I understand that everyone has off days.  And I get that sometimes life gets in the way, and sometimes traffic's bad.  But Ashley is always late.  I don't remember anything that she hasn't been late for.  And I think she's gotten to the point where it's just insensitive. 
When she was late to this party, she told us that there was someone at the house visiting her sister and she decided to "visit with them."  I can't believe Ashley was dumb enough to say this, because it sent the very clear message that the party and her friends weren't as important.  She would have been better off not offering an explanation at all. 
Also, she was dressed exactly as I was: green shirt and black slacks.  The only difference was that I had on scarf too. 
When it came time to open gifts, Tori helped move them to the new Mom and Dad.  Their nieces, who were both pretty young, were helping her with the small gifts.  They danced around and got in the way of the aunt who was taking pictures.  At one point, the younger niece had a ribbon stick to her shoe.  I got her to come over to my table. 
"Can I have your foot?" I asked.  She lifted her leg up and I tore the ribbon off. 
Tori watched all of this and commented "I can't believe you think you're bad with children." 
I don't think I'm always bad, but I do hate a lot of children.  I know that sounds really terrible, but I have low tolerance for adults who are mean or stupid; why should I like children who are the same way?  I realize some children grow out of these things, but less than you would think. 
I think I would with raising a child in certain circumstances.  I think I'd be okay adopting a quiet child who could keep themselves entertained.  I'd prefer a girl because I'd be mortified if I raised a son who treated women badly.  And if I was raising my child with a partner, especially a male partner, I would want to emulate genderless behavior.  So, I would want to be more like a father, in charge of things like punishment, and not always the nurturing parts given to moms and women. 
Obviously, this is all very specific.  And probably would never really work out in real life.  So thus, I don't really want children. 
At one point, the new Mom pulled out a baby outfit that was stripped with two types of green, and I commented that the baby would look like Steve from Blue's Clues, which made Madison laugh. 
After the party was over, we stayed around to help out.  I threw away trash and then took the tablecloths outside to beat out the little bits of things. 
There was a ton of left over ribbon, which I took.  I don't know why, but lately I've been thinking I want to tie my hair back with ribbon. 
Tori got these great frames decorated with Noah's Ark and all the animals on them, and put a picture in it for everyone.  This was a totally great idea.
After the party, Tori invited us back to her apartment for drinks.  The previous occupants had apparently left behind alcohol, and she wanted us to try it.  It was wine, which is not something I really drink, but I was fine with that.  Free alcohol is free.  
We sat around the kitchen table and drank.  Madison played some music and I sang along with her at parts of songs I knew.  

I Believe in a Thing Called Love

Was anyone else in love with this song when they were younger?  I remember the first time I heard this song I was completely overtaken by how good it was.  It  had all the fun of actual rock and roll and the tongue and cheek to make fun of its obvious inspiration.  I remember talking about this song with boys at school, and all of us agreeing it was amazing.
Rewatching the video now, I'm struck by how skinny the lead singer is.  I find myself worried for someone's health when they're that skinny.  And his hair.  How had I never noticed this guy's kool-aid pink hair?  How the hell did he do it the way he did?  (God, don't tell me with kool-aid.) 
I love the concept for this music video: rockstars in space fight sea creatures.  I would kind of love to see a full movie along these lines, maybe with Jack Black. 

Concert on a School Night

Over the weekend Elizabeth fell in love with this band, and since they were playing a show, she wanted to go.  She asked a bunch of us to come along, and as I got an invite, I said sure.  Jane and Ruth were both going to come, but they didn't show up, so we left without them.  I was disappointed, since I like hanging out with both of them.  Ruth recently complained to me about Jane's behavior, so I wonder if neither of them showed up because they thought the other one might. 
We took a cab, which I about never do.  We split it four ways, so the good news is that I only owe Miriam five dollars for the night.  (I am miserably bad with change, and didn't have any fives or ones to give her.) 
The cab driver was totally awful.  He sounded totally confused with Claire told him where to go.  He kept repeating it as if he'd never heard of it before, and this makes me nervous.  What is it with non-native English speakers repeating everything you say to them?  It makes me wonder if they aren't understanding, which would be fine, if they would just ask.  There's a guy at the caf that does the same thing.  When he first started working there, this would really irk me, but now I mostly ignore it. 
It took him a while to find it, and then he sort of just left us in the middle of the street.  Um, gee, thanks?  Claire told me she thought he was "absolute crap."  Amen. 
The concert was at this hotel.  Actually, I'm honestly not sure if it was a hotel, because the ground level was a very dark bar, with all this wood paneling so it looked super fancy and old, like it would be the sort of place Victorian playboys or Edwardian lords or even flapper girls.  I hate the phrase "old-timey" but that's what it reminded me of. 
We went up these stairs, where everything was painted a kelly green.  At the top was this bizarre room.  It was a greenhouse on the roof of the building.  The floor had hexagonal white and black tiles, like a bathroom (and again, an old bathroom, like something from the fifties) and Victorian streetlamps in the middle of the room.  In one corner, the band was setting up.  On the side opposite of where we entered, a very large and fancy bar was being set up.
We were early, which was weird, because Elizabeth thought we were going to be late. 
No, instead we spent a lot time sitting around waiting.
The music they played while we waited was all very mod, very forgotten bits of the London 60's.  I rather liked it.  I used to listen to this music a lot as a young girl, but I haven't for ages.   
I feel a little badly about admitting this, but I was not happy with the other sorts of people at this gig.  There were a lot of women there, and a lot of them were tall and leggy and clearly could be models.  I am not a beautiful person; I felt uglier than normal there.  There were also a lot of hipsters there, and I could feel myself roll my eyes internally at them. 
Claire asked me where I had gotten my outfit, which was the same one I had worn out a few weeks back when I went out with Erin and Carrie.  I told her I had mostly gotten it second hand.  The dress, belt and pants were all very cheap, and considering how good I looked, I was pretty pleased with this.  The sweater was my Mom's, on loan.  And the underwear and panties I had on underneath were mine, along with the socks and tennis shoes.  (Aren't you glad to hear that?)  "I spent about fifteen dollars on this outfit, overall" I told her, which is pretty damn good.  She was impressed. 
At this point, a man sidled up to us.  He was with a girl.  He looked Mediterranean, with the dark eyes and hair and beard.  Usually, I would find someone like this attractive, but the skin around his eyes was all red and there was something about him that was off. 
For some strange reason Claire felt the need to tell him I was a bit rambunctious.  He didn't grin but said "Tell me more."  Oh ew.  Okay, moving on. 
The opening act was this young man from a band who was just playing solo.  He was okay.  He was playing a very country/blues kind of sound, which normally would be fine, but the crowd clearly wanted to party, and here he was, sort of killing the mood with all these sad songs about girls leaving him.  He had one about, I kid you not, driving out on New Orleans during Katrina. 
How old is this guy? I thought.  He looked my age or slightly older.  He was near New Orleans during Katrina? 
He was also weirdly egotistically.  Like, he had this whole thing where he acted as if he was amazing, and although his playing was quite good, there was nothing about him that was memorable (other than maybe his strange self).  He seemed to be playing mostly as a way of pushing himself on the audience. 
He talked to much, and Claire didn't like him or his music and she didn't like that he was swearing.  At one point, she said something under her breath about the swearing, and it was at the perfect moment, because a hush just happened to fall on the audience right then, and everyone heard her.  Claire covered her mouth in embarrassment, and I roared with laughter. 
The guy continued playing slow songs.  There was something about him that was really awkward, but he also seemed really oblivious about it. 
"Did you think you were the best I ever had?" he sang.  I found myself thinking that if anyone had him at all, he'd be terribly lucky. 
Finally, he realized his slow songs were slowly killing everyone, because midway through one he said "Fuck it.  I'm going to play something uptempo."  And he did and it was surprisingly, mercifully, better than what had been happening. 
Afterwards, he announced he was going to send free zip files with full studio albums from his band to all of us, and curious, I signed up for it.  Unfortunately, this meant having to go up and talk to him in person, which honestly, I wasn't really interested in doing.  He shook my hand and he seemed okay, though still a little full of himself.  He talked to me as if I should immediately think he was a genius, and this annoyed me. 

Keep Your Head Up

My friend Sam showed me this video.  The song is fun, though it seriously sounds like so many other songs I will probably get it confused with other ones. 
What I really like in this video is all the cute clothes the girls are wearing.  I would totally wear these outfits.  I especially like the girl with the orange highlights and the pink mini coat that the girl with pigtails is wearing.
And Dwight!  Gotta love Dwight.  He would totally show up in a music video.   

Socks, Jocks and Chocolates

Given this special day, I'm posting a favorite Christmas song, "White Wine in the Sun."  I love this cover; Kate Miller-Heidke is lovely.  I love the detail of "socks, jocks and chocolates." 
Merry Christmas everyone.  :)

War's "The World is a Ghetto"

What caught me about this song was the title.  You don't hear those kinds of pronouncements, especially ones that use words like ghetto, that has connotations of Otherness and oppression.  As I was listening to the song, the political was obvious: "Don't you know, that it's true, for me and for you, the world is a ghetto?" 
I was reading a book today that dealt with critical race theory, and one of the comments was that those of African descent didn't really have a homeland.  This song is obviously related to that sentiment.
I love good political music.  I wish more people listened to stuff overtly political.   

Pete Seeger and Friends

I've been listening to folk music tonight, so I thought I'd post some of them. 


I love "The Water is Wide."  I first discovered this song when I was about thirteen, through Charlotte Church, who did a cover of it.  Years later, I was in a choir that actually sang this song, which was really nice, because often when you're in a choir, you're learning totally new songs you're unfamiliar with (or at least I was), so it was a nice change of pace to sing a song I already knew and liked.  This is a cover by Pete Seeger.  I was reading about him today and the article noted he had done this song, so I knew I had to go looking for it.  I assume he's doing the guitar playing, since I don't really hear much of his voice.  He's talking in bits and pieces of it, but it sounds like a choir is doing the singing.  I would love to be in a choir that got to work with Seeger.  Given his speaking parts, I'm curious to hear this song done with more chanting than singing. 
What I really love about this song is how sad the ending is.  It basically says that love doesn't last, which is not a sentiment you hear very often in music, especially in what melodically sounds like a very peaceful and happy song.   

Charlotte Church and Enya singing "The Water is Wide."  This is the version of the song I first became familiar with when I was younger.  I'm not really sure why this video cited Enya as singing the song as well, since I don't hear her at all.  Perhaps she produced it? 



Pete Seeger's "We Shall Not Be Moved."

Pete Seeger's cover of "Somagwaza."  This is an African song, which really fascinates me, since I really enjoy African music.  This is from a concert that Seeger gave where the audience basically sang along with every song.  This audience sounds really good.  I wish I had been there at that concert, because it sounds like it was tons of fun.  Sadly, at a certain point this video cuts out and then suddenly picks up again.  Seeger singing the high part actually sounds really good.  A lot of men have a hard time singing high notes, but Seeger manages to sound like his throat is really open, making it sound natural.  Also, there is clearly a woman singing the high part too, and she sounds amazing too. 

Pete Seeger singing "Jacob's Ladder." 


Pete Seeger singing the folk song "Greensleeves."  I developed an appreciation for this song well before I knew Seeger had done a version of it.  I find this cover to be the most haunting version of it, especially since there are no words, just the humming.  The lute (is that a lute?) is also especially haunting.  This song is appropriate for the end of fall, just as winter begins to take over. 
As a final note, I'd just like to share with you a quote from Seeger I really enjoyed: "Us born-again atheists sing a lot of Christian hymns."

Interviewing Music

Yes, the interview went okay.  I say okay because I don't think I have the experience for it, but I did my best.  I don't know why, but I wasn't as excited for this interview as I was for previous interviews.
I was being interviewed in a coffee shop, which would have been fine, but music I recognized kept playing.  Two of them were the following: Radiohead's "House of Cards" and Spoon's "Paper Tiger".

This might be my favorite Radiohead song, though I must admit I am also a fan of Thom Yorke's "Hearing Damage."  I like how mellow this song is.  I like how it's a song about trying to get a woman to have an affair.  The singer talks about the woman's relationship as a house of cards, but anyone familiar with affairs knows what they qualify as.  (The singer is a jerk, obviously.)  Also, this video is really cool!

And this is Spoon's "Paper Tiger."  The moment this song started I thought "Oh, it's Spoon!"  I've been in love with this band for almost ten years now. 
Music has an odd way of dropping into one's life.  As a listener, you construct meaning for a song based on the moment in your life it came around.  I don't think I ever imagined either of these songs being associated with interviewing. 

Bright College Days

Clearly, I'm having a strange day, because I have videos to show you of various great songs from Tom Lehrer.


This one is called "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park," which is delightful as it sounds.  It starts off as a nice song, you think it's going to be about a nice song, and no, it turns into a silly song about doing something no one sane or decent would do.

I love that he wrote a parody of the kinds of songs that you might hear in a college.  I love that he introduces the song by saying that everyone at these reunions gets "soggy with nostalgia."  This sounds a lot like those alumni songs, and indeed, it is related to a certain alumni song...
...like this one.
Lehrer reminds me vaguely of Victor Borge, who is most famous for combining classical music and comedy.  My friend Philip introduced me almost six years ago.  (He had Borge only on cassette tape, so he had to work to make me a copy of it.)  He made classical music, and its preposterous nature, fun, sort of like Lehrer, who makes fun of lots of different kinds of music.  Here, he dances around with someone while trying to work through Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. 

The Cleaning Lady

As I was staying at Nate and Megan's, I tried to be a good houseguest, which meant being as out of the way as possible.  Megan and two of the other roommates went out for the weekend, so it was just Nate and I hanging out.  I was thinking about blogging here to you, but then I decided that I should do something nice for Nate and co.
I had just taken a shower, and, perhaps feeling like there needed to be some cleaning, I started working on the kitchen.  In my pink bathrobe.  I started on the dishes, but then realized there were just too many, and many of the things were caked on.
So I went looking through their stuff for one of those brillo pads that scraps stuff off really good.  That was my first clue that people didn't clean too often, because there weren't any.  There were just one sponge.
Then I noticed that someone had tried to bake stuff.  There was a small cake in a pan.
"Should I put this in the fridge?" I called to Nate, holding the pan up.  Nate was on the other side of the room, on his computer, working on his online class.
"Yeah...that's a good idea."
There was a cupcake pan with chocolate cake still stuck, glued really, to it.  I would need to soak this.  Soaking something requires that I temporarily plug their sink.  So I went looking for the rubber stopper that every house has.  Nothing.
This of course led to the next best thing: filling the two bathroom sinks with water and then plugging both of those up.  And then putting in the pan, silverware, plates, a water bottle, Tupperware.
On the way to the first bathroom sink, I found a spoon sitting next to a sock.  If I had seen it in any other context, I would assume it was a piece of modern art.  I showed Nate and he was grossed out by it.
Putting things in a different part of the house would mean I would need to carry it.  They had a plastic dish holder/rack thing that was meant to hold dishes as they dried.  I was about to use it when I noticed that too was stained a orange color.  I imagined it was meat sauce from something.  But I could be wrong.  So I started scrubbing it.
In the meantime, Nate saw me and decided I needed some music to help, so he put it in some Lady Gaga, a favorite of mine.  He put on one of my favorite songs, "Bad Romance."
As I was cleaning, I bounced around and sang the song, as Nate almost certainly knew I would.  Nate, for some odd reason or another, really likes me singing.  He sang along too.
There was something nicely and bizzarely domestic about the too of us.  I could totally see us living together, doing this sort of thing.  Nate would make food, I would wash dishes, we would pretend to be in a musical about the woes of college life.  We'd be bigger than Rent.  
After "Bad Romance," Nate put on "Telephone," which I am embarrassed to say is a song I'm actually working at perfecting.

I scrubbed at the rack thing.  The tough thing was it's odd shapes and little crevices that I couldn't get to with the sponge.  If I had a toothbrush on me, I could have used that, but I wasn't willing to sacrifice my own, and I was afraid going to look for one wouldn't work, since I had already tried to find a vacuum cleaner, to no success.