Tuesday Tunes #4

At Ned's birthday we chatted with fellow film nerds about the best movie musical, and we were all in agreement that Sound of Music is pretty much flawless.

Tuesday Tunes #3

A couple of my coworkers brought this forgotten gem to my attention, particularly the poetic lyric, "as sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti." It's a real feat to fit that many syllables into one phrase.

Tuesday Tunes #2

Oops, I missed last Tuesday. Blame it on the holiday weekend.

I used my Summer Friday to go see The Kids Are All Right and pretty much loved it. Judging from the 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, I'm not the only one. There's an amazingly good scene centered on this week's musical selection, Joni Mitchell's "All I Want." I couldn't find a music video for this one, so here's a pretty good recording of a live version instead.



I haven't stopped humming this song, or thinking about the movie, since Friday. Go see it now!

Tuesday Tunes

For Jamie's birthday, we ventured to karaoke in Koreatown. It wasn't until moving to NYC that I experienced the private room karaoke scene, where for an hourly rate you and a group of friends get a small "studio" outfitted with laser show, a binder listing thousands of songs to choose from, and a tamborine. The amount of reverb on the microphones makes everyone sound like a rock star, plus it's BYOB, so sooner or later you feel like a rock star. We rediscovered lots of great tunes from days gone by, and when I looked them up on YouTube, I discovered some even greater (weirder) music videos. Which got me thinking, it would be fun to feature a song each week. I don't plan on having any rhyme or reason to the choices, and I'm certainly not promising that I'll be sharing anything cutting-edge or noteworthy. Just whatever has been getting a little extra play on my iPod. First up, a special belated-birthday dedication to Jamie, who rocked this number at karaoke.


Annie Lennox, "Walking On Broken Glass"

Winter Music

Bundle up and add these gems to your play list...

All in the (Perkins) Family

I've blogged about Elvis Perkins in Dearland before. I've been listening to him a lot more lately; his music suits fall weather quite well.

While reading up on him a bit, I discovered that he is the son of Anthony Perkins. (Film History 101: Anthony Perkins played the famous psychopath Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho)
I've spent a lot of time watching, rewatching, analyzing and talking about Perkins' outstanding performance as part of a high school film studies course I taught, and developed a little retro-Celebrity Crush on him. I realize that's a little creepy on my part, but come on, Norman Bates is a total charmer!

In any event, I was delighted to discover this dynamic father/son duo. They are both so good at what they do.

Childhood Memories Remixed

Electronic music artist Pogo creates tracks by sampling and mixing sounds from films, many of them children's movies. He also creates awesome music videos to accompany them. I have watched this one, based on the movie Hook, about a million times. This was a favorite movie of mine circa 1997, and one of the few I still own on DVD. I love the choice of raw material and the results.


I realize quite of few of you out there might have never seen Hook (shame on you) so here's another example based on Mary Poppins.


If there were a Reappropriate This Academy Award, Pogo would surely be the winner.

Soundtrack to Right Now

Sweet summer night and I'm stripped to my sheets
Forehead is leaking, my AC squeaks and
A voice from the clock says, "You're not gonna get tired"
My bed is a pool and the walls are on fire
Soak my head in the sink for a while
Chills on my neck and it makes me smile but
My bones have to move and my skin's gotta breathe
You pick up the phone and I'm so relieved
- Summertime Clothes Animal Collective

New Post About New Things

1. New blog: Pierogi Tour 2009 (aka, Meng & Amar's travel adventures). Gotta love a blog whose title is a vague Gossip Girl reference.

2. New song to share: "True or False" by Bishop Allen


3. New hobby: Embroidery. This is only day three, and I only know two stitches so far (split and stem) but I think I'm coming along just fine.

Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free

I recently discovered the band Akron/Family, and I think I love them. I particularly like the title track from their latest album, "Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free," but since it hasn't yet been released, it's been hard to get my hands on. I tried a YouTube search, which will often yield an acceptable live version of a song, but this time, the results were even better.

Someone has edited the song to a video of frolicking baby horses. Enjoy.

Another Roadhouse Delight

Contributing to my ever-growing granny-like lifestyle, I've now got a favorite radio show that I try to be home for each week: The Roadhouse on KEXP, Wednesdays 6-9pm PST. I discover a handful of new favorite songs every time I listen. Case in point:

Elvis Perkin in Dearland, "Shampoo"

Getting A Lot of Play

I can't stop listening to Matt & Kim's recent (and I think first) album: Grand. Check 'em out.

Their music is loads of fun, and it seems like they are too. Also, they sing a lot about Grand Street, and apparently live on Grand Street, which is also my cross street. Who doesn't love music about their neighborhood? Do you guys want to meet up at Gimme Coffee sometime...?

Are You Taking the G Train Too?

After leaving Connie Converse's record release party last night, I had the pleasure of caravaning home on the G train with a group of pals. Despite its short comings, the G train is most near and dear to my heart, and I think the Smith & 9th Street stop is the most enchanting of all. In order to demonstrate, here are some photos I stole from flickr.


Thanks JonCombe.


Thanks Victoria Belanger.


Thanks .aG


Thanks i mei

Twelve Drummers (or Synthesizers) Drumming

Q: What sounds does a drum make?
A: Ratatat

Ratatat's "Cherry"

Ten Lords A-Leapin'

Actually, just one. But he's as awesome as ten.

Christopher Walken in Fat Boy Slim's "Weapon of Choice"

Partridge in a (Peach, Plum) Pear Tree

Joanna Newsom performing "Peach Plum Pear"

This is the first song of hers I ever heard. Cheesy as it might sound, it's safe to say, it changed my life.

3 Pleonastic Experiments

My new favorite internet past time: Wordle

Experiment #1: My comprehensive MA exams


Experiment #2: Instructions to the dog-sitter


Experiment #3 (and favorite): Lyrics to a favorite song

Beyonce Likes to Reappropriate It

FIRST THERE WAS THIS.

This has long been one of my favorite YouTube gems. 1960 Fosse choreography + "Walk it Out" is better than any Pink Floyd / Wizard of Oz business.


ACTUALLY, FIRST THERE WAS THIS.

But it's more comical if you watch the re-edited version before seeing the original.

AND NOW, THERE'S THIS.

"maybe they'll make me queen for a day"

Dan Dzula (one of two wonderful Dzula brothers) clued me in to this very cool project he's working on about singer/songwriter Connie Converse. You can hear some of her music here. I think I maybe love her mostly because she disappeared years ago, never to be seen or heard of again. Who doesn't love a good mystery like that?

Autumnal Music

When I first moved to Brooklyn two autumns ago, TV on the Radio's Return to Cookie Mountain was on constant replay on my iPod as I wandered the streets and subways, learning my way around my new city. Now, two years later, I've got a feeling that Dear Science will feature prominently. How great to have an album release that compliments my seasonal nostalgia.