Posts Tagged ‘Music’
Nina Simone Makes Me Feel Better
At the moment I’m cranky about something. I opened iTunes and planned to listen to something appropriate to my bad mood. When I saw The Best of Nina Simone, I clicked it, and realized that listening to Nina Simone makes me feel better.
Why? In the past it would have been Black Flag or something similarly loud. Now that I’m old(er) that’s not where I go. Between work and kids, I can’t afford to get my anger out my increasing the volume and releasing the emotion. I need to calm down.
Nina Simone for some reason does that. It also puts things in perspective. How? Listening to Mississippi Goddam is a good reminder that people have had, and still do have, more serious problems than the nonsense that I’m irritated by at the moment. She also has one of those genuinely unique voices and a musical style that cuts through bullshit like a hot knife through a cliché. It’s sort of punk rock without the punk rock. There’s attitude, but not the same kind of attitude. Her piano playing isn’t perfect, but that’s not important. When she sings “Oh Yeah” in Sinnerman, it’s eerie.
The Best of Nina Simone may not be the best Nina Simone album/collection of digital files; that’s just a caveat in case anyone who reads this is, in fact, a more informed fan that I am. If so, please enlighten me. I’ll probably buy that album/collection of digital files as well. The only reason I have this to listen to is because it was on sale at Amazon for $5, and I’m enough of a cheapskate that the word “sale” motivates me.
Going even further back, if I recall correctly, Nina Simone had just died and I asked my mother about her. She said I should listen to her music, specifically Mississippi Goddam. This was way back in the bad old days of file sharing, so I downloaded some random stuff and put it on a CD. The quality ranged from acceptable to crappy but it was good enough that I got the idea that this was good stuff. A few years after that, I got the album/collection of digital files on sale, and here we are.
Two things:
– my intro to Nina Simone came in part from my mother, even though I was fully gone from living under her roof at the time.
– the other day my son told me that he liked music videos more than listening to music, because it was “better.” I was surprised to hear that, and asked, “what about when you just want to listen to something?” He agreed. I don’t think that was a fully formed opinion (my opinions change constantly and I’m almost -ahem- 40), but I felt the need to nip it in the bud somewhat. Heck, he’s not even growing up with MTV. Something to think about.
The Best of Nina Simone at Amazon (no longer on sale, but still worth buying)
Annoying Kiddie Music On Sale [Deals]
Hey parents! Guess what? You can buy some annoying kiddie music on sale!
That’s right, mom and dad! (Uncles and aunts too! And don’t leave out the cousins!)
Get a digital copy of the Best Of Countdown Kids Sampler for only 99 cents! That’s right! All your favorites — The Itsy-Bitsy Spider, The Alphabet Song, Do Your Ears Hang Low? and much, much more! (OK, seven more. 10 songs total. 99 cents. Good deal if you for some reason need this sort of thing.)
Amazon.com: Best Of Countdown Kids Sampler: Countdown Kids: MP3 Downloads
Five Year Old Sings Folsom Prison Blues
I discovered Johnny Cash somewhat late in my life. Not that my life is over, mind you. But I only started sampling the Man in Black around the time that he came out with his brilliant cover of the Nine Inch Nails song “Hurt.”
This kid, however, appears to have been exposed to Cash much earlier. Like five years old. Not only is he familiar with the music, he can sing Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues.”
Do we really believe the little guy when he sings, “I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die”? No. But that’s OK. As Hannah points out over at Strollerderby, “After you check out little Wesley singing the Folsom Prison Blues at a coffee shop in Seattle, I think you’ll agree that this is far too awesome to be inappropriate.”
Here’s Cash doing the song himself. Watch both videos, then give me 500 words comparing and contrasting the two styles.
DaddyTips Show and Tell for July 22, 2009
- The New York Times shows us what was happening in 1969 — Joe Namath, Led Zeppelin I, and other things that are cooler than what happened this year. (NYTimes.com)
- Darth Vader meets Hello Kitty. Hello Vader? (Zombie Panda)
- Kirk Hammett stinks at Guitar Hero. He’s the lead guitarist for Metallica. Funny. (Onion AV Club)
Bert and Ernie Death Metal
There appear to be dozens of these on YouTube, but this one stays with the dynamic duo of The Street, Bert and Ernie. It rocks.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InZNBcJTmWs]
Celine Dion Better As Michael Jackson Than As Herself
This video is indeed bizarre. But honestly? I think she sings better when she’s doing a Michael Jackson impression tribute than when she sings her own garbage.
via Buzzfeed
Laurie Berkner is Stuck in my Head
For reasons I cannot explain, I have the song “Me and My Energy” by Laurie Berkner stuck in my head. (Note: the actual title appears to be “My Energy.” See? I don’t even know what the damn thing is called.)
It’s been there for three days.
The only lyrics I know are these:
“This is me. This iiis me. This is me, and my ehhhnergeee. This is me. This IIIS me. This is ME and my ehn-ER-gee.”
That’s it. There’s more I think, but I don’t know it. My kids don’t even like Laurie Berkner. I don’t think I know any other songs by Laurie Berkner.
I have nothing against her, I suppose. I think she’s vastly over-rated. She’s not even better than Raffi, although I guess she’s not Canadian, and is therefore at least a little less annoying. And the idea that she’s “hot” is almost disturbing. Dads who think that need to get out more. Or watch some TV that isn’t for kids. She’s not ugly, she’s nice looking. But “hot”? Really?
No matter what else I can say about Laurie, having a song of hers stuck in my head is not something I would choose. Especially not a part of a song. Over and over and over again.
Image: Amazon
