REMEMBERING WOODSTOCK or...I thought you looked familiar!

We’ve had a real strange winter around these parts. There’s been a revolving door of snow and sleet, flurries and pellets, thunder and lightning, huge winds, and rain. A surprising amount of rain. The other evening while it poured, the power went off. Fortunately we were only without for a short while, but still, it was long enough for me to get out the matches and set up the candles. The next morning I was about to put the candles away when the radio played that gospel-infused oldie by Melanie, “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain).” Some of you will no doubt recall that she wrote that one as the result of performing at Woodstock back in 1969. I wasn’t there, but the story goes that Melanie took the stage at night, after the Big Rain, and as she looked out she saw all the people holding up their candles (and undoubtedly some lighters, too) she was inspired to write this song. And what a great song it is. It’s my favorite song about Woodstock; I like it even better than Joni Mitchell’s eponymous hit, “Woodstock.” And I thought it was kind of a nice little synchronicity that I heard it on the radio right after I had lit my own candles against the rain and the dark just a few hours before. The images in the accompanying video are kind of blurry, but it’s the only one I found with actual footage of Melanie and the choir together - plus the sound is good. And don’t miss the camera shots of the audience during the last two minutes or so of jamming. Not exactly the kind of fans you’d expect to see, but you gotta give ‘em credit for getting down with the sound…

And so, without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for Melanie and The Edwin Hawkins Singers… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz9sjMGUM9k

FEB 2008 - INTRODUCING THE YEAR of the RAT

That probably doesn’t sound too good to western ears – we don’t think too much of rats. But in Chinese astrology, rats are way cool. In fact, Chinese astrology features a number of animals that have different cultural connotations over here. Snakes, pigs (sometimes called boars), and sheep, all have a place of importance in the Chinese wheel of the year. There are 12 animals in all, which means that they repeat every 12 years as a birth year sign. So, any one born this year will be a Rat person, and so will anyone born in preceding years counting back by twelves. Me, I’m a Boar. I somehow like that better than saying “Pig”- although with “boar” I’m still open to a lot of kidding. Anyhoo, people born in the Year of the Rat have, like people in all the signs, some good attributes and some not-so-good attributes. Probably that whole yin/yang thing. Rat people can be practical hardworking charismatic charmers, or obstinate manipulative quick-tempered control freaks. Well, don’t feel bad, Boars can either be honest, patient, reliable types (ahem…anyone you know?) or painfully shy introverts who have absolutely no sense of adventure (heck, even I’ll say it…boar-ring!).

Moving on, here’s a list of music to go with the Rat Year in each decade; a little something rattish for everyone, starting with…

’50 –Those original bad boys, the inimitable The Rat Pack: Frank, Dean, Joey, Peter and Sammy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl6Xin4YgFk

‘60s – Hot Rats, Frank Zappa
Hot Rats is actually an album title only; no song by the same name. Zappa is a taste I never quite acquired, but hey, we’re celebrating a Rat year, it’s all good. Since there's no song, here's a PSA from FZ instead. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J02NJ6ga4MM

‘70s – Ben, Michael Jackson
Album and title song about…a pet killer rat. It was one of MJ’s earliest solo recordings, done when he was a mere laddie of 14. Do you ever wonder how things might be today if only someone could time-travel back to that sweet little pubescent kid with the adorable button nose and the baby 'fro, show him a photo of MJ today, and warn him? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSqo17o2a1w

‘80s –The Boomtown Rats
An entire Rat group; these guy were the original funky punkers, featuring Bob Geldof (before he toned it down for his KBE award) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okElC8Dg4OQ

‘90s – Rats, Pearl Jam
I have to admit, even though I’m more of a golden oldies than grunge gal, I really like Eddie Vedder’s voice. Maybe not this particular song…but I’m just sayin.’ Check him out solo on the “I Am Sam” soundtrack, covering The Beatles hit, “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away.” You might never go back to the Rats… Rats, and Beatles cover, you decide: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RN1XXnNwUZE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfIh34uZY00

‘00s – I Think I Smell a Rat, The White Stripes
This song isn’t much for riveting lyrics, but then, I grew up singing along with Shirley Shirley bo-Birley Bo-nana Fana Fo Firley, so maybe I’m not in a position to be critical. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIKdvPY9vDk

Okay, that's our celebration for today, and kind of a bite-sized evolution of the last half-Century of popular music. Happy Chinese New Year to all you Rats out there. Zai jian!

IT'S FAT TUESDAY / PACZKI DAY

As a kid, I used to think the term Mardi Gras had such a festive yet mysterious sound to it. Then I found out that in English, it simply means Fat Tuesday. That was kind of a disappointment. But of course, it’s the perfect term for it’s original meaning, which did not center around drinking your face off and flashing strangers for cheap beads, but rather it was a big caloric blowout before the stringencies of Lent. Enter the Paczki. For those of you who, like me, only recently got clued in to them, Paczki is a Polish word, pronounced “poonch-key.” At one point I was calling them “punch-keys” but have since been corrected. So, what is a Paczki? Last year I was determined to find out. Determined, but...I waited too long.

Every year, about a week or so in advance, people begin anticipating Paczkis. Signs go up in the bakery; people salivate and talk about how delicious they are; they groan over how many they will likely eat etc. But after Fat Tuesday there is not a Paczki to be found anywhere. Gone-zo. It’s the Lent thing. So this year I was ready, and when I started to hear the buzz all over town, and on the radio, the TV news, I got there early. I didn't know what to expect. Like I said, until a couple of years ago, when I came to Leamington from out West, I’d never heard of Paczkis. And even though I grew up in Detroit, which has at it’s heart the Polish community of Hamtramck, I don’t recall that there was a citywide Paczki Day back in the 60s. And since my ethnicity tends to be more boringly WASPish, I lived in a world without Paczkis. But no more! And today I can report to you that the mystery behind the exotic Paczki has been revealed. A Paczki, it turns out, is basically…a jelly donut. But a jelly donut on 'roids! Sweet dough (fat), deep (fat) fried, and then pumped full-to-bursting with (fat) jam or custard, and then either frosted, or dusted with powdered sugar (fat fat fat). Now, I confess I don’t really care all that much for donuts, but in the interests of research, yesterday I ate one-and-a-half Paczkis (one with custard, one half of a fruit). I can now see why there are no Paczkis available once the restraints of Lent begins – because today I don’t care if I ever eat another Paczki, or anything else for that matter, ever again. I feel kind of like Roger Miller right at the very end of that “Chug-A-Lug” song… I think I have a “fat hangover” this morning. Just coffee for me, thanks.

Well, that’s it for the culinary part of this post; now for the music. This is terrific vintage footage - and who better to listen to on this Fat Day than Fats Domino. I think walking anywhere right now would be very beneficial.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18nTpdDKD04

Let's have a little contemporary Cajun music while we're at it. This is the best of the best: Jo-El Sonnier, Doug Kershaw, and Jimmie C. Newman, and "Jolie Blon." Laissez les bon temps rouler! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMBED9lA25E

JAI GURU DEVA OM

Well, here it is, Monday morning after the Big Game. If you’re nursing a brutish hangover and/or are in the doldrums because you’re a Pats fan, here’s a little something that might help lift you up…take your focus away from the petty troubles of life here on our little third rock from the sun, and put it all into a larger, cosmic perspective. You may have heard about this on the news already, but today’s an important day because…

For the first time ever, NASA will beam a song -- The Beatles' "Across the Universe" -- directly into deep space at 7 p.m. EST on Feb. 4.

The transmission over NASA's Deep Space Network will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the day The Beatles recorded the song, as well as the 50th anniversary of NASA's founding and the group's beginnings. Two other anniversaries also are being honored: The launch 50 years ago this week of Explorer 1, the first U.S. satellite, and the founding 45 years ago of the Deep Space Network, an international network of antennas that supports missions to explore the universe.

The transmission is being aimed at the North Star, Polaris, which is located 431 light years away from Earth. The song will travel across the universe at a speed of 186,000 miles per second. Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney expressed excitement that the tune, which was principally written by fellow Beatle John Lennon, was being beamed into the cosmos.

"Amazing! Well done, NASA!" McCartney said in a message to the space agency. "Send my love to the aliens. All the best, Paul."

Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, characterized the song's transmission as a significant event.
"I see that this is the beginning of the new age in which we will communicate with billions of planets across the universe," she said.

It is not the first time Beatles music has been used by NASA; in November 2005, McCartney performed the song "Good Day Sunshine" during a concert that was transmitted to the International Space Station. "Here Comes the Sun," "Ticket to Ride" and "A Hard Day's Night" are among other Beatles' songs that have been played to wake astronaut crews in orbit.

Feb. 4 has been declared "Across The Universe Day" by Beatles fans to commemorate the anniversaries. As part of the celebration, the public around the world has been invited to participate in the event by simultaneously playing the song at the same time it is transmitted by NASA. Many of the senior NASA scientists and engineers involved in the effort are among the group's biggest fans.

"I've been a Beatles fan for 45 years – as long as the Deep Space Network has been around," said Dr. Barry Geldzahler, the network's program executive at NASA Headquarters, Washington. "What a joy, especially considering that 'Across the Universe' is my personal favorite Beatles song."

Source: NASA

The Beatles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj-4t9drUlM

And thanks to Christine for emailing me about this.

IT'S FEB 3 - IN GLENDALE & LUBBOCK

February is a big month. Not really big like the other months, with their 30 and 31 days. No sir, even in a leap year like this one, all February can muster is a measly 29. But February is big because is has so many important holidays and days of special commemoration. Take today. On this day we mark two very notable, if unlikely paired, events: Superbowl XLII in Glendale Arizona, and another anniversary of The Day The Music Died, which of course is the day back in 1959 when we lost Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper. Next year will be the 50th anniversary of the fateful plane trip, and will likely see an expanded memorial around the world, but for today, I'll just post a few links to YouTube so we can all pause and remember why we loved their music.

The photo of Buddy's statue in his hometown, Lubbock, Texas, is used by permission of Ben O'Connor. Here's a link to Ben's website for other interesting musical stuff.
http://www.benoconnor.com/musicphotos4.cfm

Buddy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PYXZEkAC4E
Ricthie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mKHkz6A3Fk
Big Bopper http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awTsQra0u3Q

And, what would the Superbowl be without those great commercials? Just another boring football game. Oh sit down, I'm just kidding!! I love football. But I had ya goin' there for a sec didn't I? Here's one of my fave ads from yesteryear.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk7yqlTMvp8

IT'S FEB 2 - DON'T DRIVE ANGRY!

Well, here we are, it's February the Twoth - a special day for various reasons. To the Roman Catholics it's Candlemas, to the Pagans it's Imbolc, and to just about everybody in North America it's Groundhog Day, the day when the chubby, adorably sleepy little creatures are pressed into the service of weather forecasters everywhere, sometimes even in areas where groundhogs aren't native. Obviously it's very important. You already know about the 6 weeks of winter thing, so I won't go into it here. I always found it confusing anyway. The bottom line for northern regions is simple...still cold, folks. In keeping with the spirit of this blog, I wanted to find a cool song to go along with this post, but as I peered into the vintage vault in my memory bank, I couldn't really come up with any rock and roll oldies about groundhogs. There's plenty of songs about other kinds of animals (hound dog, bird dog, yellow bird, ponies etc), but groundhogs...well, if you think of any let me know. The only thing that even comes close is an early folksy number by Buffy Sainte Marie, accompanying herself on the mouthbow. And I also discovered there's a blues number by John Lee Hooker, but that would seem to be it. So, I decided to turn to the soundtrack of the funny movie, "Groundhog Day" (1993) starring Bill Murray. I was sure I'd be able to find a whole selection of oldies to chose from, but unfortunately, the soundtrack for "Groundhog Day" is no "Big Chill." While there are entries from Weird Al and Nat "King" Cole, the only true vintage Oldie But Goodie on the soundtrack was "I Got You Babe" by Sonny and Cher. Well, that'll certainly do for our purposes here. So here they are, everybody's favorite 60s duo, a very young Cher (original nose and teeth) and and an equally young (and cute-as-a-groundhog) Sonny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4FvXtGGj5Y

BRIAN HYLAND & THE ELUSIVE FIFTH

Let me begin by saying I am not a musician, nor do I know anything much about music theory except for a few tattered scraps of info left over from the pre-teen years. At fourteen, I may have won the battle with my mom - and was allowed to quit taking piano lessons - but I am the poorer for it today. I truly wish I'd picked another activity to assert by budding independence with. Having said that, I do recall that intervals of harmony were named after the number of "steps" apart they were on the scale. The most frequent and pleasing harmony, to Western ears anyway, is the third. Practically every rock and roll ballad from my teen years utilized them. Some of the prettiest third harmony that comes to mind were by the Everly Brothers. To me, thirds sound kind of sweet and almost comforting, even if the lyrics of the song happen not to be. However, much as I like the sound of thirds, I think if I had to pick my favorite harmony of all it would be the fifth. I'm not sure why, but there's something different about fifths. Maybe it's me, but a fifth sounds exotic, even a little haunting, corny as that sounds. It's like it comes from another time or place. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that fifths were more popular in the Middle Ages, or something like that. Well, I don't know about those oldies, but when it comes to vintage rock and roll, I have a fifth I'd like to share with you (sounds like I'm going to pour your a drink!). Well, sorry, no happy hour - the fifth I'm talking about is in the song "Ginny Come Lately" by Brian Hyland. With thirds and fifths, I think this is one of the prettiest loves songs of any generation. If you're biting your lower lip about now trying to remember why his name sounds familiar, Brian Hyland had two huge hits with "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" and "Sealed With A Kiss." He was one of those 60s teen heartthrobs who had a much better voice than I think he ever got credit for. I saw him on TV a while back, on one of those PBS rock reunion shows, so he's probably still performing and touring around. But you don't have to wait until a show comes to your town. Thanks to YouTube, we can all hear Brian and his fifths right now.

Ginny Come Lately

This is the original AM radio version, but the video may have to be taken down soon. That's too bad, because the fifth harmony is clear as a bell, e.g. in the first line of lyrics when he sings "couple of days ago."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vevj5VHPYGY

Here's another one of the same song, in case we lose the one above, but it's been re-recorded and changed; the fifths are much harder to pick out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wok315yEkws