Dad's House » music

St. Patty’s Hangover

dadshouse — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:21:26 +0000

I didn’t drink green beer on Saint Patrick’s day, but I did have a few martinis. And so, rather than write a cogent blog post, I’ll pimp one of my favorite Irish bands.

U2? Nah. The Pogues? Been there, done that!

Today, I give you the Waterboys, Bang on the Ear. Give it a listen. It might help your hangover…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Or, for a live in-concert version that doesn’t sound quite as nice, click here: Waterboys, Bang on the Ear.

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Muse

dadshouse — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 11:28:27 +0000

Every writer needs a muse. And I’m currently at a place where I need mine. I’m taking Friday off from the blogosphere to get some much needed a-muse-ment.

My traditional muse is a woman, someone sexy, vibrant, and fun. Whether she’s sending me dirty text messages, begging for sex on the side of the road on a funny wine date, wanting wild backyard sex with a raccoon watching, spooning in bed, or wanting sex on the couch – it can be a re-energizing boost to my creative spirits.

Of course, not all muses are lovers. Sometimes inspiration comes in the form of a hard-assed drill sergeant at a writer’s boot camp, pushing me to squeeze 10% more out of the 100% I’m already giving.

Either way, I won’t be blogging. And so I leave you all with yet another Muse, the band, doing Supermassive Black Hole.

Interesting side note: Silversun Pickups will open for Muse in the Bay Area….

(Note: a few times when I played this, youtube inserted a 30-second ad near the start of the video. To which I say WTF!? It seems that leaving the page after the ad starts, then returning and playing the video again lets it play ad-free. Shhhhhh, don’t tell youtube…. )

Click here to view the embedded video.

Muse, Supermassive Black Hole official video

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Name That Tune

dadshouse — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:09:45 +0000

My teen son plays trumpet in his middle school band. Last year, the band played popular music like the theme from Harry Potter, and Viva la Vida by Coldplay.

This year? They’ve gone classical, at least for the fall.

“We’re playing some Hungarian thing,” my son said.
“Hungarian Dance Number Five?” I asked.
“I think so.”
“That’s famous!”

My dad played trumpet (first chair in college!) and was a high school band director for part of his career as an educator. He was always playing music for us, taking us to concerts and musicals, having us watch the Boston Pops on TV.

“What else are you playing?” I asked my son.
“Mars, by Holt,” he said.
“You mean Holst?” I asked. “That song’s famous! It’s part of The Planets.”

I still remember my dad’s LP for The Planets, with a big illustration of the solar system on the fold-open cover.

I started singing a riff from Mars: bum-bum-bummmmm. bum. bum. bummmmm.

My son perked up, and started singing along with me. He didn’t have the tune quite right, but hey, he’s just hearing it for the first time. I was suddenly inspired to inspire my son in the same way my dad inspired me.

“I’m sure I have The Planets on CD,” I said. I poked through my collection, and sure enough, there was John Williams (Star Wars composer) conducting some orchestra in the Gustav Holst work.

I put the CD in, and hit play. Mars came to life.

We listened for a bit. Curious, there was no bum-bum-bummmmm. bum. bum. bummmmm.

“Is this what you’re playing in school?” I asked.
“Yep, exactly this,” my son said.

It was nice enough, but where the hell was the bum-bum-bummmmm part that I knew so well?

And then I realized: bum-bum-bummmmm. bum. bum. bummmmm is from Fanfare for the Common Man, by Aaron Copeland.

So much for naming that tune in seven notes.

I couldn’t even name it in seven planets.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Aaron Copeland, Fanfare for the Common Man

Click here to view the embedded video.

Gustav Holst, Mars Bringer of War, from the Planets

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Michael Jackson ‘Bad’ – A Teen iPod Story

dadshouse — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 10:00:51 +0000

I was finishing up some work on the computer when my teen son came into the kitchen and asked a question I’d never heard before: “What’s our wireless password?”

Hell, I don’t know the password. We programmed it once on my laptop, and once on his sister’s.

“Why do you need to know?” I asked.

“I want to download Bad.” He stood there holding his iPod.

WTF? I was using the laptop, and the laptop already knew the password. Michael Jackson was my era, not his. And how did my son expect to pay? Besides, we were about to head out to Office Depot to buy school supplies.

“What…? How…?” I furrowed my brow and shook my head.

“I just need the password and it will take me a second,” he said. He held his iPod out as if in explanation.

I may be a dinosaur when it comes to my own personal tech, but I’m savvy enough to know what he wanted to do. I fished around and gave him the password, and sure enough, he downloaded ‘Bad’ onto his iPod, just like that.

“How did you pay?” I asked.
“I have an online gift card,” he said.
Nice.

We got into my car, and he plugged his iPod into the AUX jack under the CD player. In no time flat, Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad’ was thumping through my car stereo system.

Picture a 40-something dad with his teen son, cruising down the street, windows down, stereo volume up, both of us grooving to Michael Jackson. It was surreal. Cool. We be kickin’ it. Whatever the kids say these days.

When ‘Bad’ ended, another Michael Jackson song came on. Dang, my son has taste!

“Isn’t it funny how the beat to all of his songs sounds the same?” I asked.
“Oh, sorry,” my son said. “My iPod’s set to repeat. It’s playing Bad again.”

Doh! Cue the moonwalk.

Watch the video, and you’ll be humming ‘Bad’ (or ‘Fat’) all day!

Michael Jackson Bad video
Weird Al Yankovic Fat video

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Panic Switch

dadshouse — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:00:28 +0000

The best way to cap off an excellent week is with some fabulous music – don’t you think?
Here’s Panic Switch, by Silversun Pickups

If you don’t know Silversun Pickups, click play, and be schooled…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Happy Friday. Have a great weekend!

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Yeah Yeah Yeahs Live on Letterman – Youtube

dadshouse — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 10:03:51 +0000

I’m obsessed with the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album – It’s Blitz! I’ve always found Yeah Yeah Yeahs sound to be mesmerizing, especially Karen O’s voice. It’s Blitz! traded the punk edginess of their first album for a cleaner synthesized sound. But it’s still Yeah Yeah Yeahs, still Karen O, still captivating and worth hearing over and over again…

Here’s a youtube clip of Zero performed by Yeah Yeah Yeahs on Letterman in April 2009. If you’ve never heard Yeah Yeah Yeahs before, click play now! (If you have heard them, you already did…)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Have a great weekend.

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Gloria Estefan and Marc Anthony – Mi Tierra

dadshouse — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 10:00:09 +0000

In honor of US income tax season (they’re due in three weeks!), I am doing my taxes. And so in lieu of a regular Dad’s House post, check out this video featuring Gloria Estefan and Marc Anthony performing Mi Tierra.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Watch for the moment 2:15 in when Marc Anthony kicks off his shoes. Think he’s got latina lover (and wife) J.Lo on his mind? Um… keep watching. I love how Gloria Estefan sings up a storm. She’s an awesome latina performer, and was recently named an Icon at the 16th Latin Music Awards. But forget the awards – she can shake her latina booty better than J.Lo, any day.

Still watching? 3:20 in… ready? 3:30 in… ahhhhhh! That put a smile on my face!

Thanks to Edgar, an occasional Dad’s House commentator, for hooking me up with this Gloria Estefan and Marc Anthony live concert video, Mi Tierra. Check the comments from my White Hot Tantra post.

A bit of latina music love is always good. Mi Tierra is worth a watch.

Now then, back to tax codes…

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