Dad's House » music

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!

If you liked this post featuring the Silversun Pickups Panic Switch youtube video, you might also enjoy:

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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U2 on Letterman 2009

dadshouse — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:30:42 +0000

U2 is on Letterman all week, this first week of March 2009, promoting their new album No Line on the Horizon. How cool is that? Here’s a youtube video of U2 performing on Letterman Monday night:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’ve been a U2 fan for decades – from Boy and War, to Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby, to Vertigo and everything else. Some call them the Best Band in the World. And after seeing the U2 Super Bowl 9/11 Tribute, I tend to agree. (If that youtube video doesn’t bring a tear to your eye…)

Here’s more youtube: U2 Beautiful Day on Letterman (from Thursday night)

Click here to view the embedded video.

But as big a U2 fan as I am, I’ve only seen U2 twice in concert. (I’ve seen Pearl Jam five times. Letterman never.)

U2 No Line on
the Horizon
Available at Amazon

The first time I saw U2: they came to San Jose, California on the Vertigo tour. A friend of mine is a huge U2 fan, and travels all over to see them. She had one extra ticket, so she convinced three of us to join her at the show.

Yeah, two of us had to scalp tickets.

We show up to see U2 at the Shark Tank (HP Pavilion). There are people everywhere trolling for tickets. I mean, it’s U2! The band doesn’t come to the 408 that often. I figure there’s no way we’ll score tickets.

My buddy says not to worry, and we make our way to the edge of a crowd wanting tickets for the U2 show. In no time flat, some guy asks us if we need two. Heck yeah! We paid some serious money, but whatever – we were going to see U2!

Our friends had seats, and we were on the floor, so we entered through a different door. The ticket taker scanned our tickets through some optical reader, and all of a sudden, her laptop computer starts flashing red. WTF! Phony U2 tickets! We were busted! And out some serious dough.

“You just won,” she said.
“Won what?” we asked.
“You’re in the heart.”

The catwalk that U2’s Bono runs around stretches into the audience and forms the shape of a heart. They randomly select who gets to be inside it. That night, my buddy and I were random.

We watched the U2 show 3 people from the stage. My neck hurt from constantly looking up at Bono! (Haha, just kidding. That’s how I teased my friends who had seats.)

The show was amazing. Something like this (U2 Elevation at Slane Castle on youtube):

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you can ever see U2 in concert – go! It’s totally worth it. Whether they’re on Letterman or not.

Oh, our second U2 show? In Honolulu, with Pearl Jam opening.

Top that, David Letterman.

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That’s Not My Name

dadshouse — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:33:43 +0000

The holidays are over, and it’s back to the grind – for most. As a single parent blogger, I’m choosing to extend my leave one more day. (Okay, I admit that’s a lie. I’ve actually been working my ass off all through the break. I’m giving myself a one-day break! Ah, the life of a writer.)

But for everyone else – what better way to kick off the first official workday of the new year than by playing a youtube video with a catchy tune. That’s Not My Name, by the Ting Tings.

And I do mean catchy. Once I played it for my kids, none of us could get it out of our heads. (Thank God it’s no one’s ringtone yet. I can already hear the prank phone calls.)

The catchy part starts 45 seconds in.

After hearing it, if you happen to ask your two-year-old niece or nephew “Are you Jo-lisa?” Don’t be surprised if they grin and say “That’s not my name!”

You’ve been warned.

(The Ting Tings disabled embedded viewing of this video, so click this link to see it at youtube… Ting Tings, That’s Not My Name )

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you’re itching to read some Dad’s House material, here are year-end recap posts that are totally worth checking out: