Monday's Song from Hell - March 11th

I think this classifies as such not because the song itself is so horrible or so catchy that you can't stop humming it (and I can't catch any intelligible words), but for what it has inspired so many people to do. Making 30 second videos of people dancing to the song became a viral internet sensation nearly overnight, and thankfully has started to recede nearly as fast.

15 seconds of someone in a helmet/mask dancing as if they were invisible to the rest of the room, then 15 seconds of everyone dancing, usually awkwardly and with some kind of partial costume and/or odd props.  And usually a bit of partial "nudity" and perhaps suggestive hip movements.

But it's so ridiculous that even children are convinced of how silly it is. And that is why they love it too. So this may be the most innocent version of it on the internet.  It makes it no less annoying however.

Monday's Song from Hell - February 11th

Not that this song is so catchy or annoying that you can't forget the tune or some riff from it.  Rather the lyrics and story that it tells is a bit haunting.  Powerful stuff you could say.  I think country music has a good history of telling stories that are sometimes hard to tell.

This is in honor of this song winning two Grammy's last night: Carrie Underwood for Country Solo Performance, and Josh Kear and Chris Tompkins for Country Song.

Monday's Song from Hell - November 14th

Not because it is an annoying song that you can't stop humming. Because music can sometimes cement itself in the minds of people and become a common expression of their values or opinions. That's why this song might become hell for those who stand in the way of the 99% of Americans who are not being served by our political, economic, and financial systems.

Now Makana's new song "We Are The Many" can be criticized as being from hell because of the very simple rhyming pattern of the verses (AAAA), but at least the end of the chorus makes clear the whole point of the Occupy Wall Street and 99% movement.

Lyrics below the video thanks to Honolulu Civil Beat.

We Are The Many Lyrics & Music by Makana Makana Music LLC © 2011

Ye come here, gather ’round the stage
The time has come for us to voice our rage
Against the ones who’ve trapped us in a cage
To steal from us the value of our wage

From underneath the vestiture of law
The lobbyists at Washington do gnaw
At liberty, the bureaucrats guffaw
And until they are purged, we won’t withdraw

We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few

Our nation was built upon the right
Of every person to improve their plight
But laws of this Republic they rewrite
And now a few own everything in sight

They own it free of liability
They own, but they are not like you and me
Their influence dictates legality
And until they are stopped we are not free

We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few

You enforce your monopolies with guns
While sacrificing our daughters and sons
But certain things belong to everyone
Your thievery has left the people none

So take heed of our notice to redress
We have little to lose, we must confess
Your empty words do leave us unimpressed
A growing number join us in protest

We occupy the streets
We occupy the courts
We occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few

You can’t divide us into sides
And from our gaze, you cannot hide
Denial serves to amplify
And our allegiance you can’t buy

Our government is not for sale
The banks do not deserve a bail
We will not reward those who fail
We will not move till we prevail

We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few

We are the many
You are the few

Song from Hell, for a Saturday

This came about from a conversation with my good friend Gayathiri. She finally got to spend some actual time with one of my acquaintances, Jason. She said that he was really nice. I totally agreed. Jason is honestly a positive person. He is an excellent people person when it's his job to listen and work with others. He has impressed several of the volunteers with whom he is working at our local Center. He is actually a joy to be around. A different acquaintance I know dislikes him, but we figured out why: that guy is a person who is just ugly, inside and out, who dislikes Jason because he is a cute, positive, and competent person.

So describing to Gayathiri, I said, "ya, he is just sunshine and lollipops all the time." UGH...that is all it took! Know I am stuck with it in my head...and now you are.

Monday's Song from Hell - April 25th

The back story on how this was pulled off in the Oregon legislature. I wish more legislative bodies treated each other with the respect required to build the kind of trust it must take to do something like this. That legislature is probably able to come to compromises

Monday's Song from Hell - August 30th

Thanks to Misty for getting this stuck in my head.

Finally, the Messiah arrives!

No, not Jesus or any other deity for whom we have been waiting. No, the Messiah...as in Handel's Messiah. As in "Hallelujah Chorus" Messiah. There we go...about 5o% of you just said "Ah" in your heads. The other half may need some learnin'.

Though I just got my hands on it, we performed it way back in December. "We" are the members of the University of Arkansas Master Chorale, an ensemble of community members and UofA students, faculty, and staff. I sang with them last fall and it was a great experience. No audition necessary, but it is still a very good group, especially after the University's audition choir (Schola Cantorum) is added in for concerts. Most people sing one or two choruses. That had been my experience as well through Concert Choir at the UofA and in high school. This time was different. We learned and sang every single chorus.

It took a little longer to produce than they had anticipated. I haven't the foggiest idea about recording technology, but they produced an okay product. Several of the audience members said it was the best they had ever heard a live performance. Having the orchestra surely helped this. Having listened to it I can say the vocalists are drowned out by the instrumentalists a bit, but it does sound nice. As always, too many sopranos ruins the balance and a few squeakers hurt the blend, but it is still an enjoyable listen.

I even got all dressed up for it. How nice...a tux..during the holiday season. I clean up alright, don't I?

Before I forget 2009...

Stolen from Misty's Popcorn on a Skillet.

Year in review 2009

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
Went to grad school, missed my family Christmas

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I kept a big one: do well in school. I also got involved in my community to a great degree. I made a few vague but generally important resolutions for 2010.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My sister-in-law's brother had a his first child.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
He should have been far closer. My grandfather Gravatt died. Read about him here

5. What countries did you visit?
For me, Atlanta and New Orleans are different countries.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
a better functioning car, a summer internship

7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
January 20th, It was cold here and even colder in Washington. Glad so many of my colleagues got to see the Inauguration of a very exciting President.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Becoming a graduate assistantship.

9. What was your biggest failure?
failure to develop more permanent health and leisure habits.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Luckily no.

11.What was the best thing you bought?

The first computer (laptop) I have ever paid for myself. I have had basically cheap hand me downs from family or old jobs for ten years.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
The LGBT community of NWA for becoming tighter and more willing to participate with each other.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Congressional Republicans. Honestly we have rarely seen such obstructionism. Anyone who says otherwise is itching for a fight. I kid....they just really don't know what they are talking about.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Well, most of it was not my money, now was it? Most of my student loan money went to paying general living expenses to keep me fully functioning as a student and community member. I did pay off my car though with a big chunk.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Going to New Orleans and to Atlanta so spend quality time with an old flame.

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Okay, this is where I cheat. I am going to put down four songs because they are around different experiences. I suggest you listen to the ones you don't recognize. Check here for 2009 hits.

Taylor Swift's "You Belong to Me"
Black Eyed Peas' "I gotta feeling"


Glee Cast's "Don't Stop Believin'"


La Roux's "Bulletproof"



17. Compared to this time last year, are you
i. happier or sadder?: happier
ii. thinner or fatter?: probably a shade thinner
iii. richer or poorer? richer (GA stipend is all it took!)

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
physical activity, pleasure reading, movies

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Reading of current events, wasting time on the internet, eating fast food during stress or school work

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
N/A next year is way too far away.

22. Did you fall in love in 2009?
I was reminded often of a deep appreciation and devotion to someone.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
"Glee"

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Sort of yes.... I try not to, but it happens.

26. What was the best book you read?
"Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Klein

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
La Roux (see #16)

28. What did you want and get?
Graduate assistantship, and there was this one cute guy I saw at a bar and we totally pursued each other for a little while.

29. What did you want and not get?
A vegetable garden in the yard

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
Milk

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
27, but I really don't recall what I did.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
my computer not dying on me last spring.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
budding professor at school, but I never forgot my love of baseball caps

34. What kept you sane?
Long conversations with Joey, griping at Misty about foolish people, and a decent roommate

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Obama's speech writer, Jon Favreau

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Health insurance reform. I think the misinformation from the corporate conservatives borders on treason.

37. Who did you miss?
My colleagues from Georgia and Florida.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
If I tell, it will sound like I am not over him. But he is so much like me that we fought like cats and dogs!

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009:
You cannot hold the people you love to the standards that you wish the entire world would adopt. You must love them as is and still teach the world about what you value. The people you love might pick up on it and they might not. Hopefully they will understand your passion and support you whether they meet that standard or not.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Been there, done that, messed around
I’m having fun don’t put me down,
I’ll never let you sweep me off my feet,

Pienso en ti

Okay, time for a new song, this time in Spanish. I first heard this song from a CD of Shakira I checked out in the spring of 2004. I fell in love with the song while driving across the cold, cornfields of Illinois in March on my way to visit some Midwestern college towns during my spring break. She recorded this when she was about 16 years old. It was her first CD that hit big in Latin America. To this day, I say she is a great poet and artist IN SPANISH, and that her English work sucks...plain and simple.

If you don't here it on my blog, here is a link to a video of it Pienso en ti.




First in ENGLISH for you gringos:

Everyday, I think of you,
I think a little bit more of you,
I take apart my heart,
and something inside me is destroyed.
Everyday I think of you,
I think a little bit more of you;
Everytime that the sun comes out
I look for a bit of courage
to continue this way,
And I see you;
that I didn't touch you in that way.
I pray for you every night.
It dawns and I think of you.
The tick-tock of the clocks
rumbles in my ears
and I keep thinking of you,
and I keep thinking....

Now in SPANISH for everyone else:

cada dia pienso en ti
pienso un poco mas en ti
despedazo mi razon
se destruye algo de mi
cada dia pienso en ti
pienso un poco mas en ti

cada dia pienso en ti
pienso un poco mas en ti
cada vez que sale el sol
busco un algo el valor
para continuar asi
y te veo asi no te toque
rezo por ti cada noche
amanece y pienso en ti
y retumba en mis oidos
el tic-tac de los relojes
y sigo pensando en ti
y sigo pensando...

My response to an asinine comment

Okay, I don’t watch too much TV, and have always loathed anything that is too popular, but this year I have been watching some American Idol on YouTube. This past week was Idol Gives Back or something about giving to charity, and each contestant picked a song of inspiration. Together they performed a few numbers that are generally inspirational. One they chose was "Shout to the Lord", a contemporary Christian song popular in many evangelical sects. AI removed the world "Jesus" and replaced it with "sheperd", but the rest of the song has imagery that any Christian will recognize, but that also speaks to persons of other faiths. I didn’t even catch that they took Jesus out until I read that they did. I personally was surprised to hear this kind of song on AI because I thought it was risky for their audience (people who consume popular culture by the shovel full), not just because I am not used to Christian music in the media mainstream.

Fine. It was a group number that needed to be inspirational, and that speaks to people. The other group number was "Seasons of Love" from RENT, a song that focuses on love and friends, but comes from a play full of gay people, drugs, rock music, straight sex, AIDS, New York City, vulgarity, and with a very skeptical, liberal, secular bent. Sounds fair to me. They sang the "nice" song from a risque modern play. They sang a VERY popular Christian song, but changed the reference to Jesus, thus expanding the audience by at least a billion Muslims who will still get the imagery of shepherd, savoir, and a tower of refuge and strenth.

But Christians are bitching. I happened across one blog about it, and got pissed. So I am ranting. One person suggested that the previous contestants that were openly gay would have objected to singing the song had they have still been on the show. Asinine. Rather, what an ass!

Here is part of what this person said:
"I wonder what would have happened if the openly gay singers like David Hernandez and Danny Noreiga were still on? The song was left pretty ’safe’, though, from my view, was still focused on Christian imagery. I don’t know if they would have balked."

This was my response:
"I find your comment about the possibility of openly gay singers "balking" over singing a Christian song plain asinine. Assuming that openly gay people are or are not Christian is prejudice, plain and simple. LGBT people are all over the spectrum when it comes to spirituality, everything from atheist to evangelical Christian.

I thought the night was supposed to be about inspiration and drawing people together to do good. In drawing out everyones better angels, I think coming together over a low common denominator like, say, HUMANITY, is quite appropriate.

Calling forth the images of "the wonders of your mighty love" shouldn’t be reserved to Christians or be used, in this sense, to proselytize. People the world over respect the music of other people, but music that speaks to people directly can help bond humanity together. Common language, themes, ideas, etc, can help everyone who listens understand that humans the world over share core values and cultural imagery.

In this setting, I am sure even some CHRISTIANS feel a little uncomfortable with the idea of asking for charity only through the lense of Christian charity. I think many Americans believe in charity because we are wealthy country and it is a human tragedy that many live in squalor while a slim minority of humanity reaps the benefits of globalization, technology, and capital."

Hell, shouldn’t they have been concerned with perfect Mormon boy David Archuleta (a current favorite to win) singing a song that comes from a worldy play? This just burns me I guess. I grew up Catholic. I still practice (sort of). I sing the contemporary worship sounds because they lift me up and inspire me and make me feel connected to something bigger. Hell, the only reason I even go to Mass any more is to sing in the choir. I leave just as much of a skeptic though, doubting the divinity of Jesus and questioning whether there is anything more than just some bigger thing that is so mysterious that all we can even imagine about it is utterly ridiculous and stupid.

And by the way, let’s be real: that little boy David Archuleta has HOMO written all over him. Give him a few years, time to escape from family and the Mormon church, and he will be singing showtunes on Broadway and giving speeches thanking some ridiculously good-looking stud for his support over the years. I love him to death, he is talented and cute, and maybe he is not actually gay, but let’s be real....

So I am going to leave you with two things.
1) the link to blog article so you can read it for yourself and
2) a song. A very interesting song in that it has changed over time. The orginal score was part of a larger patriotic piece called "Finlandia" by Jean Sibelius that was changed into a stand alone piece called "Finlandia Hymn" that quickly became a pseudo anthem of Finland. It was so beautiful though, the music, that an international version was written with lyrics that almost all nations on earth could identify with patriotically, but with a great respect for the peoples of all other nations. This is the version that most of us know as "This is my song." Here is a link to the different versions of the lyrics, check it out to see how it was changed to draw the whole world into the audience. This song literally makes me cry when I here it done well. It is beautiful and really speaks to the fact that we are all humans on this earth and that others have feelings and passions just as real as our own.

Link to the video in case my embed doesn’t work!


http://www.youtube.com/v/pCjuxePRyCo