'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Baron Dave Romm
Music for Moms
By Baron Dave Romm
Intro: Last summer, I acquired two neices. They're really my cousins' kids who were just-over-three and not-quite-two, but we decided that "uncle" was a lot easier to explain to them. Somewhat innocently, I asked if they wanted some music, since I have been making tapes/CDs for my nephew for years and have a great deal of children's music (see previous entries). "Sure," they said mildly befuddled, not really knowing what to expect. Most music for infants is pretty boring for adults, especially when played as often as little kids demand. I set out to make mixes that kids would like that wouldn't drive the adults crazy, so both mother and daughter could listen over and over.
So while the prime audience was the kid, this was for the mom as well. I wound up with four CDs worth of songs. They each got a set of all four, and reports back indicate that they love 'em, and play 'em a lot. I'm only going to talk about one of them here, but if I get enough requests I'll go on to review the whole project. Heck, it's about time for another one or two, since I have even more kids music now.
I bent the rules a little with the first one for Toby, the youngest neice, since there are a few songs that are aimed at little kids. Still, after a few years of listening (and talking) baby talk, I figured the moms wouldn't mind. Here's the tracks, discussion to follow.
1. Dandelion - Gary Rosen 3:49
2. Going to the Zoo - Peter, Paul & Mary 3:09
3. Baby Elephant Walk - Henry Mancini 2:43
4. Three Is A Magic Number - Schoolhouse Rock 3:13
5. We're Gonna Shine - Fred Penner 2:50
6. Bumps A Daisy - Teletubbies 2:53
7. Drummers Drumming - Dr. Seuss 1:09
8. El Condor Pasa - Ch'uwa Yacu Bolivia 4:11
9. Feed The Birds - Mary Poppins 3:48
10. First Lullaby - Bill Staines 2:34
11. Sounds of Words - Special Music Company 3:14
12. I Have You - Connie Kaldor 2:36
13. Early - Pat Travis 3:46
14. Michael Row The Boat Ashore - Disney 2:28
15. My Heart Would Be A Fireball - Fireball XL-5 1:08
16. Oh Dear What Can The Matter Be? - Disney 1:37
17. Polly Wolly Doodle - Burl Ives 1:55
18. Mana Vu - Brave Combo 4:17
19. Old House - World of Music 1:09
20. Tra La La Song - The Banana Splits 1:24
21. Russian Slumber Song - World of Music 1:18
22, Seven Days of the Week - Special Music Company 1:16
23. Stella Stegasaurus - DinoRock 2:37
24. Teletubbies Say Eh oh (Again Again Mix) 5:38
25. The Sound Song - World of Music 1:52
26. On Top of Spaghetti - Tom Glazer 2:39
27. The Super Supper March - Dr. Seuss 1:15
28. Pumpernickel - Barney 1:34
29. Cake For Breakfast - Greg Lee 3:05
Dandelion is a great beginning song, with a gentle opening and female chorus. "How do you know it's really Spring?" asks the song, then answers: Dandelions. A dash of French (dandelion="lion's tooth"). I put other PPM songs on the other CDs, and Going to the Zoo is a good introduction to them; bouncy, with a kids chorus. Start with two songs about subjects that kids and adults can relate to. Baby Elephant Walk is a nice instrumental from Mancini and segues from the zoo and contains the word "Baby" in the title. Every mom of a certain age gets misty-eyed about Schoolhouse Rock, and Three Is A Magic Number was the first and is still my favorite. Perhaps learning to multiply by three is a bit young for a two year old, but it's a great song and you might as well start on the math now. We're Gonna Shine is repetitious but uplifting, with a chorus in French. Kids love Teletubbies, and Bumps A Daisy is a great instrumental (presumably a dance) with fun noises and giggles all the way through. Though the lyrics are credited to Dr. Seuss, Drummers Drumming is a mostly a cappella counterpoint of people singing the drum parts ("rattle tattle rattle tattle need a little rattle tattle...") with a snare and minimal instruments complimenting the voices.
The Simon & Garfunkel version of El Condor Pasa has almost nothing to do with the song from the Andes, and this pan flute instrumental has no lyrics. Still, it's a great song and the adults will compare with the more familiar version. Meanwhile, Feed the Birds is not only my favorite Disney song (and Walt's too, while he was alive) and is another entry point for mother and child to appreciate at different levels. Maybe the kid will eventually see Mary Poppins; I hope so. One lullabye is followed by First Lullabye. A slower song with a chorus in French; I like having songs in other languages for kids, though this mix is a bit heavy on the French; I get into Spanish and Icelandic on other CDs. I used a lot of Bill Staines in these mixes. This is followed by one of the few songs that aren't really for adults. It simply goes through the alphabet and gives examples of Sounds of Words. Still, it's a nice little song that you can sing along to and may help a kid learn to talk. I Have You is a mother's soothing words to her child; gentle and loving. Early, a Greg Brown song, is an uplifting tale of a midwestern town, giving a sense of place to a child.
Started in on the classics with the next sequence. The Disney version of Michael Row Your Boat Ashore, sung by kids, is the best one I have that's pitched to a young audience. This is followed by the first song where I get to be a bit subversive: My Heart Would Be A Fireball, the closing song to the Gerry Anderson Supermarionation show from the mid-60s. Fireball XL5 may not hold up, but the song is still great and the kids get a dash of science fiction. Maybe the adults remember the song fondly too. I was raised on Burl Ives and other folkies, and this version of Polly Wolly Doodle (with the Ray Charles Singers) goes waaay back. Perhaps a bit overproduced, but what the heck. Mana Vu, in Hebrew, is a tranquil Israeli dance to a Yemenite step (claims the liner notes). This is followed by a short spiritual about tearing down and building a house; a call and response with a pastor-like deep voice and kids chorus. Another indulgence: The Banana Splits show was pretty dumb, but I loved the music, including the theme, the Tra La La Song. After some nearly incomprehensible lyrics, the Russian Slumber Song is an instrumental giving the feel of the music from that country. The Seven Days of the Week is another one that's mainly for little kids, but is good enough that adults can get by it. Then a great bouncy dinosaur song about a shy Stella Stegasaurus, another slightly subversive song to perk an interest in the subject. (The kids sing: "Stella/please tell a/nice fella/like me. What was the world like/in One Hundred Million BC?") From dinosaurs back to the Teletubbies. This is their theme but in a longer remix. Kids who watch the show will like it, and even the repititive nature of the song is handled well enough for the adults. Maybe that will hold for The Sound Song, the last of the little kid tracks that adults would just as soon skip.
I end with four food songs. Yum! Tom Glazer, who died a few months ago, sings and teaches a kids chorus On Top of Spaghetti. For how subversive this song is, even adults remember it fondly. Dr. Suess' dinner plans may not be to your taste, but the Super Supper March is enormously fun. Adults may hate Barney, but he pops a good song or two including Pumpernickel, about various kinds of breads. The Greg Lee song you're probably most familiar with is Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?, and Cake For Breakfast is off that CD. ("Last night I dreamed about cake for breakfast. Two big pieces just for me. They're standing there on a paper platter, covered with a doily.") Bouncy and upbeat, about sleeping and eating cake. It's such a subversive song that the track before it is an apology. Adults will love this song as much as the kids.
That's enough for this week. This is the youngest-pitched CD I've ever made. The other CDs in the set don't have the little kid songs and I get to be even more avuncular with song selection. I've played DJ long enough that making mix tapes is fun, and I get to play with my CDs! Playing DJ for two different audiences at the same time is trickier, but that's part of the fun as well. Whee!
By the way... my mother has a copy of this CD. Hi Mom!
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia with a radio show, a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. He reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E here, and you can hear the last two Shockwave broadcasts in Real Audio here (scroll down to Shockwave). Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air, and I'm collecting extra-weird stuff for a possible CD compilation.
People gather to form a drawing similar to Picasso's Mother and child on the Venice Beach in Santa Monica, California, May 11, 2003. Around a thousand people took part in the event to mark Mother's Day.
Photo by Paul Kibbey
from Alvin
'D I C K'
Cheney On Board For '04 Run
MIDI
D I C K {Sung to 'Clair' by Gilbert O'Sullivan}
{As Sung by pResident Bush to Vice President Dick Cheney}:
Dick, the moment that you were hand-picked
I felt as if we can always click
You just had to stick
You're calm and so cool
I'm scared... with events like these so tragic
I just wish your heart weren't so sick
I hope you don't go; so much I don't know
But try as hard as I might, I just can't argue
I don't know much about the issues
My mind is slack, but I know how to pay back
I don't care what people think
They think I'm the weakest link
Oh Dick!
Dick!...
Dick, if ever a moment so rare
Was captured for all to compare
That moment is you, it's all that you do
That's why... as Vice-pRes, you're my kind of power guy
With you behind me, I can always lie
You say: 'Go nap, I'll handle this stuff for you
So you won't have much to do'
The Duke of Oil is oh-so-slick!
Oh Dick!
Dick!...
{break}
Dick, it's foreign affairs that I dread
Too much for my head, it could drive me to drink
If I did have to think, and my polls could still sink
Yes, you.... run the show after our election theft
Stop opposition 'til there's nothing left
With every hour, I'm getting drunken with power
But you're the Boss, I won't sour
Hey, can I sleep in today?
Oh Dick!
Dick!...
What a Dick!
Alvin (-.-)
Thanks, Alvin!
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Another sunny, breezy day.
Got to sleep in, so took full advantage. Then we went to brunch, ate a huge meal, came home and did very little except snack on leftovers.
Only a month of school left for the kid, and I'm grateful.
Tonight, Monday, CBS opens the evening with a FRESH 'King Of Queens', followed by a FRESH 'Yes, Dear', then a
FRESH 'Raymond', followed by the Season Finale of 'Still Standing', and then a FRESH 'CSI: Miami'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Dave is the winner of "Survivor: The Amazon".
Scheduled on a FRESH Craiggers are Carl Reiner and Kelly Clarkson.
NBC starts the night with the Season Finale of 'Fear Factor', followed by a FRESH made-for-tv movie 'Behind The Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company' (told from Joyce DeWitt's POV).
Scheduled on a FRESH Jay are Mike Myers, Simon Cowell, and Robbie Williams, with special guest host Katie Couric.
On a RERUN Conan are Christopher Walken, Laura Prepon, and Nada Surf.
On a RERUN Carson Daly are Matthew Lillard and Papa Roach.
ABC kills yet another hour with yet another blooper show - this time it's 'All ABC Bloopers', followed by the FRESH made-for-tv movie 'The Diary Of Ellen Rimbauer'.
On a RERUN Jimmy Kimmel (from 4/3/03), are Marlon Wayans, Ali Landry, and Time Lapse Consortium, with guest co-host Mike Tyson.
The WB offers a FRESH '7th Heaven', followed by a FRESH 'Everwood'.
Faux has the Season Finale of 'Boston Pubic', followed by 'Mr. Personality'.
UPN offers a FRESH 'The Parkers', followed by a FRESH 'One On One', then a FRESH 'Girlfriends', and then the
Season Finale of 'Half & Half'.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Former President Bill Clinton greets graduates at the end of Syracuse University's 149th Commencement in Syracuse, N.Y., Sunday, May 11, 2003. Clinton was the keynote speaker.
Photo by Kevin Rivoli
Thursday Night
Total Lunar Eclipse
If the weather cooperates, a total lunar eclipse will be seen across North America late Thursday — the first visible in the United States in three years — and just before dawn Friday in western Europe and western and southern Africa.
In North America, the moon will remain totally eclipsed for 53 minutes, and should turn substantially darker and reddish in color.
The total eclipse will start at 8:13 PDT in Los Angeles, 11:13 p.m. EDT in New York.
Total Lunar Eclipse
Naval Observatory
Griffith Observatory
Honorary Hollywood Mayor Johnny Grant holds up a cupcake as he celebrates his 80th birthday with friends, from left, Red Buttons Mickey Rooney and Jan Rooney, Saturday night, May 10, 2003, in the Hollyood section of Los Angeles.
Photo by Mark J. Terrill
Wedding News
Carol Channing
Carol Channing, the 82-year-old actress best known for her role in the Broadway musical "Hello, Dolly" married her childhood sweetheart, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Sunday.
The ceremony in a San Francisco suburb on Saturday was the fourth marriage for Channing and the second for the groom.
Kullijian and Channing were junior high school sweethearts at San Francisco's Aptos Junior High School, until Channing's mother ended the relationship because she thought her daughter was too forward, the newspaper reported.
Carol Channing
Frustrated on Media Review
FCC Democrats
The Federal Communications Commission's two Democrats said Friday they are frustrated by lack of information on the agency's review of media ownership rules and their chairman's refusal to make proposed changes public.
FCC Chairman Michael Powell has said repeatedly that the rules are outdated and should be changed. The two other Republican commissioners are thought to have similar views.
Commissioner Michael Copps, one of the FCC's two Democrats, said that with only a few weeks until the vote, "We don't know what we're going to be working on. It's like a state secret."
Copps has traveled around the country with fellow FCC Democrat Jonathan Adelstein in recent months to get public comment on the review. Powell refused their repeated requests to have more than one public FCC hearing.
Powell has said there is no need for more public comment, and he sees no reason to delay.
Adelstein said the June 2 vote is "a rush to judgment." He said he asked Powell to make the recommendations public in a briefing to the commissioners, but the chairman refused.
"Most people in this country have no idea what's about to happen to them even though their very democracy is at stake," he said.
FCC Democrats
FCC
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
No Longer Endorses HRT
Patti LaBelle
R&B's Patti LaBelle has revealed that she's no longer using the controversial hormone-replacement drug for menopausal women that she used to endorse in television commercials.
LaBelle said: "I felt really, really bad when I heard the news that it was dangerous so I haven't used my hormone replacement therapy, my Prempro, for about maybe a year since that controversy happened."
LaBelle said: "I hope the folk don't think that I knew that it wasn't credible because the reason I did the commercials is because I used it. I'd been using it forever."
Patti LaBelle
Afghan women purchase burqas at a roadside shop in Kabul, May 11, 2003. Women were forced to wear the all-enveloping burqa during the five year rule of the fundamentalist Taliban regime, which was toppled by U.S.-led forces late 2001. But despite the departure of the Taliban, many women in the cities and countryside still wear the burqa even though there is no restriction on them from the present U.S.-backed government.
Photo by Kamal Kishore
Attended Caymans Celebration
Prince Edward
Britain's Prince Edward presided over the Cayman Islands' first Seafarers Festival, marking the day 500 years ago when Christopher Columbus first sighted the islands.
"This is a record of your unique history. Be proud of it, celebrate your successes, and use that confidence to build your future," Edward told a crowd of about 300 at the unveiling of the Wall of History and the Mariner's Memorial.
The wall comprises 500 tiles depicting scenes from each of the years since Columbus discovered the islands on May 10, 1503, on his fourth and last voyage to the New World.
Prince Edward
Cayman Islands
Show Will Go On As Planned
Bruce Springsteen
After several hearings, magistrates in the UK have decided that Bruce Springsteen's sold-out show in Manchester on May 29 will go ahead as planned.
Last month, town officials decided Springsteen would not be allowed to perform at the open air venue after local residents complained about the noise caused by other recent concerts there. One man, who lives just 700 yards from the site said, "It's like listening to a rock concert in bed. We can't watch television or do anything." However, the promoters appealed the cancellation of Springsteen's show and on Thursday (May 8) the court overturned their ruling and decided the concert will go on as planned--making 50,000 fans very happy.
Bruce Springsteen
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Focusing on Being Relevant
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Jimi Hendrix and U2 are five floors and nearly a generation apart at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum along Lake Erie's shore.
Still, there's a connection, and the nonprofit museum is hoping to emphasize such connections to keep the hall relevant to a new generation and remain financially secure. It also plans to offer more concerts and quicker exhibit changes to bring in visitors.
It hopes blockbuster exhibits like last year's John Lennon event, which included some of his handwritten song drafts and materials from Yoko Ono's archive, plus a regular diet of new, smaller shows, will keep it fresh and encourage return visits.
The rock hall has another tool it has used increasingly in recent years: stars taking VIP tours of the museum after performing in the area.
That's how the U2 exhibit emerged, as the group got a look and offered their help in crafting the display.
The U2 exhibit traces the group's Dublin origins and includes the first drum Larry Mullen Jr. used with the group, tour posters and early rejection letters from recording studios.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
This precious sculpture called 'Saliera' by Florentine sculptor Benvenuto Cellini of the 16th century was stolen from Vienna's Art History Museum in the night of Sunday May 11, 2003. The rare goldsmith piece is estimated at a value of 50 million euros.
Down in Laguna there's an annual art festival that includes 'The Pageant of the Masters', where great art is recreated on stage. About 20 years ago, my cousin took part in the pageant, portraying the female character on this
now stolen 'Saliera'. Some links about the pageant:
Pageant Of The Masters - Program 2003 (9 July - 29 August)
Some Background
No Pressure To Play McVie Songs
Fleetwood Mac
Christine McVie may no longer be with Fleetwood Mac, but her music still is. At the band's tour-opening concert Wednesday (May 7) in Columbus, Ohio, they played two McVie songs: the hit "Don't Stop," and "World Turning," which McVie co-wrote with guitarist Lindsey Buckingham. Stevie Nicks covered McVie's parts on both songs.
Christine McVie wrote a number of Fleetwood Mac's hits, and Buckingham admitted her absence will prevent Fleetwood Mac from doing more of them. "Obviously we're not doing too much of the Christine stuff," Buckingham said. "We're trying to show her the respect just by including one or two. We don't feel like we have to go out and do all of her songs."
Fleetwood Mac's current tour, in support of their just-released album Say You Will, marks the first time the group has performed without McVie since she joined the band in 1970. She made the decision to leave the group in 1997, claiming she wasn't interested in touring anymore--though she does perform on some of the songs on Say You Will.
Fleetwood Mac
A Bit O' Irony
Bush Visit
Employees of a plastics plant have been told they'll need to make up the time they're off work while the plant is used as the site of a speech by resident Bush on his economic and employment proposals.
The resident, who has been campaigning across the country to drum up support for his tax cut and economic plan, scheduled a speech Monday at the Airlite Plastics Co.
Bush is expected to speak to the company's 575 employees about how his economic stimulus plan would benefit them.
Airlite president and CEO Brad Crosby said workers will be given one of four options during the visit: work their regular shift in an adjacent plant not visited by the resident, take the day off and make up the work on Saturday, use one of their vacation days, or take an unpaid day off.
The Washington Post said Airlite would shut down its first shift and parts of the second shift Monday to accommodate the resident's appearance.
The White House chose Airlite Plastics for Bush's speech from a list of choices submitted by local officials, said David Kramer, chairman of the Nebraska Republican Party.
Bush Visit
Gave Commencement Address
Danny Aiello
Danny Aiello didn't just attend his granddaughter's graduation — he also gave the commencement speech to her and 264 classmates.
La Roche College also bestowed an honorary doctorate on him Saturday during graduation for a class that included his granddaughter, Dawn Marie Aiello.
Aiello, 69, said during his speech he lacked discipline and dedication to earn a degree. He dropped out of high school after six months and enlisted in the Army at 17.
Danny Aiello
Suspends Operations
Florida Philharmonic
The Florida Philharmonic suspended operations Saturday after officials failed to come up with $500,000 to pay their musicians for the next month.
The orchestra's 80 musicians were told not to come to rehearsal Saturday or to work Monday, but the financially strapped organization has not yet filed for bankruptcy, spokesman Bill Underwood said.
The 19-year-old orchestra's collapse follows the failures of several others nationally, most recently in Colorado Springs, Colo., Savannah, Ga., and San Antonio.
Florida Philharmonic
From The Heart Of The Laurel Highlands
Rolling Rock Town Fair
After successfully branding the event in the rock hotbed of Latrobe, Pa., producers of the fourth annual Rolling Rock Town Fair are moving the festival to Pittsburgh's Heinz Field for this year's July 26 concert.
On the bill for the festival -- which is named for the much-loved brew that calls Latrobe home -- are Blink-182, Puddle of Mudd, 311, Def Leppard, Sum 41, Saliva, and Trapt.
From the beginning, the mandate was to connect live rock music with the unique vibe of Rolling Rock.
Another goal was to be different amid summer's multi-act concert clutter, and the "town fair" concept--with beer gardens, carnival attractions, and a full day of ancillary activities to augment the rock'n'roll -- proved effective. For three years the event did well at the Westmoreland Fairgrounds in Latrobe, roughly 45 minutes outside of Pittsburgh. About 30,000 attended in 2000, and 50,000 and 45,000 came in 2001 and 2002, respectively.
The festival has become popular with bands. "Rolling Rock happens to be my favorite beer," Deryck Whibley of Sum 41 notes. "So I'm looking forward to all the free Rolling Rock I can drink."
For more, Rolling Rock Town Fair
North American Box Office
Top 10 Movies
Following are the top 10 movies at the North American box office for the May 9-11 weekend, according to studio estimates collected on Sunday by Reuters. Final data will be issued on Monday.
1 (1) X2: X-Men United .......... $41.4 million
2 (*) Daddy Day Care ............ $27.6 million
3 (2) The Lizzie McGuire Movie .. $ 7.8 million
4 (3) Identity .................. $ 6.3 million
5 (4) Anger Management .......... $ 5.5 million
6 (5) Holes ..................... $ 4.6 million
7(14) A Mighty Wind ............. $ 2.9 million
8 (6) Malibu's Most Wanted ...... $ 2.1 million
9(10) Bend It Like Beckham ...... $ 1.7 million
10 (7) Confidence ................ $ 1.5 million
NOTE: Last weekend's ranking in parenthesis.
"*" = new release.
Top 10 Movies
Stunt man Gary Connery performs a BASE jump from Nelson's Column, which is draped with a poster of the spiritual leader of Tibet the Dalai Lama, in Trafalgar Square in London, May 9, 2003. The spectacle took place as part of a protest organised by campaigning group Act For Tibet against China's occupation of Tibet.
Photo by Russell Boyce
'Ark of Darkness'
"The Ark of Darkness", a Political/Science-Fiction work, in tidy, weekly installments (and updated every Friday).
Fresh On Friday
'The Osbournes'
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 4
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 3
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 2
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 1
