Man, I've almost written a ton of blog posts lately. See, back when I forced myself to blog daily (or later, near-daily), I would sit down at my computer and think, Gee, what should I blog about today? And then I'd just ramble on about whatever was on my mind, unless that thought was too complicated for me to articulate at one in the morning (which happened frequently). Were I not already determined that I would be blogging something, many of those thoughts would have stayed in my head. I know this because it is exactly what has been happening lately. Now, instead of starting with the decision "I am going to blog today" and fitting a thought to it, I start with a thought, "I wonder why so much Christmas pop culture is so terrible?" and eventually the train of thought turns to, "Hey, I ought to blog about this," but when one a.m. roles around, the train of thought has pretty much run its course in my head, so I feel no need to put it out on the screen any longer. Thus, without the predetermined outcome that I will share my thoughts, I usually don't.
What have I almost blogged about this month?
--the "culture" of Christmas
--my favorite Christmas songs
--my least favorite Christmas songs
--a poem I was working on
--a short story I was thinking about
--Robbie's school Christmas pageant (you can see the pic on my flickr site, tho)
--my own church's Christmas special (my script, and all the nerves that came with it)
--why I don't participate in religious, political, or philosophical discussions on FB or Twitter
--the Texans winning the division (and subsequently becoming the Texans of...every year before this one)
--Robbie's first hockey game, and the possibly-divinely-won free tickets that made it all possible
--keeping faith in the face of financial struggles
--our upcoming Christmas road trip
--taking the kids from my church to the Players' to see Christmas Pageant
--why Gremlins is such a wonderfully absurd and grotesque Christmas classic
--Feliz Navidadgehangen
--A new RNGOTM
And a few other, "deeper" subjects I don't remember any more.
That would have made for some interesting reading, huh???
However, I have been spending this month working on some other, smaller writing projects, and they've been eating my time and creative juices, even if they've been very slow in coming.
Anyway, heading home for Christmas tomorrow morning. I have to stay up late until the bread in the breadmaker is finished. We have an 11-day 3-state whirlwind of family and festivity ahead of us. I estimate at least 40 hours of driving time. That will probably not be fun. Plus, I've finally got the head cold that the rest of my family has been fighting through. Just like at Thanksgiving! I think it will be good, though. I'm stoked to see my sister and brother-in-law for the first time since their wedding. And to see the in-laws' new house for the first time. And to (hopefully) revive the New Year's Eve hockey tradition (albeit in OKC). And to just get a chance to relax and maybe focus on some reading or writing. (I think I read almost 600 pages over Thanksgiving break) I'll also need to update my reading blog. Operation: Christmas Reading has been pretty funny. And fairly disastrous. So I've wanted to wait until I've got enough time and focus to sit down and write a good review for each of the lumps of literary coal I've labored my way through so far this month. Oh, and it looks like I'm actually going to end up with an average of just over one book per week this year. Which is not a lot to some of you, but it's a great step forward for me.
In case I don't log back on before Sunday, Merry Christmas, everyone. And have a happy new year. I won't have Internet access on the 31st, so I won't get to write an absurdly long year-in-review post this year, but if I could I promise it'd be a lot happier review than last year's.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
v2, d428: A Carol for Baboushka
Are you familiar with Baboushka? I wasn't until I checked out a Caldecott-winning children's storybook from the library. Now, I can't claim this source is 100% accurate, but here's the cliff-notes version:
Baboushka was an old woman who lived alone in Russia. One blizzardy night, the three kings stop by her place on the way to find the newborn King. They say they've been following the star, but the snowstorm has made them lose track of it and they want a place to stop until the storm blows over. Baboushka opens up her home to them, and the three kings tell her the wonders of the Baby they're seeking. They even offer her the chance to go along, and Baboushka is thrilled. However, she asks if they're willing to wait until morning, and they insist they have to leave out that night. Thus, Baboushka gets left behind.
Later in the evening, she changes her mind and decides she wants to go with the wise men after all. She gathers up (or makes, I don't remember which) some simple toys for the baby and sets out after the wise men. Unfortunately, the snow has completely covered their tracks and she can't find any trace of them, so she wanders the countryside looking for them. She goes door to door, but nobody can tell her for certain where the kings are. And, to this day, every Christmas Eve she goes from house to house, seeking the Christ-child, and leaving toys for the children of the house in His honor.
Interesting that our symbol of gift-giving is a jolly fat man who lives in extravagance at the North Pole with magic and legions of workers who mass-produce toys for him, while Russian children have a kind-hearted beggar woman leaving gifts she made herself in honor of Christ.
Anyway, I worked up a little Christmas carol in honor of Baboushka and her neverending quest to find the wise men. I hope you like it.
(the song opens with a lovely strings section)
Where did they go?
I was searching (searching) for three men, quite wise
I was hoping (hoping) I might find those guys
I was looking for some camel footprints in the snow
(They're gone so long)
What can I do?
(Where did they go?)
Nyet, nyet, nyet
Don't know what I'm going to do
I've got to catch up with you.
You better slow down (slow down) sweet talkin' wise men (slow down)
That wind is blowing (blow, blow) My toes are freezing
Hold on (hold on) sweet talkin' wise men (hold on)
Feels like I'll search for you forever.
I was (making) little dolls and toys
To be giving (giving) to God's favorite Boy
I forgot to ask which star to chase
(They're gone so long)
What do I do?
(Where could they be?)
Nyet, nyet, nyet
Don't know what I'm going to do
I gotta catch up to you.
You better slow down (slow down) sweet talkin' wise men (slow down)
That wind is blowing (blow, blow) My toes are freezing
Hold on (hold on) sweet talkin' wise men (hold on)
Feels like I'll search for you forever.
I've been knocking (knocking) on my neighbor's door
I've been sleeping (sleeping) on a stranger's floor
People say you're prob'ly dead by now
(They're gone so long)
It's 2011.
(Folks have a point)
Nyet, nyet, nyet,
Don't know what I'm going to do.
I gotta catch up to you.
Oh,
You better slow down (slow down) sweet talkin' wise men (slow down)
That wind is blowing (blow, blow) My toes are freezing
Hold on (hold on) sweet talkin' wise men (hold on)
Feels like I'll search for you forever.
*************
(As always, a little help if you need a reference point)
Baboushka was an old woman who lived alone in Russia. One blizzardy night, the three kings stop by her place on the way to find the newborn King. They say they've been following the star, but the snowstorm has made them lose track of it and they want a place to stop until the storm blows over. Baboushka opens up her home to them, and the three kings tell her the wonders of the Baby they're seeking. They even offer her the chance to go along, and Baboushka is thrilled. However, she asks if they're willing to wait until morning, and they insist they have to leave out that night. Thus, Baboushka gets left behind.
Later in the evening, she changes her mind and decides she wants to go with the wise men after all. She gathers up (or makes, I don't remember which) some simple toys for the baby and sets out after the wise men. Unfortunately, the snow has completely covered their tracks and she can't find any trace of them, so she wanders the countryside looking for them. She goes door to door, but nobody can tell her for certain where the kings are. And, to this day, every Christmas Eve she goes from house to house, seeking the Christ-child, and leaving toys for the children of the house in His honor.
Interesting that our symbol of gift-giving is a jolly fat man who lives in extravagance at the North Pole with magic and legions of workers who mass-produce toys for him, while Russian children have a kind-hearted beggar woman leaving gifts she made herself in honor of Christ.
Anyway, I worked up a little Christmas carol in honor of Baboushka and her neverending quest to find the wise men. I hope you like it.
(the song opens with a lovely strings section)
Where did they go?
I was searching (searching) for three men, quite wise
I was hoping (hoping) I might find those guys
I was looking for some camel footprints in the snow
(They're gone so long)
What can I do?
(Where did they go?)
Nyet, nyet, nyet
Don't know what I'm going to do
I've got to catch up with you.
You better slow down (slow down) sweet talkin' wise men (slow down)
That wind is blowing (blow, blow) My toes are freezing
Hold on (hold on) sweet talkin' wise men (hold on)
Feels like I'll search for you forever.
I was (making) little dolls and toys
To be giving (giving) to God's favorite Boy
I forgot to ask which star to chase
(They're gone so long)
What do I do?
(Where could they be?)
Nyet, nyet, nyet
Don't know what I'm going to do
I gotta catch up to you.
You better slow down (slow down) sweet talkin' wise men (slow down)
That wind is blowing (blow, blow) My toes are freezing
Hold on (hold on) sweet talkin' wise men (hold on)
Feels like I'll search for you forever.
I've been knocking (knocking) on my neighbor's door
I've been sleeping (sleeping) on a stranger's floor
People say you're prob'ly dead by now
(They're gone so long)
It's 2011.
(Folks have a point)
Nyet, nyet, nyet,
Don't know what I'm going to do.
I gotta catch up to you.
Oh,
You better slow down (slow down) sweet talkin' wise men (slow down)
That wind is blowing (blow, blow) My toes are freezing
Hold on (hold on) sweet talkin' wise men (hold on)
Feels like I'll search for you forever.
*************
(As always, a little help if you need a reference point)
Saturday, December 3, 2011
v2, d427: This Blog Still Flies
The Great Thanksgiving Road Trip went pretty well, overall. Unfortunately, I was pretty sick for just about the whole thing. And Kim was sick for part of it, too. As was Isaac, who had RSV and needed to breathe medication through a mask three times a day. So I won't say it was a perfect holiday, but it was good times with good food. And we got to see my folks in OKC for a day at Chuck E. Cheese. Robbie had never been to a CEC. I hadn't been since (I think) we moved from California, which was 1988. (August 8th, for the record. The day before Wayne Gretzky was traded to the L.A. Kings) I seem to remember loving Chuck E Cheese and especially the large animatronic characters who would sing for guests' entertainment. Apparently, however, this is not the case, as my mom, dad, and sister all went on and on about how I was terrified of these characters as a child. Funny the different ways we remember things twenty years later.
At any rate, I remember thinking that Showtime was a pretty big deal at CEC. At this CEC...not so much. While my childhood's memories had Chuck E. flanked by an entire animatronic backup band, this iteration of the franchise featured a robot Chuck E. and a TV screen where he interacted with puppet versions of his friends from my memory. It wasn't the same, and I couldn't really blame all the kids in the restaurant for completely ignoring the musical numbers. Also, they ought to allow Chuck E. to have a degree of manual control rather than being completely pre-programmed. During the few moments when a couple of kids gathered by his stage to watch the show, Chuck E. was usually looking in a completely different direction than the kids were standing. "Are you guys enjoying the show?" he'd ask an entire row of empty tables while four cute little ones stood off to the side, hoping Chuck E. would talk to them.
(Now that I think about it, the only concrete memory I have of CEC as a kid was the entire cast singing Neil Diamond's "America," which was my absolute favorite song as a four-year-old)
Robbie loved Chuck E. Cheese, and I don't think he even realized there was a show element. He was happy playing games even before he knew he could get prizes with the tickets he won. Whack-A-Mole has become pretty high tech. Instead of physically whacking tangible objects that pop out of holes in front of you, you now use a toy mallet to whap a TV screen that has mice scurrying across it. You hit them and actually get to see them smush before little mouse angels leave their lifeless mousey bodies. Now, I'm trying not to be one of those "Back in my day..." old guys, but...that's just not quite right. There was also a game where you had to use a water gun to shoot monsters, and the game was rigged with plexiglass all around it so you couldn't spray everyone with water. Except that Robbie found the one corner of the game that, when hit directly, would send water splashing back far enough to get himself wet. And so he just aimed for that one spot over and over and over. The kid was actually pretty wet by the time he was done playing games.
The car trips were actually not that bad. Isaac slept for half of the drive and he sat happily looking out the window/ playing with his duck/ sticking his tongue out at Robbie the rest of the time. I can't recall a single instance he started crying much the whole way to Oklahoma or back. Robbie didn't fare quite so well--sitting still is not so easy for him, even in short intervals of time. But we all made it. Gives me hope for Christmas, because we'll be traveling a lot for Christmas.
I'm enjoying our Christmas season so far. We got the tree up the day we returned from OK, we've been listening to the music, Robbie's in a play at his school (he's playing one of the wise men), and I recently checked five Christmas-themed books out of the library since I don't have our TV working and we're missing the annual Cheesy Christmas TV Special-palooza. Isaac is crawling now, so he's becoming a lot more fun (and challenging) to play with. I recently had another play accepted for publication, and that's exciting. My sleep difficulties are coming back, which is unfortunate, but so far I'm not staying up till 5 like I was before we moved. Five Iron Frenzy is officially coming back, and I almost wrote a long blog about that but I was too tired at the time. Still, seems like a good idea to wrap up this post with a video for their new song. Enjoy, and talk to you again soon!
At any rate, I remember thinking that Showtime was a pretty big deal at CEC. At this CEC...not so much. While my childhood's memories had Chuck E. flanked by an entire animatronic backup band, this iteration of the franchise featured a robot Chuck E. and a TV screen where he interacted with puppet versions of his friends from my memory. It wasn't the same, and I couldn't really blame all the kids in the restaurant for completely ignoring the musical numbers. Also, they ought to allow Chuck E. to have a degree of manual control rather than being completely pre-programmed. During the few moments when a couple of kids gathered by his stage to watch the show, Chuck E. was usually looking in a completely different direction than the kids were standing. "Are you guys enjoying the show?" he'd ask an entire row of empty tables while four cute little ones stood off to the side, hoping Chuck E. would talk to them.
(Now that I think about it, the only concrete memory I have of CEC as a kid was the entire cast singing Neil Diamond's "America," which was my absolute favorite song as a four-year-old)
Robbie loved Chuck E. Cheese, and I don't think he even realized there was a show element. He was happy playing games even before he knew he could get prizes with the tickets he won. Whack-A-Mole has become pretty high tech. Instead of physically whacking tangible objects that pop out of holes in front of you, you now use a toy mallet to whap a TV screen that has mice scurrying across it. You hit them and actually get to see them smush before little mouse angels leave their lifeless mousey bodies. Now, I'm trying not to be one of those "Back in my day..." old guys, but...that's just not quite right. There was also a game where you had to use a water gun to shoot monsters, and the game was rigged with plexiglass all around it so you couldn't spray everyone with water. Except that Robbie found the one corner of the game that, when hit directly, would send water splashing back far enough to get himself wet. And so he just aimed for that one spot over and over and over. The kid was actually pretty wet by the time he was done playing games.
The car trips were actually not that bad. Isaac slept for half of the drive and he sat happily looking out the window/ playing with his duck/ sticking his tongue out at Robbie the rest of the time. I can't recall a single instance he started crying much the whole way to Oklahoma or back. Robbie didn't fare quite so well--sitting still is not so easy for him, even in short intervals of time. But we all made it. Gives me hope for Christmas, because we'll be traveling a lot for Christmas.
I'm enjoying our Christmas season so far. We got the tree up the day we returned from OK, we've been listening to the music, Robbie's in a play at his school (he's playing one of the wise men), and I recently checked five Christmas-themed books out of the library since I don't have our TV working and we're missing the annual Cheesy Christmas TV Special-palooza. Isaac is crawling now, so he's becoming a lot more fun (and challenging) to play with. I recently had another play accepted for publication, and that's exciting. My sleep difficulties are coming back, which is unfortunate, but so far I'm not staying up till 5 like I was before we moved. Five Iron Frenzy is officially coming back, and I almost wrote a long blog about that but I was too tired at the time. Still, seems like a good idea to wrap up this post with a video for their new song. Enjoy, and talk to you again soon!
Monday, November 21, 2011
v2, d426: I tried to work a sea lion video into this post, but it just didn't fit anywhere
You know what this blog needs? MORE VIDEO CLIPS!!
No. No it does not.
Some have suggested that my Flickr project is stealing some of my blogger thunder. Well folks, a picture may or may not be worth 1,000 words. But it's a heck of a lot easier.
Plus, Isaac is having trouble sleeping these days because he has RSV. The medication procedure for this particular virus involves putting mask up to the baby's mouth and forcing him to breathe a smoke-like substance for about ten minutes. As you can guess, Isaac is quite uncooperative with this treatment. We're doing the best we can, though, and of course we appreciate prayers as this virus does occasionally turn into something very serious in babies.
Today's doctor visit was actually pretty pleasant. Isaac and I walked around Hermann park for about fifty minutes ahead of time because there was a bit of a gap between when we dropped Kim off at work and when Isaac's appointment was scheduled to start. I've decided that, on days when I have the car, I'm going to start looking for opportunities to get out and walk. Now that it's not horridly hot and hellaciously humid every day. While I miss running for exercise, walking while pushing the baby is a nice way to stretch the legs.
Headed up to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving Wednesday morning. I will be off-line until we get home late Sunday night. Maybe I'll show up on Monday to tell you how it went.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, by the way. Partially because it kicks off Christmas season (in my world, anyway), and partly because, well, it's just nice. You get all the family and feasting of Christmas, but without Christmas' unique hassles. Or, as Kim put it today, "It's all the family time of Christmas but without the stress of presents." Now, I love gift-giving like a banshee, but I know it can be stressful for a lot of folks, and that stress kind of gets passed on to others in various ways. Plus, anymore Christmas has become such a frenzy of sales and ads and community events that it can get a little overwhelming. Again, not necessarily to me; I can pretty much take all the Christmas you can throw at me. (Commentary: STOP HANDING THE BABY THE GLASS ORNAMENT!!!) Thanksgiving, however, does seem to have most of the positives of Christmas, just quieter. And sometimes, quiet is nice.
Hey! It's raining outside! Hard!!
Wait...no, no, it stopped. Dang, that was fast.
All right, happy Thanksgiving, everybody!
No. No it does not.
Some have suggested that my Flickr project is stealing some of my blogger thunder. Well folks, a picture may or may not be worth 1,000 words. But it's a heck of a lot easier.
Plus, Isaac is having trouble sleeping these days because he has RSV. The medication procedure for this particular virus involves putting mask up to the baby's mouth and forcing him to breathe a smoke-like substance for about ten minutes. As you can guess, Isaac is quite uncooperative with this treatment. We're doing the best we can, though, and of course we appreciate prayers as this virus does occasionally turn into something very serious in babies.
Today's doctor visit was actually pretty pleasant. Isaac and I walked around Hermann park for about fifty minutes ahead of time because there was a bit of a gap between when we dropped Kim off at work and when Isaac's appointment was scheduled to start. I've decided that, on days when I have the car, I'm going to start looking for opportunities to get out and walk. Now that it's not horridly hot and hellaciously humid every day. While I miss running for exercise, walking while pushing the baby is a nice way to stretch the legs.
Headed up to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving Wednesday morning. I will be off-line until we get home late Sunday night. Maybe I'll show up on Monday to tell you how it went.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, by the way. Partially because it kicks off Christmas season (in my world, anyway), and partly because, well, it's just nice. You get all the family and feasting of Christmas, but without Christmas' unique hassles. Or, as Kim put it today, "It's all the family time of Christmas but without the stress of presents." Now, I love gift-giving like a banshee, but I know it can be stressful for a lot of folks, and that stress kind of gets passed on to others in various ways. Plus, anymore Christmas has become such a frenzy of sales and ads and community events that it can get a little overwhelming. Again, not necessarily to me; I can pretty much take all the Christmas you can throw at me. (Commentary: STOP HANDING THE BABY THE GLASS ORNAMENT!!!) Thanksgiving, however, does seem to have most of the positives of Christmas, just quieter. And sometimes, quiet is nice.
Hey! It's raining outside! Hard!!
Wait...no, no, it stopped. Dang, that was fast.
All right, happy Thanksgiving, everybody!
Saturday, November 19, 2011
v2, d425: Skinnamarink a linky-dink
Trying to take on as much housework as I can this weekend, so I'll keep this brief. I was up until 4 working last night, so I'm pretty tired anyway. And you know what happens when I write while overtired!
1. A good interview with Joss Whedon re: the upcoming Avengers movie. The trailer was nice, but I get more excited when I read things like this. I mean, I've seen enough awesome trailers turn into bad movies, and a project like this always has the potential to be a really bad movie.
2. Speaking of, they're making a movie based on the old Rampage arcade game. No joke.
3. Man, I feel bad for this kid.
Rookie mistake. It's an empty net. Just dump it in. An empty-net goal is embarrassing enough as is. No need to showboat it.
Thing is, everybody's already comparing this kid's play to Patrik Stefan's. Nuh-uh, folks. No contest.
No. Contest.
4. Ugh. Now, a pretty goal. To clean the palette.
That's...that's just nice, Dutchy. Thank you.
5. Went to the Players' opening of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever starring my talented friends Jason, Kat, and Abby. BUY TICKETS! SUPPORT THE ARTS!Everybody involved ought to be proud; their hard work was evident, and it's a really charming show.
6. Look, it's Brentalfloss's G-Rated album on BandCamp. Cool.
7. Have I mentioned the baby's sick? Well, he is, and now he's coughing, so I guess that means he's going to wake himself up. Better go.
1. A good interview with Joss Whedon re: the upcoming Avengers movie. The trailer was nice, but I get more excited when I read things like this. I mean, I've seen enough awesome trailers turn into bad movies, and a project like this always has the potential to be a really bad movie.
2. Speaking of, they're making a movie based on the old Rampage arcade game. No joke.
3. Man, I feel bad for this kid.
Rookie mistake. It's an empty net. Just dump it in. An empty-net goal is embarrassing enough as is. No need to showboat it.
Thing is, everybody's already comparing this kid's play to Patrik Stefan's. Nuh-uh, folks. No contest.
No. Contest.
4. Ugh. Now, a pretty goal. To clean the palette.
That's...that's just nice, Dutchy. Thank you.
5. Went to the Players' opening of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever starring my talented friends Jason, Kat, and Abby. BUY TICKETS! SUPPORT THE ARTS!Everybody involved ought to be proud; their hard work was evident, and it's a really charming show.
6. Look, it's Brentalfloss's G-Rated album on BandCamp. Cool.
7. Have I mentioned the baby's sick? Well, he is, and now he's coughing, so I guess that means he's going to wake himself up. Better go.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
v2, d424: Top 7 (times 2) Disney Songs
Thanks to Twitter, I learned that it was 22 years ago today that The Little Mermaid first came out in theaters. Crazy, huh? I kind of wished I'd known about this date a year ago. Then we could have made all sorts of "Ariel's old enough to go drinking" jokes. (Hand me another of those...what's the word again? Oh, margaritas!) In honor of this momentous occasion, I've decided to dedicate today's Top 7 to my favorite Disney songs.
Only, the Disney canon is huge! (Incidentally, I'll bet the Disney Cannon is pretty big as well) So in order to better capture the scope of the Disney company's impact upon my formative years, I've decided to double the size of this top 7. Introducing my Top 14 Disney Songs! (And getting it down to 14 is actually pretty hard, too!)
Oh, a couple notes before we start. First, I'm only including pieces that are (as far as I know) original to their respective Disney property. That means nothing from either Fantasia. Though those are brilliant and perfect. Except for the celebrity cameos in the second one; those were just weird. Second, I am a man. That means, when I was exposed to most of this stuff originally, I was a boy. Therefore, my tastes tended to gravitate toward the boy-centric pieces. For example: I never liked "Part Of Your World." Even as a kid, I was annoyed when she'd stop to remember the correct word for "feet." The songs that always won Academy Awards were usually love songs, which means they were probably my least favorite parts of the movies. That doesn't mean no Disney love ballads are on this list, but it does at least imply that the majority of my choices won't be seen on a lot of well-respected "Best of Disney" lists. I loved the villain songs, I loved the big ensemble numbers, I loved the chase scenes, I loved stuff that was bizarre and creative, but I wasn't really into what I would have considered "the girly stuff" with very few exceptions. Sorry, A Whole New World. Also, I never even bothered with Pocahontas or Mulan. (And after playing both films in video game form, I don't imagine I ever will) You can have Cinderella, and I'll take The Lion King or Newsies. That's just the way I grew up, and this list will reflect that.
Disclaimers out of the way, enjoy my top7 14 Disney songs.
Two words. King Louie. Two more words: Villain song. Sorta. This film has a fantastic cast of character, and this is easily the most memorable scene in the film. (I also love the vultures and almost put That's What Friends Are For on this list) It's cool and jazzy and full of great "little moments," like Bagheera hiding by posing as a statue or the white-haired monkey doing whatever it is he does. Everything about this scene is just fun. (Though I can't help but wonder how Mowgli bounces back so quickly after being dropped on his head on stone. Yeouch!)
Honorable mentions go to Once Upon a Dream, I Just Can't Wait To Be King, Chim Chim Cheree, Making Christmas, The Winnie-the-Pooh Theme Song, Oogie Boogie's Song, Kiss The Girl, Pink Elephants on Parade, That's What Friends are For, Everybody Wants to Be A Cat, and the Darkwing Duck Theme Song.
Only, the Disney canon is huge! (Incidentally, I'll bet the Disney Cannon is pretty big as well) So in order to better capture the scope of the Disney company's impact upon my formative years, I've decided to double the size of this top 7. Introducing my Top 14 Disney Songs! (And getting it down to 14 is actually pretty hard, too!)
Oh, a couple notes before we start. First, I'm only including pieces that are (as far as I know) original to their respective Disney property. That means nothing from either Fantasia. Though those are brilliant and perfect. Except for the celebrity cameos in the second one; those were just weird. Second, I am a man. That means, when I was exposed to most of this stuff originally, I was a boy. Therefore, my tastes tended to gravitate toward the boy-centric pieces. For example: I never liked "Part Of Your World." Even as a kid, I was annoyed when she'd stop to remember the correct word for "feet." The songs that always won Academy Awards were usually love songs, which means they were probably my least favorite parts of the movies. That doesn't mean no Disney love ballads are on this list, but it does at least imply that the majority of my choices won't be seen on a lot of well-respected "Best of Disney" lists. I loved the villain songs, I loved the big ensemble numbers, I loved the chase scenes, I loved stuff that was bizarre and creative, but I wasn't really into what I would have considered "the girly stuff" with very few exceptions. Sorry, A Whole New World. Also, I never even bothered with Pocahontas or Mulan. (And after playing both films in video game form, I don't imagine I ever will) You can have Cinderella, and I'll take The Lion King or Newsies. That's just the way I grew up, and this list will reflect that.
Disclaimers out of the way, enjoy my top
#14.
It was between this and Chim Chim Cheree for the #14 slot, and I went with this one because it's just so dang happy. This is Disney whimsy at its finest. Uncle Reemus, I wish you were my uncle! I mean, you just want to sit down and have a picnic with that guy. He's having so much fun with those cartoon animals. He's very high on life, but not in an obnoxious way. It's always been hard for me to listen to this song and not whistle along. What else can I say? It always puts me in at least a slightly better mood.
#13.
Villains almost always get the best songs. It's true in Disney, it's true on Broadway (though really the two are the same these days), it's true in real life. It's just the way it is. This is a prototypical villain song in that the whole thing is the bad guy singing about what a jerk he is. And loving it. It's so fun, because he's such a jerk. Please note Gaston isn't really "evil," he's just ridiculously self-serving. Obsessed, even. And through that obsession, he's eventually transformed from the guy in this number to the mob-leader in Kill The Beast. This number, though, is just fun. You love to hate the character, and that's exactly what this perfect movie is going for. Because up to this point, the hero is still kind of dark and scary, so you need the bad guy to lighten things up.
The stage version of this song is incredible, by the way, with all the refrains and the dancing and the beer mug clinking. Look it up if you haven't seen it before.
#12.
Is this one of the best Disney songs ever? No, of course not. And it sounds really early-90s as I listen to it now. But it was a great theme song for a great show. It sets the mystery-and-adventure mood perfectly and it made you want to sing along every single afternoon. Admittedly, most of the Disney Afternoon shows had great songs. (In some cases, the song was even better than the show) Rescue Rangers hit that perfect balance between awesome song and awesome show (and awesome NES game, for the record), so that's why I chose it here as a representative of the entire DA crew. But like I said, these were all solid tunes.
#11
Oh, man. This song...this movie...
Okay, The Brave Little Toaster is a terrifying film. At some point in the movie, you are led to believe that every single main character is dead or dying. Blanket gets lost in a storm, vacuum runs over his own cord, radio is torn apart by the freaky guy, lampy overload and blows his bulb, it's awful. They go through so much just to get to the boy's new home, and then when they get there, all his new stuff throw them into the dumpster and they get sent to the junk yard. That's where we have this sad, awesome scene. It's got to be the most fatalist song Disney has ever done in a kids' movie as car after car sings about its past life just before its compacted into a small metal cube. It's crazy. It's sad. The doomed cars are basically telling the appliances that they're in the junk heap, they're worthless, and all that's left is to wait to be crushed. It is so intense, and when there was a window of seven or eight years where I couldn't really remember anything about this movie, I always remembered this scene. Can't say why I've always loved it so much other than it's just intense and exciting. Even if it borders on the depressing. (Good thing none of these cars were actual characters in the movie, or this film would have been responsible for an entire generation of counseling--as if the Bambi thing hadn't been bad enough!)
#10.
As with #12, this is kind of on this list as a representative of all the Silly Symphonies, but The Old Mill has always been my favorite. Walt Disney took short form animation so seriously. This clip is a work of art. It won an Academy Award. It's over seventy years old. And it still looks so much better than even some of the computer generated animation we're showing our kids these days. Old Mill was actually sort of a screen test for a new style of animation Walt wanted to use in Snow White. I think he was pretty happy with it in the end. Phenomenal piece.
9.
8.
Pirates of the Caribbean figured out that, if you're going to make me listen to the same song on loop for ten minutes while I ride a slow-moving boat through a cavern of robots, it had better be a pretty dang awesome song. (Unfortunately, not all Disneyland attractions got that memo) If you've heard this song once, chances are you've sung it or had it run through your head at multiple points in your life. Even if most people don't know any words beyond "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me. We mumble mumble mumble mumble Drink up, my hearties, yo ho!" It's like trying to write music for an old NES game. It has to be simple and catchy and people have to be willing to listen to it repeat itself many, many times. Well, twenty years later I'm still humming this tune, so they musta done something right.
Incidentally, I absolutely loved all the ways they tied the first PotC movie to this ride, and that includes the use of the song. Very well done. Now, when will that Enchanted Tiki Room movie become a reality?
#7.
Any guy my age who participated in musical theatre growing up kept hoping and praying that Disney would do the obviously awesome thing and make this film into a stage show. Well, they finally have. And now we're all too old and/or out of shape to be in it anymore. Go figure.
Every song in this movie rocks. The harmonies are always tight, and I'm a sucker for a good harmony. Mostly, though, they do a phenomenal job of capturing the mood of the scene, the period, and the characters. Which is obviously what is supposed to happen in a good musical. I would always get so pumped up watching this scene. It's basically an army of boys all out declaring war through song and dance. Hm...you know, it works a LOT better than it sounds like it should. And that's true of most of the songs in this film. I would say it could be one of the strongest shows of composer Alan Menken's career if not for...
#6
Okay, here's girly romance's addition to the list ;-) I've actually never minded Disney's princesses or their love songs, but they're not usually my favorites. (To be fair, Kiss the Girl and Once Upon a Dream almost made the list) Then there's this one. Everything is just beautiful. Music, lyrics, and animation! The video I've embedded is poor quality. The scene is just magical. I think this romance "works" for me so much more than most others because the Disney formula often relies heavily on love at first sight, and that is most definitely not the case with this one. Instead you've got two people having to work through their own issues and prejudices to learn to love one another...hm, it's kind of like an actual relationship! The biggest obstacle to their happiness is not an evil witch, it's their own faults and opinions. (And then once they get those out of the way, there's the jerk who wants to kill the beast. Small detail) This song is lovely, it's placed perfectly in the film (from a dramatic structure standpoint, I mean), and the movie is probably the strongest overall fairy tale adaptation Disney ever attempted. While not my favorite Disney movie (again, I am a man), it's definitely up there, and this song is nothing short of purely charming.
#5
I really didn't like this movie when I was a kid. Then I got back into it through the music (and through Kingdom Hearts), and now I love it. It's so bizarre, but there's a lot of heart there. And the songs are fantastic in a grim, quirky, yet charming sorta way. There's a ton of atmosphere to these songs, and this one probably captures it the best. Plus, remember I love big ensemble numbers, I love character songs, I love spectacle, and this song is all of those things. I mean, I can see how you wouldn't like this song, but I love it. The mayhem and suspense continue to build until Jack's grand entrance at the end, and it's just fun.
Incidentally, now that Disney has finally got Newsies Broadway-bound, is it too much to hope for that Nightmare might be coming one day? Imagine if they spent the money on this production that they spent on that one show with the Heelies!
#4.
This scene is perfect. I love the transformation Ursula goes through from the saintly philanthropic octo-woman of the beginning to the mad cackling witch at the end. This whole thing just goes berserk as Ariel gets swept away by the sea witch's crafty plan. And it's clear that nobody has more fun than Ursula when she's being evil. You can just feel her relishing every moment of this scene. This whole sequence is probably one of the greatest performances by an animated character of all time. (Not counting motion capture here) It's also a well-directed scene. The lights, the color, the angles, everything goes from glum to chaotically revelrous, and I can't help but get caught up in the giddy insanity.
#3.
This song is everything a showstopper should be. It starts simply enough and gradually adds more performers, more tricks, more effects, more harmonies, until it's finally this epic celebration of hospitality. I don't know how the Beast doesn't hear this. It's awesome in the movie. It's awesome on stage. It's just awesome. Nearly the entire supporting cast is featured in this number, and this film has an awesome supporting cast. A musical about an enchanted castle really should be magical, and this number definitely fits that description.
#2
Ultimate villain song. I still get chills when I watch this scene. I love the pairing of Scar with the hyenas--who are excellent henchmen characters. This is my favorite Disney movie, and this is my favorite scene from the movie. This is where Scar turns the story on its head. This is where the earth itself vents steam as Scar struts among the jagged rocks. It's where the hyena army is revealed, and they're not as hapless as Whoopi Goldberg and her pals. Again, the sense of build and theatricality in this scene is spot on. I can watch this song several times in a row and not get tired of it. And the final shot is eerie and imposing. And it could just be that Nazi imagery that the animation brings to mind (wow, that's not pulling any punches), but everything about this number is sinister. You don't see Scar getting the same scandalous joy out of his evil that Ursula gets. He's just full of hate, and that's so scary the ground itself vaults him into the sky on a Mountain of Death. Forget it, this song is just awesome. It's everything I love about villains, musicals, theatricality, and rhythm rolled into one freaking amazing sequence.
So, what tops it (in my book)?
#1
JUST KIDDING.
Though my actual #1 will probably surprise you almost as much.
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I have not actually seen most of this movie. I don't think I've even heard any of the music from the rest of the movie (except for Hellfire). In fact, I hadn't even seen this actual sequence of film until I just now looked it up on YouTube. Before now, my whole experience with this song was my sophomore year of high school, when this was my solo for our high school spring choir concert, which was Disney themed. (Side note: this is a tough song for a sophomore to sing!) (Another side note: after nothing but the piano/vocal arrangement from my memory, the cinematic version is actually a tad disappointing ;-)
It's funny, because usually you have the Disney princess singing about how she wants more. This time, it's the male lead--progress! And while the facial animation for both Frolo and Quasimodo is a bit...eh...the song itself is still gorgeous. I love those intervals, and the melody is both haunting and hopeful. Now, I never hear anybody talk about this song. Actually, I never hear anybody talk about this movie. So it may not be very good. I don't know. But I'll always smile when I hear this song, and I'll always hope Quasi gets his one day out there among the millers and the weavers and their wives (probably my favorite moment in the piece, apart from the creepy-ish opening).
And I'll hope it turns out better for him than it did in the book.
***********
So there's my list. This is a tough one to do, and if I were to do it again next week there's a good chance it would look a little bit different. Over the years, Disney music has really run the gamut, from Silly Symphonies to theme park rides to Broadway musicals, and I've tried to capture some of that variety here. I'm already second-guessing some of my own choices, because there are just that many great songs to choose from. But this took SO FREAKING LONG TO WRITE that there's no way I'm going back to redo any of it. Besides, I'm sure I'd still want to switch things around no matter how many times I revamp the list. So consider this a top fourteen with an asterisk, if you will. :-)
And of course, I'd love to hear your faves in the comments section, if you're bold enough to share.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
v2, d423: Kokomo
At some point in my life, I visited my sister in California when she was a band teacher and made a mix CD of songs she had on the computer in her office while she taught some private lessons. I busted that CD out today while dragging Robbie and Isaac along to Wal-Mart to get the car battery fiasco (don't ask) taken care of. Things I learned today:
1) Robbie loves the Beatles' Yellow Submarine. (He didn't know this before today, either) I'm pretty sure this is true of all children under the age of eight.
2) In ELO's song Sweet Talkin' Woman, the weird distortion sound at the end of every chorus is actually speaking the words "sweet talkin' woman." I seriously never realized this!
3) The Kinks' Come Dancing is actually a song about the singer remembering watching his sister go out on dates when he was younger. For some reason, that's kinda odd to me.
4) I have no desire to ever hear Cats in the Cradle again. Ever.
5) I know I've mentioned this before, but the underscoring to Disney's Main Street Electrical Parade is really a brilliant piece of music.
6) Robbie recognizes Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World from the first half second of the intro. Apparently it's a song they play occasionally at his school. That's kind of amazing.
7) While listening to the song Kokomo, I came to the realization that, yes, I that is where I want to go. The song makes it sound so amazing! Everything sounds so peaceful and laid back! You just want to lay out on a beach and close your eyes and breathe in sea air and listen to sea gulls and children playing. I mean, "We'll get there fast and then we'll take it slow." That doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it sounds amazing! I want to take my family, get on a cruise ship, and spend three weeks on Kokomo drinking snow cones (since I don't do cocktails). Screw bills, car payments, near-unemployment, dead batteries, insomnia, and loneliness. I want sand castles and drinks from half-coconuts. When I'm listening to that song, I really start to think that heading to Kokomo would actually solve all of my problems. Except for the one where I don't have much money. In fact, Kokomo would probably make that one worse. So Dave suggested I go Occupy something until somebody gives me money. And that made a lot of sense to me.
Folks, I hereby propose a FOMW Occupy Kokomo operation. Who's with me??
*****EDIT: And no I don't CARE if Kokomo isn't real!!****
1) Robbie loves the Beatles' Yellow Submarine. (He didn't know this before today, either) I'm pretty sure this is true of all children under the age of eight.
2) In ELO's song Sweet Talkin' Woman, the weird distortion sound at the end of every chorus is actually speaking the words "sweet talkin' woman." I seriously never realized this!
3) The Kinks' Come Dancing is actually a song about the singer remembering watching his sister go out on dates when he was younger. For some reason, that's kinda odd to me.
4) I have no desire to ever hear Cats in the Cradle again. Ever.
5) I know I've mentioned this before, but the underscoring to Disney's Main Street Electrical Parade is really a brilliant piece of music.
6) Robbie recognizes Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World from the first half second of the intro. Apparently it's a song they play occasionally at his school. That's kind of amazing.
7) While listening to the song Kokomo, I came to the realization that, yes, I that is where I want to go. The song makes it sound so amazing! Everything sounds so peaceful and laid back! You just want to lay out on a beach and close your eyes and breathe in sea air and listen to sea gulls and children playing. I mean, "We'll get there fast and then we'll take it slow." That doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it sounds amazing! I want to take my family, get on a cruise ship, and spend three weeks on Kokomo drinking snow cones (since I don't do cocktails). Screw bills, car payments, near-unemployment, dead batteries, insomnia, and loneliness. I want sand castles and drinks from half-coconuts. When I'm listening to that song, I really start to think that heading to Kokomo would actually solve all of my problems. Except for the one where I don't have much money. In fact, Kokomo would probably make that one worse. So Dave suggested I go Occupy something until somebody gives me money. And that made a lot of sense to me.
Folks, I hereby propose a FOMW Occupy Kokomo operation. Who's with me??
*****EDIT: And no I don't CARE if Kokomo isn't real!!****
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