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  • Missing The Muppets…

    Sometimes, when I get into a funk, I starting missing the Muppets…

    You know, The Muppet Show? It originally aired from 1976 until 1981. When I was growing up, I was a big fan of Jim Henson’s Muppets and their corresponding guest stars. I saw most of the movies and even watched Muppets Tonight when it was on in the mid 1990s. Granted, Muppets Tonight wasn’t nearly as funny and entertaining as the original show was, even though it featured guest stars like Prince (then going by The Artist Formerly Known As Prince), Coolio, and Paula Abdul.

    Paula Abdul guests on Muppets Tonight…

    Coolio performs on Muppets Tonight…

    Of course, in my day, the original Muppet Show was on and it exposed me to some great 70s era stars like Elton John, Linda Ronstadt, John Denver, Paul Simon, Diana Ross, and even Raquel Welch!

    Elton John guests on The Muppet Show…

    I should probably break down and buy the DVDs of this show. There’s nothing really like it on TV anymore. Of course, the 1970s was the era for variety shows. That was the decade that brought us Donny & Marie, Sonny & Cher, and even The Brady Bunch Hour, which I am convinced was invented under the heavy influence of some kind of hallucinogenic drug. Donny & Marie had ice skaters and The Bradys had synchronized swimmers. Sonny and Cher had each other and it seems the Osmonds were making the rounds on all the shows, though I don’t remember seeing them on The Muppet Show.

    More than just entertaining family style fun, The Muppet Show and Sesame Street also brought us some timeless, beautiful songs. Consider the lovely ballad, “Bein’ Green”, which was sung by Kermit the Frog and then covered by some very notable musical worthies like Van Morrison, Sophie Milman, and Ray Charles. Yesterday, I was feeling a little depressed over the prospect of the crown I have to get tomorrow and went to YouTube to listen to Ray Charles sing…

    Here Ray Charles knocks “Bein’ Green” out of the park with his perfectly glorious rendition of this Muppets classic on Sesame Street…

    There’s something about the way Ray Charles sings this song that just radiates empathy. I feel better every time I hear it. It gives me goosebumps. It simultaneously gives me a lump in my throat while it makes me smile.

    The lovely Russian jazz singer Sophie Milman found comfort in “Bein’ Green”, too…

    Van Morrison performs “Bein’ Green” live in 1973. Listening to this reminds me it’s time to see if I can hunt down the album this came from. It rocks! Don Henley also took a crack at “Bein’ Green” on the Muppets Unpigged album.

    The Rainbow Connection covered three ways…

    Another special Muppets song that comes to mind is “Rainbow Connection”, again sung by Kermit the Frog and covered by a diverse host of talented singers ranging from Willie Nelson to Debbie Harry to Kenny Loggins to Karen Carpenter.

    There’s something very touching about the way Willie Nelson sings this song. I was so moved by Willie’s rendition that I used it in a memorial video I made for my much loved dog, MacGregor, who died last December after we found an inoperable tumor near his spine. There’s something about this song and the way Willie sings it that suited MacGregor. Even today, when I listen to it, it makes me emotional.

    The Carpenters’ version of “The Rainbow Connection” is very different, of course. It’s very clear and pristine, a little schmaltzy, and yet somehow touching.

    And here, Debbie Harry and Kermit the Frog team up to sing “The Rainbow Connection” on The Muppet Show. I never knew her voice went that high! This is a charming side of the lead singer of Blondie I’ve never seen.

    I often find that when I’m in a crummy mood, I get a lot of joy out of singing. And sometimes I sing songs from The Muppet Show. I recorded my own version of “Bein’ Green” yesterday…

    and I felt better afterwards, even though I still dread getting a crown. On the other hand, I suppose I dread the alternative even more. Tomorrow might be a good day to pull out my favorite Muppets CD.

    I can’t stay sad when I hear this song. Incidentally, I happen to own a copy of the CD linked below. It’s well worth the money if you are a Muppets fan!

  • Friday the 13th songs…

    It’s that day again… Time for a few Friday the 13th songs!

    Whenever the 13th day of the month happens to fall on a Friday, a lot of people become superstitious. This week, we not only had Friday the 13th, we also had the twelfth anniversary of September 11th. I happened to schedule a last minute dentist appointment that day because one of my molars was doing odd things. I found out the molar is cracked and now, at the very least, needs a crown. Darn the luck!

    Having grown up in the 1970s and 80s, I always thought Friday the 13th superstitions started with the string of horror movies bearing the same name and featuring a chainsaw toting masked man named Jason. As it turns out, superstitions surrounding Friday the 13th have been around at least since the 19th century. In fact, there are even people out there who have a phobia of Friday the 13th; paraskevidekatriaphobics have an irrational fear of the unluckiest date. In fact, in 2013, there are two incidences of Friday the 13th exactly 13 weeks apart. How’s that for creepy?

    I thought it would be fun to have a look at a few songs that fit in with Friday the 13th. Maybe I’ll get lucky and find a few good ones.

    Stevie Wonder and “Superstition”

    Here’s Stevie Wonder singing his classic hit on Sesame Street. I couldn’t resist this clip because it’s so old school. What a great song to hear first thing in the morning.

    Here’s Stevie Wonder and Stevie Ray Vaughan (RIP) playing a super funkified version of “Superstition”. Note Jody Watley jamming along with the two Stevies!

    And here is Stevie in Paris, playing his iconic song with Prince!

    And here, Stevie Wonder plays with guitar wizard, Jeff Beck. I think “Superstition” is the ultimate Friday the 13th song, which is why I added four versions to this post. Stevie Wonder is the kind of guy who can collaborate with everyone.

    Ray Charles and Jimmy Lewis “If It Wasn’t For Bad Luck”

    Blues songs really lend themselves to songs that are perfect for Friday the 13th. Here’s a song about two guys one upping each other with stories about how if they didn’t have bad luck, they’d have no luck at all. I suspect these two would do well to stay home on Friday the 13th.

    Albert King and “Born Under a Bad Sign”

    Albert King sings a classic song about being born under a “bad sign”. I couldn’t resist posting another clip with Stevie Ray Vaughan playing. Maybe Albert King is unlucky, but we’re lucky to have videos with him jamming. It makes Friday the 13th a little less daunting.

    Paul Thorn and “It’s a Great Day to Whup Somebody’s Ass

    This may not be the ultimate Friday the 13th song, but it’s definitely a song about bad luck. If you have a day like this on Friday the 13th, you might develop a phobia.

    Magic Slim & The Teardrops “Hard Luck Blues”

    Here’s a cover of “Hard Luck Blues” by Magic Slim & The Teardrops. If you’re feeling unlucky today, this is a song that you can relate to.

    Weird Wilbur and “Fucked Up, Fucked Over, and Hungry”

    This is a song about a man’s bad luck trying to get into the music business. It’s obviously not work or kid safe, but it’s definitely a hard luck song.

    I’ve never felt particularly unlucky on Friday the 13th, though as I sit here worrying about my tooth and what will be done to it next week, I’m not feeling particularly fortunate today. On the other hand, things could be worse. I could be sitting out in the middle of the desert with no way to get to a dentist and no money to pay for one even if I could. I don’t enjoy dental treatment, but it’s better than not having it, right?

    I hope you have a good Friday the 13th and an even better weekend!

  • Best of 2012 mix cd’s (discs 4-6): a track listing

    Every year, I design what ends up being a 6-cd best-of-the-previous-year mix. I have several friends who want all six, others who like to receive samplings therefrom. I design one set in February, another in the fall (giving me further time to explore). I’m told, and choose to believe, that I’m very good with track-to-track flow, so in this era of things like Spotify and Rhapsody playlists, I figured I might as well share with you the fourth through sixth tracklists for 2012 in case you want copies (if I know you) or just were curious and wanted to play with these a bit.

    Discs one through three are here; they mostly focus on my 50 Favorite Albums of 2012 list. This set — aside from giving second samples of eleven particular favorite albums, and first samples of late insertions onto that list — is more a tribute to individual songs.

    Noisy Up There, Where the Blind Lead the Blind

    1. Killers, Runaways
    2. Au, Solid Gold
    3. People Get Ready, Orange Grove
    4. Decomposure, Oh Brother
    5. Ned Collette + Wirewalker, il Futuro Fantastico
    6. Tic Tic Boom!, For Feeling
    7. Chairlift, I Belong in Your Arms
    8. Magnetic Fields, God Wants Us to Wait
    9. Heems, Womyn
    10. Roomful of Teeth, Quizassa
    11. Viv Albertine, Confessions of a MILF
    12. Alt-J, Fitzpleasure
    13. David Ramos, Digital Memory
    14. Agony Family, There Again
    15. Ben Folds Five, the Sound of the Life of the Mind
    16. Phedre, In Decay
    17. Darlingside, Still
    18. First Aid Kit, the Lion’s Roar
    19. Standard Fare, Kicking Puddles
    20. Gabriel and the Hounds, the World Unfolds
    21. Verlaines, What Sound is This?

    Goddamned Believers

    1. Eliza Rickman, White Words
    2. iamthemorning, Monsters
    3. Aesop Rock, Crows 1
    4. Billy Woods, the Man Who Would Be King
    5. David Byrne & St. Vincent, I Should Watch TV
    6. Ab-Soul & Danny Brown, Terrorist Threats
    7. Clock Opera, a Piece of String
    8. It Bites, Meadow and the Stream
    9. Sigh, l’Excommunication a Minuit
    10. Between the Buried and Me, Bloom
    11. Future of the Left, Notes on Achieving Orbit
    12. Diablo Swing Orchestra, Mass Rapture
    13. Thumpermonkey, Wheezyboy
    14. Extra Life, First Song
    15. Serj Tankian, Forget Me Knot
    16. Cold Specks, Blank Maps
    17. Why?, For Someone
    18. Cadence Weapon, You Can’t Stop the Machine
    19. Flobots, Stop the Apocalypse

    Stop Pretending Art is Hard

    1. Emilie Autumn, Fight Like a Girl
    2. Bryan Scary, You Might Be Caught in Tarantella
    3. the Fixx, Girl with No Ceiling
    4. ECID, Back from Japan
    5. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Thrift Shop
    6. Jim’s Big Ego, 404 Blues
    7. Artichoke, the Market of Farms
    8. James Rabbit, Sing Low
    9. Cosmo Jarvis, Sunshine
    10. Taylor Swift, We are Never Ever Getting Back Together
    11. Amanda Palmer, Ukelele Anthem
    12. Phoebe Kreutz, the Day the Basement Flooded
    13. BidiniBand, Big Men Go Fast on the Water
    14. Jed Davis, I Hear an Echo
    15. Metric, Clone 
    16. Busdriver, Kiss Me Back to Life
    17. Zammuto, F U C3PO
    18. Hundred Waters, Theia
    19. ChauCoco!, Nada Mas
    20. Kaipa, Vittjar
    21. Pepe Deluxe, Riders of the First Ark

    – Brian Block