Friday, March 25, 2005

And now for something completely different...

Well, I think everyone missed the mystery song last time, but I'll bet everyone knows it.

Ba-Ba-Ba Ba-Barbara Ann

Ba-Ba-Ba Ba-Barbara Ann

Ba-Ba-Ba Ba-Barbara Ann


Oh well. Better luck next time.

This time, I am interested in learning something else. I would like to know what song lyrics you have gotten totally wrong and eventually learned this to your own amusements or someone else's. For instance, perhaps you have been singing certain lyrics to an Elton John song as:

Hold me close now Tony Danza
Got the head lice up in High Winds...

Got it? (Actually, considering Sir Elton, the Tony Danza part may be right, after all.) Anyway, it is funny to hear some of these errors, so I would like to hear yours or perhaps some you know about.

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Hello, Again. Hello.

Sorry I have not been regular lately (as a blogger I mean). I have been busier than a one-armed paper hanger with the hives. We are in the thick of getting ready for the baseball season. This topic alone could be enough for another blog, but then it is also the main reason we would not have time to update it very often. Combine that with taxes and really bizarre things at work and music stuff and real estate stuff and you understand why I am moments away from mumbling to myself incoherently as I swat at flying cats and chain-smoking school buses.

Once again, I hope you will indulge me in a prayer request. One of the kids in the car accident has had some pretty poor reports lately and is in serious danger of losing a limb. Please offer a prayer for this young man and his family early and often.

Back to our little contest- This one might possibly set a record for the most entries, so we will allow four per entry instead of the customary two or three. This time we are after a theme involving-

GIRLS' NAMES

Good luck!

Thursday, March 17, 2005

When Irish Eyes are Bloggin'

Top o' the mornin' to ya!

Congrats to DJG on getting the last mystery song. I know it has probably been recorded 100 times, but the one I had in mind was Harry Connick Jr. singing "If they asked me I could write a book..."

Today we're going a slightly different direction. We're not looking for a theme or quote. Rather, we are looking for Irish songs in honor of St. Patty's day.

Good luck.

Sunday, March 13, 2005

Cookin' the Books

Well, I had posted something a few days ago, but our friends at Blogger misplaced it. I waiited a few days for it to show up, but to no avail. It's really a shame, too because although I can't remember exactly what I said, I do remember it was awesome and life-changing. Oh, well.

As far as the latest round in the song contest, the mystery song was guessed by someone anonymously. It was "Moon River" by Andy Williams. Along those lines, I still have no regrets about taking "Anonymous" comments. I know there are people who do not allow them for several reasons, but until my family or I am either threatened or the recipient of something especially crude or obscene I will probably keep allowing them. But if that happens, that will be the end of that policy. The simple possibillity of having someone disagree with me seems a pretty lame reason for rejecting comments. If my opinions are so weak that they cannot withstand scruitiny, perhaps they are not worth presentation. Sorry if that sounds harsh but I am around too many naive people who mistake silence for acceptance. (Now where should I store my soapbox until I need it again?)

Now, on to our game. In working on my taxes, I kept wondering how some people get away with "cooking the books." I used to know an IRS agent and she was a battle-axe; the type of which I would never want to cross. But those thoughts led me our topic:

BOOKS.

Good luck.

Friday, March 04, 2005

You Don't Have to be a Star- But That might Help

Well, one quick blog before we head out for Spring Break today:

congratulations to lb for getting the last mystery song. It was "Rock the Cradle" by Billy Idol (although I am a little ashamed to admit that I also love the Weird Al Yankovic version). I was intrigued by the "radio" entries. Even though I have my grandparents' old radio that is about size of an armoire, I have always thought of a radio as more of an appliance.

Today's topic will be another one that may go on forever, but if someone gets the mystery song, we will once again give them the opportunity to pick a future topic. Today we are after:


CELESTIAL BODIES


By that we mean things like planets, stars, etal. Good luck.

Oh, and check out this picture that cracks me up.

Wednesday, March 02, 2005

O Brother...

Sorry I did not post yesterday. Things got rather busy. First of all, great job on all of the "all" songs. The mystery song this time was picked up right away. It was "All of Me." It was only a matter of time before Clarissa won this. Clarissa, you'll need to arrange your own travel and accommodations to Hylton, TX. By the way, there are no residents in Hylton anymore.

Now for today's topic. We are going for a theme again. How about some songs involving:


FURNITURE


Now, for those of you who, like I, are fans of O Brother, Where Art Thou, here is an interesting little story. The headline was:
Ex-Con Makes it Big with a Song He Can't Remember, in a Movie He's Never Seen

In September 1959, James Carter, now 77, was chopping wood with a Mississippi prison road gang. He frequently led the men in singing while they worked, and one afternoon he happened to be recorded while singing a song called "Po' Lazarus." Carter served out his sentence and became a shipping clerk when he got out of prison. By 2002 he was retired.

What happened to that recording of "Po' Lazarus" is another story: It was preserved in a music archive, and in 2000 it ended up in the soundtrack of the film O Brother, Where Art Thou. The soundtrack was an even bigger hit than the movie: It went on to sell more than five million copies, generating thousands of dollars in royalties for Carter...if anyone could find him. After more than 40 years, nobody even knew whether he was even still alive.

It took the record's producer about a year to track Carter down in Chicago. One day, two people showed up at his doorstep, told him about the movie (he'd never seen it) and the soundtrack (he'd never heard it) and handed him a check for $20,000.00, the first of what would likely be hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties.

About a week later, Carter flew to the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, where he saw the album win five Grammies, including Album of the Year. For all that, Carter has trouble even remembering the lyrics to the song that made him an instant celebrity. "I sang that song a long time back," he says.