Tag: music

When you’ve just got to dance…

When was the last time you heard music that made you dance? I don’t mean when you’ve got ants in your pants and you need to dance. Nor do I mean when you have squirrels in your pants. (Side note: If you can name both of those references without an online search, then I’ll give you 50 coolness points right now. [BTW, that’s a lot.] If you know just one of them, I’ll give you 20. I figure it’s a rare person who understands two generations of coolness. Most people only find one generations worth, although some find none. Oh, and if you have to search and you can stay focused enough to find both and still leave a comment, I’ll give you 10. I figure that’s somewhat rare too, given short attention spans these days, plus when you search the internet for cool stuff, it’s easy to follow a rabbit trail and forget where you started.) [Ed. note: That’s probably not a side note if it’s longer than the main text.]

Back to music… When was the last time you heard music that was so interesting to you that you started dancing? If the answer is not today, then perhaps you should find some. Life is too short for boring music. (Disclaimer: I’m not implying that music which doesn’t make you dance is necessarily boring — certainly not true. However, it is good to dance and feel good, so I recommend listening to music that makes you feel good on a regular basis.) This concept can apply to music from many genres: funk (of course*), jazz, hip-hop, rock, pop, country, heavy metal, classical, techno, house, bluegrass, electro-swing (naturally), etc. That may seem strange to you, since many people listen to primarily just one genre of music, but I’ve danced to all of those, so it’s definitely possible. (No, there’s no video of this. No one wants to see that. It’s for my enjoyment. And my kids dance with me sometimes, too.)

* You could say “of course” to any of them, particularly your favorite genre, but I mentioned it because just today, while doing dishes, I heard a song so funky I just had to get my groove on. If you know, you know. I was playing music while doing dishes because I really dislike washing dishes, but music makes the experience better. And I have my own playlist, set to shuffle, so it’s music that will help me stay upbeat and happy. I sometimes use this playlist while walking and exercising. And I also use it when I’m cooking something that takes a long time, like chili. In fact, just the other day I played a song in my truck that my son said, “That’s chili-making music.” I’ve never heard that before, but makes sense in this context. He had that association with it. And he helps me make chili sometimes, and he dances to the music while making chili, so he knows. Sometimes his feet start moving like he’s James Brown. (Hey, that’s a hint to not forget the coolness challenge in the first paragraph.)

So if your day could use more awesomeness, pull up some of your favorite songs to listen to when you get a chance. Why not make your day more awesome? (If you never listen to songs that make you want to dance, why not try it? Find some. Search for playlists about dancing, or ask friends for suggestions. I suspect everyone could find some songs that make them want to dance, and you need this in your life. Trust me, it’s a good time, and it’s worth the effort to find. Make your day more awesome!)

What is figgy pudding?

There are quite a few Christmas carols with unusual lyrics, which many people seem to ignore because it’s tradition to sing them. One of them is “We Wish You A Merry Christmas”, where in later verses, singers demand hearers to “bring me some figgy pudding” and then exclaim, “We won’t go until we get some”. I’m not sure how I’d react to carolers on my front porch demanding me to feed them some obscure food. (I recommend watching the Phineas & Ferb Christmas special, where the wanna-be evil scientist Heinz Doofenshmirtz finds himself in that exact situation. It’s funny.)

I can’t recall ever eating figgy pudding, nor do I know much about it, so I looked it up. There’s more to the story than you probably care about, so here’s a summary:

1) It’s not pudding, and it may not even include figs.
2) Sometimes it includes meat. Or a hard animal fat called suet.
3) Sometimes it is served ON FIRE!
4) It has more in common with a fruitcake than pudding.
5) One historic recipe used 13 ingredients to represent Jesus Christ and the 12 disciples. It included a sprig of holly on top to symbolize the crown of thorns.
6) When people sang that they wanted some and wouldn’t leave, it was likely poor people having fun at the doorsteps of the wealthy. Sometimes wealthy families did hand out money or treats to carolers (although demanding it still seems weird).
7) It sometimes contains alcohol, and can remain edible for a year without refrigeration.
8) It was mentioned in the 1843 book “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens: “Mrs. Cratchit entered — flushed, but smiling proudly — with the pudding, like a speckled cannon-ball, so hard and firm, blazing in half of half-a-quarter of ignited brandy, and bedight with Christmas holly stuck into the top.” (Do any of the movies show this scene with it on fire?)
9) Ingredients can include figs, plums, raisins, currants, oranges, cherries, cranberries, citrus zest and juice, along with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice.
10) It dates back to the 14th century. Initially it was a meal of subsistence, not a dessert. It was made of meat, root vegetables, and dried fruit, stuffed into a sheep stomach and boiled for hours if not days. So basically a pottage, but boiled until firm. It was held together by the flour and dried fruit.

The recipe has changed a lot over the years. Initially it was made with whatever ingredients you had available (which was much less then).

So when you sing, “Bring me some figgy pudding… we won’t go until we get some”, now you know. Personally, I’ll pass. Maybe we need a modernized version of that verse… A modern take could be hot chocolate. If carolers are going to demand some food or beverage in exchange for singing carols outside someone’s house in the cold, hot chocolate makes sense.

funny back to school parody videos

School has started back for most children around here, so here’s some funny music parody videos about that experience from a parent’s point of view. This first one is my favorite of the three below. It’s called “Baby Got Class”, which is a parody of “Baby Got Back” by Sir Mix-a-Lot. I would expect this one to be tough to pull off, but they do surprisingly well with it.

Next is “Bye Bye Bye”, a parody of *NSYNC.

Last is “School is Starting”, a parody of Black Eyed Peas.

FYI, these parodies are by The Holderness Family. They’ve created a lot of good parody videos, as well as original content. (I’m not affiliated with them, just a fan. I like parodies, and I realize how hard it is to make one that’s great.)

cashier beatboxing

Here’s a video of Beardyman at a supermarket / grocery store, where he starts out as a bored cashier but gets inspired to do some beatboxing along the way.  If only the cashiers at Walmart could do this…

He has a number of other videos out, and he performs live, too.  If you care to experience more of his “beatology”, here’s a music video of DOLBYMAN featuring Beardyman performing all the parts, which covers several musical genres.