Overheard: Classic Rock

Ben and I were riding in the car, listening to one of our favorite classic rock stations. The Eagles came on.

Me: "Can't they play ANYTHING else? It's always the same stuff."

Ben: "They don't make new classic rock, Mom."

Me: "Oh. Yeah."

Polka Boy

It’s race weekend, and the city is packed with hundreds of thousands of visitors. The traffic is nuts and everyone wants to rev their engines. It’s time to party.

Abe was too tired, so my neighbor and party bud Dee joined me Friday night downtown. She brought a co-worker along and we cruised with the top down in the warm night air. As is my custom—honest!—I got rock star parking smack in front of the entrance to the club. Life is good.

Polka Boy was playing at the Rathskellar Biergarten, which was built over a hundred years ago and modeled after German clubs of the time. We arrived early enough to barely catch a seat at one of the picnic tables spread in front of the bandshell on the outdoor patio. Six men well into their cups allowed us to sit with them. They made awkward attempts at conversation, but they were friendly enough. They invited us to join them at a “titty bar” later. Somehow we found the fortitude to decline.


But then the band began to play. Polka Boy is a fourteen-man polka band, complete with tuba, three accordions and lots more brass (two of the three meanings apply here). This band is awesome. They played polkas, of course: Polish, Italian, and German. They may have slid in something Russian; we weren’t sure. But they took those accordions into new realms and played Tom Jones, Irish drinking songs, zydeco, Johnny Cash, rock and roll, Franki Valli, and the national anthem. Yes. And all of it was just great. The crowd was singing along with every song.

We left early, but the last song before their break was funk from the Average White Band. While you play this video, picture three accordions backing it up, swaying and playing and rocking out. That, my friends, is Polka Boy. They’ll be back July 9.

Everyday Normal Guy

Courtesy of my daughter, this is the only rap song I've actually liked. The language is totally not safe for work, but it's hilarious.



Money quote: "My parents are really nice people, mothaf**ka!”

Picture Album

This is just a miscellany post to report a few little things I've done lately.

My brother brought two of his five children to visit over their spring break. Kids #3 and #4 are seven and eight years old, the perfect age for our children's museum. The Indianapolis Children's Museum is the largest one in the world and frankly one of the few things well worth the visit. We've got a nice city but not a lot of WOW.

One item that is definitely WOW is the Chihuly installation in the core of the spiraling ramp of the museum. Dale Chihuly is at the top of the food chain in glass art, and this is his largest work in the world. These pictures do not do it justice.

The column of blown glass rises through four floors and contains 3200 pieces, each of which is a work of art. "Fireworks of Glass" is mounted on an armature of steel spikes, and each blown piece simply rests on a spike.


At the bottom of the tower of glass, four panels of clear acrylic are covered in 1600 more glass works of art, making a kaleidoscope viewed from underneath.


My pitiful photography can't show you the stunning blend of color and light. Can you tell that art glass is my favorite medium?


Last week Sheba and I and her friend went to see Great Big Sea at a local club. They are a Newfoundland folk band and a whole lot more fun than that sounds. Their sound has Celtic roots and the whole evening was one big party. (You can hear "When I'm Up" and "Ordinary Day" on my playlist in the side column.) What's more, there was no smoking, I didn't need ear plugs, and drinks were $4. I would have felt like I was back in college except for the fact that Sheba was probably the youngest one there. A woman next to me had also come with her daughter. I commented that I was probably the oldest person in attendance.

She waved in dismissal. "Oh, no. You and I have to be about the same age."

"I'm 56."

"Oh."


Sophie found a new toy in Ben's room. See the fun ball in her mouth?


This is what it really is. Every time she drops it the house resonates. I made Ben take it away.

Sunday Shuffle

Haven't posted my tunes in a while.

1. Mona Ray / Leo Kottke
2. Smelly Cat / Phoebe Buffay
3. You Can’t Always Get What You Want / Rolling Stones
4. Sousa: Washington Post / US Marine Band
5. Riding Horses / Gustavo Santaolalla
6. Drift Away / Dobie Gray
7. What Hurts The Most / Rascal Flatts

Sunday Shuffle

Here's today's random shuffle from my iPod.

1. My Back Pages / The Byrds
2. New York On My Mind / John McLaughlin
3. Anon: Gloria In Excelsis 2 / Chanticleer
4. New York Minute / Don Henley
5. Once Upon A Time There Was An Ocean / Paul Simon
6. Two Cowboy Waltz / Mark Weigle
7. Open Your Eyes / Snow Patrol

Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairies

Like you've never heard it before:

And Now For Something Completely Different

Sunday Shuffle

Here's this week's batch of random tunes from my iPod:

1. Court Of The Crimson King / King Crimson
2. Barber: Andromache’s Farewell, Op. 39 / Martina Arroyo; Thomas Schippers
3. Brighter Than Sunshine / Aqualung
4. Oh Lamour / Erasure
5. Benoit Dutras / Brian Eno & David Byrne
6. To The Wild Country / John Denver
7. The Name Of The Game / ABBA

Pit Stop

Just checking in briefly, as I have to take the classroom final for scuba diving in 90 minutes. But I wanted to put a plug in to those who actually have time to watch TV this month. Tonight on NBC at 8:00 Eastern, "The Sing Off" will offer an a capella group that has ties to the blogdom. Fellow blogger David's cousin Daniel is the lead singer for the group from southern California, appropriately dubbed The SoCals. If you're home tonight, check it out. And if you think that The SoCals should stick around for the next round of competition, please vote for them. David is so proud of his cousin, and I'd love to see Daniel go to the top.

Sunday Shuffle

So busy! 'Tis the season. I've hardly had time to think. But I do have time for some random music from my iPod. And none of it is Christmas music.

1. Neon Bible / The Arcade Fire
2. True Colors / Cyndi Lauper
3. You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman / Aretha Franklin
4. Walk Away Renee / The Four Tops
5. A Well Respected Man / The Kinks
6. What You Whispered / David Wilcox
7. The Worst Day Since Yesterday / Flogging Molly

Sunday Shuffle

Tonight's selection from my iPod.

1. Son Of A Preacher Man / Dusty Springfield
2. The Fisher Who Died In His Bed / Figgy Duff
3. Teach Your Children / Crosby Stills Nash Young
4. Tears In Heaven / Eric Clapton
5. Love’s Great Ocean / k.d. lang
6. Til Kingdom Come / Coldplay
7. Time In A Bottle / Jim Croce

Sunday Shuffle

Tunes from my iPod. This time there's something for everyone.

1. Right Where It Belongs / Nine Inch Nails
2. Conjunction Junction / Grammar Rock
3. Scream And Run Away / The Gothic Archies
4. Sase [Sassy] / George Winston
5. White Room / Cream
6. South’s Gonna Do It Again / Charlie Daniels Band
7. Carmina Burana - O Fortuna / Carl Orff

Sunday Shuffle

Tunes from my iPod.

1. Our Town / Iris DeMent
2. People Are Strange / The Doors
3. Please Come To Boston / Harry Chapin
4. Seven Bridges Road / The Eagles
5. Fanfare For The Common Man / Aaron Copland
6. Simple Man / Lynyrd Skynyrd
7. Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay / Otis Redding

Sunday Shuffle

Randomly from my iPod.

1. Oh Yeah / Yello
2. You Don’t Own Me / Leslie Gore
3. Turn! Turn! Turn! / The Byrds
4. You Don’t Know What Love Is / Chet Baker
5. Serenade / Doug Smith
6. Shout / Otis Day & The Knights
7. Take A Walk On The Wild Side / Lou Reed

Sunday Shuffle

Music from my iPod.

1. Celebrity / Mark Weigle
2. Look Through Any Window / The Hollies
3. Ever Falls The Twilight / The Gothic Archies
4. Instant Pleasure / Rufus Wainwright
5. You Like Me Too Much / The Beatles
6. High Desert / Bruce Kaphan
7. Monarch / Matt Alber

Sunday Shuffle

Music from my iPod.

1. Tomorrow Night / Raul Malo
2. Bless The Beasts And Children / The Carpenters
3. Jack Hinks / Great Big Sea
4. If Everyone Cared / Nickelback
5. Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me / Gladys Knight & The Pips
6. Cosmik Debris / Frank Zappa
7. Love Is Like Jazz / The Magnetic Fields

Sunday Shuffle

I have about 2000 songs in my iPod. I thought I'd share them with you on random shuffle.

1. Money Money Money / Abba
2. Summer Wind / Frank Sinatra
3. Angelina / Earl Klugh
4. Is She Really Going Out With Him / DaVinci’s Notebook
5. My Life / Billy Joel
6. Christmas Memories/Wheels / Tommy Emmanuel
7. Lovely Rita / The Beatles

Monday Mystery

My daughter is one of my main sources for new music, and she has tuned me into Great Big Sea. While they may have been around for more than a decade, they're new to me. The band is from Newfoundland and they play Newfie folk music, which has Celtic roots. I love their sound. Apparently Blobby does too.

Rocking along in the car to their tunes got me to thinking about how we join in when we hear music we like. In concerts, we clap along. I have noticed that if a guy tries to clap on the downbeat instead of the upbeat (1 and 3 instead of 2 and 4), everyone around him is uncomfortable and thinks he's a dweeb. What is it about that rhythm that is so wrong? I mean, they're right, but why?

To test out my theory, click on the two Great Big Sea tracks on my playlist on the right-hand column: "When I'm Up" and "Ordinary Day." Try clapping along first on the upbeat (the way that feels "right") and then on the downbeat. See?

Making Music

...or at least as close as I'll ever get.

Blobby in Cleveland passed on a meme that looked like innocent fun. An hour later, after trying every font known to Print Shop, I have made my band's album cover. How, you ask? Here are the directions:

1 - Go to Wikipedia. Hit “random”or click here. The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to Quotations Page and select "random quotations"or click here. The last four or five words of the very last quote on the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”or click this. Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together.

My band plays rock. What's yours like?