This Sam Giancana book I’m reading had me thinking about this song.

Padrino
Smash Mouth

Life imitates the game of chess
You can be the rook or the pawn
If you have the strategy that’s best
You can be the king or in this case the don
It’s easy to get knocked out of the game
Depending on which way you want to play
You’ve got to have eyes in the back of your head
Now that we have that out of the way
Continue reading →

Since MT.Net last year got caught in the crossfire of the Squirrel Nut Zippers debate, I thought it useful to point to today’s statement by Tom Maxwell regarding what some call a Zippers reunion. Read it at Tom’s Myspace blog.

Tom, I hope your son gets well soon.

I used to have this CD but it walked off some time ago. I miss it.

Puzzlin’ Evidence
Talking Heads

You got the CBS…!
And the ABC…!
You got Time and Newsweek!
Well, they´re the same to me!

Now don´t you wanna get right with me?
(Puzzling Evidence)
I hope you get ev´rything you need
(Puzzling Evidence)
Continue reading →

Whole Lotta Things
Southern Culture On The Skids

Well I hate a good daydream ’cause once its gone
the taste in my mouth seems to linger on
Rub my eyes, looking down at my shoe
said man there’s a lotta things I’d like to do
Whole lotta things that I’d like to do
Lot in this world that I’d like to do

Well I never had sex in a hurricane
Or ran around naked in the pouring rain
never been to New Guinea
or built an igloo
but that don’t mean that I wouldn’t like to
Continue reading →

Congratulations to R.E.M. for being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This is from one of their best albums, Life’s Rich Pageant.

I Believe
R.E.M.

When I was young and full of grace
and spirited–a rattlesnake.
When I was young and fever fell
My spirit, I will not tell
You’re on your honor not to tell

I believe in coyotes and time as an abstract
Explain the change, the difference between
What you want and what you need, there’s the key,
Your adventure for today, what do you do
Between the horns of the day?
Continue reading →

This seemed appropriate for New Year’s Day.

Wasted On The Way
Crosby, Stills, and Nash

Look around me
I can see my life before me
Running rings around the way
It used to be

I am older now
I have more than what I wanted
But I wish that I had started
Long before I did
Continue reading →

Living On A Thin Line
The Kinks

All the stories have been told
Of kings and days of old,
But there’s no England now.

All the wars that were won and lost
Somehow don’t seem to matter very much anymore.
All the lies we were told,
All the lies of the people running round,
Their castles have burned.
Our eyes see change,
But inside we’re the same as we ever were.
Continue reading →

As a musical guy and a father, I’ve learned to appreciate the children’s music my kids listen to. Here are my thoughts on those CDs we play around the Turner household.

They Might Be Giants’s No! album is good enough, but it doesn’t stay with you. Some songs are annoying enough to shelf the whole CD. I’m a big fan of TMBG, but the overall tone of No! is a little disjointed to be a long-time favorite.

Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer can write catchy, clever songs but they’re aimed more towards the kids than the kids-and-adults music I prefer. If you’re going to have to listen to songs with your kids, you might as well enjoy them, too. There is too much children’s chorus in the songs for my liking. Still, songs like “A Pirate’s Life” are clever enough to put smiles on even the crabbiest parents. Arr arr arr arr!

The Wiggles are non-starters. Annoying times ten! I don’t like music that talks down to my kids, which is what their music seems to do. While I wish Greg Page, otherwise known as Wiggles Yellow, a speedy recovery from his disease, I wouldn’t miss the Wiggles if they never played another annoying note.

Laurie Berkner is in my view the queen of children’s music. Catchy, clever, silly songs with simple guitar accompaniment. Many of these songs were the only things we could decipher from Travis when he was first learning to talk. I can listen to Laurie Berkner all day and not want to pull my (remaining) hair out. That’s quite a feat for children’s music.

Tom Paxton, though, is a brilliant children’s music musician whom I think tops them all. Some CDs are better than others, though. I was indifferent to the first Tom Paxton CD I heard, Your Shoes, My Shoes. It’s got decent songs, but Tom’s singing usually aims for kids rather than kids-and-adults. Still, I love the deliciously morbid writing in The Worms Come Crawling Underground. Even the childrens’ chorus doesn’t take away from it.

Then there’s Tom’s 1992 release I’ve Got A Yo-Yo. I consider it the best children’s CD I have ever heard. This one doesn’t talk down to the kids. It’s good, not just good for kids. It’s silly without being goofy. Oops and The Crow’s Toes are my current favorites. Plenty of variety in musical styles are on this disc, too, so you don’t get tired of it.

So to the moms and dads out there: who am I overlooking? Got any favorites you’d like to mention?

Y’all might remember Tom Maxwell’s visit to MT.Net a few months ago. Just found out via David Menconi’s blog that Tom’s 3 year old son Esten was diagnosed with leukemia last month. Esten is responding well but the medical bills are adding up, so a benefit concert is being held in Pittsboro at the Scoreboard December 9th.

I will be there to donate and encourage you to do the same. As a parent of two kids I have an appreciation for the terror leukemia must be for the Maxwells. I hope that Esten recovers completely and my thoughts go out to him and his family. Continue reading →