Elfish Angst

Best holiday song ever? Easy. "Elf's Lament" by the Barenaked Ladies. I enjoy a little Christmas music every now and then. The sweet, gentle celebratory songs are nice and everything but they have nothing on elfish angst. If I had my way, elfish angst would rule the holiday season. Perhaps it is the Hermione in me (for those of you who don't know, I'm totally Hermione) that wants the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare to feature more prominantly in the hearts and minds of all us human folk, but have we ever stopped to consider the impact of "indenture servitude" has on our little friends? According to this song, it's not good. The Fat Man needs to be stopped. Well...actually...I still want presents sooooooooo...maybe he just needs a few guidelines. Yeah. That's the solution. Let's rock out to this tune and stand up for elfish rights today! And tomorrow. And the next day. Woo!

Happy Holidays!

Dixie the Tiny Dog

Ok, so, I mentioned the ridiculous wonderfulness that is "Dixie the Tiny Dog" last post but I didn't really give it the attention it deserves. In fact, I didn't give it any attention after having mentioned that it was ridiculous(ly) wonderful, which, quite frankly, is criminal. Were I more motivated and less into my personal liberty, I would call the inapropro po-po (inappropriate police for those who don't speak Dumb) and they would come and arrest me.

So, without further ado, DIXIE THE TINY DOG BY PETER HIMMELMAN IS INCREDIBLE.

Seriously, I know what you are thinking, "Dixie the Tiny Dog, that's stupid. It sounds stupid. It's probably just a stupid, ridiculous piece of stupid." Please don't be thinking that. It's awesome. It's has delightfully cheery and adorable fingerpicking guitar underneath it's quirky lyrics. My favorite part: "I'm thin and I'm proud and no one can make fun of me I can slip through the bars of a prison if I were ever incarcerated, but I don't know what I would do wrong. My body yields no evil inclination, I'm a pure weiner dog."

So check it out.

Hello.

Hello,

This is all you need to know about me: I watched and enjoyed the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie last year, I'm in college, I'm currently addicted to brussel sprouts and tuna on tomatoes, I listen to music obsessively in that I both listen to music all the time AND I get rather addicted to songs/artists/CDs and then subsequently listen to them on repeat for weeks (which is why my Top 25 Played list currently includes 4 Zee Avi songs), I can be rather (ok, fine, disgustingly) lazy, I color in my free time, I visit CakeWrecks everyday without fail and I have an intense fear of people touching my neck.

I couldn't decide what music to write about so I decided to put my iPod on shuffle and was pleasantly surprised. I had already made the deal with myself that I would faithfully mention the first five songs that played, fully expecting something ridiculous(ly wonderful) such as "Dixie the Tiny Dog." However, my iPod surprised me. It went and made me seem so much cooler than I actually am. Yay iPod!

So the first song was "Poor Boy" by Leo Kottke. I'm not going to lie, approximately 37% of my love of ol' Leo is his rather fantastic name. Someday, when Feebo (my current fish) dies, I am going to buy a fish. And I am going to name that fish Leo Kottke. And that fish, despite all odds will become a guitar virtuoso and it will be beautiful and a movie will be made starring Nemo as Leo and...yeah... That's my main life goal at this point. Real solid. Beyond the name though I love Leo Kottke. In general, it takes a lot for me to like purely instrumental songs but Leo can play the guitar. He can play it REALLY well. And I love him for that. The first time my dad played a Leo Kottke song for me, I refused to believe that there was only one person playing because the dude is ridiculous. I also read the information on his album and it's hilarious and off-beat and just generally fantastic. He's an odd, in the best way possible.

"Down the Highway" by Bob Dylan was actually pretty delightful too. I'm not going to lie, the only Bob Dylan songs that I'm really acquainted with are "The Times They Are A'Changing" and "Blowing in the Wind" but I really like his music. I tend to go for chill music and Dylan's music manages to feel chill and meaningful at the same time. Crazy! Well, crazy awesome. So, this inspired me to go back and listen to all the Bob Dylan music on my iPod which is sadly just off "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" and "The Times They Are A'Changing" (from the Watchmen soundtrack). My favorite song (after the two aforementioned ones) is "Girl From the North Country." I'm a sucker for fingerpicking guitar and there is some BEAUTIFUL fingerpicking in that song. Mmmm...delicious.

"Endgame" by R.E.M. reminds me of my childhood. Listening to R.E.M.'s "Nightswimming" on the way to go night swimming at my grandparents house is one of my clearest memories and "Shiny Happy People" was a favorite for a while despite its almost nauseating sap. I like that "Endgames" is basically all instrumental which I find very relaxing.

"Brainsbodyboth" by George Hrab is one of those songs that I want to like more than I actually do. I used to listen to Hrab's podcast (for those who are currently residing under rocks with at least some internet service--podcasts are FREE on iTunes. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEM. They are cool and FREE.) and he is a funny dude. I appreciate funny dudes. He has a cool world perspective (YAY skeptics!) and he's a talented musician. That being said, there is something about this song that I can't completely love. I don't know what it is and it bothers me but there is something. I think its maybe that I'm not super into funky music and Hrab's music is VERY funky. Which is cool but not really to my taste. His lyrics are clever though and I'm all for digging the smarties.

"Rocky Racoon" by The Beatles is wonderfully folksy. I love folk music. Love love love love love it. I think it's because I was sort of raised on it. (My dad has had a HUGE influence on my musical tastes). I also LOVE The Beatles. Soooooo...you take The Beatles and throw in a scoop of folksiness and you get a whole heap of tastiness. :D