www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHnr72AsgIU

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc_6qu_pAUs

I don't know as though I have intentionally played this song on its own ever before today. I didn't need to. It is pervasive (much like the insulation now in my lungs).

I blame G mostly, who loves the song enough to learn the dance (shown in the diner dancing scene). She hurt her knee in the process, so she had "Telephone Knee" as we called it. Then after spending copious time on the actual phone, her elbow hurt, so she had "Telephone Elbow". Every minor cut or scrape was "Telephone Something". I think she had "Telephone Foot" for a day.

It is all very funny to me because for months G resisted liking Lady Gaga but now loves her. As I said before, "Approve or disapprove, original or not, good or bad there is something entertaining and bizarre, appealing and repulsive about Lady Gaga." Love her or hate her, Lady Gaga is here to stay.

If you want the song, without the story line or the Pussy Wagon (Kill Bill!), here you go:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQOmZ3UhEXc

For those who love her or hate her, and have seen the "Telephone" video, this parody by barelydigital.com is a hoot!

I totally cracked at "Rub-a-dub-dub three nuns in a tub, and they're doing it with a garden gnome". And if you're wondering about the "lotion in the basket" reference, you need to listen to this.

And for those who also want to develop a case of "telephone knee"…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ann-3_eYTBo

I think I'll pass though.

Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

• Annie
• Kesha
• t.A.T.u.

I also suggest the music genre:

• Electropop

Click here for more info on Lady Gaga – The Fame Monster – "Telephone".

The MP3 may be purchased here…

Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqz1ojIQTBk

My cousin, nephew and I were quizzing each other on some Weird Al songs and lyrics last night and it all started with a reference to "Fat" during dinner. If mimicry is flattery, than parody is flattery + amiable jest. Occasionally a parody is meant to be more of an insult but I believe in Weird Al's case he genuinely appreciates all the songs he parodies.

For those of you who now need to contrast with the King of Pop's original, "Bad", here is Micheal Jackson:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsUXAEzaC3Q

Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

• BarelyDigital.com
• DJ Steve Porter
• They Might Be Giants

I also suggest the music genre:

• Comedy

Click here for more info on Weird Al Yankovic – Even Worse – "Fat".

The MP3 may be purchased here…

Weird Al Yankovic - Even Worse

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLzAiVx3A0w

G found this one. Too funny …and awesome, of course!

AND I'm awesome too apparently! It is awesome how many of the characteristics of his awesomeness I share. "I've got the swagger of a cripple." Check. "There's no voicemail nobody called." Check. "Physically the opposite of Randy Moss." Check.

Oh and as G pointed out, one of the instruments appears to be the "pan flute" on a synthesizer. That IS awesome!

Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

• BarelyDigital.com
• DJ Steve Porter
• Eminem

I also suggest the music genre:

• Comedy

Click here for more info on Spose – "I'm Awesome".

The MP3 may be purchased here…

Spose - I'm Awesome

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWRyj5cHIQA

I need a little comedy today. A little Slap Chop Rap (aka Rap Chop) should do it!

Update 2010/02/04:

I needed a little comedy too, as it turned out. On my way to work my exhaust pipe gave way such that my car sounded like it had no muffler. Five minutes later a sheriff pulled me over and gave me a ticket for it. In my town you have a very very short window during which to fix your car issues, but I did it. Pow fixed within 24 hours and the ticket dropped. Yeah! Slap Chop helped me avoid ridiculous fines! The power of a laugh… er… fine chopping tool.

If you totally need to buy a Slap Chop now, here is a link:

Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest the music genres:

• Comedy
• Hip Hop

Click here for more info on DJ Steve Porter – "Slap Chop Rap".

The MP3 is not available from what I can tell, but really you need the video to go with it for the full experience here…

DJ Steve Porter - Slap Chop Rap

www.youtube.com/watch?v=urNyg1ftMIU

I feel like something fun today. My nephews and cousins have been raving about this video. They are the sort that play Dungeons & Dragons. I suppose I am almost that sort too with my Axis & Allies. Anyone in touch with their inner geek should be able to relate.

Other than this video I haven't watched "The Guild" at all but I am going to have to check it out now. (I guess the song works then.) It is an online sitcom, which you can find here.

Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

• Goldfrapp
• Owl City
• Röyksopp

I also suggest the music genre:

• Electropop

Click here for more info on Felicia Day and Jed Whedon – The Guild – "(Do You Wanna Date My) Avatar".

The MP3 may be purchased here…

The Guild - (Do You Wanna Date My) Avatar

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpuNU3y1KAk

When I was little, "John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together" was by far my favorite Christmas album. This song in particular was my favorite! Ba-dum bum bum!

Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

• Bing Crosby – "White Christmas"
• Dr. Seuss – "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch"

I also suggest the music genre:

• Christmas

Click here for more info on John Denver and the Muppets – A Christmas Together – "The Twelve Days of Christmas".

The MP3 may be purchased here…

John Denver and the Muppets - A Christmas Together

I know it isn't fair to the all non-Christmas celebrators that the airwaves should be so congested with Christmas songs this time of year, as if all other music is on hold until December 26th. Only 1/3 of the population of the planet is some form of Christianity so what are the believers of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism, Jainism, or one of the other major religions to do!? And what about the Atheists? Who is writing songs for them? Huh!?

My selection for today will hopefully tickle the fancy of all though. It is not your traditional Christmas carol at all. No… I think even those out there who hate Christmas may get a kick out of this one. It is too funny, especially with the video!

Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

• Elvis Presley
• Adam Sandler

I also suggest the music genre:

• Christmas

Click here for more info on The Killers – "Don't Shoot Me Santa".

The MP3 may be purchased here…

The Killers - Don't Shoot Me Santa

I have been a bit absent the past couple days. I meant to post a song for Chanukah on Friday, but I've been busy with assorted holiday celebrations and preparations. So retroactively here is Adam Sandler's contribution to the short list of Chanukah songs in pop culture. I do like the Saturday Night Live (SNL) version the best.

…want more? Sandler keeps adding to and modifying the lyrics so there are several versions. "Part 3" is not to shabby either: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1sf5yqZX-k

Song Recommendations

I also suggest the music genre:

• Comedy

Click here for more info on Adam Sandler – What The Hell Happened To Me? – "The Chanukah Song".

The MP3 of the album version may be purchased here…

Adam Sandler - What The Hell Happened To Me?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=exOxUAntx8I

Ok sport fans, I've got one for YOU!

Generally I find most team sports boring! Like really boring. Sure I can watch 5 to 10 minutes of any game of any sport and be entertained, but then it just seems like I might as well do anything else. Hell I'd rather be playing the sports I'm watching, albeit very very poorly. I throw like a girl, my kick has no aim, and I'm more qualified to be a tack dummy than tackling anyone. Whatever though. You all want to spend your life focused on sports, go for it. I'm all focused on music, so who am I to judge what turns anyone on or off.

However, what is worse is when people TALK about team sports. SNORE!!! Part of my brain just goes right to sleep. I really could not care any less. If possible I put my headphones back on and turn up the volume!

However, today I heard this mix, forwarded to me from a coworker of mine, and it is probably the most attention I've paid to team sports all year! DJ Steve Porter has assembled these classic moments of mostly pro-football players and coaches, and also basketball player Allen Iverson, all opening their mouths and saying things that made the news at the time. From what I have gathered they probably did not do themselves any favors. These gems are immortalized in this humorous hip hop.

So let that be a lesson to you. Say things you might regret on camera and you might be regretting them to a hip hop beat later!

Because I am a geek and like to look up stuff, here are the original interviews. This is my deconstruction of the song, which I'm sure was much less work than DJ Steve Porter put into making it!

Allen Iverson (basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers at the time):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGDBR2L5kzI

Jim Mora (former coach for the Indianapolis Colts):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qwq7BYOnDrM

Mike Gundy (football coach for Oaklahoma State):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoMmbUmKN0E

Joe Namath (quarterback for the New York Jets):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQqIQyT-RuM

Dennis Green (former football coach for the Arizona Cardinals):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_N1OjGhIFc

Terrell Owens (wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNO6On7cK1M

Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I suggest the music genres:

• Hip Hop
• Comedy

Click here for more info on DJ Steve Porter.

The MP3 may be downloaded for FREE (compliments of DJ Steve Porter) here…

DJ Steve Porter - Press Hop

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQMbXvn2RNI

Viva la revolution, all you bovine lovers!

It just so happens that I was asked about my vegetarian ways today by someone with the question "What sort of practicalities or issues do you run into?" and a link to this article, "Bellying Up to Environmentalism". My response was as follows. I have much to say on the topic and even what I have here only scratches the surface. If you want a short answer then you should stop reading now and just know that I am a vegetarian not because of my love of animals or the environment, it is because I hate plants.

Seriously though, I've been a vegetarian for over 13 years. I am of the ovo-lacto variety. I eat eggs and dairy products. I even occasionally buy something made of leather or other animal products.

I was hardly raised vegetarian. G pointed out to me the other day that being a vegetarian was part of my teenage rebellion. I live in a meat eater's world here in the United States, where it is frequently difficult to get anything other than a salad or perhaps some pasta at restaurants as the only real vegetarian options. I am never surprised but always disappointed when the main part of my meal is some sort of fried potato. Our culture views meat as a nutritional necessity, though I am living proof it is not. Our meals in this country tend to focus on the meat, and view everything else as something added to the meat. e.g. A hamburger is not a hamburger unless it has the meat. The pickle, lettuce, tomato, etc. are all toppings.

When I do eat out I do tend toward the foreign foods. They tend to view the meat as an additive. Go to a Thai or Chinese restaurant, for example, and tofu is easily swapped for chicken without compromising the essence of the meal. In mexican food, beans is offen the substitute. With Indian meat can be left out 9 times out of 10 and you would never know the difference. Even Italian food is typically centered around the pasta, the bread or the sauce.

At home it is a similar story. G (who is essentially a vegetarian because of me, and not when we go out to eat) and I tend to cook meals without meat, usually with either rice, pasta, bread, pie crust, spaghetti squash, or burritos as a base, and then assorted vegetables, tofu, beans, and sauses added. For some things we have swapped out a vegetable alternative. e.g. instead of cheeseburgers, we frequently use portobello mushrooms in place of the burger. Instead of meatballs, G makes the most delicious eggplant balls, instead of deli meats on sandwhiches I spread hummus. We do use the fake ground beef, and the veggie burgers, and fake chicken patties too, but mostly because they are quick to prepare. I do not think of them as "fake meat" though because they rarely taste like meat and anyone expecting meat will be disappointed. They are really their own type of food.

It is difficult for me to be too picky if I want to eat out at restaurants at all. I know the veggie burgers were likely grilled on the same stove as the burgers. The fries were fried in the same fryer as the chicken wings. My veggie sub was sliced on the same cutting board and with the same knife as all the meat sandwiches. You just have to keep your eyes open and accept that there will be contamination or even that the veggy soup you just took a big spoonful was actually chicken soup.

I've known for a long time that being vegetarian is more environmentally friendly. Guilting people into being vegetarian is probably the wrong approach to try vegetarianism or reduce meat intake. There is definitely a financial savings by eating less meat, but more importantly there is a huge health savings. For example I had my choleterol tested last year and the doctor said it was "perfect". I got a perfect score. No force fed cherrios for me! I challenge any meat eater to produce the same results. I would also say that about a month or two after I did make the initial switch I never felt better. I lost weight immediately too. I also opened my eyes to a world of food that I had previously only eaten because "it was good for me". I have to believe now that vegetables taste more appealing to me because I crave them, not meat. By shutting out meat I actually feel like I opened a lot more doors to other flavors and cultures of food that I had previously avoided.

Given the frequency of meat recalls, and knowing that so much meat is bathed in ammonia to sterilize it, or contains high amounts of hormones, drugs, or mercury, I feel better not touching the stuff. The fruit and vegetable industries are not without fault though (e.g. Monsanto engineered corn, over insecticided apples, spinach recalls, etc.), so that alone is not enough. Really that is an arguement to go free range and organic.

If you eat egg and/or dairy, you will still get plenty of protein. Even then you do not need animal protein to survive, as my Vegan friends have proved. Don't believe the protien myth the meat eaters will tell you. How the body uses and produces protiens is another lecture entirely though.

I would encourage meat eaters to consider eating meat only once a day if they are eating it twice now or fewer times per week if they are eating it every day. Or perhaps next time you make a meat dish at home, reduce the amount of meat put in in exchange for more of the other ingredients. Personal as well as environmental benefits can still be gained through reduction.

…oh and if that is not enough to convince you, then perhaps the threat of cows with guns will do it? No? What about the chickens in choppers?

Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

• BarelyDigital.com
• Johnny Cash
• Kerri Powers

I also suggest the music genre:

• Alternative Country

Click here for more info on Dana Lyons – Cows With Guns – "Cows With Guns".

The MP3 may be purchased here…

Dana Lyons - Cows With Guns

www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1iZarUHt04

I've been watching way too much of The Family Guy, if that's possible. I've watched it so much this past year you could say I have been studying it. All the little musical references get stuck in my head too. This morning I cannot get "Shipoopi" from The Music Man out! (For the record I WANT IT OUT!) So here it is… Shipoopi! The 1962 movie version is above, the 1957 Broadway version is here, and The Family Guy version is below! It is so absurd a show tune, it is perfect for The Family Guy.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTWSYXR96mw

Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

• BarelyDigital.com – "Moon Girl"
• Michael Bennett – "A Chorus Line"
• Rodgers and Hammerstein – "The Sound of Music"

I also suggest the music genre:

• Musical

Click here for more info on Meredith Willson – The Music Man – "Shipoopi".

The MP3 (of the Broadway version) may be purchased here…

Meredith Willson - The Music Man

This one is too funny!

It is funny (and nerdy) right from the start. The opening is so musically nerdy, emulating and parodying so many rap songs…

…ugh ugh, yeah yeah, this is a sad jam…

Some other lines that just cracked me up…

…can we switch controllers…

…I just was intimidated by your three vaginas, Larry, Curly and Moe…

Finding the "can we switch controllers" line funny shows my true geekdom. Only a true geek would understand.

I also love the little things in the video, like the surface of the moon being made up of bare back sides. Brilliant! It definitely requires repeated viewings!

Click here for more info on BarelyDigital.com – "Moon Girl".

www.youtube.com/watch?v=erE8WTngaAY

I am late on posting my album of the week because…

I BOUGHT A DRUM SET!!!

The set I've been playing is a Pearl set I borrowed from my cousin. Good for beginning, but I knew early on it didn't sound the way I wanted it to. My cousin wants his set back, so I was forced (*wink wink*) to acquire another set. I promptly found a Ludwig Accent CS Combo in Wine Red (used) purchased it, set it up and was beating on it into the night!

Ludwig Accent CS Combo

This particular drum set was recommended on several websites as a decent set that would at least take you through "beginner drummer" into "intermediate drummer". The Pearl set was not doing it for me. It was also way too high in pitch for my liking.

I should add I was also interested in Ludwig drums in particular because they are used by The Killers' drummer, Ronnie Vannucci Jr., and I like their sound. (Click here to listen to some of The Killers' songs.) Also Ludwig drums were a favorite choice of the great Buddy Rich, who drummed with the likes of Artie Shaw, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong, among others.

In honor of this purchase, this bonus song features a drum duel between Buddy Rich and Animal on The Muppet Show. Clearly Buddy Rich creams Animal!

Click here for more info on legendary drummer Buddy Rich.