Music Monday: Kiana Brown "Hey Chica"

I've been lucky enough to have a few awesome pre-teen girls enter my life lately, and this is now on my "You Are Awesome" playlist (along with pretty much anything Willow Smith does).

Its unfortunate that the video starts with boys, but its body positive and inclusive - and most importantly has a fun dance beat. And let's be honest we could all use a fun dance beat today.

Music Monday: Sing, Sing a Song (to which your pre-verbal baby can harmonize)

If my kid gets antsy all I need to do is start singing. One day my mom and I needed a new song to sing while she made dinner (thanks, mom!) and I cleaned up the kitchen so we started singing this classic. Neither of us could remember all the words so we just started singing, "la, la, la, la." Turns out those geniuses at Sesame Street in all their 1970s pro-child (and bell bottoms, and polyester shirt) amazingness knew that mom brain could only handle two verses and those are the actual words to the chorus!

But, they also may have proven their knowledge of child development. Last night I was singing this over and over to my kid who, according to my friend studying speech pathology, is at the "jargon" stage in his language development. He doesn't use actual words, but can have a whole conversation and tell you all about his day in words we aren't privy to. After two rounds, he started singing along with the "la, la" chorus. Every. Time.

Well, at least until his dad came in and I tried to show him that our son is obviously a musical genius.

The Breeders: My Baby Is a Hipster

Check out my post on The Patch about how my child loves vinyl and unlistenable noise pop. Now he just needs a fixie tricycle.

Music Monday: Smile - Ska for Kids

My baby loves music. Probably because his dad loves it, too. They spend a lot of the day listening to records and making music. Adam actually helped make this one. He did the cover art while we were waiting for the kid to arrive and had a really fun time with it.

That's the theme of this record - fun, fun, fun. One or another of Adam's bands has been on Asian Man Records for last fifteen years or so, and I can attest - dude is fun. When he's not making music and running the label, Mike Park is busy marrying us and everyone else we know. Seriously, if you need someone to marry you, he is really good at it. Your ceremony will be romantic and heartfelt, but also super fun.

He is also really good at making kids music. All the big kid and baby blogs (and punk news sites) have been all over this record. Mike has two ridiculously adorable kids of his own to inspire him so I'm not surprised.

So (shameless plug), if you buy this record I would suggest foregoing iTunes and getting the CD version through good old fashioned mail order, it looks like a Little Golden Book and it comes with crayons so your kid can color the coloring book pages inside. See...FUN!

#musicmonday: Book of Mormon...THE MUSICAL!

Thanks to NPR you can stream the entire "Book of Mormon" original cast recording. Needless to say, when it comes to the Bay Area I am totally taking my raised-Mormon husband and cringe through the whole thing.

#musicmonday: Yo-Yo Ma and Lil Buck

I love this. It feels like over the last few years we've been culturally trained so that a collaboration between "high" and "low" culture is not unique, but I think we still expect a beat to come in, the popular form outdoing the old. But without the booming bass track it seems like you actually appreciate the dance more. I'm no dance expert (10 years of recitals to Paula Abdul and Janet Jackson not withstanding), but a lot of the dance harkens to ballet and the ending outdoes many modern dance pieces.

#musicmonday: Spring Fever

Let me tell you, that ain't love that's in the air. Evidently allergy meds made me blissfully unaware of just how gross spring can be. Antihistamines and decongestants, I will never take you for granted again.

#musicmonday: Columbus Children's and Gay Men's Choruses

I am a choir nerd. And a good choral performance can get me a bit weepy. The more members the more weepy. So, the melding of two choruses in support of the Trevor Project is just about enough to do me in.

#musicmonday: Loretta

I finally watched Coal Miner's Daughter two weeks ago. This has been in my head ever since. Luckily, now whenever I see Sissy Spacek I won't just think of dirty pillows.

#musicmonday: Ode to My Hooptie

This weekend I finally had to say good bye to the car I've driven since I was 16. The old girl wasn't quite as bad as this (she was only missing one hubcap), but when the horn became something akin to a No Whammy button it was characterized by more than one person as "a little hooptie."

I still loved her.

#musicmonday: 9 and 10 year olds take on Lil' Wayne

When nine year olds call you out on your misogyny, you done been served.

#musicmonday: Marvelous Mashups

So everyone and their mama downloaded the Girl Talk album and yeah it is pretty awesome. But what I think is even cooler than employing fair use to its fullest extent to create art, is that mashups are just one indicator of how art is being made in whole new ways thanks to technology that has become relatively cheap.

Girl Talk's album inspired a film maker to want to make an epic 71-minute video casting previously unknown dancers to show off their own style. But, you know "cheap" technology is a relative term, and you still need to pay for transportation and feed people. So, he turned to the internet (the same place you download All Day) and his Kickstarter goal was not only meat but nearly tripled. Sweet.

But, while Girl Talk gets all the hype, there are lots of other people making mashups too - including your little cousin thanks to Garage Band. I am particularly fond of the long running Bootie DJ's. You can download their Best of 2010 here.

If you are in the Bay Area, however, I would highly recommend actually attending Bootie, because there you'll see Smash-Up Derby - a live mashup band. They are amazing musicians and performers. If you want to dance your sweaty butt off alternating between jumping up and down to Nirvana and grinding to Cher (in the same song) go down near the stage. If you want a little more elbow room I recommend the balcony. Either way, I promise you will not be disappointed.

#musicmonday: My Grammys Recap

Justin Bieber DID NOT win Best New Artist. Esperanza Spalding did, proving that there is hope for this world.



I have a soft spot for banjos after living in Austin. I however do not believe that it is any more appropriate to groove out by humping your banjo as it is to do the same with a guitar. Not okay. I also still do not like Bob Dylan.



Oh and Gaga decided fashion is out. Creepy body modifications are in.

Oh, and THIS happened.

#musicmonday: Mama's Theme Song

Certain co-workers of mine have found it impossible not to sing a song with the lyric "mother" in them as they pass me in the hall. Today it was this one:



However, in my head that "mother" refrain turned into this:



Evidently, music re-popularized in 1992-1993 was preparing me for motherhood. Does anyone else have the urge to go play Rock Band now?

#musicmonday: Sounds of (not so) Silence

This has been in my head all day. Now it is in yours. You're welcome.

PS: Does the shot of the groovin' audience member remind anyone else of the audience from MTV's Unplugged? Could have been in the Nirvana show, or maybe it was his kid.

#musicmonday: Dessa, Kick (some) Ass Lady Rapper

I was introduced to Dessa through my husband's friend who brought him along to review a show. He thought it would be funny since my husband used to be in DESA (I would link to this really awesome video that he and our friend made here, but Warner Music Group has decided it has rights to something written, sung, produced, directed and filmed by people whose content they have no rights over, and YouTube believes them, so here's my second favorite, but anyway...). Adam gave Dessa a DESA shirt and brought me home a CD, 'cause you know bad-ass lady, means Stephanie will totally dig it.

Of course he was right. Dessa cannot only sing, she can rap, and she writes some pretty amazing lyrics. At first listen I was a little disturbed by a theme that runs through both Dixon's Girl and Alibi, but after a couple of listens they still resonate.



In both, she reaches out to another woman who is being exploited or abused by a man. But, rather than offer to help them get services she offers an "alibi" or "bad advice." The alibi also pops up in the Dixon's Girl video, and while I won't publicly condone subverting taking the law into your own hands...the songs bear the truth of the many reasons women rely on friends rather than social services or the police, particularly financial dependence, whether it is providing shelter (Alibi) or income (Dixon's Girl).

They also reflect the relationships between women that provide this kind of support. Dixon's Girl is an amazing look at the life of a female rapper, from lack of women in the scene, to getting shows snowed out, and its pretty fun to watch.

#musicmonday: Monday Monday

Since I spent my Monday morning spraining the crap out of my ankle (again) through the very strenuous activity of walking (again), here's my little pity party.

But! You get a bonus song in the video. Yay, Monday...

Your Friday Awesome: History for Music (and Costume) Lovers

What do you get when you combine dedicated teachers who were probably theater and choir nerds, a kick ass costume wardrobe, friends willing to learn the violin to cover Dexy's Midnight Runners, and someone with a copy of After Effects? Awesomeness, that's what.

Two history teachers in Hawaii have created a slew of videos to teach history lessons set to everything from Justin Timberlake to Depeche Mode. There are 48 - FORTY EIGHT - of these suckers. According to them, they might be inspired by 80s songs but, "do desperation and exhaustion count as influences?"

Here are just some of my favorites. It is so hard to choose...

Say it with me: This plague is bubonic, B-U-B-O-N-I-C!



Joan of Arc is so awesome, just so, so awesome.



The Canterbury Tales to California Dreamin'? Yes, please. With a little Middle English thrown in for good measure.



Oh, and if that isn't nerdy enough for you, Beowolf (set to 99 Luftballoons) has some Old English. I'm guessing one of these history teachers also has an English degree.

#musicmonday: Diamond Rings

Really, this should have been posted closer to halloween, but how could I pass it up? Spandex, and make-up and choreography (and basketball!), oh my!

#musicmonday: Manic Monday

This was totally my favorite song during third through 6th grade - during which time I was oblivious to this verse:

All of my nights why did my lover have to pick last night to get down (last night, last night)
Doesn't it matter that I have to feed the both of us, employment's down
He tells me in his bedroom voice:
"C'mon feal the noise" (ba ba ba baaaa)
Time, it goes so fast (when you're having fun).

Sexual liberation and the female breadwinner during a recession in a Top 40 hit. Awesomesauce

Also, 80's power-suits.

(ba ba ba baaaa)