Author: mjmadaio
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Lightness
I left work the other day around 5:30 (admittedly a bit early for me), and it was still light out!
Sure, we haven’t had the coldest winter of record (and snow has been noticeably absent), but this was still a great feeling. I haven’t seen the light of day after work since October, so even though it was dark 15 minutes later, it was a sign of things to come. When do pitchers and catchers report?
Not all news about the upcoming warm weather is good...
5 points if you get the musical connection with the post title…
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Fantastic Seinfeld Revelation
As someone who watches Seinfeld as much as I do, even the smallest of new revelations are extremely welcome. I had one tonight when watching “The Muffin Tops“, from Season 8. This is the episode where Kramer starts his “Peterman Reality Tour” (based on Kenny Kramer’s NYC “tour”), and at one point attemps to take Elaine and Mr. Lippman’s muffin “stumps” to the dump.
If you’re a fan, you’re probably aware that he was unsuccesful dumping the muffins. This, however, is not the important part of the episode. The dump that Kramer visits is “Jiffy Dump”, which looks suspiciously like “Jiffy Park” (where prostitues were turning tricks in the parking lot) from “The Wig Master“, an episode that aired in Season 7, 26 episodes and over a year later! Same logo, same attendent, same “office” (the booth where the parking attendant, or dump attendant hangs out). Incredible.
Taking this connection even further, the fabulous attendant (Chaim Jeraffi) has pretty much the same lines. In “The Wig Master”, he says to George, “can’t do it” when he wants to take his car out of the lot and advises him to “take it up with Consumer Affairs” when George complains about the hookers in his car. In “The Muffin Tops”, he tells Kramer “can’t do it” when Kramer tries to unload the unruly stumps, and Kramer yells “maybe I will take it up with Consumer Affairs” as he gets back on the bus with the bag of stumps.
One other note: At one point, Slippery Pete, of “Frogger” fame, is on the Peterman Reality Tour. He’s the guy who says: “What is this? A piece of pound cake?”
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Happy Groundhog Day!
One of my favorite obscure holidays, if only for the sheer absurdity of it. Check out some history. With the Stillers in the Big Game (starts with “S”, ends with “uper Bowl”, can’t say specifically for licensing reasons), Punxy, PA must be one hell of a place to be this morning. (Not that it wasn’t already.) Imagine if the Iggles didn’t self destruct and got there too!
I was also thinking about what a great but underappreciated movie Groundhog Day is. It really is one of the finest comedies of our generation… containing a nice balance of optimism and cynicism. It ends in a happy, romantic comedy way, but without being overly sentimental. Throughout the movie, however, Phil reaches depths of despair rarely seen in a Meg Ryan – Tom Hanks flick. I also like the way it leaves so much to the imagination — why did Phil end up in this situation? How? How long was he there? Most Hollywood movies must explain all this, but Ramis’ genius left it all ambiguous. Lastly, its one of few movies that gets better the more you watch it. Each viewing adds another layer to the puzzle. I’ll be screening it tonight!
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Top 5 Cover Songs – Non-Xmas
So a few weeks ago my pal Gordo challenged me to put together a list of my 5 all time favorite cover songs. Feeling the Yuletide spirit, I changed the assignment, choosing to put up my five favorite Xmas covers. However, as promised, I’ve also put together my five favorite regular covers, as originally requested.
Oh, so my criteria for this is that the cover has to be better than the original. There are a lot of nice covers that pretty much just regurgitate the original, which really doesn’t do a whole lot of good for anyone. Anyhoo, here goes:
“Jersey Girl”, Bruce Springsteen: Amazingly, this song has become so ingrained in the Springsteen canon, most people don’t ever realize it was first performed by Tom Waits. Really, this is what a cover is all about — making it completely one’s own.
“Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World”, Israel Kamakawiwo`ole: This song has become the de facto Hawaiian anthem, and deservedly so. Just a beautifully poignant, unique song.
“Lawyers, Guns and Money”, The Wallflowers: Despite the recent trend to honor Warren Zevon posthumously, and despite his obvious success as a songwriter and performer, I never really cared for his music. However, Jakob Dylan & Co. inject new life into this one — It flat-out rocks!
“Wurlitzer Prize”, Norah Jones: Although never realeased on a proper album, it is my favorite track by Jones. Her sultry voice matches the achingly beautiful song perfectly.
“Streets of Philadelphia”, Marah: David Bielanko’s rollicking banjo turns the downtrodden original into a fun-loving barnburner. While it may take away a bit from the original’s serious overtones, it rocks nonetheless.
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Every Little Thing She Does is…
Is it me, or is “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic” the most commonly used song in movie previews of all time? Is there any other song that even comes close?
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5 songs I love right at this very moment
Animal Collective-Banshee Beat. I don’t alway connect with this band, but they are growing on me. This song is incredible, what a build.
The Drones-Shark Fin Blues-Still digesting this record. This song rules.
Okkervil River-For Real-Love this record. This song can be a little jarring, but it is what first got me really noticing this band.
The Hold Steady-Knuckles. From the first Hold Steady record. They can do no wrong in my book. For me, one of those rare bands I seem to never tire of. This song epitomizes the energy and creativity of the band.
Nellie McKay-David and Sari. I have yet to make it thorugh this album, but really like Nellie. It is parly because she raps and is quite striking, I think, but these songs appeal to my 3-year old as well. It is nice to include some more accessible music in my listening repertoire from time to time….