Songs By Bands With Animal Names, Vol. 4

This is the fourth entry in a (surprisingly long) mini-series of posts featuring songs by bands with animals in their names. If you haven't viewed the first three posts, you can read them here, here, and here. In the first post, I covered canines, felines, and hooved animals. In the second one, it was primates, bears, and rodents. The third post included aquatic animals (fish also) and birds. This time, the subject is reptiles and insects. As before, the songs will cover a wide variety of musical styles, both old and new. You may not like them all, but I'm sure you'll enjoy a few of them. You might even be familiar with several of them. Here we go...

THE REPTILES:


1)  Whitesnake  ~  "Here I Go Again"

2)  The Turtles  ~  "Happy Together"

3)  Neil Young & The Stray Gators  ~  "Heart Of Gold"

4)  Tortoise  ~  "It's All Around"

5)  The Iguanas  ~  "Fortune Teller"

6)  The Gecko  ~  "Failure Is Not An Option"

7)  Alligator Indian  ~  "Telepathic Boys"

THE INSECTS:

1)  Alien Ant Farm  ~  "These Days"

2)  Adam And The Ants  ~  "Antmusic"

3)  Iron Butterfly  ~  "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"  (Fair warning: This is a 17-minute-long song. You'll get the idea after the first two or three minutes, but you'll miss all the cool guitar solos...)

4)  The Bird And The Bee  ~  "My Love"

5)  Papa Roach  ~  "Broken Home"

6)  Buddy Holly & The Crickets  ~  "Oh, Boy!"

7)  Scorpions  ~  "Rock You Like A Hurricane"

8)  Flyleaf  ~  "Beautiful Bride"

9)  The Beatles  ~  "Something"

A Conversation In Song Titles Using Songs By The Rolling Stones

OK, so I'll admit it: This one's not as good as my Beatles conversation of a week or so ago. But I did the best I could. I don't even like The Rolling Stones all that much, but they -- like The Beatles -- had plenty of songs to choose from, so I went with it. The scenario this time is that of a Psychiatrist and his Patient having a session. Hopefully, it makes a little bit of sense and may elicit a chuckle or two. Or not. Either way, here it is....


PATIENT:  Something Happened To Me Yesterday.

DOCTOR:  Tell Me.

PATIENT:  Stupid Girl!

DOCTOR:  Too Tough! No Use In Crying!

PATIENT:  Out Of Tears.

DOCTOR:  You Can't Always Get What You Want.

PATIENT:  Pretty Beat Up.

DOCTOR:  Mercy, Mercy! Worried About You.

PATIENT:  I Got The Blues. Honest, I Do.

DOCTOR:  Sad, Sad, Sad?

PATIENT:  Mixed Emotions.

DOCTOR:  Tell Me.

PATIENT:  Complicated. It's Not Easy.

DOCTOR:  I Am Waiting.

PATIENT:  I'm Moving On. I'm Free!

DOCTOR:  Good Times! Congratulations!

PATIENT:  What To Do?

DOCTOR:  Shake Your Hips?

PATIENT:  Come On!

DOCTOR:  It Won't Take Long...

PATIENT:  Get Off Of My Cloud!

DOCTOR:  What A Shame...

PATIENT:  If You Really Want To Be My Friend...Doncha Bother Me. Had It With You!

DOCTOR:  Do You Think I Really Care? Please Go Home. Out Of Time. Don't Be A Stranger.

PATIENT:  You Win Again. On With The Show...

Words I Wish I Wrote: Christmas Quotes

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYBODY!

1)  "Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas."  ~  Calvin Coolidge, U.S. President


2)  "When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?"  ~  G.K. Chesterton, writer


3)  "There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child."  ~  Erma Bombeck, humorist


4)  "Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won't make it 'white'."  ~  Bing Crosby, actor/singer


5)  "At Christmas play and make good cheer, for Christmas comes but once a year."  ~  Thomas Tusser, poet


6)  "Christmas in Bethlehem. The ancient dream: a cold, clear night made brilliant by a glorious star, the smell of incense, shepherds and wise men falling to their knees in adoration of the sweet baby, the incarnation of perfect love."  ~  Lucinda Franks, writer


7)  "That's the true spirit of Christmas; people being helped by people other than me."  ~  Jerry Seinfeld, comedian


8)  "To perceive Christmas through its wrappings becomes more difficult with every year."  ~  E.B. White, writer


9)  "Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn't come from a store."  ~  Dr. Seuss, writer


10)  "He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree."  ~  Roy L. Smith, clergyman

Christmas Couture: A Collection Of Ugly Christmas Sweaters

It's Christmas Eve, and I'm working today. (Against my better judgment.) So, I'm keeping it simple. I'm sure you'll understand. Enjoy this delightfully tacky collection of hideously ugly Christmas sweaters, gathered from various places on the Internet, and apparently all real. (Sadly!)  Merry Christmas Eve!

 

Why Do We Hang Wreaths, Garlands, And Stockings? And What's Up With All These Christmas Trees?

1)  Why do we decorate our homes with wreaths, garlands, and Christmas trees?

A:  Hanging evergreen boughs in and around the home has been a tradition for many centuries. Ancient people believed that evergreens were able to ward off witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and even illness. Ancient Egyptians filled their homes with green palm rushes which symbolized for them the triumph of life over death. The Romans hung evergreens as part of their winter solstice feast (called Saturnalia) as a reminder that farms and orchards would soon be green and fruitful again. Druid priests decorated their temples with evergreen boughs as a symbol of everlasting life.

Sixteenth century German Christians are credited with starting the tradition of bringing decorated trees into their homes. Protestant reformer Martin Luther is widely believed to have been the first to add lighted candles to a tree. When German settlers arrived in Pennsylvania in the mid-1700s, the Christmas tree made its debut on the North American continent. However, over the next hundred years thereafter, the Christmas tree was frowned upon by many Americans as a pagan symbol that mocked the sacredness of the Christmas holiday. By the late 1800s, Christmas trees had started to become a popular tradition among Americans and Europeans alike. And the rest is history...

Source:  http://www.history.com/topics/history-of-christmas-trees


2)  Why do we hang our stockings by the chimney with care?

A: There are two theories behind the origin of the Christmas stocking. One theory says that the Christmas stocking was introduced in America by the Dutch. It's said that in the 16th century, children in Holland kept their straw-filled clogs by the hearth for the reindeer. At the same time, they would place a treat for Sinterclass (a.k.a. Santa Claus) near the fireplace in the house. In return, Sinterclass would leave some gifts for the children. Over time, the clogs were replaced by stockings -- which makes sense, if you think about it, because stockings can generally stretch to hold much more than wooden shoes can.

The other theory is harder to summarize succinctly, so I'll just quote it directly from another source:

"A nobleman and his wife had three daughters and they were living quite happily. One day, the wife contracted some fatal illness, which led to her untimely demise. Devastated by his wife's death, the nobleman squandered all his wealth and property. Since he was left with no money, he had to move into a peasant's cottage, along with his daughters. Soon, the time came for the daughters to get married. However, the father had lost all his wealth and could not afford to give any dowry.

As time passed, the father started getting more and more worried about getting his daughters married. One day, St. Nicholas of Myra happened to pass through the nobleman's village and heard the villagers discussing what the father was going through. St Nicholas knew that the father would be too proud to accept money from him. He decided to wait till dark and then, went to the nobleman's house, and threw three bags of gold coins from the chimney.

The same evening, the daughters of the nobleman had washed their clothes and had hung their stockings by the fireplace. The bag of gold coins dropped into the stockings, one bag for each daughter. When the family members woke up in the morning, they found the money in their stockings. The father utilized the money for marrying away his daughters, each with a generous dowry. Soon, the villagers came to know of St. Nicholas' generosity and started hanging their stockings by the fireplace."

And there you have it...

Source:  http://www.worldofchristmas.net/christmas-stockings/history.html

Things I Find Fascinating: Christmas Commercials From The '70s and '80s

Not much preamble is necessary here. Just a collection of Christmas-themed TV commercials from the 1970s and 1980s. If you're old enough, you might even remember a few of these (I am, and I do!). If you're not, you might still get something out of them. Enjoy!



1)  Weber Grills  (This one's kinda creepy!)

2)  Underoos  (Kids in their underwear? This ad would never pass muster in this day and age.)

3)  Burger King  (Sharp eyes might recognize Lea Thompson and Elisabeth Shue from the BACK TO THE FUTURE movies here as well as a very young Sarah Michelle Gellar from the BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER TV series)

4)  AVON  (The British version, apparently)

5)  Electronic Football  (Weirdsville...)

6)  L.A. Gear  (It isn't hard to spot a young Jennifer Love Hewitt here [from PARTY OF FIVE and THE GHOST WHISPERER fame]...it seems her acting skills have improved a lot since then)

7)  Christmas Crunch Cereal  (I didn't even know they made this! I was 11 years old when this came out -- I would've eaten the heck out of that!)

8)  Toys 'R' Us  (Do they still feature Geoffrey the Giraffe in Toys 'R' Us commercials? 'Cuz I always loved that character!)

9)  Target  (I never got a Nintendo when I was a kid. But I'm not bitter...)

10)  Sears  (Cool stereo...with cassette player, no less!)

11)  Pepsi  (The Super Mario version, apparently)

12)  Folger's Coffee  (This one's a bona-fide classic...they played it for years at Christmastime)

13)  Polaroid  (These kids are smart, but Santa's smarter!)

14)  McDonald's  (Nothing says Christmas like ice skating with a clown!)

15)  Nabisco Oreos  (This is a classic, too, that I remember very well)

A Soundtrack For The End Of The World

Well, today's the day. The day – according to the ancient Mayan civilization and Internet conspiracy theorists – that the world is going to end. Now, I don't believe for one second that that's actually going to happen (not today at least). But just for the sake of argument, and so won't I be accused of ignoring it altogether, here's a collection of 21 songs about the end of the world. Enjoy?  ~  JH

1)  R.E.M.  ~  "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"

2)  Skeeter Davis  ~  "The End Of The World"

3)  Lupe Fiasco  ~  "The End Of The World"

4)  Ingrid Michaelson  ~  "End Of The World"

5)  U2  ~  "Until The End Of The World"

6)  Blondie  ~  "The End Of The World"

7)  Matt Nathanson  ~  "Room At The End Of The World"

8)  Lenka  ~  "The End Of The World"

9)  P.O.D.  ~  "End Of The World"

10)  Smile Empty Soul  ~  "End Of The World"

11)  Elvis Costello  ~  "Waiting For The End Of The World"

12)  Blackfield  ~  "End Of The World"

13)  Matt Alber  ~  "End Of The World"

14)  Blessid Union Of Souls  ~  "End Of The World"

15)  Gin Blossoms  ~  "The End Of The World"

16)  Kerli  ~  "End Of The World"

17)  The Beatles  ~  "The End"

18)  Bashful Brother Oswald  ~  "End Of The World"

19)  Chris Cornell  ~  "Preaching The End Of The World"

20)  Europe  ~  "The Final Countdown"