SST: Letter B

SESAME STREET TUESDAY

As soon as I heard the release date for season 4 of Mad Men on DVD, I raced to put a hold on it at the public library. Turns out 172 other library patrons beat me to it, but after months of waiting I have finally got my hands on it and so far it has definitely been worth the wait. (Plus, season 5 won't air until sometime in 2012, so this way I'll have less of a gap between the seasons.)

This season takes place in 1964-1965, and one of the season's more delightful moments was young Sally Draper's reaction to the news that her dad had scored tickets to The Beatles' legendary Shea Stadium show:

So today's clip is courtesy of Sesame Street's thinly disguised Beatles parody, "The Beetles." As with many pop culture touchstones, I encountered the Sesame Street version years before I ever heard "Let It Be," and my first reaction to the latter was, "Hey, these guys are ripping off Sesame Street!"

SST: Children's Alphabet

SESAME STREET TUESDAY

A classic clip today that I've been looking for forever. It was aired so often that I'm surprised that is the best version I could find.

It's also surprisingly difficult to find the clips where the the kids run around like crazy in fast motion and then lay on the ground to form different letters of the alphabet. (It's very easy, however, to find these later, lame variations on that same idea.)

P.S. - I made a joke about Sam's talking computer on Today's Special at work today and drew blank stares from my coworkers. I know I'm getting older, but many of them are around my same age and surely I'm not the only one who remembers Today's Special. Or am I?

Year of Songs: The Merry/Lusty Month of May

As I mentioned in my previous post, I started a new position at work recently, which has been a little stressful and exhausting. Plus my internet at home has been a little sketchy, so my apologies for not getting this up during the actual month of May. However, at least one blog reader mentioned to me that she noticed on the sidebar that I had added all these songs before May ended, so I'll accept partial credit this month. (The lowest score gets dropped anyways, so it shouldn't affect my final grade.)

Given the wealth of songs about April, I thought I would find a similar amount for May. However, that doesn't seem to be the case, unless you go back to the Renaissance and early Baroque era, when they thought May was the bomb.



Month of May - Arcade Fire

The first song to come to mind, off The Suburbs, the reigning (and surprising) Grammy winner for Album of the Year.

Now is the Month of Maying - The Kings' Singers
The Sweet and Merry Month of May - The Kings' Singers

My two favorite madrigals about May. I could have added several more, but I didn't want to bog down the playlist too much. Like I said above, those madrigalists sure love them some May.

The Lusty Month of May - from Camelot

'Nuff said.

Ohio - Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young

Neil Young wrote this song in response to the Kent State Massacre on Monday, May 4, 1970, when four student protesters were killed by national guardsmen. This raw and emotional recording was recorded live just days after the event and rushed out as a single while the tragedy was still fresh on Americans' minds.

Mammy - Al Jolson

Happy Mother's Day. Al Jolson is so affectionate towards his mom that it's actually a little creepy.

Rapture - Blondie

Alas, May 21st passed and we're all still here. Guess we'll have to keep kicking around until October 21st.

Peach Trees - Rufus Wainwright

"Is true love a long walk through Bryant park, or being held in the month of May under the peach trees?"

Mai (May) - Gabriel Fauré (Op. 1 No. 2)

I performed this piece on my first dissertation recital, which was entitled "A Novel Approach." Befitting the theme, French composer Fauré sets a text by novelist/poet Victor Hugo:

Since May, all in bloom, invites us to the meadows
Come! never tire of mingling with your soul
The countryside, woods, the charming shady places,
The moonlight on the bank of the sleeping waters,
The path that ends where the road begins,
And the air, and Spring and the boundless horizon,
The horizon that this world fastens, humble and joyous
Like a lip at the hem of the sky’s gown!

Pretty flowery, huh?

My Girl - The Temptations

"When it's cold outside, I've got the month of May."

P.S. - I mentioned in my last post that I needed to pick out an alias to sign my English-language Yahoo! responses. I had a few criteria for choosing a name:

1. Something fairly unique and memorable
2. Something reflecting my origins on the Yahoo! Brasil team
3. A female name, to supposedly score higher on customer satisfaction surveys

And the winner is: Amelia. It satisfies all of the above and also has some sentimental value, since the name of the first opera I staged with my student opera group was called "Amelia Goes to the Ball."

Happy D-Day, everybody!