The American Song Poem Anthology

Many of the old classic song poems brought together into an anthology for rabidshare download at the new Poems for Songs. Why not submit a poem, too?

via The Amazing Z. through Splusp

.

Joan Jett on Animal Torture

Browsing through Joan Jett's website, I found she was involved in an animal protection campaign, ButterballCruelty.com.

Seems that for four months undercover investigators worked at a Butterball turkey plant in Ozark, Arkansas, and witnessed despicable acts of cruelty to animals that would horrify any kind person. This one plant abuses and kills approximately 50,000 birds each day. more info

Although they constitute more than 95% of the land animals eaten in the United States, birds are not included in the only federal law designed to protect animals at slaughter, the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (HMSA). How about sending an automatic email to Congress or to the US Secretary of Agriculture [via US Humane Society] asking them to change that to include birds? Shouldn't birds be protected from torture at slaughter time?

In a related note, here are recipes, tips and more for Thanksgiving Day. I'm thankful to live in a country where representatives in government are expected to represent the will of the people.

No More Uncle Neptune?

Uncle Neptune has closed up shop. The news has had me revisiting his music. You can enjoy three of his CDs on his website, UncleNeptune.com.

When was the last time you played Uncle Neptune's music? Here's a little reminder of the magic therein to start your weekend off on a sweet note.

1. Uncle Neptune - The Good in Everything

2. Uncle Neptune - Little Bluebird

3. Uncle Neptune - The Sunny Sweet Side of Life
[visit the site to hear the next song he talks about]

4. Uncle Neptune - I Like Being Me

5. Uncle Neptune - The Uncle Neptune Club Theme

6. Uncle Neptune - Oh Me Oh My
[I sing this one most mornings.]

Please send a quick note to Uncle Neptune to say you enjoy his music, so that he will come back to us someday. Thank you.

Onions Onions La La La

Right now I am on a quest to replace my copy of Susan Christie's 1966 tune "I Love Onions" from the CD GOLDEN GOOFERS. The song was written by Donald Cochrane and John Hill, and the chorus is a real mind number, "Onions, onions, la-la-la! Onions, onions, ha-ha-ha! Root doot doot-doot, doot doot doot!" We love it here. In my quest, I came across these other onion songs you might enjoy.

ONION SONGS

01. Booker T and the MGs - Green Onions

02. Shibboleth - Black Onions [site]

03. Little Red - Pop Onions Song [France] [site]

04. Heartless Bastards - Onions from their Stairs and Elevators CD on Fat Possum Records

05. Ron Nasty and The New Rutles - Cheese and Onions [live] [site]

06. Chris Moors - Onions [site]

07. Rowlf the Dog - I Never Harmed an Onion [site]

08. Billy Jones and Ernest Hare - She Knows Her Onions (1926)

09. Jounce - Green Onions [live cover, 2004-12-18, Porter's Tap Room]

10. Blues Brothers - Green Onions [live cover, 1980]

11. Kim Bingham - Sauteed Onions [little rockin excerpt] [site]

12. Spaguita - Onions Make Sense [site]

13. Dan Daniels and Your No Good Buddies - (I've Been Eating) Onions [2min excerpt] [site]

14. Jared Karol - Yogurt and Green Onions, "a guitar instrumental about Kettle Chips" [site]

15. Doc eWil - Cream and Onions, "Tech Instrumental Creamware meets vintage instruments" [site]

16. Flux with Julius Hemphill and Sam Rivers - Out Looking for Onions, Potatoes and Bread (Duane Johnson) [Jazz Composers Alliance]

SPOKEN ONION FEATURES

17. Graham Kerr - Caramelized Onions, Fabulous Flavor Base [site]

18. Tony Tantillo, your fresh grocer - White Onions [site]

19. Growing Onions and Harvesting Onions from the Oregon State University Extension Service

20. Audio articles titled Onions, Onion Sets and Transplants, Onion Planting Tips and Onion Growing Advice from the Southern Gardener of Mississippi State University

Also found out about this fun sounding record, Various Artists - Fried Glass Onions - Memphis Meets The Beatles

If all this makes you hungry, here's a zip of my tiny cooking site put together once upon a time with cooking tips and some recipes.

Now, may I offer you a breath mint?

C'mon, Get Happy!

I've been medicated for eight days, so now that I am easing back on the web, I'm returning happy sounds I love. Here are places I return to for keeping ears happy!

..:::... Glubibulga's Suoni Scorretti. Slap-Press.com, home of such marvelous, gifted, Italian nuts as Okapi and Camilla Falsini, puts together great playlists. I've learned about fun new artists through them. You might want to check the archives, too. If you click "playlist & info," you will be led to the artists' cool websites. [stream #6]

..:::... Zenguin.com Streams. Blogio teammate Perri knows all about Webjay. In fact, she designed their logo. Check out the members of the Zenguin family along with several others of her fun playlists. [stream the Zenguin artists]

..:::... Comfort Stand Favorites. A happy assortment of favorites from the quirky all free all the time Comfort Stand Recordings netlabel. Large catalog from which to choose your own collection of favorites. Enjoy many other playlists, too. [stream]

:D

Declan de Barra Shouts for Those Who Cannot

Enjoying the sun this morning, my mind wandered back to the now foreign sad snowy days of last Winter, to that desperation to be free of the dangers of ice and deep cold. The theme song was

Clann Zú - Words for Snow [mirror]

Clann Zú was even then already defunct. I don't know how much longer they will keep the media on their site for you to download. Here is a reminder to get over there and check out their music. I love it myself.

The members have moved on to other projects. The founder,Declan de Barra, tours internationally nonstop. He keeps his site up to date and shares music and video. myspace and another of his projects on myspace

Last month, Declan started a blog, as well.

But the UN is a lame duck, the power of veto of the strongest over the weakest makes it impotent. I know next week there will be another Bloody Sunday in Palestine. I know we are still recovering here from Bloody Sunday that happened in 1972. I don't understand how these people will ever forget.

I want to punch a wall. Or maybe i should pick up the guitar. Maybe if i shout loud enough into the void someone else will listen and they will start shouting. Maybe I'm dreaming. I know i am white knuckle angry.

I wonder if the sniper and the Tank commander are having breakfast with their families. I wonder if they feel sick, or if they feel nothing. I wonder what happened to the Israeli pilots and soldiers who refused to attack the occupied areas before the 1967 borders? I wonder if i would have the balls to stand up against the tide of my own nation? I wonder what is going through the head of a young boy this morning who has lost his mother, brother, sister, father?

He is a human being who is well worth listening to and well worth supporting.

Remember, Remember the Fifth of November

Guy Fawkes
The Gunpowder Plot Society
Guy-Fawkes.com

V for Vendetta
official film website
excellent fan site
the graphic novel

Relevant MP3s

:: Phone Interview with Director
:: Dario Marianelli - OST V for Vendetta
.... The Dominoes Fall
.... Knives And Bullets (And Cannons Too)
:: Paul Melancon - Guy Fawkes Day

Cheers to my Brits lighting their fires today! We light the All Souls Procession Urn tonight in the light of the full moon, as well!

Third day of November

3rd

01. Brian Eno - Third Uncle
[thanks to]

02. The Band - Third Man Theme
[thanks to]

03. Anton Karas, TheFirst Man of the Zither Plays - The Third Man Theme

04. Francis Goya - Third Man Theme
[thanks to]

05. The Skatalites - Third Man Ska
[merci a]

06. Controversy Kills - Third Try Is A Charm
[official site]

07. Dead Heroes - Third World City
[thanks to] [more] [official site]

08. BLS Junior Band - Fanfare for the Third Planet
(have a thing for amateur marching bands) [thanks to]

09. Paul Speer - Third Stone from the Sun
[thanks to] [official site]

10. Axel Coon - Third Base
(dance music) [thanks to]

11. Bunch of songs titled Third String

12. and from Slate Magazine comes a spoken article by
June Thomas - Why Can't I Use My Third Arm?

El Dia de los Muertos

This is my little blog moment to celebrate the lives of those who went before. There is a saying among genealogists that goes something like, "Those who do not preserve the memories of their ancestors are likely to be forgotten themselves." We all know another saying, "If we do not remember history, we are doomed to repeat it."

The Day of the Dead is an ancient Aztec celebration in memory of deceased ancestors, celebrated on November 1 (All Saints' Day) and November 2 (All Souls' Day). The holiday is especially popular in Mexico, Guatemala, the Philippines and Brazil, where it is a national holiday. It is a day, not unlike the US American Memorial Day, where we honor the dead.


El Dia de los Muertos

:: Audio Article [2:24 mp3] from the Jefferson Daily

:: "What Do Mexicans Celebrate On The Day Of The Dead?," by Ricardo J. Salvador from his book

:: Photos of Mexican and Guatemalan Festival

:: Pan de Muerto: Day of the Dead Bread Recipe

:: Calaveras de Azucar: Day of the Dead Sugar Skull Recipes [vegans: easily substitute Ener G Egg Replacer or equivalent for egg white or meringue powder] recipe 1, recipe 2, recipe 3, more recipes

:: Day of the Dead Cookies: 1st place goes to Kittee [recipe here (cool site!)], 2nd place goes to Heidi

News to me: Calaveras, (skulls) are not just the name for the candy of the celebration, but also for humorous poems and songs about the dead written around El Dia de los Muertos.

Much of the modern world looks down on honoring the dead as macabre or morose. Honoring those who fell in battle or heros of the arts, science and industry is still glorious, but honoring your own dead should be somber and private? The Day of the Dead doesn't follow that rule. It celebrates the happiness, struggles, personalities, achievements and spirit of life of those who are no more.

Simon and Garfunkel - Bookends Theme
[excerpt from Piccadilly Records]

Honoring my dead is different this year. I lost several memento mori in the flood this summer. There has been so little understanding about having lost sentimental items, tangible memories that reinforce the memories your mind holds. Should I even have to explain that photos, letters and tiny objects of sentiment have value? The USA, land of plenty, seems to be battling itself about all its possessions. Piles of stuff do not have the same value as a great-grandmother's locket, letters from a dad out at sea or a grandad's recipes to me. [Ever see Citizen Kane?]


Vaguely Relevant MP3s

:: Son De Oriente - La Rumba De Las Calaveras [source]

:: The Latin Brothers - Las Calaveras [excerpt] [source]

:: Siouxsie and the Banshees - Dia de los Muertos [live] [source]

:: ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - All Saints' Day [source]

:: Simon and Garfunkel - April Come She Will [live] [source]

:: Dreamend - Memento Mori [source]

:: Dennis Bathory-Kitsz - Memento Mori [source]

:: There is also an Australian punk band named Day of the Dead. You can download their music here.

Day of the Dead Paper Playmates

La Calavera Catrina Skeletina

Dedicated to Lost Loves

:: Glenn Miller and His Orchestra - Falling Leaves [source]

:: Glenn Miller and His Orchestra - You Stepped Out of a Dream [source]

:: Glenn Miller and His Orchestra - Speaking of Heaven [source]

:: Glenn Miller and His Orchestra - Too Romantic [source]

:: Glenn Miller and His Orchestra - Vagabond Dreams [source]

:: Glenn Miller and His Orchestra - Sweet Potato Piper [source]

:: Glenn Miller and His Orchestra - Long Tall Mama [source]

:: Glenn Miller and His Orchestra - Here We Go Again [source]

:: Glenn Miller and His Orchestra - Cabana in Havana [source]

:: Glenn Miller and His Orchestra - Says Who, Says You, Says I [source]

:: Glenn Miller and His Orchestra - Moonlight Sonata [given the Moonlight Serenade treatment] [source]

:: Glenn Miller and His Orchestra - A Nightengale Sang in Barkley Square [source]

:: Glenn Miller and His Orchestra - Blue Orchids [source]

other sources:

:: Glenn Miller and His Orchestra - Always in My Heart [source]

:: Glenn Miller and His Orchestra - Moonlight Serenade and Perfidia with the Modernaires [source]

:: The Big Band Serenade 62: Glenn Miller Radio Show June 25, 1938

:: The Big Band Serenade 71: Glenn Miller and His Orchestra live at the Glen Island Casino, New Rochelle, NY June 13, 1939

Cheers to those who went before!qs

Happy Birthday!

Extra special HAPPY BIRTHDAY wishes to Blogio teammates Perri and Fausto. Send them your happy regards or post a comment here for them. Perri's birthday is in late October and Fausto's is in early November. When is yours?

Three years ago on this day, a wonderful project was born. It was Comfort Stand Recordings, a totally free netlabel. In its brief lifespan, that netlabel laid down the example for others to follow. Comfort Stand released 80 full length and 2-CD recordings, as well as 18 singles and EPs.

To celebrate its first anniversary "of being online, providing free music and sharing the love," artists put together a 2-CD celebration release on the label. Oddio Overplay celebrated by creating a playlist of more than 100 birthday songs found on the web. Three years later, only 65% of the songs were still there, so I updated it for you today. The list now weighs in with more than 200 birthday tracks. Play them for yourself on your birthday or your un-birthday!

Also, SongFight.org has a collection of birthday songs, Various Artists - Birthdays and Breakups.

While the Comfort Stand offices may have closed, the music is still available online. Equally important, the sister label, WM Recordings is still going strong. Marco Kalnenek [Weirdomusic] worked on and was a recording artist for Comfort Stand. It inspired him to create WM Recordings to release even more free and legal music to the world. They have already shared 52 releases. Happy Birthday to all of us!