November 2004 Archives

Good golly do I love the standards. A while back, you may recall, I posted covers first of "Bye Bye, Blackbird," and then (with a lotta help from eb and Eileen Dahl) "Second Hand Rose." Great tunes, both.

Here's the third in this ongoing series of let's-just-say-non-traditional piano/vocal/guitar takes on jazz standards -- "For Every Man There's a Woman," written in 1948, with ok-they're-sorta-dated lyrics by Leo Robins and absolutely timeless music by Harold Arlen. Wotta tune. Seriously: Big ups for Harold "Harold Arlen" Arlen, author of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," "That Old Black Magic," "I've Got the World on a String" and a gazillion other bits of genius.

Let me just put it this way: If Harold Arlen was alive today and had a web site, I'd give him a free link. That's how much I like Harold Arlen.

Press Play to play.

playtime:1:34
file specs: nought but 1.4 MB mp3

Enjoy! And thanks for dropping by...

That Victorian isn't old. That car
isn't old. My Sinatra records aren't
old. Not that old. Not really.
Even that old tree isn't old.

That old woman
who just walked past
like she just stepped out
of Deuteronomy

with a flock of goats trailing behind

and a thin little stick
and a plan
to get them all
to water by nightfall.

That old woman is old.

I'm wearing big pants today
big comfy pants
size none of your damn business pants
so big, so comfy
makes me want to have a piece of cake
a piece of chocolate cheese cake

stretch these big pants out.

Somedays
he looks at me
like I'm sleeping
with his wife.

And I'm sure.

I'm almost sure.

That I'm not.

More Monkey Vortex madness. This week, Tony Jonick goes for two, with another episode of his Minute Murder Mysteries. .

Checking in to find them
lying side by side
in the dark
like sisters

comparing notes
on what had been
the best part of the day.

It was a more innocent time, way back in October of 2004 when I first wrote about Yu-Gi-Oh! and Zach Braff, and my secret rage. We're all a lot older now, hey? And perhaps a bit wiser too.

"What is Yu-Gi-Oh!?" Well, it's a card game. And a movie. It's a franchise. It's a way of life. It's like Pokemon, see? Only much more...Yu-Gi-Oh!

One thing's for sure: YGO! and all the YGO! cards referenced in this tune, including but not limited to "The Mad Dog of Darkness," "The Nobleman Eater Bug," and "The Axe of Despair" are all copyright (c) Kazuki Takahashi. I mean, if nothing else, we can all agree on that, right? Alright then. Enough already! On with the rock n roll!

Here's a little ditty I wrote for my son. It features Eileen Dahl on back-up vocals. Enjoy...

Press Play to play.

time: 42 seconds flat
file size: nary 670K

More Monday, more Monkey Vortex Radio Theater. This week: Tony Jonick busts it 1930s-style with what some say may well be the greatest piece of recorded entertainment since Edison invented tiny, pocket-sized people who remember what you say and then repeat it back to you whenever you press on their head!

It's a little number we like to call Caught in the Trap. Featuring the considerable voice talents (and auspicious MVRT debuts) of Robin Brady and Jerry Williams!

There's a man there 
by the window.

And he's speaking 
with such precision
you can see the letters spit forth into air
  shiny newborne 
  serifs spinning.

And his words are just hanging out there
piling up there 
in a loose stack
by the window
  free dialog for the taking.

I'll pass.

Another week, another episode of Monkey Vortex Radio Theater. This week: an all-new spoken word spectacular from east coast letter-chef (that's right -- "letter chef!") Lee Kaye, featuring beats by west coast stick-sensation (!) Shoeless Adams plus guest voicework from the stars of UPN's "Anarchists for Hire!": Eileen Dahl and Shonny Vortex! (All sewn together by yers truly.)

Well don't just sit there reading these very words that you are reading right now at this very particular moment in time that is currently happening! Click on over and hear it for yourself!

...by guest poet Shonny Vortex.

In my blue house
Everyone is I, I
Talking about themselves
In my blue house
Hearts bang on your head
With drum sticks
And stars twinkle
In the daytime
And fish swim into your mouth
So you can eat them
And flowers grow out
Of your head
And people have square heads
And people love squares
And a blue moon
Floats at nighttime
and a yellow moon
Floats at daytime
With the stars
A purple oval-shaped moon
Flies at daytime and nighttime.

And there's a butterfly-shaped moon too.

May 18, 2003

Something a bit more upbeat to end the day -- a moment: Heading home with two good pals after a weekend spent canvassing in Oregon.

a moment to mourn.
that's all.

Welcome to another Monkey Vortex Monday. Congratulations on getting here. And most especially, on evading the many traps I set before you these past seven days. Particularly the thing with the stick. And the one with the swinging gate. And the bottle of rum, half-reflected in a shallow pool of just-fallen rain water. Did you stoop to quench your thirst, old friend? Of course you did.

Now, to your reward: the answer to a pair of age-old questions. Questions about John Kerry. About George W. Bush. About the remaining Beatles. And about the thin line what separates the two. The four, I mean. The two pairs of two, I guess. Is what I mean. Anyways, it's all based on a wee radioplay penned by yours truly, with voices by me also, plus Benson Hurst, John Kerry, and the aforementioned GWB. And you can play it for yourself right here.