Rocket From The Crypt "He's A Chef"

If you asked me, say, 3 years ago, if I was gonna go see the Yo Gabba Gabba set at Life Is Good, I'm sure I would have responded, "Hell No."

We're pretty selective about what we let our kids (5 and 3 years old) watch.  Partly because we try to be thoughtful, attentive parents.  Partly out of necessity.

The necessity part, is that in our efforts of control our spending, we decided a long time ago to ditch all but the most basic cable.  So my wife had to forgo new episodes of "Project Runway."  I have to get my dose of "The Daily Show" from the web.

And the only real option for the kids, is whatever PBS Kids is offering.

While we treat Barney and Caillou like the pariahs they should be considered . . . pretty much everything else on PBS Kids is gold.  Curious George, Sesame Street, Dinosaur Train?  All very cute and educational.  Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood?  Totally worthy of bearing Fred Rodger's name.  Peep And The Big Wide World?  Quack may just be the funniest character on television.  And Word Girl?  It totally brings back some of the wacked 70s sensibility that I remember and love so well, while being generally hilarious.

And its a good thing I can find something enjoyable in these shows, because we try to limit the screen time in the house, which means that the kid's screen time, is MY screen time.  At least until they are in bed for the night.

We can't shield the kids from a non-PBS world, so they do watch Nickelodeon and Disney, etc, when we're at the grandparents.  But the good educational shows on those channels pale in comparison.  And the bad ones are horrible.

I can't even look at those creepy faces of The Doodlebops or The Wiggles, or some of the other garish, loud and annoying shows.

So when the kids brought home a DVD from the library of "Yo Gabba Gabba" I made some kind of disgusted frowny face, but figured they'd watch it once and then I'd return it quietly in the dead of night, never to be mentioned again.

But I watched a little bit of it.

That first time through was not unlike that first time you take a little too much cough medicine.  When it ended you weren't quite sure what just happened and had to check that the floor was no longer undulating.

Repeated viewing became more pleasurable, filled with plenty of laughable "What the hell?" moments of non-sequitoriums.

And then come the guest stars.

Biz Markie, Devo, Weezer, The Roots, The Flaming Lips, The Aquabats (one of the band members is the show's co-creator), Jack Black and The Shins, just to name a few.

I think the tipping point for me was when I realized, "Holy Shit, Rocket From The Crypt has actually reformed, and I learned it via DJ Lance."

If Yo Gabba Gabba has become the refuge for 90s punk rock, then I guess I can warm up to the fact that it's weird, loud and non-educational.

So yes, on Sunday, I was singing, "My name is PJ, P-p-p-p-p-J.  And I like to dance!"


Hear "He's A Chef" on Youtube.


Hear "I Like To Dance" on Youtube.

That Dog "Never Say Never"

Here's another Weekend Post:

Another alt-rock violin song . . . this track is such a quintessentially 90s song, with the catchy, riffy tune and that distinct 90s keyboard sound popular with West Coast acts like Weezer.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Weekend posts are a chance to revisit songs that have happy memories, not of anything in particular, other than just hearing the tunes.

Many of these songs were tracks that I played during my 90s stint as an Alternative/Modern Rock radio show.  They're tunes that I hardly hear these days, but are fun to revisit.

Click on the "Weekend Posts" label below, to see other posts like this.

Extreme "Hole Hearted"

It was one of the biggest hits of 1991, and yet, I can't tell you the last time I heard this bit of ear candy.

Why?

History is written by the victors, isn't it?

In 1991, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was released and suddenly Hair Bands were out of fashion and Grunge Rock was in. Or, at least, that's how history is written.

In reality, the Grunge era was populated with songs like this. But here in 2010, it's not what we're nostalgic for.

If you are in Boston and you listen to that station that used to sound a lot like mvyradio, but now only seems to play Weezer and Live and other such 90s fare, you'll still never hear this tune.

It may have been out of fashion (and the people in the video sure can't dance) but THIS was the early 90s, no matter what the Rock History book says.

Weezer "Troublemaker"

One of the most positive bits political activism in 2010 (in a year jam-packed with negativity) has been the "It Gets Better" campaign, which sought to reach out to despondent gay young people (like the really great video from Pixar, below), and let them know that life isn't as dark or despairing or lonely, as it feels to many gay teens and young adults.

It made me wish that there was an "It Gets Better" campaign, for nerds.

While the generalized intolerance (and sometimes, vitriol) that exists for homosexuality is far greater than that which is visited upon the population of nerdy teens, on an individual basis, I can say with certainty that there are kids now, just as there were when I was in high school, who are treated with a level of crushing cruelty and physical intimidation, that we should ALL be horrified to know exists.

Smart kids, un-athletic kids, odd kids and just plain awkward kids, who have been subject to bullying, mistreatment and ostracism, could use their own "It Gets Better" campaign. A message from those who's brains, creativity, individuality and plain different-ness, went from being a youthful liability, to the secret of their adult success.

And if there ever were a spokesperson for that "It's Gets Better" campaign, it's this guy --->

This shy, bespectacled, sweater-vested, Dungeons And Dragons playing, poetry-writing, drama-club belonging, Harvard-going student, grew up to be the leader of one of the most successful rock bands of the last 15 years.

If there ever were a video for this proposed campaign, it's this:



That kid in the picture, who got bullied and beat up and pushed the to margins in middle school, was rocking a sold-out crowd, the center of attention and adulation, the coolest guy in the room, leading a sing-along from the balcony of The Orpheum in Boston, still wearing a pretty uncool sweater.

Hell yeah, it gets better.

Weezer "In The Garage"

Tonight my wife, her brother, my sister and I, are headed to The Orpheum in Boston to catch Weezer.

This is part of their "Memories" tour, where, tonight, their going to play their first album in its entirety. Woohoo!

Thinking about that first record (which I know each of the 4 of us listened to, tons) brings back the mid-90s for sure. But thinking about that first album cover sent me straight to the garage.

I've previously mentioned the recent fruitful trip to the garage, and just this weekend remembered that I had seen my special Christmas card folder.

For a good dozen years, I made my own Christmas cards. And in the pre-Photoshop era, I'd do most of the work with a pair of scissors, some glue, and the company photocopier.

The year after Weezer's debut came out, this was my Christmas greeting to all, with my head in place of guitarist Brian Bell's (on the right):

Here's the original:

And for your enjoyment, a selection of other entertaining cards from different years. Photoshop did become an option.

Here's the first card I did with my wife:

And for years, we waited for our daughter to be old enough to play the role of Zuzu.

Hooray for the garage!!!




Clips from the whole album:

The Rentals "Friends Of P"

I’ve been “PJ” since the day I was born. My first name is Paul, which is the same as my Dad. My parents didn’t want to stick me with “Junior” or “Little Paul” so they went for the initials.

If your name is Zebulon or Chrysanthemum or even Elizabeth or William, I can understand how kids might called you by a shortened nickname, something a little less unwieldy. Zeb. Chris. Liz. Bill.

But if your name is PJ---only two letters---does it really need to be shortened?

Somehow, in high school, and happening again with a separate set of friends in college, people close to me felt the need to shorten my unwieldy name.

They called me P.

I didn’t mind it, though I always thought it sounded a little silly. Like next, my friends would just shorten that, just pronounce the letter phonetically and call me “Pah.”

On the pro-side, when Matt Sharp left Weezer and put this song out, my friends got to claim the chorus as a theme song for being my friend.

“If you’re down with P, you’re down with me.”

Weezer “Island In The Sun”

You know how you can hear a song for years, and suddenly something happens in your life and you hear it completely differently? Like when you get dumped and instantly every love song you hear sounds like it was written especially for you?

“Island In The Sun” has had a nice association for years. When my wife was still my girlfriend, and she was living on the mainland and commuting to the Island to see me every weekend, I made a CD of all “Island” songs, that was exactly the length of a Steamship Authority ride. Our “Island In The Sun” was our little cocoon of new love.

Then that changed.

We had a wedding for my sister Amy a few weeks back. Amy had been battling brain cancer for over 7 years. She and her Adam had been holding off and holding off on having their wedding, hoping for a break in her health.

(***Quick political side note: As health care reform becomes part of the National discussion, please consider that Amy and Adam could not get legally married, because if they did, her insurer had the right to boot her off my family’s health insurance, leaving her uninsured and uninsurable. How can that possibly be right?***)

Unfortunately, Amy’s health news just got worse and worse this year, as doctor’s found a 5th brain tumor. Three different courses of chemotherapy were tried, to no avail. In the last few months, Amy slowly lost her ability to talk, to move her right side, to remember what happened a just few hours ago.

Knowing that her time was limited, we threw together a commitment ceremony, as a way for the families to acknowledge Amy and Adam’s love. My wife and I were in charge of putting together a slideshow of pictures of the couple.

We asked the bride-and-groom-to-be what song we should set the video to, and they both requested Weezer. I know that was one band they had in common (Adam likes a lot of country). Amy even has a Weezer/Kermit The Frog t-shirt.

If you ever have put together a slideshow or video or something of that kind, you know you listen to the song over and over and over again. And my wife and I couldn’t help but be struck by the lyrics, and realize that this wasn’t our song any longer; that it was Amy’s.

On an island in the sun
We'll be playing and having fun
And it makes me feel so fine
I can't control my brain

We'll run away together
We'll spend some time forever
We'll never feel bad anymore

Amy died yesterday. 32 years old.

Her last few weeks were so difficult, as she became incapacitated and unable to communicate even the simplest of needs, that when she passed, right before my eyes, I couldn’t help thinking of that last line. As I felt the weight leave her, and us, I knew that she’d never feel bad anymore.

Hear Weezer “Island In The Sun”

See Amy and Adam’s wedding slideshow here.