Andrew Bird "The Whistling Caruso"

It was my wife's birthday this weekend, and how psyched was I that her brother gave her "The Muppets" on DVD?

Answer: Very psyched.

I'm definitely a life-long fan of Sesame Street/The Muppets, and am also a big fan of actor Jason Segel, who stars in the film, and co-wrote it too. And many of the songs were written by Bret McKenzie of the band Flight Of The Conchords. AND the film is filled with don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-em cameos---there's Mickey Rooney! Was that Feist? Look at the drummer, it's Dave Grohl!

But the craziest little tidbit comes at the end of the film.

(SPOILER ALERT)

Young, nervous Muppet, Walter, finally gets the nerve up to perform on the Muppet Theater stage, and his performance is . . . whistling.

Which I thought was odd.

But then the song builds and the whistling becomes so amazing I said to myself, "I wonder if they're creating the whistling with some kind of synthesized instrument. Because the only person I know who could pull off a performance like that is Andrew Bird."

Guess what? I scanned the credits (mostly to see if Animal would appear, yelling "Go Home!"). It WAS Andrew Bird.

Yeah, yeah, you say. Big deal. Whistling. Anyone can whistle.

Take a look at your socks. Because in 60 seconds, you're going to have to search elsewhere for them, as they will have been knocked off.

Listen here:


Walter, performing "The Whistling Caruso"

And I'd be remiss if I didn't point you to Bret McKenzie's Oscar winning tune "Man Or Muppet"

Hear it on Youtube.

Lots of great songs on this soundtrack . . .

Feist "Please Be Patient"

For the month of December, my Weekend Posts (usually a look back at obscure tunes from the 80s and 90s) will turn to Christmas. Enjoy a few odd, off-color songs to enliven your holiday!

It starts off sounding like a legitimate Christmas song, then it goes all Colbert on you!


Hear the song on Youtube.

Feist "1, 2, 3, 4"

Yesterday I started a week's worth of posts, playing a game I've titled:

The Incredible Imaginary Freaky Friday Cover Tune Switcheroo!

And today I have a match up that I'm on the fence about. Could be good. Could be a disaster. I guess it's all up to your imagination.

(For a review of how to play, see yesterday's post)

Today's songs:

Feist "1, 2, 3, 4" and Gloria Estefan And The Miami Sound Machine "1, 2, 3, 4"

I know what you're saying. "Feist and Gloria Estefan! Together at last!"

So go ahead and try it. (Listen to the originals below, if you need a refresher on how they sound)

For Feist, I imagine that she could do Gloria's song in the same trappings of her Modern Rock/crossover hit. Somewhat spare start, choir in the background, sing-songy delivery, with emphasis on the first syllables "One Two Three Four, COME-on BAY-by, SAY you-love-me. Five Six Seven times. Eight Nine Ten Eleven, I'M-just-gonna-keep-on COUNT-ing, till-your-mine." And on the "mine" she'd go UP with her voice, singing "my-EE-EEEN!"

Gloria Estefan would probably want to work in her own milieu too. So you'll have to imagine your own swift Latin beat, as she rapid-fire delivers (with double-tracked vocals) "One Two Three Four, Tell me that you love me more." Really, she could probably do the Feist lyrics over the original Sound Machine track.

Cool? Or Horrifying?


See Feist on Youtube.


See Gloria Estefan on Youtube.