dance

Modernism Monday: “Wind From The South,” The Gertrudes

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This respite from that wretched “polar vortex” gag has me dreaming of spring already, so of course The Gertrudes popped into my head.  This is such a chipper, happy song.  It’s also a great driving song, and, as your Yankette got home from a super fun road trip late last night, it’s vaguely apropos.  And, because I got home from a super fun road trip late last night, this is a very short post, so I apologize I’m not more verbose, Tune-Up fans.  I promise I’ll be extra wordy on Tuesday.  Happy Monday!

Funk Friday: “Chuck Berry,” Feature Cast

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You know what Friday’s problem is?  Friday’s problem is that it convinces you that the week is over at 12:01AM on Friday morning.  I’m sorry, Tune-Up fans, but that’s wrongedy-wrong-wrong.  But!  Feature Cast has served up a tasty portion of motivation that – are you ready for this? – you can play during the day, and after the day is over.  “Jump up, freak, or hustle – do what you want, but move every muscle.  Ain’t no time for playing around!  Only one thing to do when you hear this sound.”  Consider this song the equivalent of that ever elusive day-to-night outfit that you’ve tried for years to find.  I lost count of how many other funk songs this one samples.  I know for sure there’s “Cissy Strut” by The Meters (that’s the “ahhhhh YAH” vocal).  There are about six others, but I was too busy dancing to identify them.  Party on, y’all!

 

Termagant Tuesday: “Booty Swing,” Parov Stelar

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OK, Tune-Up fans, some of you purists might get a little shirty with me, but go with me on this – I promise it’s worth it.  Parov Stelar, aka Marcus Füreder, is a fantastic Austrian musician and DJ who creates seriously cool new jazz tunes through sampling portions of old ones.  The beginning of this song reminds me of “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” which inevitably steers the old brain-box towards Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, both staples of American culture and big figures in your Yankette’s childhood.  You will understand my unquenchable delight, therefore, when I found out that apparently someone had the exact same thought I did – and executed it brilliantly.  So, this Tuesday, you get a double-dose of fun by watching Fred and Ginger in the excellent movie, “Swing Time,” dance to a modern jazz track.  I know, right?!?

Funk Friday: “Stranger to my Happiness,” Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings

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There are a few songs that you can honestly say are perfectly constructed.  This is one of them.  The interplay between the sax and the guitar is so incredibly fun I laughed out loud when I first heard it; the trumpet punctuates the melody at exactly the right time; and the tempo is just spot-on.  (Also – the visual difference between the ebullient back-up singers and the staid bass guitarist is pretty hilarious.)  And finally, there is the force of nature that is Sharon Jones singing the lyrics – Sharon Jones who is, by the way, battling cancer and winning.  What a boss.

The Yankette would like to dedicate this song to one of her best friends, Deputy Tar Heel, and owes her lovely friend Mr. Bloomingtonian a bourbon for sending this song her way in the first place.  Keep your ears open and happy Friday, y’all!

Throwback Thursday: “J’ai vu le loup,” Anon.

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To balance out yesterday’s, oh, slightly intense Song of the Day, let’s throw on an old dance track from France.  And when I say “old dance track,” I mean a dance-like song with its origins in medieval France.  I honestly don’t know how old this piece is, or who wrote it, or where, or why, which, as you can imagine, deeply annoys your Yankette.  Be that as it may, I do know the lyrics are probably allegorical.  The song is a story, told in the first person, of chancing upon a wolf, a fox, and a rabbit (or sometimes a weasel) having a grand time dancing, singing, and drinking.  Some sources say that the wolf, fox, and rabbit represent the king, the lord (i.e. the lord whose land you worked on as a serf), and the church.  (I hope you know how much it pains me, as an analyst, to write the essentially meaningless phrase “some sources say,” but it’s the best I got.  If you, gentle reader, have any further information, I would be incredibly grateful.)

English words below!

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J’ai vu le loup, le renard, le lièvre,
J’ai vu le loup, le renard cheuler.
C’est moi-même qui les ai rebeuillés.
J’ai vu le loup, le renard, le lièvre,
C’est moi-même qui les ai rebeuillés.
J’ai vu le loup, le renard cheuler.

J’ai ouï le loup, le renard, le lièvre,
J’ai ouï le loup, le renard chanter.
C’est moi-même qui les ai rechignés,*
J’ai ouï le loup, le renard, le lièvre,
C’est moi-même qui les ai rechignés,
J’ai ouï le loup, le renard chanter.

J’ai vu le loup, le renard, le lièvre,
J’ai vu le loup, le renard danser,
C’est moi-même qui les ai revirés,*
J’ai vu le loup, le renard, le lièvre,
C’est moi-même qui les ai revirés,
J’ai vu le loup, le renard danser.

I saw the wolf, the fox, the hare
I saw the wolf, the fox drinking
I spied on them myself.
I saw the wolf, the fox, the hare,
I spied on them myself,
I saw the wolf, the fox drinking.

I heard the wolf, the fox, the hare,
I heard the wolf, the fox singing
I imitated them myself.
I heard the wolf, the fox, the hare,
I imitated them myself,
I heard the wolf, the fox singing.

I saw the wolf, the fox, the hare,
I saw the wolf, the fox dancing
I made them dance myself.
I saw the wolf, the fox, the hare,
I made them dance myself,
I saw the wolf, the fox dancing.

Worldly Wednesday, “Ça Plane Pour Moi,” Plastic Bertrand

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Aaaahh I love this song.  I love this song so much.  This is in the top ten list of personal theme songs.  The song’s chorus, “Ça plane pour moi,” very roughly translates into “This is working out great.”  It’s possible it’s ironic.  Actually, wait – it’s French.  It’s highly probable it’s ironic.  It sounds so upbeat in the face of so many annoying (and strange – again, it’s French) things happening to the guy – “it’s not today that the sky will fall on my head.”  Damn right, Monsieur Français!  This is a very good song for the day after a big night.  (Editor’s note: If you really tied one on last night, perhaps wait until those ibuprofen have taken effect before pressing play on this one.  It might make that headache just a touch worse.)  It is also a great way to kick out the old and bring in the new.  Oh hey there, 2014!  Ça plane pour moi!  

French lyrics followed by English translation – both the best I could do – below.

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Wham! Bam! mon chat Splash
Git sur mon lit a bouffé
sa langue en buvant tout mon whisky
quant à moi peu dormi, vidé, brimé
J’ai dû dormir dans la gouttière
Ou j’ai eu un flash
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
En quatre couleurs

Allez hop! un matin
Une louloute est venue chez-moi
Poupée de cellophane, cheveux chinois
un sparadrap, une gueule de bois
a bu ma bière dans un grand verre en caoutchouc
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
Comme un indien dans son igloo

Ça plane pour moi! Ça plane pour moi!
Ça plane pour moi moi moi moi moi
Ça plane pour moi
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
Ça plane pour moi

Allez hop! la nana quel panard!
Quelle vibration!
de s’envoyer sur le paillasson
Limée, ruinée, vidée, comblée
You are the King of the divan!
Qu’elle me dit en passant
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
I am the King of the divan

Ça plane pour moi! Ça plane pour moi!
Ça plane pour moi moi moi moi moi
Ça plane pour moi
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
Ça plane pour moi

Allez hop! t’occupe t’inquiète
touche pas ma planète
It’s not today
Que le ciel me tombera sur la tete
et que la colle me manquera
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
Ca plane pour moi

Allez hop! ma nana s’est tirée
S’est barrée enfin c’est marre a tout casse
L’evier, le bar me laissant seul
Comme un grand connard
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
Le pied dans le plat

Ça plane pour moi! Ça plane pour moi!
Ça plane pour moi moi moi moi moi
Ça plane pour moi
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
Ça plane pour moi

Wham! Bam! my cat Splash 
lies on my bed with his tongue puffed out 
from drinking all my whisky. 
As for me, not enough sleep, drained, persecuted, 
I had to sleep in the gutter 
where I had a vision 
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo! 
in four colors 
 
Let’s go! One morning 
a darling came to my home, 
a cellophane puppet with Chinese hair, 
a band-aid, a hangover, 
drank my beer in a large rubber glass 
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo! 
like an Indian in his igloo 
 
This works for me, this works for me 
This works for me me me me me 
This work for me 
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo! 
This works for me 
 
Let’s go! That chick, what a gas! 
what a vibration! 
to be sent to the mat 
filed, ruined, drained, filled 
You are the King of the divan! 
she says to me in passing 
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo! 
I am the King of the divan 
 
This works for me, this works for me 
This works for me me me me me 
This work for me 
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo! 
This works for me 
 
Let’s go! Don’t mind, don’t worry 
It doesn’t affect me 
It’s not today 
that the sky will fall on my head 
and the glue will fail me 
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo! 
This life’s for me 
 
Let’s go! my chick has gone away, 
flew away, finally had enough, to break 
the sink, the bar, leaving me alone 
like a complete jerk 
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo! 
I’ve put my foot in it 
 
This works for me, this works for me 
This works for me me me me me 
This work for me 
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo! 
This works for me 

 

Termagant Tuesday: “Auld Lang Syne,” Dejan’s Olympia Brass Band

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No sound makes a person happier than a jazz band from New Orleans.  Not the laugher of little children, not the soothing thrumming sound an ATM makes when it dispenses your money, not the person you’ve had your eye on saying “I’ve loved you for ages,” nothing.  Nada.  The big donut.  There is an absolute riot of fantastic Louisiana and other varieties of Dixieland jazz versions of Auld Lang Syne, and your Yankette struggled mightily over which one to pick.  I almost went with The Kings of Dixieland, because, well, they’re The Kings, but this version is so much rowdier and it sounds like they’re just having a ball.  So let’s join them (and their singing at 03:02), shall we?  Pop the champagne, crank up the volume, grab your someone, and take a spin around the room.  May you and yours have the very happiest of New Years, and may 2014 bring you everything you deserve.  WHO DAT!

Salubrious Saturday: “Do Your Thing,” Basement Jaxx

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It’s Saturday.  By now, you’re probably back from wherever you spent the holidays, or your family has finally left your house.  You’ve woken up, with great relief, in your own bed, in your own living quarters, with no one to deal with and no one’s agenda to fulfill but your own.  Maybe you’ll go to a yoga class wearing one of those low-cut tank tops that make your grandmother sad!  Maybe you’ll build that Lego set all wrong!  Maybe you’ll finally unleash your inner Caligula and diligently plow your way through the food and booze leftovers in your underwear as your blissfully ignorant parents spend their drive home discussing how great it is to see you looking so put together!  Whatever you decide, today is all yours, my friend.  You do you.  So here’s a song to celebrate your liberation from forced happiness over dippy presents (“A ‘festive’ red and green cheese grater!  Wow!”) and ossified holiday traditions that no one really enjoys but everyone keeps up because, well, it’s the holidays.