Celebrating the birthday of Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords by including a bunch of the duo’s songs on today’s playlist.
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Your (Almost) Daily Playlist (12-1-20)
Inspired by the season and the December 1 birthdays of Bette Midler, Janelle Monae, Basement Jaxx’s Simon Ratcliff, Lou Rawls, Richard Pryor, Billy Paul, Gilbert O’Sullivan, Mary Martin, Woody Allen, Treat Williams, Sarah Silverman, Julee Cruise, Jonathan Coulton and Matt Monro.
Your (Almost) Daily Playlist (8-14-20)
Inspired by the August 14 birthdays of The Byrds’ David Crosby, Scissor Sisters’ Ana Matronic, Steve Martin, Utah Saints’ Jez Willis, Dash Crofts, and Larry Graham; and the August 13 birthdays of Dan Fogelberg and The Undertones’ Feargal Sharkey.
Your (Almost) Daily Playlist (6-29-20)
Inspired by Black Music Month, LGBTQ Pride Month, and the June 29 birthdays of Flight of the Conchords’ Bret McKenzie, Men At Work’s Colin Hay, DJ Shadow, Little Eva, Pussycat Dolls’ Nicole Scherzinger, Emily Skinner, and Broadway composer Frank Loesser.
Your (Almost) Daily Playlist (6-28-20)
Inspired by Black Music Month, LGBTQ Pride Month, and the June 28 birthdays of Mel Brooks, Gilda Radner and 2 Unlimited’s Ray Slijngaard.
Der Fuehrer’s Face
“Der Fuehrer’s Face” was the first hit song for Spike Jones and His City Slickers, a pre-rock & roll Ylvis. The wacky recording, on which Hitler gets razzed, was written for an Academy Award-winning Walt Disney cartoon originally entitled Donald Duck in Nutzi Land. The song hit #3 on the pop charts in 1942.
I was introduced to the song by Dr. Demento, whose radio show initially existed to present rare old recordings, but morphed into a showcase for novelty records after listeners requested such tunes repeatedly.
Jones’ orchestra is best-remembered for their Christmas evergreen “All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth,” written by an elementary school teacher named Donald Gardner, who upon asking his students what they want for Christmas noticed that most of them were missing teeth.
Jones, who passed away in 1965, was born on this day in 1911.Today’s playlist is inspired by him and includes other songs that were popular on The Dr. Demento Show with some stand-up comedy thrown in.
Monty Python to Reunite – Life Gets a Little Brighter
This week, the surviving members of Monty Python announced they are reuniting for a show that will take place at London’s O2 Arena on July 1, 2014. The last time they performed together was at the Aspen Comedy Festival in 1998. In addition to their best-known skits, the troupe promises new material. At a press conference announcing the show, Eric Idle said the audience can expect “comedy, pathos, music and a tiny piece of ancient sex.”
When I was a kid I would watch Monty Python’s Flying Circus on PBS. The program provided absurd premises (a ministry of silly walks, an eatery frequented by Vikings that includes Spam as an ingredient in all their dishes, a clinic where one can drop in and pay to have an argument, though if you go into the wrong room you’ll get hit-on-the-head lessons), bizarre animation and, on the best episodes, images of ladybreasts.
July 1 falls smack dab in the middle of London’s rainy season (rainy season in London goes from Jan. 1 thru Dec. 31), so I probably won’t attend the show. However, I have my Python DVDs and recordings to get me through. Today’s playlist, a tribute to the group, kicks off with “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” the song that plays at the end of the film Monty Python’s Life of Brian. In the film, Brian, played by Graham Chapman, is despondent, seeing as he is nailed to a cross and certain to die. On a nearby cross is Idle, who attempts to cheer up Chapman with this ditty.
A survey conducted in England in 2005 revealed this to be the third most popular tune Britons would like played at their funeral. Indeed, the remaining members of Monty Python sang it at the 1989 funeral of Chapman.