Do You Love Me? (Now That I Can Dance)

 Viral video out now of robots dancing to "Do You Love Me".  While everyone else is marveling over dancing robots, I am just thrilled at hearing some music that is not only familiar to me but it is music that is happy, not angry- get-in-your-face kind of music that seems to be so popular these days. (And much of it is has such vulgar language that I just can't even....)

Here...you know you want to hear the whole song, I am sure!

The song was written by Berry Gordy. I do hope you were all able to watch the documentary about Motown that I told you about recently! Can't remember the name of it but you should be able to do a search and find it!

The song was a hit in 1962 and although Berry Gordy wrote it for The Temptations, they were unable to record it and so it went to the group, The Contours.  (It was also a hit in 1988. Is this because of the film "Dirty Dancing"? I am only guessing, someone might know and tell me!)

Okay, now just in case you have not seen the dancing robots...I have the video from YouTube for you here. And of course, it is clever to have them dance to that tune... "Do you Love Me? Now that I can dance?" So funny. And maybe it is just me, I just like the robots dancing that are on two legs, the others ones just creep me out a wee bit. But that's just me!  (I personally have always felt a bit close to the computer from "Lost In Space".  "Danger, Will Robinson, DANGER", he was always saying that. And that is so very much like me, I always keep on the lookout for any harm coming to well...anyone! Yes, a bit of a mother hen, so this 2020 has been challenging.)

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Hope you are all doing well.  The virus rates in the state of Georgia are at an all time high and yet...you would never know it, the restaurants and gyms are open and very busy. Oh well, the robots are dancing anyway...

2020 Is The Grinch

 

2020 is the Grinch, trying to stop Christmas from coming...

but somehow or other, it came, just the same!

2020 says, "How can it be so?

How can you celebrate Christmas

when you are home all alone?

When you can only see loved ones 

by computer or phone?"

Then 2020 thought of something he hadn't before

maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more...

What happened then?

Well, on Earth they do say that

2020's heart grew three sizes that day.

And then, when his heart didn't feel quite so tight,

he exclaimed with a great deal of delight,

"There's a new year on the hori-ZUN,

I give you... Twenty, Twenty ONE!"

And as the Grinchy 2020 departs,

He says, "Don't dislike me too much -

now you appreciate what is most dear to your hearts".

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Merry Christmas

And Happy New Year!

"All I want for Christmas is a rock and roll electric guitar".

All I Want For Christmas Is...WALKER"S CRISPS! (And Something To Make Us Laugh!)

 

Hey!  This TV ad is from Christmas time last year from Britain but I think you can forgive me for not knowing about it. After all, I live in America!

"I saw it first!"

"No, you didn't."

"Yes, I did."

"Didn't!"

"Did!"

"Didn't!"

"DIDDDDDD!"  That last word in the very high note from Mariah Carey!

What a great ad!

This is 2020, my friends!  It takes very, very little to make me happy. Just give me some Quavers and a funny TV ad...I'm good.  Oh, and if Santa could find some good gluten free food for my husband, that would be nice also! 

HEY!  You know you want to see one more!  With a song by ELVIS! I mean, can this post get any better?  Enjoy!

Gustav Holst and Christina Rosetti- "In The Bleak Midwinter" (Their Finest)

 

Do you notice the background music during films? You know that I do! Recently, Richard and I watched a movie called "Their Finest".  It was set during World War II and was about the writing of propaganda films meant to influence America to enter the war. Rachel Portman is the genius behind much of the music in this film and many others!  She has written over 100 scores for films and television, winning an Oscar for the film "Emma" in 1996. 

Not to take anything away from Rachel Portman but in this movie, I was most thrilled to hear the beautiful beginning notes of the song "In The Bleak Midwinter". (And it was played on a trumpet and it was lovely.  If you know anyone who plays the trumpet, ask them to play this for you.) I knew that the song was first a poem by Christina Rosetti and was set to music by Gustav Holst. He also was asked to write music for "I Vow To Thee My Country".   At the time that this was presented to Gustav Holst, apparently he was quite busy so he was grateful that one of his songs that he had written for "The Planets" could be changed.

("Jupiter- the Bringer of Jollity")

Would you like to hear both songs?  I find this kind of thing very interesting...  Okay, here is "In The Bleak Midwinter".

"I Vow To Thee My Country" which was adapted from "Jupiter- the Bringer of Jollity".

Gustav Holst (1874-1934) and Christina Rosetti (1830-1894) are both fascinating to me. If you don't know their life stories, they are well worth looking up, I promise you!  How I would love to do a film about each of them! Gustav Holst was a fan of English folk songs, praising them by saying they had "no sham, no got-up glitter, no vulgarity".  This is a man after my heart! 

Christina Rosetti wrote this: "I know my aims in writing to be pure and directed to that which is true and right".   And she also said that her writing method was "a distinct aim at conciseness." I love that!

Both of them seemed to be very similar in temperament, rather shy and withdrawn and not very at ease with other people but they both had very close friends who brought out the best in them..."their finest".  

Friends really do help us get by in life, don't you all agree? 

Thanks to all who took the time to listen to C.'s songs in my last post. Music is very important in our household and Christopher seems very serious in using his God-given talents.  So, I thank you for your encouragement!

 

 

                                    "Water like a stone"

THE Music For Me! (Me, You and Everybody!)

 

Hello! It's December already! Where does the time go? It seems I have been quite busy lately but I hope that all of you are doing well these days.  I have a post that I am working on about a famous composer but before I share that with you, I want to tell you that I am excited that our son has been working on his music! Not only does he perform his own songs that he has written but he also does "covers" and even then, he will sometimes change them up a bit and even re-write some of the lyrics.  I am hopeful that you if you click on the link below you will be able to hear those songs!  I love them, you know I do!  "The Hardest Part" is a song by Coldplay and the vocal by MY Chris seems better than Chris Martin! (Sorry, Chris Martin, no offense, even if you are insulted, you can console yourself with your millions! HA!) The second song is "Running Water", which is a song by the Moody Blues. (Justin Hayward, if you hear him sing this song, you will know that there is one young man in Georgia who knows all the songs by the Moody Blues!)  It is such a beautiful song and I LOVE the vocal that he does here!  The third song is "In The Aeroplane Over the Sea" and it is by the band, Neutral Milk Hotel.  Once again, I love it- not just the vocals but the way that he plays the guitar, bass and keyboards on this as well. (He is also doing the harmonizing part!)

The song "Clementine, No" is a re-working of the Beach Boys song, "Caroline, No".  I really like it!  Talk about harmonies!

If you are able to click on that link and listen to those songs, this would make me so happy! If you don't have time to do so just now, try to remember to do so when you can, okay? 

Also, over to the side...it shows a song by "Trip Trembley". That is also our son! That would be the song that he did years ago in concert, "I Can Get Funky Enough".  He and a friend wrote that one together and it is done in a fun, tongue-of-cheek kind of way.  (I hope so anyway, I hope he is not huffing going down the road with the law on his car bumper!)

Okay, the link is just below...

Chris Guest | Free Listening on SoundCloud

There!  I hope you were able to have a listen!

Here is photo of Christopher from his concert in 2013. (That's C. on the left.)  

Always have a song in your heart!  You know I do!  Thrilled that my son inherited his Dad's musical talents! And I know that C. is too!