Tag: singing

Songs in your head

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I’ve been meaning to blog about this for months and keep forgetting, but I remembered this morning and so here it is. Every morning, I wake up with a song in my head. I don’t know how it gets there, but there it is. I usually don’t notice it until I’m driving to the train station because I find myself humming it in the car as I drive. I find this very interesting, and I thought from time to time, I’d mention the song that I found myself singing in the morning.

This morning it was Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”.

The thing is, it’s not just some mornings. This happens to me every morning. Am I the only one? Are there others out there afflicted by this pernicious disorder?

Twilight Zone at the Outback

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I decided to treat myself to a steak dinner tonight. I grabbed my copy of In Memory Yet Green and headed over to the Outback Steakhouse, anticipating a long wait. There was no wait. I was seated at once. I ordered a tall beer, had a salad, steak fillet, fries, and I even ordered the chocolate thunder from down under for dessert. My waiter happened to be a Yankee fan and hadn’t seen the game today so I told him about it.

They were playing good music in the restaurant today. I imagine it was some satellite radio station, but it was almost exclusively classic rock, one good song after another. And something happened that I’ve never before witnessed in an Outback Steakhouse: people began singing out loud to some of the songs. And not one or two people, but whole tables full of people. This seemed to reach it’s peak when “Come Sail Away” played (which is what solidified it in my mind as the perfect vacation song). It seemed as almost the entire restaurant was singing.

Meanwhile, I luxuriated in my food and beer and my reading, enjoying every minute of it. Everything was excellent and the service as super. When the bill came, the waiter had left off the Sprite that I had ordered after my beer. I pointed this out to him and he told me not to worry about it. (It pays to be a Yankee fan!) Nevertheless, when I left the tip, I left my usual 20% and then added an extra $2.00 to it, which is about what it would have cost for the Sprite. It also pays to provide good service.

Can’t stop singing

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I’ve been singing constantly for the last two days and can’t seem to stop. It started yesterday while driving to the train station. I had the old tune, “Moonlight Bay” in my head and I sang it the entire time I was driving to the station, alternating between the Bing Crosby parts and the Gary Crosby parts each time. Later in the day, I’d find myself humming the song under my breath while working. And even in the evening, while waiting in line at Boston Market, I was still humming the tune.

This morning, same thing, different song. On the way to the train this morning, I was singing “Mimi”. The only version I know is sung by Maurice Chevalier on Bing Crosby’s radio show. It’s been in my head all morning; I was even humming it in the shower at the gym.

Weird!

Lifes Rich Pageant

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R.E.M.’s album Lifes Rich Pageant is probably the best sing-along album of all of the albums in R.E.M.’s catalog. It’s my second favorite R.E.M. album after Automatic for the People. I’m listening to it now at work, and I feel like bursting out in song: “Fa-all on me!” Of course, this would annoy the people sitting outside my office.

Singing in the Rain

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The last week or so, I’ve been stuck singing the same set of songs in the shower (I am an inveterate shower-singer). They are fun songs, and for some reason, I just keep singing them over and over. I did it while at the hotel in L.A. and again this evening after working out. Since we’re all friends here, I figured I’d share the 11 songs I’ve been repeating with some minor commentary.

1. Change Partners (Bing Crosby)
This was Fred Astaire’s signature song, I beleive, but this version is a solo by Der Bingle. It’s a very smooth and even song, good for getting started out. I should probably mention that I have no musical talent whatsoever, but I can carry a tune pretty well, if I do say so myself. In any event, I like this one. It reminds me of Ventura Blvd. in Studio City.

2. Hello, Hello (Kay Thomson and the Williams Brothers). I sing the Williams Brothers parts. For some reason, I love the part of the song when they sing their names: “Dick Williams! Don Williams, Bob Williams, and Andy Willaims!” It’s a silly song, but it’s fun to sing. Incidentally, Kay Thomson sounds a lot like and older Judy Garland in this song.

3. You Gotta Start Off Each Day With a Song (Bing Crosby and Jimmy Durante). Admittedly, my voice isn’t quite scratchy enough to do Jimmy Durante’s parts (I can usually mimick whoever I’m singing pretty well) so I sing Bing’s parts on this song, which are a humorous backup. I can never get through this song without bursting into laughter because Jimmy Durante is so funny in it. This is the way stand-up comedy should be.

4. Clancy Lowered the Boom (Bing Crosby and Dennis Day). I heard this song once in an Irish bar in Alexandria, and forgot about it until I got a CD of Bing Crosby’s old radio show. This is a great drinking song. No matter how many times I’ve tried, I can never get all of the verses in this song right. Usually, I know a song after hearing it once, maybe twice (my memory is weird that way), but not this song. I keep trying to learn it, though, in case I am ever in a bar an Irish bar again and people start singing this song.

5. They All Laughed (Bing Crosby). This would be my theme song, were I to ever have a theme song. These is a smooth and easy song to sing. I like it because you gotta love any song that mentions, Thomas Edison, and Orville and Wilbur Wright, and Guglielmo Marconi in the same song.

6. Far Away Places (Bing Crosby). This is a sentimental song that I real like. I based a whole story around this song, several years ago. It’s a slow song but good exercise.

7. Dear Hearts and Gentle People (Bing Crosby). This song reminds of showering after going for a run in Studio City. This is a summer song. In the dead of winter (like now) I sing this song in the shower and (in my mind) it is temporarily summer.

8. Play a Simple Melody (Bing Crosby and Gary Crosby). I used to sing Bing’s part on this song, but I’ve been singing Gary’s part this last week. It’s a little more challenging, especially when the two are singing different parts (I know there is a technical name for this, but it escapes me).

9. Sam’s Song (The Happy Tune) (Bing Crosby and Gary Crosby). I sing Gary’s part. I love the quick and witty lyrics and whenever I sing this song in the shower, I have to do it either before or after I shave, otherwise, I’ll cut myself. I challenge myself each time to sing Gary’s part perfectly and usually I can do it. I love this song. I sometimes find I’m humming it to myself at work.

10. Gone Fishin’ (Louis Armstrong and Bing Crosby). Another summer song. I sing both parts in this song. I can do a pretty good Satchmo–at least recognizable. Plus, he usually got the better parts to sing. This is just a great song. It reminds me of fishing in Vermont.

11. Now You Has Jazz (Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong). From one of my favorite movies, High Society (ah, Grace Kelly! Sigh!) The musical arrangement is just awesome in this song, especially when the piano and trumpet comes in. There is a great duet at the end of the song between Bing and Louis and I always sing both parts.

So there you have it, probably more than you ever wanted to know about what I sing when I’m in the shower. So what do you sing in the shower?