Coming Tonight

We have a problem at thesongsstuckinmyhead.blogspot.com.  Our team of scientists are working day and night to resolve it, and hopefully we'll have a solution soon. 



For now, the bewitching raspy voice and mopey songs of Martha Wainwright are still working their magic on my fragile subconscious.  This is the 3rd song of hers I've written about, a record for me (she was playing in my head yesterday too.)  Yet, as I listen to these songs, I find that really they are quite good!  For example, listen to today's song, "Coming Tonight"





We're trying to find it in our budget to hire a neurologist, psychologist and someone who can provide the best shock therapy possible- but this is impossible if we can't get more people reading my blog.  Please for the sake of everybody's sanity, share this blog with your friends! 



(I drew this myself.  You're welcome)

Or, for the love, somebody suggest some new music I should start listening to! 

In an unrelated note, I've decided to no longer eat out and I'm craving KFC like something fierce. 

High Five

One of the joys of being a parent, is that you get listen to and sing kids songs.

I had said last time that I would get my wife to sing today.  She has a masters degree in music and I just can't bring myself to get her to sing today's song:


This is from TMBG's kids album, "Here come the 123's."  I watched this with my daughter yesterday, it's actually a lot of fun. 

As soon as I feel it works, we will do another live performance.  It just wasn't in the cards today.  I'm sorry I ruined your memorial day.

Hearts Club Band

Yo, guess who's back to share music with us?  Our good ol pal Martha Wainwright.  This time she's singing a song called "Hearts Club Band." 

Here it is friends:


I've tried to wrap my mind around what this song's about, but I'm having little luck.  If anyone's feeling enlighted, feel free to share. 

But since the song was somehow inspired by the real "Hearts Club Band," I feel like posting a picture of people that inpire me:




I'd like to thank the fabulous 4 (my kids) my mom, my mom-in-law, my hot wife, Joseph who made this all possible and some other famous people who inspire me every day. 

I've also contacted the winners from my blog contest.  Congratulations to Molly, Chelsea, Celia and Joe.  Thanks for playing!  

PS- I'm gonna try to perform the next song stuck in my head from Monday morning with my wife and maybe some other special guests.  Stay tuned y'all.....

Going Through the Motions

Wednesday, hump day.  I woke up with this song "Going Through the Motions" by Aimee Mann playing today:



This is from Mann's "The Forgotten Arm"  album from 2005.  This song is actually about a man struggling with addiction- but I found the title appropriate to each of us.  Do we feel like we're going through the motions each day? 













I propose that we do something about the banality of life and make your day more interesting!



Here's how it works, I will list 10 things to do when you first wake up, 10 things midday, and 10 things in the evening.  Randomly use the random number generator, and whatever number you land on, at the given moment of the day, you must do whatever it says.  This will give you 3 tasks to do throughout the day.  If you don't then you're just going through the motions like everyone else.


MORNING
1.  Go for a walk down your street backwards. 
2.  Go to the grocery store and buy a big fat steak.  Cook it rare and eat it. *
3.  Instead of wearing normal clothes, dress up like a superhero and wear it all day.  Make a costume if you don't have one already.  Give yourself a superhero name. 
4.  Put a cucumber on a string and drag it with you everywhere.  Call it "Fifi" 
5.  Go to the yellow pages.  Close your eyes, open up the page and point somewhere.  Wherever your finger is, go visit that place and give them your patronage. 
6.  Make the commitment to wear your pajamas all day.  No matter what you may have planned. 
7.  Make a milkshake for breakfast.  A really good fattening one. 
8.  Don't send a single text message all day.  Call the person instead. 
9.  Rearrange the furniture in one room.
10.  Call someone and convince them to try this list. 

*Consuming undercooked meats may cause bad stuff to happen to you. 

MIDDAY
1.  Go around your house and place a moustache on every picture of someone you have in a frame.  CAUTION- Use a dry erase marker. 
2.  Start a blog about Mr. Belvedere. 


3.  Go to your local CD store- close your eyes and pick a CD.  Whatever it is, buy it.  And listen to it.
4.  Do the same thing at the Library with a book.  No matter what book it is, read it.  All of it.   
5.  Go to the supermarket and buy 10 different kinds of cheese.  Get kinds you've never heard of.  Invite a friend or 2 over for a cheese tasting contest. 
6.  Go to my cousin's blog:  http://www.panhandlingwithclass.blogspot.com/ post a comment and tell her she's dumb.  She could use a reality check. 
7.  Buy some Hi-Chew candy and give it to someone.  Spread Joy. 
8.  Go for a mile long walk in nature. 
9.  Meet a friend for lunch at a restaurant you've never tried.  It can not be a restaurant chain or fast food.   
10.  Share this list with your minions on facebook/twitter/pinterest/google+/youtube/Foxnews.com. 

EVENING
1.  Look up Aimee Mann's guest appearance on "Portlandia."  Then laugh while you watch it. 
2.  Go do some Yoga- I've never tried it but I hear it's great.
3.  Go to a top ten films of all time list (google search it) and watch a movie on the list you've never seen. 
4.  Gather all the pennies in your house.  Prepare them to be taken to the bank and put into a savings account or donate them to a charity. 
5.  Dress up nicely and create a name tag that says "tour guide."  Take a few friends and/or family to your local video store and treat it like you're giving a tour at a museum, since it is fast becoming a piece of ancient history.
6.  Create a YouTube account and post your first video.  If you already have a YouTube account, then post a video of yourself mouthing the lyrics to "Total Eclipse of the Heart" with passion and conviction. 
7.  Write a handwritten letter to a grandparent, or someone far away.  It must be a real letter- no emails. 
8.  Turn on the television. The first block of commercials you see, decide you're going to buy whatever is being advertised in one commercial, whether it's a product or service.
9.  Organize a spontaneous sporting game of some kind that requires several people to play:  Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, Ultimate Frisbee.  Don't make up excuses, play the game now. 
10.  Take cookies to the neighbor whose door is to your right as you exit the front door of your house.  Even if you don't like them, or don't know them, take them cookies anyway. 

I hope to run into one of you giving a tour guide at a blockbuster in a batman outfit with cookies in hand for your neighbor.  Let me know how boring your day-to-day life is after completing these tasks. 

Aimee Mann's music is good.

The One You Love

I'm back.  I'm thrilled to share the song stuck in my head today, "The One You Love"  by Rufus Wainwright

Funny, I blogged about his sister Martha just last post.  She is one of the back-up singers in this song.  Now if we can get his father, Loudon Wainwright and his mother, Kate McGarrigle, then we'll have the whole family covered.  Let's see if my subconscious allows it. 

Anyway, I love this song.  One thing that made me fall in love with my wife is that I could play her a song by Rufus Wainwright and she "got it," meaning she understood why the music is so cool and interesting.  Rufus is a gifted musician, ranging from folk, to rock, to classical.  This song is one of my favorites of his...

I'M AFRAID I HAVE A DISCLAIMER ON THIS SONG, there is an F-word!  It happens right about 1:44 in the song.  If you have extra sensitive ears, I would mute it from about 1:40-1:50 to be safe.  I want this blog to be fun for everyone to read, so I hope this doesn't offend anyone. 



For those of you offended by this, HOPEFULLY A CONTEST WILL MAKE UP FOR IT! 

I noticed my numbers dwindling on my blog visits, but boy howdy when I run a contest the numbers go up!  I guess nobody cares about my songs, they just like the free stuff. 

And I've upped the ante y'all- you thought the prizes last time were awesome, these will blow you away! 

TO BE CLEAR:  THERE WILL BE 4 PRIZES, 4 DIFFERENT WINNERS

PRIZE NUMBER 1-  A copy of "The Best of the Songs Stuck in Brady's Head, Volume 2" AND Mango Hi-Chew Candy:

PRIZE NUMBER 2-  A Copy of the beloved classic "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" (we got 2 as wedding gifts, this one is brand new out of the package) and package of Strawberry Hi-Chew Candy




PRIZE NUMBER 3-  A 25$ Gift Card to the Cheesecake Factory AND a package of Grape Hi-Chew candy.  *



*Tyranosaurus Rex Child Not Included

PRIZE NUMBER 4-  By Popular Demand, we've taken the dust off the OLD CD CASE.  This is my ancient CD case that holds 280 different CD's.  Pick a number between 1-280 and you will win the CD in this case that falls under this number.  There are some real gems in here, and some real garbage! 



TO ENTER THIS AMAZING GIVEAWAY... Simply post a comment below with the following details:

1-  What song is currently stuck in your head.  Don't lie or you will be disqualified.
2-  Watch the music video of  the song I posted today from 1:17-1:26, this is the first 2 lines of the 2nd verse.  What is he saying?  Honestly, I don't know and neither does Megan.  Give it your best guess.  You don't need to get it right, but if you google search, you will be disqualified. 
3-  Pick a number between 1-280 in case you happen to win prize number 4. 

I will randomly pick 4 winners, the drawing will take place this coming Saturday, the 26th of May! 

Good luck, tell all your friends!

ONE MORE THING, PLEASE READ THIS-  Seriously, if you post a comment on your iPhone, it will not work!  Even if it tells you it's posted.  Either do it on your PC or Laptop at home, or you can always email your comments to cashbrady@gmail.com 


Bleeding All Over You

Today I had a song playing by Martha Wainwright.  She comes from a famous musical family and having been a fan of her father Loudon Wainwright III and especially her brother, Rufus Wainwright, I've tried to like her music too. 

And that's not to say that I don't like her music, I've bought both of her albums, I just don't think she speaks to me the way other members of her family have.  I can't imagine the pressure of wanting to start out on your own as an artist when your family is already famous. 

Martha is raspy voiced and deeply confessional as a musician.  Poor Martha has found herself in love with a man who is married in this song.  I could only find live performances, I prefer studio recordings, but this one is pretty good:



I don't claim to be an authority on anything, but I have been told that nothing good comes from getting involved with a married man.  Case in point, Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction

Or Drew Barrymore in Poison Ivy

Or even worse Betty Rubble and Fred Flintsone.  



OK, so that one never happened, but imagine if it had!  Be careful Martha Wainwright!

Children Go Where I Send Thee

Having sung through choirs in High School, I'm periodically reminded of songs that I got to (had to) sing.  Here is one that was playing today. 

I thought about using a choir singing it, since that's the way I know the song, but didn't like what YouTube had to offer.  Instead, I have Johnny Cash, The Slatler Bros. Roy Orbison, and others performing it in 1977.  Something about this cracks me up, the way they are standing and dancing to the beat, the platforms, the clothes, mostly just the era I guess. 


I think that they should replace "The 12 days of  Christmas" with this song.  The format of the song is similar and it's about 5000% less annoying. 

Don't Let's Start

D- World Destruction
O-Ver an Overture
N-Do I Need
'- Apostrophe
T- Need this Torture?

Of all the music videos I've yet posted, I think this is easily my favorite:


Is there a nerdier band?  No.  Is there a band that rocks harder?  Yes, of course, but whether you like it or not, these guys rock. 
 
I'm an unapologetic die-hard fan of They Might Be Giants.  There is nobody that makes music like this, unique, intelligent, clever.  I challenge you to find 2 tracks that sound alike. 

I've been able to see them in concert twice.  You will find the most diverse group of people at a They Might Be Giants concert: 

Punk Rockers



   
Nerds



Goths



Families



Dungeon and Dragoners



Amish



American Gladiators



Delta  Burke





In case you're wondering which of these 8 categories I fit into, it's 7 of the 8 which includes everything except Punk Rockers. 
"Don't Let's Start" released in 1986, was the first music video by an independent band to play on MTV.  It was a huge deal at the time and it's a great song.  The End. 

MOTHERP

Finding a song today was a little tricky, having 2 sick kids waking us up in the night.  But as I thought about it being Mothers day, and feeling sorry for my wife having to take care of sick kids on mothers day, a tune kept going through my head. 

Below is the link.  This is the great Madeline Kahn doing a monologue and tribute to mothers on Saturday Night Live.  I couldn't find it on YouTube, so you'll have to visit the link if you want to watch. 

http://vimeo.com/23452568


And just for kicks, here is our version of the song,  Be prepared to be blown away:





Thinking About You

I'm out of town on business again. Last night I woke up 4 or 5 times, each time with a song playing. I thought about sharing all of them, but now that I'm up for good I'll just share the one that played now.


In 1997 I heard Radiohead on TV for the first time.  I have been hooked ever since, although I don't love all their albums.  This song is as basic musically as Radiohead gets, and it just sounds great.

Down In The Street Below

Have a little taste of some baroque pop-  here is today's song. 



I'm a huge fan of Neil Hannon, AKA The Divine Comedy.  This man has been busting out great pop songs for over 20 years and hardly anyone (especially in the US) has ever heard of him.  His music is melodic, smart and would never appeal to the masses.   

As far as what this song's about, I couldn't tell you.  I'm terrible with lyrics.  Does anybody have any ideas?

Oh, and it's my wife's birthday, so if you see her give her high five.

I Wish...

A song from my childhood is once again playing in my head today.  Does anyone remember this song?



This song by Skee-Lo used to play on MTV, back when MTV used to play music.  I always thought the chorus to this song had the dumbest lyrics.  Since I was so bugged by the lyrics, I've always remembered this song.  Consequently, it's now part of the repertoire of my brain and now we get to enjoy it together on this blog:

Listen carefully to these clever lyrics...

I wish I was a little bit taller.
I wish I was a baller.
I wish I had a girl who looked good
I would call her. 

I googled how tall Skee-Lo is.  According to a very valuable scientific source, which is a comment on a forum:

"By taking screencaps of the music video and measuring in Photoshop images where Skee-Lo is holding what appears to be a regulation basketball (~9.3" diameter), we can calculate that he is approximately 5' 1.5"

I'm six feet tall now.  But let me tell you, Skee-Lo, I feel your pain!  When I was 16 years old, I had a mad crush on a girl.  She was 5'7" and I was 5'3" and 90 pounds.  I wanted to trick her into asking me to a girls-choice dance.  So I sent a mutual friend and had him subtlely suggest she ask me.  Her response:  "But he's shorter than me!" 

As a new driver, I got pulled over 4 times by police for "underage driving." 



Probably the most humiliating time this happened is when I offered to drive my crush's 12-year-old sister somewhere.  It was just the 2 of us driving around the mean streets of Bountiful, Utah and you can imagine my horror when I got pulled over and had to explain that I was not 12 years old like her.  I felt awesome, and felt even awesomer when I took little sis home and she told my crush what had happened.

Fortunate for me, Skee-Lo, in a year I grew 9 inches and gained one or two pounds.  Although I didn't have the mad basketball skills you so desire in this song, I did something even more appealing to girls:  I got a job at Wendy's and got involved in the theater!  My lanky tap dancing made all kinds of ladies swoon, and I've never looked back since. 

Skee-Lo, I know you only had one hit.  I still hope you've had all your wishes come true, just like me. 




El Otro Lado

I'm happy to share the music of Josh Rouse today.  The song for today is "El Otro Lado."  I don't want to sound condescending (that means talking down to someone) but El Otro Lado means "The Other Side" in Spanish and I knew that without even having to look it up. 

Here is a fan video that actually looks pretty nice.




Josh Rouse has about 10 albums and I don't think you can go wrong on a single one.  I can't think of a more articulate way to describe his music- it is calming and beautiful.

How Deep Is Your Love?

Since I've started this blog, this is the first time this has happened.  I woke up with no song in my head!  I knew today was a blogging day so I panicked and told myself to think of the first song I could.  And this is what came to me: 



I bet I haven't heard this song in nearly 15 years.  I've never owned the song nor have I seen Saturday Night Fever.  Somehow it was filed away in my head, and now is here for all to enjoy.  I don't have a problem with the song, it's a good song, just wish I had an explanation where it came from.

How deep is your love?  Probably the deepest question ever posed.  But really, what I want to know is how deep are your pockets?

I'm a fan of feathered hair. 




But you don't care about that.  You care about who won my contest.  Well let me tell you. 

Sara Rasmussen was brave enough to comment on my blog and picked the number 7 in my overloaded CD case.  She will soon be the proud owner of They Might Be Giants' 2001 album "Mink Car."  Make fun of the band if you want, I actually really love this album a lot and I'm confident she'll like it too. 

For the rest of you who entered, this is what you might have won if you weren't so unlucky. 

Julie- The Shins "Wincing The Night Away"
Mary- The Smashing Pumpkins "Adore"
Jennie-  A Ben Folds Compilation I made a long time ago (from one huge Folds fan to another, this is hilarious)
Kathryn-  David Byrne "Feelings"
Rochelle-  Beck "Guero"
anonymous-  Leigh Nash "Blue on Blue"
mrhamatake-  Soo Doo For Broodoo (It's a compilation my brother made me)
davenportreport-  Queen "A Day at the Races" 
kfreckles2-  Also They Might Be Giants "Mink Car" (Picked the same number as the winner)
Kendall-  Can I Change Your Mind (A good compilation my friend Travis made me well over 10 years ago) 

Huzzah!






Living In America

I told you that lots of artists are coming to me in twos!  This is the first time it's happened consecutively.  So here are The Sounds again with "Living in America."  I prefer this song to the last blog post, and I find it strange that they keep playing.  I really don't listen to them all that often. 



And while were on the subject, let me tell you 10 things I love about living in America. 

1)  Choose Your Own Adventure Books!  Nothing screams "Democracy" more than getting to decide your own character's fate.



2)  Bubble Gum Ice Cream.  My favorite thing about it is how the gum falls apart in your mouth when you chew it.   

3)  Hostess Snacks are amazing.  I would take the cream filling intravenously if they would let me. 



4)  Pork Rinds in a bag.  Trust me, you can't find these in Uzbekistan. 


5)  My car is bigger than yours!

6)  My gun is bigger than yours!

7)  Count Chocula.  Trust me, you can't find this in Romania.



8)  Granulated Sugar.  Trust me, you can't find this in Djibouti. 
9)  Snooki.  Believe me, there is nothing like this anywhere. 



10)  last but not least, CONTESTS!  I'm gonna have one now!

I own a CD case of 244 CD's.  It's nearly full, and since nobody cares about CD's any more, I have little use for them.



Good thing you have use for them!  To enter this contest, simply comment on this blog post and pick a number between 1 and 244.  You will win whatever CD is in the allotted space of my dust covered CD case.  There are some real treasures in this case.  There's some real crap too.  If you're lucky enough to win, you just might get a good CD!

If you are having trouble posting a comment cause you're rich and have an iPhone, then email your number selection to cashbrady@gmail.com

I will randomly select the winner and the winner will get his or her random selection.  I will ship the CD to you.  Randomness is the best. 

Tell all your friends, nobody wants to miss out on this opportunity.  Drawing will take place once I have at least 10 people enter.  My generosity is overwhelming. 

Hopefully my subconscious is willing to give us a little more song variety for next post.  Thanks for reading.  I'm amazed at how many people stop by to see what crazy stuff is going on in my head and to hear my family perform these silly songs that I love.