Mah Nà Mah Nà

Lately, there has been a rash of commercials and television references to the Mah Nà Mah Nà song. And I can't help it: I sing it all day long. But the history of the song is pretty amazing.

It was written and originally performed by Piero Umiliani, but it has since appeared in several venues that injected it into the collective unconscious. Take these two (nearly identical) puppet performances:

The Muppet Show:


Sesame Street:


Here's the original version (my favorite):




Here's the band Cake doing Mah Nà Mah Nà "For The Kids":



Now consider that Mah Nà Mah Nà, according to Wikipedia, "debuted as part of Umiliani's soundtrack for the Italian softcore pornography movie Svezia, Inferno e Paradiso (Sweden, Heaven and Hell) (1968), a pseudo-documentary film about wild sexual activity and other behavior in Sweden ("Mah Nà Mah Nà" accompanied a scene set in a sauna). A soundtrack album, "Svezia, Inferno e Paradiso" was released in 1968. The movie was also released under the English title Sweden Heaven and Hell."

These are the kinds of sketchy Wikipedia details that one hopes are wonderfully invented.

While we consider this possibility, let's listen to Piero Umiliani's song, "Crepuscolo Sul Mare (Twilight On the Sea)":

Dave Grohl - Stairway To Heaven

Fort Knox Five

I came by Fort Knox Five on Pandora yesterday. Their music reminds me of David Holmes, who did the music for Ocean's 11, 12, 13 (and most other George Clooney movies). The tunes make me want to sip martinis and dance in some sort of Latin fashion, but I'll spare myself the embarrassment.

Try "Brazilian Hipster".

Sleepy Tunes

For a moment this morning, just after I woke up, I could recall the details of a dream I had last night. It involved several unrecognizable friends hiding in big barrels of rainwater that sat just below the awnings of a large Spanish villa that I had the feeling we were trying to break into.

I love songs that remind me of that brief period each morning when these types of images seem to have context:

Peter Von Poehl - The Story of Impossible:


Massive Attack - Teardrop:


Hello Tomorrow - Music by Karen Orzolek of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs:

Alt Rap Friday

I read an article in Rolling Stone once about the lead singer of Weezer and the reclusive hiatus he took from music in the late '90s. He said that he was working on a mathematical equation to explain why Nirvana's songs were so good. I know a lot of people who regard Weezer pretty highly, but that sounds like crazy-talk to me. However, since reading that article, I've begun to think of some elements of songs that draw me in. I like drums; give me a great break beat, and I'm usually sold on the song (such are my blind spots).

But with rap, so much of the mainstream music is formulaic. Usually, all it takes to get me to listen is a break from the norm: clever lyrics, a perspective other than that of a thug (although that can be fun sometimes, too), or videos that remind me of The Benny Hill Show, and I'm there:

QT