For the Love of Coffee

If this is coffee, then please-bring me some tea. But if this is tea, please bring me some coffee. ~ Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

Squirrel Nut Zippers

I accidently found a recording of this band and just loved the bari sax line. So I thought I’d drop this here so that I can find it later, especially if I ever do a small jazz ensemble again.

The commercialization of alternative music in the ’90s resulted in many strange one-hit wonders, but few were quite as unpredictable as Squirrel Nut Zippers. During a time when hipsters were obsessed with swing music in its relation to Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin’s Rat Pack, the Zippers were fascinated with big-band swing and Harlem, creating a tongue-in-cheek salute to ’20s and ’30s jazz.

For younger listeners familiar with the style but not the content of classic hot jazz, the band was good fun, but purists found the group’s vaguely campy sense of humor and amateurish technique off-putting. This debate would never have even been a matter of consideration if “Hell,” an incessantly catchy single from their 1997 album Hot, hadn’t been able to sneak through loosened alternative airplay to become a novelty hit. “Hell” became a crossover hit on the strength of a bizarrely theatrical vehicle, and Squirrel Nut Zippers quickly became one of the hottest alternative bands of the first half of the year.

Jim Mathus (vocals, guitar, trombone) and Katharine Whalen (vocals, banjo) formed Squirrel Nut Zippers in 1993 after leaving Chapel Hill, NC, for the nearby small town of Efland. As soon as they settled in Efland, the couple renovated a farmhouse, where they pursued various arts and crafts, and eventually the band fell into shape as Mathus and Whalen met local citizens like Don Raleigh (bass) and Ken Mosher (guitar, saxophone, vocals) who shared an interest in hot jazz.

Before long, Chris Phillips (drums, percussion), Tom Maxwell (vocals, guitar, baritone saxophone, clarinet), and Je Widenhouse (trumpet) were added to the band, which was now named after an old-fashioned candy bar, Squirrel Nut Zippers. The group soon made its live debut in Chapel Hill and within a few months had developed a large fan base throughout the South.

By the end of 1994, Squirrel Nut Zippers had signed with Mammoth Records, and they released their debut album, The Inevitable, in the spring of 1995. The album didn’t make much of an impact, but the group continued to tour. Their second album, Hot, was released in January of 1997. Soon after its release, “Hell” became a hit on such influential radio stations as Los Angeles’ KROQ, and MTV soon made the video into a buzz clip. By the spring, “Hell” and Hot had become hits, as the single was a staple on modern rock stations.

Although the Zippers were now successful, they received mixed reviews, with many critics claiming that they were mocking hot jazz, not paying tribute. Nevertheless, the album went gold, and a second single, “Put a Lid on It,” was released in the summer. Perennial Favorites followed in 1998, as did Christmas Caravan. Two years later, the band released Bedlam Ballroom, showcasing a cut by late band mate Stacy Guess. Squirrel Nut Zippers went on an extended hiatus in the early part of the decade and eventually reconvened in 2008 for the live concert album Lost at Sea, which saw release a year later . ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

top ten: Web Service Review

If you have a current domain or are thinking of getting one, for your own business or pleasure, Here is a current review:

Consider this just a starting point for your research.

Microsoft Jumpin’ Jive Orchestra Vocalists–Roger Bare

The Microsoft Jumpin’ Jive Orchestra shares this number sung by our own Roger Bare. This dance was at the Third Place Books Big Band dance.

Trickle Up Economics

hgus ~ It’s not about the economy, stupid

Companies are so efficient at maximizing shareholder value and profits that if we mandated 30 days vacation, we would increase the demand for labor by more than 10%. This would wipe out our employment problem, stimulate the economy, raise wages, increase tax revenue, decrease government spending on unemployment, decrease the number of uninsured, decrease the deficit, decrease crime (thus decreasing our prison spend).

One might argue that their would be a decrease in corporate profitability, but I don’t believe so. I believe that all of the above items would stimulate the economy and the rising tide would lift all boats.

Think of it as Trickle Up Economics!

Read more: Paid Vacation Mandated Almost Everywhere But U.S.

Make Love, not Hate. No, really…

Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy: “The question is whether or not the federal government, under our federalism scheme, has the authority to regulate marriage.”

Chief Justice John Roberts (to Edith Windsor’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan): “You don’t doubt that the lobby supporting the enactment of same sex-marriage laws in different states is politically powerful, do you? … As far as I can tell, political figures are falling over themselves to endorse your side of the case.”

Associate Justice Elena Kagan: “What happened in 1996 — and I’m going to quote from the House Report here — is that ‘Congress decided to reflect an honor of collective moral judgment and to express moral disapproval of homosexuality.’”

Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: “For the federal government then to come in to say ‘No joint return, no marital deduction, no Social Security benefits, your spouse is very sick but you can’t get leave’ … one might well ask, ‘What kind of marriage is this?’”

Still have questions?

Next.

Supertramp – Logical Song Lyrics

When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful,
A miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical.
And all the birds in the trees, well they’d be singing so happily,
Joyfully, playfully watching me.
But then they send me away to teach me how to be sensible,

Refrain: Logical, responsible, practical.
And they showed me a world where I could be so dependable,
Clinical, intellectual, cynical.

There are times when all the worlds asleep,
The questions run too deep
For such a simple man.
Wont you please, please tell me what we’ve learned
I know it sounds absurd
But please tell me who I am.

Now watch what you say or they’ll be calling you a radical,
Liberal, fanatical, criminal.
Wont you sign up your name, wed like to feel you’re
Acceptable, respectable, presentable, a vegetable!

At night, when all the worlds asleep,
The questions run so deep
For such a simple man.
Wont you please, please tell me what we’ve learned
I know it sounds absurd
But please tell me who I am.

Supertramp is a British rock band formed in 1969 under the name ”Daddy” before renaming themselves in early 1970. Though their music was initially categorized as progressive rock, they have since incorporated a combination of traditional Rock, pop and art rock into their music. The band’s work is marked by the inventive songwriting of Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson, the distinctive voice of Hodgson, and the prominent use of Wurlitzer electric piano and saxophone in their songs.