my first meme

A meme from Jac by way of Alison.

Instructions: Go to your music player of choice and put it on shuffle. Say the following questions aloud, and press play. Use the song title as the answer to the question. NO CHEATING.

How does the world see you?
Sepia Panorama – Duke Ellington
(an instrumental, kind of mellow, almost moody track – indicative of ellington’s later penchant for orchestrated swing in his later years. good slower dancing)
…ok….so I’m complex, moody, yet positive?
Will I have a happy life?
Hurricane – Vince Giordano
(crazy fast charleston music – fun)
So, fun, exciting, interesting yet tiring?
What do my friends really think of me?
Kickin’ the Gong Around – Cab Calloway
The lyrics are worth repeating. Bracketed sections are the chorus replying to Cab
(Yeah!)
(No!)
It was down in Chinatown,
All the cokey’s laid around,
Some were high, and some were mighty low,
There were millions on the floor,
When a knock came on the door,
And there stood old Smokey Joe.
He was wet and cold and pale,
He was looking for his frail,
He was broke and all his junk ran out.
Nobody made a sound,
As he stood and looked around,
And then you’d hear old Smokey shout:
“Tell me where is Minnie?” (where is Minnie?)
“My poor Minnie?” (your poor Minnie)
“Has she been here, kicking the gong around?
If you don’t know Minnie” (don’t know Minnie)
“She’s tall and she’s skinny” (tall and skinny)
“She gets her pleasure kicking the gong around.”
(scat) (yeah!)
(scat) (no!)
“Just tell her Smokey Joe was here and had to go.”
And as he departed, (and as he departed)
The curtains parted, (the curtains parted)
And there stood Minnie,
Kicking the gong around.
Hmmm. Interesting, considering I’m all straight edge and all… Maybe it’s a song about me making funny songs about junky ‘hos and their pimps?
Do people secretly lust after me?
Boy Wanted – Ella Fitzgerald
(kind of dumb song where Ella sings about the boy she wants, and she starts: “he must be able to dance, and must make light of romance”).
Ok….
How can I make myself happy?
You Didn’t Want Me Then – Dinah Washington
(Dinah sings: hey, you didn’t want me then, that’s cool – I’ll carry on. I’ve found someone else that I like a lot more and they’re really nice)
Strangely appropriate…
What should I do with my life?
Night and Day – Sinatra with the Dorseys
(“Night and day,
You are the one.
Only you,
Beneath the moon and the sun.
Whether near to me or far,
There’s no matter darling where you are,
I think of you,
Day and night”)
Oh, so I’m back with the looking-for-love thing?
Will I ever have children?
Night and Day – Ella Fitzgerald (50s ella)
(same as last one, but cheesier and more orchestrated)
That’s weird. Does this mean there’ll be perpetual love making, or that I’ll never sleep a whole night through again (because of my many babies?)?
What is some good advice for me?
Put It There (shag nasty) – McKinney’s Cotton Pickers
(sassy, uptempo ‘charleston’ stuff – shag=the dance step, not… well, actually.
No, it’s mostly about crazy uptempo dancing)
Neat. Dance like a fool, shag like a fool.
How will I be remembered?
Jumpin’ at the Woodside – Count Basie
(crazy fast dancing, iconic in lindy for excellent fast dancing and the sequence in Hellzapoppin’)
…crazy fast dancing fool?
What is my signature song?
Gloomy Sunday – Billie Holiday
(sad, slow – she dreams that her lover has gone/died, then wakes up and discovers she was wrong, and now she really appreciates and loves her partner even more for having thought she’d lost them)
right.
What do I think my current theme song is?
I’ Shouting High – Louis Armstrong
(medium tempo, but energetic, a love-song)
whatever…
What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
I’m Gonna Live Til I Die – Barbara Lewis with Reg James
(about partying hard, living every day as it comes)
what-e-ver
What song will play at my funeral?
I Can’t Dance (I got ants in my pants) – Chick Webb
(lyrics (chorus in brackets):
Oh Baby,
Love to have a party,
(let’s have a party)
Let’s all begin,
(let’s all begin)
You bring the women,
(you bring the women)
I’ll bring the gin.
(i’ll bring the gin)
Let’s go for a drive,
(let’s go for a drive)
Ain’t goin’ far,
(ain’t goin’ far)
You fix the blow-out,
(you fix the blow-out)
Boy, and I’ll drive the car.
(I’ll drive the car).
…scatting…
I can’t dance,
(I can’t dance)
Got ants in my pants,
(Got ants in my pants),
I can’t dance,
(I can’t dance).
Boy, I can’t dance,
Got ants in my pants,
Oh, Chick can’t dance,
(why?)
Got ants in his pants!
A fun, energetic song about not being able to dance because i’m all wriggly in my pants, though it’s more about dancing and being excited-energetic and dancing kind of crazy)
Kewl. But I won’t be able to dance to it….
What type of men/women do I like?
Roll the Boogie – Lavay Smith and the Red Hot Skillet Lickers
(uptempo fun, ‘boogie woogie’ rhythm:
“My man likes to boogie, boogie with a steady roll,
When he boogies my woogie, satisfies my soul,
He boogies in the morning, boogies all night and day.
And when he gets home he blows my blues away”)
Nuff said, really…
What is my day going to be like?
What Shall I say – Billie Holiday
(“What shall i say,
When our neighbours want us to come to tea?
They don’t know you’re not with me,
What shall i say?
What shall i say when the phone rings and someone asks for you?”
– a song about having been left by someone, but in an uptempo, positive tempo and rhythm)
kind of ordinary, but positive?
Hm. well that was all kind of disappointing. It made me giggle, though. Esp at Shag Nasty and Kicking the Gong Around. Guess this would have more variety if I listened to less swinging jazz – there’d be fewer songs about party, sex and drugs or misery. Thank god I’m not a country and western fiend.