Wild Child Bus

Photo taken in Venice, CA. Song stuck in my head (perfect for playing when sitting at the back of the bus): "Real Wild Child" by Iggy Pop.

Here Comes the Sun: Beatles, Apple, Etsy

Upcyled shirt from MissStefanie.etsy.com 

I've had "Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles stuck in my head since the news that Apple finally got the Beatles collection for iTunes and it inspired me to create a sun-themed Etsy treasury. The song is one of my favorites and the one I chose to learn when I took a singing class (brilliantly called "Singing for People Who Think They Can't") in New York several years ago, which makes it one of the few songs I feel confident singing around a camp fire (or in the living room when my musically gifted friends pull out the guitars). Not in the Etsy treasury (because I save self-promotion for here) is the pictured Coppertone upcycled shirt, remade by me with scissors and some needle and thread.

I couldn't find a video online of the Beatles performing the song live, but here's George Harrison singing it at the concert for Bangladesh.

Voting Girls, Roaring Girls

Today marks the 90th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. The song that's stuck in my head: Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman."

Reaching for the Stars with Casey Kasem and Teddy Roosevelt

I grew up listening to Casey Kasem's weekly radio broadcast of "America's Top 40," even after my musical taste evolved and I began to broaden my horizons by listening to music by artists that did not often top or even enter the charts--usually the music was labeled "alternative" and could be found on radio stations on the left of the dial. The show aired on Sunday mornings where I grew up and I remember bringing my transistor radio--it was hot pink and fabulous--with me to the beach to listen during the summer months. Kasem ended each broadcast with this message for listeners: "Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars." I loved that. During a recent visit to Teddy Roosevelt's childhood home in NY, I found the quote that must have been his inspiration (pictured above).

Below, a tape of Kasem's last broadcast and the song that popped into my head when I began to write this post: "Left of the Dial" by the Replacements.

Photo: Marley Freedom Flag

Photo taken in Venice Beach, CA. This calls for some Bob Marley music; here's a cover of "High Tide or Low Tide" by Jack Johnson and Ben Harper. --Stef McDonald

Wall Art: Beatles Love

Photo taken in Venice Beach, CA.

The songs that popped in my head: John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance" and George Harrison's "Give Me Love."

Photo: Moon Over the Cemetery

Photo taken at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Songs in my head: all from Angus & Julia Stone, who performed at the Masonic Lodge on the cemetery grounds last night. Someone else in the audience already posted this clip.



And another:

Jack Johnson's Concert to Clean the Beach

Another reason to love Jack Johnson: he's performing a free concert on the Santa Monica Pier to help Heal the Bay, a kick-ass organization that works to keep our sea and seaside clean in Los Angeles. It's billed as a "Concert To Clean The Beach" and that's how you get your ticket to see him perform on the pier -- by participating in a beach clean-up organized by Heal the Bay a few days before the concert.

UPDATE: It was great. Not sure how long this will be live, but the concert was streamed live and can be seen here.

Love the Lyric: Avi Buffalo and Bacon

Avi Buffalo's "What In It For?" had me at the line, "your lips are like two pieces of bacon." (Go to 1:11 to hear it.) Love that.

(My young friend Maya is behind the artwork celebrating bacon.)

Video: New Jonsi Song and Video

This is an unofficial video for a new song by Jonsi of Sigur Ros. (Don't know him or the band? Get online and check them out: Sigur Ros site and Jonsi site). Love the surf footage used here in this video.

Alex Chilton Appreciation

Surf Music 101

Sure, you know the Beach Boys. Maybe you know Dick Dale--or the Ventures. KCRW DJ Tom Schnabel lists the Top 5 Bands that Defined Surf Culture on the stations super-cool "5 Things" blog. You know this one, for sure.--Stef McDonald

Rockin: Swim Song By Frightened Rabbit

I heard this song on KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic" and cannot get it out of my head (in a good way): "Swim Until You Can't See Land" by Frightened Rabbit, a Scottish band. Rockin'.--Stef McDonald

Santa Monica Pier Centennial: Dick Dale

We sat on blankets on the beach for the 100th anniversary celebration of the Santa Monica Pier last night and heard surf rock legend Dick Dale perform. Live music coming from one side, waves lapping on the other--and then a spectacular fireworks show. Pretty perfect.

Cool Surf Band Video

Via Boing Boing: a video from the Japanese surf band The Royalfingers. The video is hilariously bad (check out the fierce Godzilla-like creature battle!) and the song makes me want to get up and join the beach dance party about two minutes in. So fun.--Stef McDonald

New Fish: Introducing Mary-Jo-Lisa

I named the last fish (Henry VIII) and Mr. MVP got to name this one. He chose Mary-Jo-Lisa, from a Ting Ting's song. I worried that the song would get stuck in my head each time I passed the bowl and spotted her, but it's one of those songs that is too fun to bother me. It's a good thing to say about a song so I believe it bodes well for the new fish.

Rockin' Barbie

I've been wondering about what would make Barbie want to dance these days. She's on tip-toes all the time so her moves have to be somewhat restricted. And if you were to pay close attention to her proportions, you'd probably wonder about how standing would be a struggle and dancing might be downright impossible. But forget all that! What kind of music moves the girl?

I called my goddaughter Mary the other day and she told me she was playing with her Barbie. What is Barbie doing? I asked. She said they were watching TV and trying on outfits. I was reminded of my own Barbie days and what I remember most are the records Barbie listened to. These records (yes, records—this was before CDs entered our world) were not sold in packages as accessories in the toy store like the Corvette or Dream House or shiny disco dresses. No, these were records I made for Barbie. I was a kid who saved her weekly allowance to buy 45s at the local record shop, so it only followed that my Barbie would also have the same records I had and loved. My DIY records were simple: circles cut out of paper with the song written on them in tiny print.

Barbie would put on the fake record on the imaginary record player—any surface would spin records in my imaginary Barbie world, because anything was possible in my Barbie world—and she'd dance. It didn't matter what she was wearing and it didn't matter if she danced with Ken or another Barbie. Her blonde hair bounced as she rocked from side to side. Imagine the girls from the "Peanuts" animated specials dancing and you can picture my Barbie in motion. Sometimes her pointy-toed legs would kick up like a Rockette's or she'd flip over joyfully.

So I told Mary that my childhood Barbie liked to dance and that I made fake records for her (explaining to her that a record is an old-fashioned CD). She liked that and told me her Barbie liked Kelly Clarkson. Could I make her a Kelly Clarkson CD? Of course, I told her. Then I asked if I could do something even better. What if I made her other records that her Barbie might like? I could write the song name on the fake record and she could go on the computer with her mom to find the song online, then listen to find out if she liked it. Wouldn't that be fun? I asked. Cool, she said.

No disrespect to Kelly, but my gut tells me that Barbie might also want to rock out to something else and I'm happy to be an influencer. I could begin by making records by non-"American Idol" artists with some girl power, starting with some Pretenders, Stevie Nicks, X, and Sonic Youth and move on to Silversun Pickups, Sleater-Kinney, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Arcade Fire. Mary wants to learn to play the violin, so I'll start with Arcade Fire.

Coachella Style #2: '80s Again

I didn't get a good shot of Ray-Ban Wayfarer shades (they were everywhere!), but caught some other '80s styles while checking out the crowd at Coachella, including colorful headbands, neons, and stripes. 

Coachella Style #1: Prints

Going to the Coachella Music and Arts Festival is all about the music for me. I'm both proud and embarrassed to say that I ran into a friend and said, "Hi, no time for chit-chat, I gotta go across the field to see the next band!" When I saw another friend who came in for a hug, I said, "Sorry, too hot to hug! Let's skip that." (Okay, maybe I'm not so social when it comes to my rock and roll.) I saw dozens of acts and crossed the field often, but I also managed to amuse myself during trips from stage to stage by looking for fun fashions. It's definitely a challenge to be stylish during the daytime in the desert and I've learned that you can choose the most sensible wardrobe choices and still sweat your buns off in 100-plus temperatures under a blazing sun. Remarkably, tons of stylish girls managed to dress to impress. I brought along my pocket digital camera and snapped a few shots (not Sartorialist-style because I took my photos passerby-style). Here, a woman in a pretty aqua caftan-robe-dress with skull print (she walked away from me before I could see it from the front and I didn't notice the skulls on first glance). The other is wearing a dress with a bird print and coordinating feather hair clip (I like the bird and feather combination).

Byrne's Roadside

The always-amazing Boing Boing links to a creepy roadside photo taken by the always-amazing David Byrne. As it's a roadside shot, I have "Road to Nowhere" by the Talking Heads stuck in my head; here is Byrne performing it live: