Music

We have a cool neighbor, Bert, who is a musician. Now that the weather is finally warming up in northern California, our condo association neighbors are spending more time in our common backyard area. When we are out there, Jack likes to knock on Bert's sliding glass door and ask to play his piano. Bert is a jazz drummer by trade but plays guitar and piano too. While Jack plays the piano, Bert plays the guitar. What is remarkable is how Jack and Bert play off each other. At his age, all Jack knows is rhythm; while banging on the piano keys, Bert will strum chords on the guitar at the same rate. When I watched them, Jack slowed down and so did Bert. Then Bert sped up and Jack followed suit. Jack's first jam session!

Hey Now, Hey Now

One of Jack's favorite music videos from Noggin is The Dirty Sock Funtime Band's "Dino-Soaring." The band and the song were featured on "Jack's Big Music Show" on Noggin but we caught the video on the tail of a "Wonder Pets" episode. The chorus features the phrase, "Hey now, hey now," and that's how Jack refers to the song (and when asking to see it on the upstairs TV).

The video shows the very psychedelic band members dancing around with kids on a rainbow like sound stage. The song has a great beat and is very danceable. You can see for yourself:



Tonight, I snapped the following pictures of Jack dancing to the song.

As If You've Never Been Away

While deployed to Iraq, I listened to a particular track from Ulrich Schnauss' album, Far Away Trains Passing By, called, "As If You've Never Been Away." (iTunes link). Schnauss' music falls into that hard-to-describe-ambient-techno-electronic-chill genre. At times very dense and German, the track in question is snappy, upbeat and, to me, very positive.

Listening to it in Iraq, I imagined re-integrating with Jack at home and hoped it would go smoothly. Today, at the park we were quite the team. I helped him conquer a new way of climbing on a particular play structure. At the top of the structure, he said, "I'm a big boy now," and, to my surprise, "I don't need Paci anymore" We'll see.

Still, I am happy at the re-intergration. Surprised, even, by how smoothly it's gone. As if I've never been away.

El Kabong

Because I'm a technology nerd, Jack has his very own Tivo (well, it was our pre-kid Tivo which migrated upstairs just before Jack was born). My attractive wife and I use it to record all manner of kid's shows. Poor Jack will never understand the concept of waiting to see a show when it actually airs. He thinks all shows are on demand.

We have the suggestions feature turned on and the Tivo thought Jack might like the Pink Pather cartoons which originally aired back in the late 1960s. At the end of the show, which we recorded off Cartoon Network, there was an animated short called, "El Kabong Rides Again," which Jack and I really liked.

El Kabong is the alter ego of Quck Draw McGraw, a horse sherrif character from Hanna Barbera which debuted in 1959. Occasionally, he dresses up as Zorro and fights villains in the southwestern town of El Pueblo using a guitar as a club. Once I saw an example of the original Hanna Barbera cartoons on YouTube I remembered him completely.

The Cartoon Network short from Wild Brain, Inc., features El Kabong (El Hero de Los Todos de Cartoonistas*) and his trusty sidekick Babalouie, riding into a southwestern town populated by Mexican Day of the Dead inhabitants. The townsfolk are tormented by a ruthless blue-eyed villain, "El Honcho Macho" and his Mexican wrestler gang who hang out at "El Cantina de Bad Guy." (I can't help but wonder if the blue-eyed villain is homage to Robert Rodgriguez's villain from "El Mariachi.") There is no dialog, just a wonderful soundtrack, a tune called, "Minas de Cobre," (iTunes link) from the indie group, Calexico.



Jack wanted to see it again and again by saying, "Honcho Moncho Bad GUY!" I tried to get him to say "El Kabong" but he liked the bad guy better, I'm afraid. The animated short and its music are great. Check it out.

*Yes, this is incredibly incorrect Spanish. It's a cartoon after all...