Grandpa Norman, Minnie the Moocher and Sabrina

Everyone could use a Grandpa Norman.  No, he wasn't my grandpa, but he was to my friend Aryeh.  Grandpa Norman would have been 100 today and sounds like he was a lovely man.  According to Aryeh, Grandpa Norman was "a lifelong Chicagoan and South Sider and proud Jew who understood, better than anyone I have ever known, the nobility and dignity of honest work."

Call me culturally ignorant, but I never watched the Blues Brothers from start to finish.  Growing up, that was more my brother's department.  Later, I learned that my husband Stango did his own time on stage with his boyhood friend, nicknamed "Famous", as their own Belushi-Akroyd impersonators.  His family's 1977 yellow Volvo station was nicknamed "The Bluesmobile."  I owned the cassette tape, though, and listened to it frequently.

Which is why Grandpa Norman's favorite song by "Minnie the Moocher" Cab Calloway resonated with me.  I know that Calloway is an American icon, and yet I feel quite the uneducated soul to not know too much about him.  Especially since I purport to love music.  It is one of those things my mom would be surprised at, like, "Wow, Rachel, I am surprised that you didn't know that."

So, now I know that Cab Calloway was a huge jazz musician.  

Anyway, here is Cab, Old School:




Here is Cab in 1980





And, back to 1933, Calloway's popular tune "Reefer Man" which appeared in the film International House.
Check out the wonderful tap dancing which I feel personally connected to since I took tap for many years.  Love the beautiful clarinets and the white tails outfits of the band.  It's all too much!  (Note:  this is just another tune by Calloway which I happen to think is quite the entertaining bit, not particularly a Grandpa Norman pick, lest you get the wrong idea about Aryeh's grandpa)







I think I would have liked Grandpa Norman.  He also loved this tune...



...Sabrina should be required viewing for every breathing soul.  Hollywood doesn't get much better than Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart.

If you have gotten this far, I should let you know that my daughter, Concealed Light, has entered the room and told me to stop playing the music.

From Rihanna to Eddie Murphy in 30 Seconds Flat...Mama Say What?!

(disclaimer: if you really want to get it done in 30 seconds, do not watch the embedded videos!)


 Yesterday, towards the end of spin class, Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music" came on the speakers.  Ever so conveniently placed, indeed I didn't want the music to end, since I was finally getting my spin groove on.  I am not very contemporary with popular music, so I owe much of my knowledge and exposure to it via my excellent spin instructors.  In truth, I don't connect much to the music:  the beat seems somewhat empty to me.  I am a classic rock and Jam band type of mama.  I don't like how women are objectified.  I certainly don't want my children watching this video.  Stango would definitely not be into it.

Rihanna is beautiful despite the fact that I don't agree that she uses her body, sex and overall image to sell herself.  Isn't that Hollywood, though?  She has made a career out of it, and I give her that.  I am sure she is a hard worker.



Ever interested in connections, I love how she borrows from Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Something" when she says "mama say mama sah mama makusa"




Ever thirsty for knowledge, I researched that phrase, which, according to this Wikipedia entry, has its roots in Makossa music, which is popularized in Camaroon cities.

Call me an ignorant American, but I don't know much about Camaroon.

Except for this classic scene from "Trading Places," where Eddie Murphy pretends to be an exchange student from Camaroon.






Which leads me back to the City of Brotherly Love, where this film is largely based.

It is my new city and it is a good one!