John at Las Vegas Photo Blog posted a video of church bells ringing in Banff, Canada which reminded me that I had recorded the bells ringing while on the bell towers at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France in 2018. I found the video and decided it was boring by itself because the bells at Notre Dame were very loud standing in the bell tower, and they didn’t have any variation other than a bunch of bells ringing at once. Therefore, I wrote a piece of music to go with the bells, and put together a rather strange music video called Non-Tubular Bells. I include photos from Notre Dame in 2018 before the fire, pictures of Paris taken from the bell towers, video of the American Flag at our neighbor’s house, video of our neighbor’s dogs playing in the Rio Grande and video of the Owlets flapping their wings and flying a little.
Tag: music video
Wet Coachwhip Snake
I got a video of a Coachwhip Snake (Masticophis flagellum testaceous) swimming in the irrigation ditch. I know a lot of people have trouble with snakes, but they are really quite beautiful. It’s not often I see a Coachwhip Snake taking a swim. After we got back from checking on the owls and walking in the bosque this morning, I wrote a song to go with the video appropriately named Coachwhip Snake. I recorded the song and put it all together in the above video this afternoon. Enjoy!
Coachwhip Snake
Lyrics: Timothy Price
Music: Timothy Price
Verse
Slither swimming in the ditch
Sloppy sine wave between the wake
Slips the bank scales in cross-stitch
Stops and eyes me with suspicion
Bridge
We stand we stare he and me
Paparazzo and snake admiration
Chorus
Masticophis flagellum testaceous
That’s what I said
Beautiful snake, braided scales
Colubrid whipped up in western red
Verse
Slither swimming in the ditch
Sloppy sine wave between the wake
Bridge
We stand we stare he and me
Paparazzo and snake admiration
Chorus
Masticophis flagellum testaceous
That’s what I said
Beautiful snake, braided scales
Colubrid whipped up in western red
Mascherina
Did you wear your Mascherina on May Day? I finally got my latest parody finished. There are no cats or Lego® characters in this one. It’s weird. It’s a little different. It’s ridiculous, and it’s bloody awful. Basically everything a parody should be. I think you might enjoy it.
My inspiration for making a parody of Los del Río’s Macarena using the line “Andare a ballare ballo in a mascherina!” in the chorus came from Siogiovanni’s post Buona domenica ! Sono pronto al ballo in mascherina… The moment I saw the title of his post I thought it would be perfect for a parody of Macarena. I suggested that Siogiavaonni do the parody, but I have to assume that Signor Giovanni has a normal mind, unlike mine that is a bit twisted.
After I suggested the parody, my twisted mind couldn’t let go of it, so I looked up a video of Macarena that has English and Spanish, Los Del Rio – Macarena (Bayside Boys Remix), got the music off of it, and wrote the lyrics with the chorus in Italian:
Andare a ballare ballo in a mascherina
Sono diventare ballerina quarantena
Andare a ballare ballo in a mascherina
In mascherina!
The chorus for Macarena is
Dale a tu cuerpo alegria Macarena
Que tu cuerpo es pa’ darle alegria cosa buena
Dale a tu cuerpo alegria, Macarena
Hey Macarena!
Writing the lyrics was one thing, singing them was another. I about killed myself trying to sing the chorus. I’m just a slow-talking country boy who grew up playing in the mud along the Rio Grande. Rattling off a chorus in Italian at warp speed was nearly an insurmountable task. However, after practicing all of last weekend, I finally got through it, shy a few brain cells from lack of oxygen, and my mind twisted up a little tighter after many attempts at getting through just two repeats of the chorus, let alone all eleven times the chorus is repeated in the song. I had to do two tracks for the chorus singing with myself, which doubled the effort. It would have been nice to simply duplicate the first successful vocal track, but duplicate tracks are identical and still sounds like one person singing. Søren wanted to help sing, but it was too much for his bird brain, as well. However, he can dance Il Mascherina really well.
I decided that Antonio Romero Monge and Rafael Ruiz Perdigones (Los del Río) are not really from this world as they can sing Macarena effortlessly without breathing. We saw them in concert at Parque de Atracciones de Madrid in Madrid, Spain a couple of years after they released Macarena. They were excellent performers and rattled off “Dale a tu cuerpo alegria Macarena…” effortlessly and as clear as a bell at warp speed. I didn’t think much about it back then. Now I am very impressed with those two after making this parody.
I never liked Macarena very much, therefore, I added a guitar track to the recording to add interest and counterpoint. I played my Black Beauty Strat on the recording. It’s the most recent of my custom guitars that I finished a couple of months ago. The masked guitarist plays Black Beauty in the video.
Mascherina
Music: Los del Río
Lyrics: Timothy Price
Intro
I’m only trying to make you laugh
Verse 1
Now I dance alone in a mascherina
Women stood in line, que estoy kinda buena
To dance with me I tell you no lies
Back in the day, they were grand ol’ times
Now I dance alone, what can I say
For these are sad and lonely days
Chorus
Andare a ballare ballo in a mascherina
Sono diventare ballerina quarantena
Andare a ballare ballo in a mascherina
In mascherina!
Ay!
Andare a ballare ballo in a mascherina
Sono diventare ballerina quarantena
Andare a ballare ballo in a mascherina
In mascherina!
Ay!
Verse 2
Now don’t you worry about my girlfriend
Her name is I don’t have a girlfriend
In these days of Covid cooties
All I can do is dream about the cuties
Bridge
Well, what am I supposed to do?
Can’t go out and mascherina fits so fine
Chorus
Andare a ballare ballo in a mascherina
Sono diventare ballerina quarantena
Andare a ballare ballo in a mascherina
In mascherina!
Ay!
Andare a ballare ballo in a mascherina
Sono diventare ballerina quarantena
Andare a ballare ballo in a mascherina
In mascherina!
Ay!
Bridge 2
Ok! Ok! It’s bloody awful
Bridge 3
Ma-Ma-Mascherina
Ma-Ma-Mascherina
Ma-Ma-Mascherina
Bridge 4
Mascherina
Mascherina
Mascherina
Chorus
Andare a ballare ballo in a mascherina
Sono diventare ballerina quarantena
Andare a ballare ballo in a mascherina
In mascherina!
Ay!
Andare a ballare ballo in a mascherina
Sono diventare ballerina quarantena
Andare a ballare ballo in a mascherina
In mascherina!
Ay!
Verse 3
Find me dancing solo in a mascherina
Can’t go out and party con las chicas que son buena
So we can dance on Zoom, Zoom Zoom with me
Put on a mask and chant with me
Chorus repeated five times
Andare a ballare ballo in a mascherina
Sono diventare ballerina quarantena
Andare a ballare ballo in a mascherina
In mascherina!
Ay!
Beaver Dam Breaker
The Conservancy has been at it again, breaking up and pulling the beaver dams out of the clearwater ditch with their evil Beaver Dam Breaker.
Below is a short video a did last night of a beaver sliding into the Rio Grande after cutting some willows to snack on along the river bank. We saw four beavers last night and six beavers the night before last.
The Angry Beavers also asked me to repost Bite ‘Em on the Old Shin Bone (at the bottom of this post) to remind everyone of how the Conservancy, who doesn’t conserve anything but destroys everything instead, is always picking on the poor beavers by destroying their dams. The beavers and their dams make a nice habitat for so many other critters.
Society Broken by Germs
This parody of Green Day’s Boulevard of Broken Dreams was inspired by New Mexico DOT’s nanny signs on I-25, I-40, and in the Village of Corrales that read “Shop Alone. Stay Home. Stop Spread. Wash Hands. Save Lives.”, etc. I always shop alone and have done so for years. There’s no reason for both of us to shop together when the other person can be doing other things. Besides, if I go shopping with Laurie we generally get stuck in the bra section, which is like being stuck in hell. Apparently, with most everything closed during the lockdown, the government decided people were breaking the social distancing rules by going shopping together. So they added “Shop Alone” to the their nanny signs.
Besides the Fender Bass in the video, all the other guitars I either custom built, customized, or assembled from guitar components. My solid Black Strat that I finished recently makes its first appearance in the video (I have played it in recent songs I’ve posted, however). I made it with everything black down to the finger board, frets and strings. Although, the frets don’t stay black very long. I don’t believe the Fender Bass has appeared in videos before this one.
Society Broken by Germs
Music: Green Day
Lyrics: Timothy Price
I walk the grocery aisles,
They are not at all what I have known
Don’t know where they’ve gone
Push an empty cart, and I shop alone
I look at empty shelves
In society broken by germs
There where no one sleeps
I’m not the only one, but I shop alone
I shop alone, I shop alone
I shop alone, I shop alone
My phone’s the only one that’s there to guide me
With hollow lives how long can we take this beating
How can we accept a new reality
So now, I shop alone
Ah-ah Ah-ah Ah-ah Aaah-ah
Ah-ah Ah-ah Ah-ah
I’m standing in the line
Socially distant to be kind
Are we out of line
In a wedge where I shop alone
Don’t try to cut in line
You’ll be screwed, beaten by fists drawn tight
Check your vital signs? No, you’re not alive
And I shop alone
I shop alone, I shop alone
I shop alone, I shop a-
My phone’s the only one that’s there to guide me
With hollow lives how long can we take this beating
How can we accept a new reality
So now, I shop alone
Ah-ah Ah-ah Ah-ah Aaah-ah
Ah-ah Ah-ah
I shop alone, I shop a-
I look at empty shelves
In society broken by germs
There where no one sleeps
I’m not the only one, but I shop alone
My phone’s the only one that’s there to guide me
With hollow lives how long can we take this beating
How can we accept a new reality
So now, I shop alone
Livin’ La Vida Lockdown
Livin’ La Vida Lockdown
Music: Ricky Martin
Lyrics: Timothy Price
From LA to New York City
Canada to the wall
It’s like bad renditions
Of movies like “The Fall”
So many lamentations
News gives us all a fright
Only sick and grave predictions
We are in an awful plight
You can take your clothes off and stand naked in the rain
But there’s no one to see you, now isn’t that a shame?
Isn’t that a shame? Come on.
Inside can’t go out
Livin’ la vida lockdown
Makes us scream and shout
Livin’ la vida lockdown
We can’t earn our bread
Enough to drive us loca
Lockdowns wear us out
Livin’ la vida lockdown (oh man!)
Livin’ la vida lockdown (how sad!)
Livin’ la vida lockdown
Woke up such a pity what a funky nasty spell
We do your part to save some money
But it’s like a living hell
Restless, climbing walls, all this waiting’s such a pain
Now we’re all alone, and it’s driving us insane
Yeah, we’ll never be the same
Inside can’t go out
Livin’ la vida lockdown
Makes us scream and shout
Livin’ la vida lockdown
We can’t earn our bread
Enough to drive us loca
Lockdowns wear us out
Livin’ la vida lockdown (oh man!)
Livin’ la vida lockdown (how sad!)
Livin’ la vida lockdown
Ride a horse naked like Godiva in the rain
But there’s no one to see you, isn’t that a shame?
Isn’t that a shame? Come on.
Inside can’t go out
Livin’ la vida lockdown
Makes us scream and shout
Livin’ la vida lockdown
We can’t earn our bread
Enough to drive us loca
Lockdowns wear us out
Livin’ la vida lockdown (Yeah!)
Livin’ la vida lockdown
Livin’ la vida lockdown
Livin’ la vida lockdown
Livin’ la vida lockdown
Najar, July 2014 – March 27, 2020
We buried Najar under a rosebush named Ballerina. A sliver moon and Venus were hanging in the western sky. Najar died peacefully on Friday afternoon while Laurie snuggled, caressed and comforted her. Najar had been battling symptoms of what we suspect was bone cancer since September of Last year. She put up a good fight and did really well up until a few days before she died. Her bone marrow had stopped producing red blood cells, and she slowed down until she could barely move, laid her head down, and died.
Unfortunately, I was at a doctor appointment for my six month checkup. I got home not long after Najar died. She was lying in state, front paws crossed with a slight smile on her face.
We got Najar from the animal shelter on December 27, 2014. She was 6 months old at the time. We got her so Spunk would have a kitten his age to play with. Spunk was mauling poor Rosencrantz and needed a kitty with more energy. Najar and Spunk played and played, making up games like Spunk hiding under the floor mat and Najar attacking him that I included in the video.
Najar first got really sick in 2016. The vet was able to successfully treat her. We thought she had a virus back then; however, the other kitties never accepted Najar back into the kitty clan after that first serious illness. They must of sensed that she had more serious issues that had not fully showed themselves.
Najar was really special. We called her our dragon and little girl. She was super quick and nothing escaped her claws when she pounced. We spoiled her, gave her special attention, and tired to protect her from the other kitties bullying her. She was always a happy, really loving kitty who liked to jump up on our shoulders, and sometimes lick our hair. She loved to curl up on my lap while I worked on the computer, and had a way of sweetly demanding whatever she wanted and getting it.
We really miss Najar. Her death has left a void in our household and huge holes in our hearts.
Najar
Music & Lyrics: Timothy Price
Guitars: Timothy Price
Bass: Timothy Price
Percussion: Timothy Price
Najar
We miss you
Verse 1
We miss your kitty kisses
Your dragon eyes
Your being with us
We miss your sweet soft cries
Verse 2
Your leaps to shoulder snuggles
When you licked our hair
And made us giggle
Before your leaped
your cute butt wiggle
Verse 3
Curled up lap cat
Cuddles reassuring
Insistence, persistence
Pounces in an instance
We still feel you purring
Chorus
Our tears can’t fill
The holes left in our hearts
Like a broken glass, fallen
Scattered in a million parts
Photographs, our memories
Of good times never lost
How you blessed or lives
With your love that never stopped
You will not be forgotten
Our beautiful Chat Noir
You will be forever
Our lovely little girl
Verse 1
We miss your kitty kisses
Your dragon eyes
Your being with us
We miss your sweet soft cries
Chorus
Our tears can’t fill
The holes left in our hearts
Like a broken glass, fallen
Scattered in a million parts
Photographs, our memories
Of good times never lost
How you blessed or lives
With your love that never stopped
You will not be forgotten
Our beautiful Chat Noir
You will be forever
Our lovely little girl
Below are links to selected posts with Najar on T&L Photos:
https://photos.tandlphotos.com/blog/2018/4/najar-happens https://photos.tandlphotos.com/blog/2018/9/najar https://photos.tandlphotos.com/blog/2018/9/how-to-photograph-your-dragon https://photos.tandlphotos.com/blog/2015/3/when-kittens-take-up-photography https://photos.tandlphotos.com/blog/2015/3/cats-just-wanna-have-fun https://photos.tandlphotos.com/blog/2015/3/frisky-friday https://photos.tandlphotos.com/blog/2015/2/guarding-grammar https://photos.tandlphotos.com/blog/2015/6/sasha-and-the-box https://photos.tandlphotos.com/blog/2018/3/magnificent-seven https://photos.tandlphotos.com/blog/2018/2/cat-o-blinds-tale https://photos.tandlphotos.com/blog/2017/12/we-wish-you-a-kitty-christmas
