The Power of Song

I think everyone knows that songs can be moving, happy making, dance inducing, and, well, annoying.  My siblings and I discovered that "The Song That Never Ends" hit a particular nerve with our mother and might have spent a month or so singing it a lot.  (Sorry, Mom. I still like singing it though.)  I have been known to offer up the advice to folks with songs stuck in their heads that I could sing a different annoying earworm of a song. (In addition to "The Song That Never Ends", there is "It's a Small World" and a teen in youth group taught me "I Know a Song (That Gets on Everybody's Nerves".)  I'm helpful like that. 
And certainly the use of song in protest (by which I mean more official protest, rather than parental or sibling protest) is well known.  But I'm heart-warmed by folks in Norway who have gathered to sing a song outside a courthouse. There is a man on trial for bombing a building and then going on a shooting spree.  He has stated that his killings justified because his victims were being too left-wing and allowing Norway to taken over.  In his comments, he mentioned the song "Children of the Rainbow" as the kind of silly multiculturalism he is against. (It's possible he used stronger wording.)
So, folks have gathered across Norway to sing the song.  They gathered outside the courthouse in the rain to sing while his trial continued, to make the point that he does not represent the vision of Norway they wish to see.

The Bus Song

Oh, probably not the one you are thinking of.  The 42 is not just any bus.  It goes to Chinatown, downtown, Dupont, Adams Morgan, and ends where one might expect of the line referred to as the Mount Pleasant line, in Mount Pleasant.  It has a blog. (Okay, technically the blog is not by the bus, but the blog is named after it.) And now it has a song.  No, not that song.  (Although still love.)  But this one, that DCist has helpfully embedded for you over here.

Look, it's Free Stuff

It is a wonderful thing knowing talented people.  So, over here we have a tale of what happened after Little Red Riding Hood, by my lovely chapter-mate Alethea Kontis (Red may have gone a little stalkery over her woodcutter). 
And, if music is your thing, and you'll be in DC for New Year's, Showlist DC has a chance to win tickets to the 9:30 Club's concert.  (Showlist DC, if you are unaware, compiles all of the DC/Balto area concerts in one convenient listing.  Seriously brilliant. And I would say that even if it wasn't run by a fellow yarny person.)

Arriving Late

I went to see Cowboy Mouth on Friday. As a semi-regular concert goer, I confess I usually time my arrival to be at or near the end of the opening band*. Yes, it sometimes means I miss an intriguing band, but more often than not it means I spend less time on my feet listening to something I am ambivalent about. So, I walked up to the 9:30 Club right as a cab pulled out and a guy with a wheely bag popped out of the cab. I took a closer look since the average concert goer does not bring a wheely bag (although I did see some people with some large purses and backpacks, and I say this as someone who often carries huge bags, even I trim down for a concert). I noticed the guy looked like the lead singer of Cowboy Mouth and even had the name Fred on his jacket. Just as I was thinking, how cool he marched up to three guys standing in front of the club smoking, one of whom was only wearing a thin t-shirt and said, "What are you doing out here? Where's your coat?"
The guy paused and said, "Well, I'm here to see you."
Fred responded, "Hey, don't blame me for you being cold."

*Yes, at larger venues the opening band is often pretty well established, I tend not to go to those as much.

Compare and Contrast

In case you missed the various bloggers blogging and (so I hear) the twitterers twitting, the Muppets perform "Bohemian Rhapsody"*


And then we have a rap about Alexander Hamilton. Yep. That's right.

Hat Tip to ALOTT5MA for the Muppets and Mental Floss for the Hamilton.

I am Cool Like

In case it wasn't clear, I am a big sucker for group musically inclined type projects. Add in a charity and/or a seemingly plausible grassroots - type story, well you might be able to sell me the Brooklyn Bridge. Or a least a song about it.
So we have the Chartjackers, with the crowd sourced, "I've Got Nothing".

Hat Tip to the Monkey See Blog.

For Real

It's a rap. About Arlington.

Hat Tip to the Raveler who first provided this link.
And just for a complete contrast. The above may be the first rap about Arlington, but it is not the first song.
Emmett Swimming also has one*.
In the interest of completeness, there appear to be a number of songs titled Arlington. But most of them appear to not really be about the city itself.
*Sorry, embedding is disabled on this one.
Edited to add, I only just realized that DCist posted very similar links. I swear I came to this other ways, but great minds and all that.