Tag Archives: music

Who put the polka in the polka dot?

Here we are again, and it’s time for me to throw down another mind-blowing, universe-alternating fact. Polka music is not German. Not even Bavarian. It originates from the Kingdom of Bohemia. So much for stereotypes. Bohemia is the original name for what is now the Czech Republic. The lively dance music originated there around 1850. [...]
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Raise your glass to the music of the Armonica

Should I find myself at a fancy dinner party I cannot resist the urge to wet my finger and slide it around the rim of my wine glass. At least I would have trouble resisting the urge, if I were ever invited to such fancy dinner parties. The sound of a resonating wine glass is [...]
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The original kazoo was made with spider eggs

When I visited Buffalo, NY I was given a souvenir kazoo. Since 1912, they’ve been the promised land of kazoo making. Well, technically it’s the tiny town of Eden, just south of Buffalo, that is home to the Original American Kazoo Company. Just to be safe, I will back it up here and explain what [...]
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FACT: a CD track is five kilometers long

I’d like to start off by saying that a CD (compact disc) works very much like a vinyl record, but I’m afraid it would be almost as current to say a CD works much like a telegraph machine. Still, I’ll soldier on with my record analogy, since they both store music (data) in a very [...]
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FACT: everything is hunky-dory since 1868

This week there was a lot of hub-bub about “unfriend” becoming the new word of the year. I’ve got nothing against new words, but I do think about all the good old words that are getting pushed out. For example, I’m going to make an effort to this week to pay homage to the great [...]
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FACT: the most influential jazz guitarist was short two fingers

If you haven’t heard the name Django Reinhardt in the last 70 years, it’s about time you do. It’s not everyday an artist is able to create and define an entire genre with such mastery that now, over 60 years after his death, jazz guitarists are still trying to sound like him. Gypsy jazz, or [...]
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FACT: sticking a feather in your cap is hardly macaroni

Yankee Doodle is probably the most famous song from American history. Sing along with me now… let me hear you in the back! Yankee Doodle went to town Riding on a pony, Stuck a feather in his cap And called it macaroni. Yankee Doodle keep it up, Yankee Doodle dandy, Mind the music and the [...]
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