Baby Mine: Baby’s Got the Car Keys

This week, our songs have shown us the babies become the embodiment of all of our hopes and dreams. We have also seen that they are cute and cuddly, especially when they are not ours. I am concerned that all of our visitors here will now rush out and have babies of their own, only to charge me and my fellow Starmakers with false advertising when they find out the truth. So I thought I had better issue a public health warning . The truth is, ladies and gentlemen, that babies are a lot of work. It’s all worth it in the end, but it is certainly not easy. And a sense of humor is essential.

Trout Fishing in America: Baby‘s Got the Car Keys

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This is, of course, a music blog, so I had better make this point with a song. Fortunately, Trout Fishing in America has come to my rescue. Baby’s Got the Car Keys explains that not being able to find common household items need not mean that your brain is leaking; it might just mean that you have become a parent.

Bonus track

Imagine this: the baby won’t stop crying. You sit there holding her, with every parenting book ever written lying open in front of you, trying each technique in turn. Nothing works! Finally, with that “you won’t have any better luck than I did” look in your eyes, you hand the baby off to someone else. Immediately, the crying stops.

Here are the important things to remember in this situation:

1. Treat this person well, and always keep them close at hand.
2. It’s not your fault. It’s just a part of being a parent.
3. You will be able to laugh about this in the future. Honest.

Trout Fishing in America: Something Sweet

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Winter Wonderland: Snow Day, v 3.0

Trout Fishing in America: Snow Day

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This week, we have had a first on Starmaker, the hidden sub-theme. It was, of course, “Snow Day: post songs called Snow Day”. I did a search on Itunes, and I can cheerfully report that there are still many choices left if you haven’t gotten in on this yet.

All of that said, I am still surprised that this one was still available. Trout Fishing in America is that wonderful altitudinally mismatched pair of Ezra Idlet and Keith Grimwood who are responsible for so much wonderful kid’s music. There is only one thing more challenging than trying to find kid’s music that doesn’t drive an adult into a diabetic coma, and that is trying to find kid’s holiday music that meets this requirement. Fortunately, Trout’s Merry Fishes to All fills the bill nicely.

The Bountiful Feast: Breakfast Blues

Trout Fishing in America: Breakfast Blues

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Good morning! – let’s start our Food Week with the most important meal of the day, shall we?

“Trout Fishing in America is the long-standing musical partnership of Keith Grimwood and Ezra Idlet. The name, taken from a Richard Brautigan novel, seems almost as incongruent and intriguing as a picture of this musical duo - Ezra Idlet (guitar) stands six feet nine inches and Keith Grimwood (bass), five feet five and one half inches. What is more intriguing is the musical career these two have carved out in nearly three decades of writing, recording and performing together.”

More here…

I’ve heard the song covered by Zoe Lewis and Mindy Simmons… but I always thought it was written by Ezra and/or Keith - upon googling for the lyrics, I see it was penned by Ronnie Levine, a Pensacola, Florida singer-songwriter (the tune is on his songlist… so it must be the same guy!)...

If you’re craving sticky puns, this tune-uh is chocolate full of them – orange you glad I’m finished with this gruel and honey-usual punishment? (groan)…

School Days: Science Fair

Trout Fishing in America: Science Fair

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Back here I suggested that we have a week of kid’s songs. Here’s another sample of what that might sound like.

Trout Fishing in America is a duo from Arkansas who have recorded on their own label for about as long as Ani Difranco has. That they are not as well known has everything to do with the fact that their best material is for kids. As you can see, they have a great deal of fun with difference in their heights, (6’9” vs 5’5”). “Science Fair” is about the awesome projects you wish you could have presented when you were a kid. It also appeals to the parents who try to recapture the feeling by helping their kids with their projects.