Hevisaurus

Upon first watching this I had a very distinct moment that could only be described as "WTF?!" I do not know Finnish. I am not even sure I knew it was Finnish at the time. Come to find out this band, called Hevisaurus, is a Finnish metal band that writes children's songs. Our friend Pete sent this to us, no idea how he found it. So I, like a good lemming, post it on my facebook page, which starts a most interesting conversation with a tall, pale friend of Norwegian decent. He points out to me that this is a song written about the last mammoth. They are singing him into his final sleep.

"Brushing his long hair 

Blowing his trunk as well 

He cleans his tusks 

On top of the cold permafrost 

He lays down his great and mighty head 

And straightens his tail 

The wind blows 

All land covered in snow 

He falls asleep under the tree 

Good night, the last mammoth 

It's time to go to sleep 

Good night, the last mammoth 

You will be remembered"

Wow.



Thanks to Pete and EBG!!

© ReBecca K. Hunt-Foster

Fossil Contender

Another fossil related song that just came out - "Fossil Contender" by the Gourds. This is a band that I remember playing in town when I was an undergrad at the University of Arkansas. This song is on their new album Haymaker! Listen to it here.

Fossil Contender

Fossil contender
Make it a short one laddy
No matter if I opt out or not
He got his always worried about what I got
Well, I got a knuckle honey
And you have the fin
But we don’t even know if this thing
used to walk or swim

CHORUS

I dug up a skull
I made a mold
Filled it with plaster
And you know what I was told?
Well how would you feel
If I dug up your head
Well I wouldn’t want to be fielding
any of your loaded questions
Fossil contender
Make it a short one laddy
Way after their time underground
Back of my head smells like a kick drum
Sight undisturbed
Resting satisfied or
I’ve got to find a new home for the petrified
Fossil contender
Make it a short one laddy

I want to make a CD someday of all paleo related songs. Can anyone out there think of any others?

We Wish You A Dino Holiday

Continued from Mondays post....

We Wish You A Dino Holiday (sung to the tune of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas")

We Wish You A Dino Holiday;
We Wish You A Dino Holiday;
We Wish You A Dino Holiday;
And a Happy New Year!

Our stockings are hug, our hearts
filled with glee;
We've wrapped up a Raptor for
under the tree.

We Wish You A Dino Christmas;
We Wish You A Dino Christmas;
We Wish You A Dino Christmas;
And a Happy New Year!

Eight candles we'll light this
Hanukkah night,
Dinosaur-a-Menorah will shine
clear and bright!

We Wish You A Dino Hanukkah;
We Wish You A Dino Hanukkah;
We Wish You A Dino Hanukkah;
And a Happy New Year!

Our kinara is lit, our Kuumba's increased;
We're letting the dinosaurs join
in the feast!

We Wish You A Dino Kwanzaa;
We Wish You A Dino Kwanzaa;
We Wish You A Dino Kwanzaa;
And a Happy New Year!

We Wish You A Dino Holiday;
We Wish You A Dino Holiday;
We Wish You A Dino Holiday;
And a Happy New Year!

Lyrics by Anne Muecke.

Deck the Halls with Stegosaurus

From my post this past Monday.....

Deck the Halls with Stegosaurus (sung to the tune of "Deck the Halls")

Deck the Halls with Stegosaurus,
Fa la la la la la la la la.
Jolly dinos never bore us,
Fa la la la la la la la la.
Go put on your tux or ball gown,
Fa la la la la la la la la.
Dance with Steg and rock
the hall down!
Fa la la la la la la la la!

Merry Raptors join the party,
Fa la la la la la la la la.
Appetites are big and hearty,
Fa la la la la la la la la.
Games must end in time for dinner,
Fa la la la la la la la la.
Or the T. Rex will eat the winner!
Fa la la la la la la la la!

Where's desert? The guest are
waiting!
Fa la la la la la la la la.
Eggnog is refrigerating,
Fa la la la la la la la la.
Oh, too bad, the Gobisaurus,
Fa la la la la la la la la.
At the cake - there's no more for us!
Fa la la la la la la la la!

Gather round the Songlingornis,
Fa la la la la la la la la.
Strike a merry dino chorus,
Fa la la la la la la la la.
Sing ye loudly, wake the neighbors!
Fa la la la la la la la la.
Calm them down with party favors,
Fa la la la la la la la la.

Stop the music! Stop the jumping!
Fa la la la la la la la la.
Stop the dino-tails-a-thumping!
Fa la la la la la la la la.
Party's over, dawn is breaking
Fa la la la la la la la la.
Just in time, our heads are aching!
Fa la la la la la la la la!

Lyrics by Anne Muecke.

The Allosaurus Chorus

More Dino-music fun.........

The Allosaurus Chorus (Sung to the tune of the "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah)

Allosaurus! Allosaurus!
Allosaurus! Allosaurus! Allosaurus!
Allosaurus! Allosaurus!
Allosaurus! Allosaurus! Allosaurus!

For the great 'Dinosauria reigneth
Barosaurus! Carnotaurus! Hadrosaurus!
Stegosaurus!
For the great 'Dinosauria reigneth
Pachysaurus! Maiasaurus! Fabrosaurus!
Rocasaurus!

For the great 'Dinosauria reigneth
Gasosaurus! Gryposaurus! Gorgosaurus!
Gobisaurus!
Longosaurus! 'Poposaurus! Sellosaurus!
Technosaurus!
Ultrasaurus! Adasaurus! Dryosaurus!
Spinosaurus!
Allosaurus! Allosaurus!

The rulers of the paleo world, is become
A kingdom of creatures both big and
bold - both big and bold,
And they shall roam for millions of years .

Dino kings
For millions of years - Allosaurus!
No-more-us!
Mighty and strong
For millions of years - Stegosaurus!
No-more-us!

Dino kings
For millions of years - Hadrosaurus!
No-more-us!
Mighty and strong
For millions of years - Maiasaurus!
No-more-us!

Dino kings
For millions of years - Ultrasaurus!
No-more-us!
Mighty and strong - dino kings -
might and strong.

And they shall roam for millions of years.

Dino kings
For millions of years - mighty and strong
Allosaurus! No-more-us!

Their bones preserved for eons and eons and eons.
Fossil kings
For all to see.
Fossil kings
For all to see.
Their bones preserved for eons and eons.
Fossil kings
Preserved in stone.
Pachysaurus! Dryosaurus! Spinosaurus!
Allosaurus! Allosaurus!

Lyrics by Anne Muecke.

Hark! The Pterodactyls Sing

Continuing on my post from yesterday.....

Hark! The Pterodactyls Sing (to the tune of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing)

Hark! The Pterodactyls Sing
Flying high on reptile wing.
Down below them in a nest
raptor chicks await breakfast.
Rays of sunshine coax rebirth
From the Mesozoic earth.
Tiny bug and giant beast
'Wake to hunt a new 'morn's feast.
Hark! The Pterodactyls sing -
Wondering what the day will bring.

Diplodocids in a band
Stroll across the misty land.
Evergreen and fern so sweet
Fuel a thunderous march of feet.
spindly neck of Seismosaurus
Reach up to the roofs of forests.
Drooping heads of Dryosaurs
Pick new moss from forest floors.
Hark! The Pterodactyls sing -
Wondering what the day will bring.

Rushing through a thicket dense,
A Tyrannosaur, immense
Chases down a hapless prey -
Just in time it gets away!
A voracious appetite
Threatens creatures still in sight.
Silently they crouch and hide
Until T. 'Rex passes by.
Hark! The Pterodactyls sing -
Wondering what the day will bring.

'Deep beneath a rolling sea
'Pliosaurs dive gracefully
Searching for a seafood meal -
Trilobite or paleo-eel.
Far below, a shadow, looming -
Suddenly to surface zooming!
Mouth agape, a Mosasaur
Makes the divers head for shore!
Hark! The Pterodactyls sing -
Wondering what the day will bring.

Mama Raptor has come back
'With a tasty morning snack
Eagerly her hungry brood
Gobble up the baby food.
Far aloft, on graceful wing
'Pterosaurs, still hang-gliding,
Herald that the rising sun
Marks another day begun.
Hark! The Pterodactyls sing -
"'Day has dawned on everything!"

Lyrics by Anne Muecke

the Dinosaurs' Night Before Christmas

John and I found a new book, the Dinosaurs' Night Before Christmas, when we were visiting the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History last month. This is a cute book for kids and entertaining enough for adults. It has some nice and colorful illustrations by Nathan Hale, with the story by Anne Muecke. And yes, that is Cryolophosaurus you see on the cover, although he is sadly missing from the rest of the book. Not to give anything away, but a fun sidenote - Santa-saurus is played by a ceratopsid - so that is worth something there, right?!? The back cover of the book tells me that "a portion from your purchase of this book helps support [the American Museum of Natural History] scientific and educational endeavors."

Probably the best (although best in a completely goofy and possibly eggnog intoxicated type of way - if you are into that type of thing) is the CD that comes with the book. It contains five "Dinosaur-Christmas-Holiday" themed songs, set to traditional Christmas/Holiday tunes, such as: Hey, Duckbills! (Jingle Bells), The Allosaurus Chorus ("Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah), Hark! The Pterodactyls Sing (Hark! The Herald Angels Sing), Deck the Halls with Stegosaurus (Deck the Halls with bla bla bla), and We Wish You a Dino Holiday (We Wish You a Merry Christmas). The CD also has Al Roker reading the story from the Dinosaurs' Night Before Christmas.

I wish I could figure out a way to upload these songs for you to hear, but the anti-Pirate (yaarrr) people make life more difficult every day (you can hear clips here at least). So, instead, I'll just post the lyrics, and you can hum the tune in your head. I guess I will start with and post the others on days to come. Consider it my Christmas gift to all of you. Your so lucky! ;)

Hey, 'Duckbills!

Hey, 'Duckbills! Hey, 'Duckbills!
Oh, how can we say
'Why your odd-shaped cranium
Evolved to look that way?
Hey, 'Duckbills! Hey, 'Duckbills!
Oh, how can we say
'Why your odd-shaped cranium
Evolved to look that way?

'Dashing looks aside, I think
that I would dread
To have so many bony pounds
en-crested on my head!
Unless this crown would bring, along
with sinus space
Some fine survival advantage to aid my
humble race!

Oh! Hey, 'Duckbills! Hey, 'Duckbills!
Oh, how can we say
'Why your odd-shaped cranium
Evolved to look that way?
Hey, 'Duckbills! Hey, 'Duckbills!
Oh, how can we say
'Why your odd-shaped cranium
Evolved to look that way?

Hidden in your crest were chambers
full of air,
Could these extra cavities enhance
your vocal flair?
'Did they make your voice resound
so deep and loud?
Or was yoru crest just fashion fluff to
make your mate feel proud?

Oh, how can we say
'Why your odd-shaped cranium
Evolved to look that way?
Hey, 'Duckbills! Hey, 'Duckbills!
Oh, how can we say
'Why your odd-shaped cranium
Evolved to look that way?

Lyrics by Anne Muecke

Tiktaalik (Your Inner Fish)

An awesome song about Tiktaalik by the Indoorfins. Check it out!




Thanks to Liz and Heather for the heads up on this one!

Christmas Music

I am cross-posting from my other blog - forgive me for the non-paleo related blog post:

So I know we are less than a week out from Thanksgiving, but everywhere you go people are playing Christmas Music and have their trees, lights and decorations up! So today I got the iPod warmed up for all the "Holiday" music and started to make my playlist. I thought I would list below some of the music that I have (no laughing!) and see if anyone has any recommendations or can think of something I might have forgotten! You can tell what CD's I own....so variations are appreciated.

• Mr. Grinch
• Happy Christmas - John Lennon
  
• Silver Bells - Johnny Mathis or Bing Crosby
  
• White Christmas - Bing Crosby
  
• Holly Jolly Christmas - Burl Ives
  
• Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms
  
• Rocking around the Christmas tree
  
• Jingle Bells - Bing Crosby or Frank Sinatra
  
• All I want for Christmas is you - Mariah Carey
  
• Santa Clause is coming to town - Mariah Carey
  
• Ho Ho Ho and a bottle of Rum - Jimmy Buffett
  
• Mele Kalikimaka - Jimmy Buffett
  
• Please come home for Christmas - Eagles or Mariah Carey
  
• I'll be home for Christmas -Bing Crosby or Sheryl Crow
• There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays - The Carpenters
• Have yourself a merry little Christmas - The Carpenters or Martina McBride
  
• Sleigh Ride - Johnny Mathis
  
• Winter Wonderland - Johnny Mathis, Dolly Parton or the Carpenters
  
• The Christmas Song (Chestnuts roasting...) - Nat King Cole, Vince Guaraldi, or Sheryl Crow
  
• Merry Christmas Baby
• Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer - Burl Ives
  
• Merry Christmas Darling - the Carpenters
  
• Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - The Carpenters or Martina McBride
• A Christmas to Remember - Dolly Parton
  
• Christmas Time is Here - Vince Guaraldi (A Charlie Brown Christmas)
• Deck the Halls
• Greensleeves - Vince Guaraldi (A Charlie Brown Christmas)

Church tunes

• Do you hear what I hear
• The First Noel - Bing Crosby
• God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Bing Crosby
• Hark the Herald Angles Sing - Nat King Cole
  
• It Came Upon a Midnight Clear - Frank Sinatra
• Joy to the World - Bing Crosby or Mariah Carey
• Oh Come all Ye Faithful - Frank Sinatra
• O Holy Night - Sheryl Crow or Mariah Carey
• O Little Town of Bethlehem - Frank Sinatra
• Silent Night - Mariah Carey, Bing Crosby, or Frank Sinatra
• We Three Kings
• What Child is This
  

Paleo Punk

Are you into Paleo? Also into Punk? Check out the band "The Iran-Contra Affair" over at Battlesnakesnow.com

They have a song called Fossil. The lyrics to their song are taken from a Richard Dawkins' quote from "The Ancestor's Tale" and go like this:

Most fossils are, in any era, remnants of hard animals: vertebrate bones, carapace(s)

Hope you enjoy it. Pass the site on to others if you do. Support your local Indie group :)

Burgess Shale. The Band. and paleo themed songs...

Thats right, there is a band named Burgess Shale! I found their CD the other night when I was rifling though CD's during John's radio show. They have several interesting songs on their CD "Its Never Enough, Is It?" According to a review I found on them: "If you want to get the music, you've got to listen to it. The lyrics mean something, and represent a commentary of the current lack of rational thinking in virtually all aspects of American society. For example, the song "No Duh" asks the question: Where does Dick Cheney disappear to when Homeland Stupidity issues a Severe Alert [LMAO]. Likewise, the aptly titled "The Moron Song" is about you know who [LMAO again]. "Lucky Punk" looks at the complacent response to our diminishing civil rights with the passing of the Patriot Act. "Shrunken Heads" casts some responsibility of the dumbing down of America's thinking on a media that cares more about reactions and ratings that providing real information. Finally, "Going Extinct" notes that the real weapon of mass destruction is "the thing between your ears." [link]

And this is the song I find very entertaining (somewhat surprising)! The band explains a bit about the song on their website:

About this song: There is great comfort in knowing that if the modern human race's time on earth is measured against infinity, we don't exist and are already extinct...but maybe some of us want to leave a fossil record that we can be proud of...good luck...the thing of mass destruction is the thing between our ears.

'Going Extinct' lyrics

I'm afraid of evolution if it keeps its current course
I know you think we're getting smarter when in fact we're getting worse.
Because we have some cool technology like e- bombs and cell phones
You know it doesn't mean our thinking has advanced beyond the age of sticks and stones.

I'm not sure if I will ever see the light again, I was a happy hominid
but now I'm not
I want to leave a fossil record that my family can be proud of,
Digging down, digging down, digging down, underground, here,
I want to see where I'll be found.

I'm not sure if you'll ever get a clue because
you need to mark your territory in everything you do
You'd rather piss on this and piss that and piss on your own welcome mat
Let everybody know that you'll go tit for tat.

This time it won't be asteroids or other natural things
We're in a modern mass extinction from the genius that you bring
And this has never really happened in five hundred million years
Because the thing of mass destruction is the thing between your ears.

Walking with a big erection doesn't mean walking erect,
you couldn't make it as Neanderthal and now you're something less.
Instead of reaching for the stars you're always reaching for your crotch, and
on the evolutionary scale each year you drop a notch. (There you go again.)

I'm not sure if I will ever see the light again,
I was a happy camper then but now I'm not
I bought a lot of plastic sheeting eighty rolls of silver duct tape,
Digging down, digging down, digging down, underground, here,
there's fear and loathing all around.

I'm not sure if you'll ever figure out that in the way you keep your
friendships throw a tantrum start to pout
You always piss on this and piss that and a swing a great big baseball bat
Let everybody know that you will throw them to the mat.

This time it won't be asteroids or other natural things
We're in a modern mass extinction from
the genius that you bring
And this has never really happened in five hundred million years
Because the thing of mass destruction is the thing between your ears.

We're all not going to heaven and
there's not such thing as hell
We'll be refined in someone's gasoline
or end up burgess shale.
Because we're nothing more than trilobites
who've learned to entertain
And we're distinguished from the animals
because we go insane.

I'm not sure if you will ever see the light again,
I thought we were evolving but I guess we're not
I want to leave a fossil record so my family can be proud,
Digging down, down, down, digging down, underground,
here, I want to see where I'll be found.

I'm not sure if you'll ever get a clue because
you need to mark your territory in everything you do
You'd rather piss on this and piss that and piss on your own welcome mat
Let everybody know you'll bite the head off of a rat.

This time it won't be asteroids or other natural things
We're in a modern mass extinction from the genius that you bring
And this has really never happened in five hundred million years
Because the thing of mass destruction is the thing between your ears.

So you can go back go back go back down,
you need to crawl back to the swampy waters try this thing again
So you can go back go back crawl back underground
you need to find some cute bacteria and make new DNA

You need to go back go back go back home.

Wow, eh!? What are some other paleo-themed songs you can think of? Lets try to make a list here......

• Walk the Dinosaur - Was (Not Was)
  
• Mammal - They Might Be Giants
• King of Pain - the Police
• Walking in your footsteps - The Police
• Jurassic Park is frightening in the dark - Weird Al Yankovic

I know I am forgetting a TON of these...someone help me out!

Wedding Dance Music??

Hello again! I know I have been totally MIA, things are still pretty crazy. But now I need some help. We decided to do the music ourselves for the wedding (after having seen the parade of bad DJs at SVP over the past several years!). So, if you were going to a wedding and planned to dance the night away, what songs would you want to hear? So far we only have 2.7 hours and we need 4. HELP!!

Jurassic Joe and the Cretaceous Crew

Check this site out (thanks for JH for pointing this out) If you live in Australia Jurassic Joe will even visit your school:

Jurassic Joe and the Cretaceous Crew present a collection of songs for children of all ages, in a variety of musical styles. Singalong, dance, count, laugh and learn to the mesozoic sounds of DANGER DANGER DINOSAUR (listen to the MP3 here - really, you should listen to it, seriously)

Danger Danger Velociraptor

Danger Danger Velociraptor
Danger Danger They’ve got the sharp claw
Danger Danger Velociraptor
Danger Danger Rrrraaah!

Look out baby protoceratops
Something moving there behind the rocks
Something in the bushes and the trees
Something hiding there behind the leaves.

Danger Danger Velociraptor…

Back one hundred million years ago
Something had a very dangerous toe
I’m so glad that it’s not here today
I’m so glad that we don’t have to say,

Danger Danger Velociraptor…

Picture from their site

What do you listen to while writing?

Brian over at 'Clastic Detritus' posses the question "What do you listen to while writing?" Great topic!! Check it out....

As I told him, I (unfortunately) can not have classical music (Mozart, Beethoven, ect…) on while I write, but my normal musical flair is also out because of the noise level. I tend to opt for movie soundtracks. The Fountain is a great one. My favorite motivational music is the Rudy soundtrack (goofy, I know). Others on high rotation on my playlist are the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Star Wars trilogy, Indiana Jones, Lawrence of Arabia, Braveheart, A River Runs Through It, Legends of the Fall, ect….things like that, and I tend to only use the music from calmer movie moments, no war-like music, just to keep the stress level down (its amazing how music can change your blood pressure and speed of typing).