Cats & Dogs

This week’s theme is one that is close to my heart: cats and dogs. I think you are either a cat or a dog person and anyone who says that they like both equally are in denial. Me? I’m absolutely a dog person, although I have always had a cat and I’ve had a habit of only ever having had a ginger cat. Apparently ginger cats are nearly always male. You can get a ginger female, but it is incredibly rare. 

In any case, I tried to give our canine and feline friends fairly equal time when it came to choosing the music and we started off with ‘Who Let the Dogs Out?’ by the Baha Men. I knew that the ‘Baha’ was short for Bahamas, which is where the group were all born, but I had no clue as to what their style of music – ‘Junkanoo’ – was about. I’ve since done a bit of research.

Junkanoo is more than just a musical style; it represents a whole cultural phenomenon. The music itself is very primitive and incredibly infectious. The basic musical instruments are made in the Bahamas and consist of the drum cowbells, horns, whistles, scrapers and brass. Twice yearly huge Junkanoo street parades are held where special Junkanoo costumes, music and dance are on display. It sounds absolutely amazing. Find out more at http://junkanoo.com

‘Who Let the Dogs Out?’ was released in 1998. The video clip still stands up as great entertainment in its own right, so here it is for you:

Thanks to all those dog and cat lovers who agreed to contribute to our vox pops. Loved the comment: “Dogs have masters and cats have slaves.” My little dog Charlie is 11 now and we have been through thick and thin together. He is my lttle mate. Charlie even has his own blog, although he hates the fact that he has to wait for me to type it up for him. Charlie put in a special request for some classic rock. He’s a bit of a boy like that. So, especially for Charlie, I played some Led Zepp – ‘Black Dog’ (in memory of Charlie’s companion Coco who passed away last year) and AC/DC with ‘Givin’ the Dog a Bone.’

‘Fraid Pussy Bite Me’ is a fantastic piece of early Calypso from the King of Calypso, Mighty Sparrow. Born in 1935, he is still going strong at 73 years of age. His lyrics are famous for being witty, ironic and ribald. He also frequently comments on social and political issues in his songs and recently endorsed Barack Obama and presented him with a CD of a song he had recorded in his honour, “Barack the Magnificent”.

The track I played, ‘Fraid Pussy Bite Me’ is from The Renaissance CD, a hot compilation of classic tracks where Sparrow displays his versatility. Well worth the search if you can find a copy.

It’s been suggested that pets resemble their owners. In which case it should be pointed out that my pup Charlie is in incredibly good shape for his age, but Felix the ginger Abyssinian, talks way too much. Charlie has insisted that I include a photo of him which was taken recently while he was being given a massage. I suppose that I should add that, yes, we are both also a bit goofy!

My Roy Orbison song this week was ‘Hound Dog Man’ from the album Blue Angel. And I really covered a lot of other musical territory, crossing generations and genre with wild abandon. Check out the complete playlist below:

Who Let the Dogs Out –  Baha Men

The Alley Cat Song – Peggy Lee

Bear Cat – Rufus Thomas 

Fraid Pussy Bite Me – Mighty Sparrow

Sam the Hot Dog Man – Lil Johnson

Hound Dog – Big Mama Thornton

Call Me The Wolf – Howlin Wolf

How Much is That Doggie in the Window? – Patty Page

Puppy Love – Paul Anka

The Puppy Song – Harry Nillson

Pussy Cat – Ross Hannaford Trio

The Love Cats – The Cure

Stray Cat Blues – The Rolling Stones

Pink Panther (with vox pops) – Hollywood Studio Orchestra

Black Dog – Led Zeppelin

Givin the Dog a Bone – AC/DC

Rain Dogs – Tom Waits

Stray Cat Strut – Stray Cats

Bird Dog – The Everly Brothers

Stray Dogs and Alley Cats – The Lonesome River Band

Hound Dog Man – Roy Orbison

Top Cat  Theme song

Teach Me Tiger – April Stevens

What’s New Pussycat? – Tom Jones

Year Of The Cat – Al Stewart

How Come My Bulldog Don’t Bark? – Howard Tate

I Wouldn’t Treat A Dog (The Way You Treated Me) – Bobby Bland

I’ll Be Doggone – Marvin Gaye

Walking The Dog – Rufus Thomas

Pussy Cat Dues – Charles Mingus

Next week: to celebrate the Oscars, I’ll be playing music from all my favourite films (not necessarily Oscar winners).

Tune into The Theme Park with Lyn McCarthy on BayFM 99.9 Tuesdays 2-4pm Sydney time. Also streaming at http://www.bayfm.org

Charlie’s blog: http://possumcreeklodge.blogspot.com/