Quotation Mark Mondays: One night only!

Mark in his Big Bird mask.
He made it himself, if you couldn't guess.

Recently Mark put on a one-kid show, with his Sesame Street guys as the audience.
The play was performed in three acts. The first two acts were just one song long. The third (the big finale) included three songs, with lyrics that were exactly as long as the title of the song.
The titles of each song were as follows:

ACT I
"Stay Away From the Mean Mayor"

ACT II
"Try Something New You Might Like It"

ACT III
"If You Give A Mouse a Cookie He Will Give it To Big Bird and Then Snufalupagus and Then He Will Eat It"
"Cookie Monster Does Not Like Pizza But He Likes Cookies"
"If You Give the Count a Bat, He Will Count It"

Quotation Mark Mondays: The Music Monster

Mark, after yelling "Mom!" from his bed twenty times around 10:00 at night: 

"Did you know that the music monster lived 5,000 years ago?  He was dying when Jesus was alive.  OK, you can go to bed now."

Rock and Roll, Part 3

Though they sometimes wonder, Lynne and Matt know there are blog readers out there. Because every once in a while someone will suddenly, for no apparent reason, ask about the Fridge (still big) or Amish Dog (still crazy).
It's great that you're reading. But frankly, it's time to take it up a notch.
That's because Lynne and Matt recently took care of another component for a fantastic wedding: The Music. The Future Couple entered into a contract with Sounds Abound, a cool little music company in Naperville.
Mark the DJ (no commas - that's his name) is a great guy and seems like he'll be the right amount of fun. (We don't want a wedding singer incident, after all.) Special thanks to Mr. Seago for finding him.
Now, Lynne and Matt have to work on picking some songs that definitely, without-a-doubt, gotta-have-it, for sure, absolutely must be played on The Big Day. (And, on the other side, the music that should be avoided, skipped, dodged, passed by and run away from no matter what.)
So, Mark the DJ offered up a list of the 50 most requested wedding songs. Take a gander below, and let Lynne and Matt know what you want (or don't) at the reception. Just leave some requests (or refusals) by clicking the comment button - the spot where it usually says "0 comments" - below this post. You can even be anonymous if you're too embarrassed to request James Brown is Dead. That's cool.
As a special incentive Lynne and Matt have posted their first ever video at the bottom of this blog. So read on, vote, then enjoy some Happy Feet!

The 50 most requested wedding songs:
Electric Boogie ... Marcia Griffiths (Boogie. Oogie. Oogie.)
Old Time Rock and Roll ... Bob Seger
You Shook Me All Night Long ... AC/DC
Shout ... Otis Day
Love Shack ... B-52s
Celebration ... Kool & The Gang (listed as Kook & The Gang, but you know what they mean)
Twist ... Chubby Checker
Mony Mony ... Billy Idol
YMCA ... Village People
Brown Eyed Girl ... Van Morrison
Unchained Melody ... Righteous Brothers (You've lost that loving feeling...)
Chicken Dance ... Emeralds (Didn't know someone actually wrote that song)
We Are Family ... Sister Sledge (In honor of Manny Sanguillen)
Respect ... Aretha Franklin
In The Mood ... Glen Miller
Twist and Shout ... The Beatles
Brick House ... Commodores
Unforgettable ... Natalie and Nat King Cole
Friends in Low Places ... Garth Brooks
Wonderful Tonight ... Eric Clapton (Matt's prom theme - yikes!)
Can't Help Falling in Love ... Elvis Presley
Cha Cha Slide ... Mr. C-Casper (C-Casper: remember him?)
Jailhouse Rock ... Elvis Presley (A very romantic song)
What a Wonderful World ... Louis Armstrong
Push It ... Salt-N-Pepa (Tasteful)
Boot Scootin' Boogie ... Brooks & Dunn
Conga ... Gloria Estefan
Stayin' Alive ... Bee Gees
Pretty Woman ... Roy Orbison
I Will Survive ... Gloria Gaynor
Swing the Mood ... Jive Bunny (Whaaa?)
Super Freak ... Rick James (Also very romantic)
Great Balls of Fire ... Jerry Lee Lewis
My Girl ... Tempations
Crazy ... Patsy Cline
New York, New York ... Frank Sinatra
What I Like About you ... Romantics
Ice Ice Baby ... Vanilla Ice (dun-dun-dun-de DUN-duh)
Play That Funky Music ... Wild Cherry
Mustang Sally ... Wilson Pickett/Commitments (the late, great Wilson Pickett)
Bust A Move ... Young MC
1999 ... Prince
Rock Around the Clock ... Bill Haley & the Comets
Wild Thing ... Tone Loc
Get Down Tonight .... KC & the Sunshine Band
December '63 (Oh What A Night) ... Four Seasons
The Wanderer ... Dion
Takin' Care of Business ... Bachman Turner Overdrive (The new ubiquitous political theme song)
Dancing Queen ... ABBA
Footloose ... Kenny Loggins

Kind of an odd list, don't you think? There's no slow songs, no Neil Diamond, no Harry Connick Jr., no Day The Music Died (drinking beer with my...), no Michael Jackson and no polka? Well, that's exactly why Lynne and Matt need you!
And if you pick the right songs, you can expect plenty of this....

On the 362nd day of Christmas...

Matt is trying to put together The Ultimate Christmas Album. Don't get excited - it's not going to be a gift for anyone other than himself. It's just that Matt is sick of the lame-o, sappy Christmas music they play on The Lite all day.

Where's the Red Baron? Pretty little dolly? Japanese Transistor Radio?

Here's what Matt has on his list so far:

"(It Must Have Been Ol') Santa Claus" by Harry Connick Jr. (Great song, but why do they make part of the title parenthetical? Matt never understood that.)

"Santa Claus is Coming To Town" by Bruce Springsteen (Next time you see Mr. and Mrs. Hanley, ask them about a little Matt rocking out to this song.)

"You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch" by Thurl Ravenscroft ('Your heart is full of unwashed socks, Your soul is full of gunk' - only a guy named Thurl Ravenscroft could come up with lyrics that fantastic.)

"Run, Rudolph Run" by Chuck Berry (Rock and roll Christmas. "Jingle Bell Rock" would work, too.)

"The Christmas Song" as sung by Nat King Cole (Sorry, Velvet Fog, Nat's the classic)

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" as sung by Judy Garland (So wonderful, so sad?)

"White Christmas" by Bing Crosby (Tree tops glisten, and children liiisten...)

"Santa Baby" by Kylie Minogue (Matt can't decide if he likes this song, or if it's dirty.)

"Jingle Bells" by Barbara Streisand (Megan and Matt used to - well, still - love this song)

"Gimme gimme take take" from the Cabbage Patch Christmas (Would you even bother having Christmas without it?

"I'll Be Home for Christmas" by Bing Crosby (Matt's favorite Christmas song of all time - really!)

"Baby, it's Cold Outside" by Dean Martin and Martina McBride

"Happy Xmas" by John Lennon and Yoko Ono (Did you notice they wish Merry Christmas to their kids at the beginning of the song?)

"A Holly Jolly Christmas" by Burl Ives (Eastern Illinois' finest - sorry Tony Romo - delivers the happiest Christmas song of all.)

"Silent Night" sung in church at midnight mass (Best Christmas memories.)

"Dominick the Donkey" by Lou Monte (What would Christmas be without it?)

What's Matt missing? Post your suggestions below.

Or if you'd rather just daydream, here's an excerpt from a column Matt wrote for the Beacon News the day after Christmas 2005, about what happens in Part II of your favorite Christmas carols.

On the 13th Day of Christmas, from Aurora Beacon News

by Matt Staff Writer

I admit there's a sick, tiny part of me that wants a one-day extension. For today only, the radio stations would be filled with post-Christmas songs that finally tell us what happened to all our favorite Yuletime characters.

And since no one's written the songs - and I have as much musical talent as a dead mouse - I'll just throw out some suggestions for the Christmas Day Plus One Musical Mix.

Send me a candy cane if you a make million off any of these:

[] "Grandma got rehabilitative surgery" This song will not only include instructions on how to get hoof print stains out of a heavy wool sweater, but also provide handy tips on co-pay insurance.

Suggested lyric: "Now you may say there's no such thing as health care, and as for Grandpa and I, we believe."

[] "I got a hippopotamus for Christmas" An otherwise happy home is ruined when a little girls' ambitious Christmas wish actually comes true, teaching her an important lesson: Don't wish for anything bigger than a bison.

[] "Mommy v. Santa, case 05L1225" After Santa Claus gets a little frisky under the mistletoe, he finds himself facing a sexual harassment suit in civil court. Song could include testimony from a young boy who accidentally witnessed what prosecutors are calling a "below the beard tickle".

[] "Drummer boy" The Christmas drummer gets his garage band shut down by his subdivision's noise ordinance.

[] "Do you hear what I hear?" Lyrics: "Said the night wind to the little lamb, 'Do you see what I see?' Over at Target, little lamb; X-Boxes are half off. A deal, a deal, shining in the store, I can't believe what they charged me the day before."

[] "Frosty the puddle" What did you think happens in August?