A King-Sized Surprise from Q

I am so super excited about what I learned yesterday.  Actually I learned several cool things on the path to the pinnacle of my daily learning, but before I get to sharing this awesomeness, I need to share a little background.

I have a terrible memory...sometimes.  People regularly say to me, “remember that time when we...” and I’ll have absolutely no recollection.  If they explain the details or show me a picture it will often jog my memory, but sometimes it’s just gone.  Similarly I have meet several people in the course of my young life with whom I am no longer in contact that I don’t quite remember.  I can sort of picture them, and usually associate them with something specific, but can’t remember much beyond that.
  

For example, I vaguely remember a guy that I was friends with, maybe in high school or early in college.  What I do remember is that he made me a mix tape with some great music, mostly from bands I had never heard before.  I have no idea what his name was, or really how I knew him, but I specifically remember the mix tape with all of the songs and artists carefully printed on the white insert in light black ballpoint pen.  I couldn’t tell you one song that was on that tape, but I remember listening to it over and over, and loving several songs.

On the other hand, I remember all sorts of random fun facts, movie quotes, and lyrics from songs that I haven’t heard in years.  I have no explanation for this odd memory capacity, but I’ve always been like this so I figure it’s just the way I am.  

Today I missed listening to Q on NPR, so I pulled it up the audio on my iPhone, since I really wanted to hear Jian Ghomeshi’s interview with Questlove.  Before interviewing Questlove, though, Jian first talked to The Narcicyst, aka Yassin Alsalman, an Iraqi-Canadian Hip Hop artist who recently moved from Montreal back to Abu Dhabi to start The Medium.  The Medium is a new arts label and culture brand designed to bring together artists in the Middle East to create, collaborate, and share with the world their art, which is uniquely influenced by their different cultures.  As a tribute to Montreal, which he considers home, The Narcicyst released the song "#Montreal (Beautiful)" along with a video that highlights his Montreal.  It’s definitely worth checking out at:

http://www.thewordisbond.com/66330/the-narcicyst-montreal-beautiful/

Next up with Jian’s interview with Questlove who has decided to add to his busy musical schedule (he’s the drummer of the Roots who are currently the house band on the Jimmy Fallon Show) the culinary endeavor ?uest Loves Food.  This catering company will focus on soul food, and Questlove hopes to launch a food truck as well.  If the reviews continue to be favorable, I may need to find an excuse to head to New York and check it out.  He is also planning to team up with Graham Elliott, giving me a small amount of hope that this endeavor might find its way to Chicago at some point.  

Now learning about either The Narcicyst or Questlove’s new foodie focus would have been fascinating enough to check the box on yesterday’s new information.  But they are just the appetizer to the really tasty dish that was to follow.

As previously disclosed on this blog, love public radio.  Q is one of my favorite programs, largely because I love to listen to Jian Ghomeshi (truth be told I dream of having dinner with him, Kai Ryssdal, Peter Sagal and Carl Kasell).  After listening to yesterday's interview I wondered how Jian Ghomeshi got such a super cool job.  So, of course,  I Googled him and there I saw that he had belonged to the Canadian band Moxy Früvous.  Moxy Früvous...and then the lightbulb went on.   Remember that mix tape I was telling you about?  Those songs that I listened to over and over were by Moxy Früvous!  

I immediately played "King of Spain" and was instantly transported back 20 years.  I  could picture myself driving around in my parent's Dodge Van, wearing an oversized flannel shirt and singing along to this, and Green Eggs and Ham at the top of my lungs.  I remembered nearly all of the lyrics (that's my crazy memory for you) and once again happily sung along.   The only thing cooler than rediscovering Moxy Früvous was finding out that this was where Jian Ghomeshi got his start!

If you've never heard Moxy Früvous then take a listen...