Hot Keys

Granny and I on the piano, 1982.

Hey gang.

As you know, my grandma passed away at the beginning of last month, and for a couple weeks afterwards our family had to schedule memorial/funeral services and, for lack of better term, loot her house.

Besides the three car-loads of plunder I amassed over those two weeks, the main prize I was after was my granny's piano, which she had in her house out in Iowa and that I used to play on whenever I'd visit her.  I called dibs on that right from the get-go, and was ready to fight any of my siblings or cousins for it, but I think being the eldest in my generation - and the only one who can actually play a piano, and who has children that play the piano - it didn't come to that.

Granny's piano, in her house

After the dust had settled from Granny's passing, I scheduled the piano to be moved from her house in Clare to ours in Midland, and used a guy my brother had previously used (when they had his wife's piano moved up from Detroit.)  This guy, Ray, was a real pro, and was decently priced for the moving and tuning of Granny's piano.

Long story short, we have a piano in our house now. . . finally.  Granted, we'll have to go through this whole Goddamn process again in a year or so when we actually buy a home, but at least now it's among piano-playing Houghs once more.

Behold. . .

This is a vintage Kimball Console piano, and is a pretty middle-of-the-road instrument.  Not a piece of shit by any means, but not top-shelf, either.

When it came time to plan the move, Ray and I both came to the conclusion that we couldn't move the instrument through the front door - the turn was way too tight.

Instead, we went through the garage door and through the kitchen.  It took awhile getting the instrument up those two steps into the house, and unfortunately we scratched the front of the instrument on the way in through the door.

No, that's not Bernie Sanders.  The piano was pretty out of tune (it had probably been at least five or six years since anyone had touched it), so it took him awhile to bring it back into shape.  He gave it a 'rough tune,' as it was too far out of tune to give it the perfect tune (still, playing it you couldn't tell - he said unless you really knew what you were doing you wouldn't.)

Yes, of course I bought a Star Wars songbook for our new piano.  Here you can see (if you really look close), about a third of the way from the left front of the piano, the quick touch-up job Ray did on the three-inch scratch.

He didn't have the tools he needed on hand to completely touch up the instrument, so he unscrewed and removed the front panel of the piano and took it back to his shop for the weekend.

Almost immediately, the new household addition became a hit with the kids in the neighborhood. . .

Abby and Reba 

. . . and Reba's twin brother, Ruben.  We ended up getting the front panel back on the piano on Monday (Ray's definitely a prompt dude), and were happy to find the instrument looked as good as new.  So now we finally have a piece of Granny's love of music in our house (besides those two of her ukes, I guess), and this old Hough family heirloom can serve a new generation of young instrumentalists.

- Brian

The Great Christmas Record Odyssey, Ep. VI

Welcome back.

Since we're running short on Holiday music review time, I'm going to double-up on my album reviews from this point forward.  Check out what we have going on today. . .

Album Title:  A Charlie Brown Christmas

Album Artist:  The Vince Guaraldi Trio

Very rarely does one album sum up the entire Holiday season in one fury of sonic awesomeness, but this well-known jazz standard is the staple of the Hough Family Holiday Season.  Every track features the Vince Guaraldi Trio keeping it lose and festive, showcasing their chops while at the same time adhering to each Christmas carol's core melody (something you would think would be simple, but that sooooo many other jazzy Christmas albums fail to do.)

And to top it all off?  The record itself is a festive green.  I mean, that's just awesome.

Long story short, this is perfection achieved.

VERDICT:  10/10 - . . .And Out Come the Wolves  (A flawless Christmas album that receives the same perfect score as the other flawless album that bears its name)

- REMAINS IN CIRCULATION -

reviews from this point forward.  Check out what we have going on today. . .

Album Title:  Your Favorite Christmas Music, Volume 4

Album Artist:  Various Artists

Oh, Granny. . .

I seem to have a ton of these different compilation albums, inherited from God Knows Where.  Most, I take it, are from my dad's mom (ol' Granny Hough, that is) - one only needs to glance upon the inexplicable scrawling across the front cover to identify the OCD-ness of a Hough.  Plus it's in calligraphy, and that's been Granny's calling card for years.

This particular album was recorded in 1965 (see calligraphy at left), and definitely sounds like it.  Not the fun, hip, British Invasion mid-60s, either.  No, this is the stuffy music of the World War II generation - once America's Greatest Generation, now reduced to yelling from their living room recliners at their teenage children about cutting their mop tops and secretly thinking kids' shaggy hair might have something to do with the Communists.

Thanks, Firestone.

Here's something a little random concerning this particular compilation - it's from Firestone.  That's right, Firestone.  As in the automotive tire company.

What the hell are they doing producing Christmas albums?

I'm assuming this was part of a promotion they were running back in 1965.  Maybe Grandpa Hough loaded up Granny, my dad, and my Aunt Lucy up into the family station wagon one December day and drove up to Bob's Tire Emporium.  Perhaps he was going to have some new tires put on the car, and the mechanic there suggested upgrading to the Firestone tires, as they were giving away a 'free Christmas album' with the purchase of four, brand new Firestone tires.  Knowing my grandfather, he wouldn't have jumped at this, BUT maybe Granny got all excited about it and, rolling his eyes, Grandpa Hough had no choice but to relent and go with the Firestones.

And now I'm reviewing the result of that purchase on a frickin' blog.  Fifty years later.

Anyway, back to the album itself.  It's ok.  Yes, just ok.  Nothing too terrible to mention (though the operatic singing gets a little jarring at times), but it sounds like a heap of other Christmas compilations I already own.  Julie Andrews makes a few appearances on this otherwise bland, Pavarotti-styled Christmas compilation, and her songs are halfway decent.  Alas, even Mary Poppins herself can't save this album from being sent back to its former place on the Not-in-Holiday-Rotation shelves.

VERDICT:  6/10 - Meh. (ok. . . but there's better albums out there to sit in its place of glory next to my turntable.)

- SHELVED -

- Brian