Viennese New Year

Video Finds of the Day

Still looking for that polka, I come upon the Viennese New Years Concerts held each year New Years Eve/Morning by Wiener Philharmoniker, which traditionally (for 6 decades, about) has ended with encores of a polka, a performance of Blue Danube by Johann Strauss Jr., and the Radetzky March by J. Strauss Sr. Still not the sort of polka I'm looking for, with the Polish women and beer all over the place, but we're getting closer.

Strauss, Unter Donner und Blitz, Polka schnell, op. 324



Of all the videos I could have chosen to present the Blue Danube Waltz, I simply had to go with this one. If you have lately been over to Apesma's Lament, Tim Harris' blog, you may have seen Swing Social, an MGM cartoon Tim discovered on YouTube from 1940 that has come to appear racist with the passage of time. Here, representing Strauss, is an MGM cartoon that with the passage of time could come to appear pedophilic! And Rudolph Ising was involved with both? Who IS this guy?

The Blue Danube (1939, MGM Cartoon)



The traditional closing of the show, complete with multiple New Years greetings:

Radetzky March with Happy New Year on Neujahrskonzert 2002

Finnish Polka

Video Find of the Day

So I'm looking for a polka, you know, like, I don't know, one of those ones with lots of noise and accordions and stuff, and instead I land on this. OK, this is good, too.

Loituma -- Leva's Polka

Polka of Defiance

Video Find of the Day

I got it into my head that I wanted to post a polka today. I thought, today feels like a polka to me. I found a Finnish polka, and an Al Yankovich polka. Neither felt right. Then I found this one. And I knew it was perfect. It is an allusion to something or other. About screwing, or nailing. Stuff to walls. I think you all know what I'm talking about!

Reformation Polka