The 'flue

Sabre Dance - The Brian Setzer Orchestra
So last week I was left in charge of our children while my wife was out of town for training. The year-and-a-half old has some new teeth coming in and was just getting over her cold. The 4-year-old boy was missing his mommy and not getting enough sleep. And I caught a cold. And it kept snowing, so I would have to go out and shovel. And shovel. And shovel. also, one of our dogs is in declining health (an understatement) so needs extra attention and a watchful eye so that he doesn't try to nip anyone who gets too close to his comfort zone, and there was water leaking into the basement from the snow melting. And I had to work all week. 'But what does that have to do with the Song of the Day?' you may well ask. (Go ahead, I'll wait)

During all the zaniness and chaos and bedlam, I'm convinced that I could hear this playing somewhere off in the distance.

Anyway, this isn't your standard run-of-the-mill version of Khachaturian's 1942 ballet song (The Sabre Dance is part of Khachaturian's ballet Gayane and is meant to invoke a whirling war dance as performed in the Armenian way when skillful dancers display their skill with sabres), but a hip and cool version covered by Brian Setzer and his Orchestra. You may remember Mr. Setzer from back in the old days when we was part of that wonderful rock-a-billy trio, The Stray Cats. As a boy playing the baritone horn in school, Setzer often envisioned a rock guitar fronting a big band, and in 1990 he made that dream come true. See? Happy ending!

Listen to a sample at the iTunes Store