My sons’ seahorse loves John McClane

Baby Mojo sized up in clothing recently and I was culling all of small stuff into a pile that is bound for the attic.  While I was doing this I found a toy still in its packaging from when we received it at as a gift.  It’s a seahorse looking creature that has a pulsing light and plays nursery rhymes or classical music when you push its belly.

I thought nothing of it until later that afternoon when we were upstairs and he was in the middle of a mini meltdown during a diaper change.  The seahorse was the only thing within reach so I ripped off the packaging, placed it on his chest and pushed its’ belly to make the music start.

“Oh, cool, it’s playing the music from Die Hard “ I immediately thought.  After a couple Die Hard flashbacks about how perfectly cast Alan Rickman and the rest of the terrorists were and its’ influence on other movies (Speed) and television (24); I had a moment of stay at home daddy shame.  

The music from Die Hard and Jakes’ seahorse is a piece of classical music. It’s a timeless work of art crafted by somebody hundreds of years ago, probably wearing a white wig.

After speaking with my friend the internet it turns out that composition is actually Ode to Joy, from this guy called Beethoven.  Well, color me embarrassed.  It turns out Ode to Joy is one of the “go to” works of classical music. 

The more I thought about classical music I realized that Bugs Bunny and Walt Disney had introduced me to most of what I know.  This handy little post I found online has a nice top 10 list of classical music in cartoons.

I’ve always liked classical music, but the only composer that I knew by name and sound was Gustav Holst, who is mainly known for doing The Planets.

Other than that it was music that suited my mood, I knew if I liked it or not, but I never knew what to call it.  Oddly enough that is my relationship with sushi too and I love sushi, just not sure what to call most of the stuff on the menu.

Since putting the name to my seahorse music I’ve heard it countless other places.

 To me though, Ode to Joy is an amazing and timeless arrangement that will for millennia be known as The Music From Die Hard.