It’s a thing I do here each year, to post two final songs for New Year’s. It seems in recent years, I’ve been a little regretful and sorrowful at this time, wishing for better times to come. Alas, I feel like it’s the same situation again. Annually, I post Dan Wilson’s “What a Year for [...]
A Chipmunk Christmas
What with that new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie out, it’s timely to recall that Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. (a.k.a. David Seville) had just two big hits: “Witch Doctor” and “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late).” Both songs were built around the gimmick of sped-up vocals, but the Chipmunks became characters of their own. And [...]
A Vintage Holiday Mixtape
Fans of the late, great John M. Higgins may be the proud possessor of one of his Christmas mixes. See this post for background, but collecting Christmas music was one of the many things we shared. We each did our own thing, he more studiously than I. But one year, we split a mixtape, with [...]
Christmas in Denmark
I’m always fascinated by how Christmas is celebrated in other parts of the world, since Americans seem to forget that the holiday started in Europe and they have their own spin on it. Thanks to Hans (a friend-of-a-friend), here’s a little background on Christmas in Denmark: “In Denmark, like many other things, Christmas is steeped [...]
Hard Times at the Holidays
Okay, we all know this time of year can be stressful. Yeah, Happy Christmas, la, la, la… But there’s the hustle & bustle of preparing for the holidays and there’s dealing with family and stuff like that. So, if you find yourself in a tough situation in the coming days, here are a couple of [...]
Come Light the Menorah
As I post holiday tunes, I never leave out those who celebrate the other big holiday of the season. The menorah is lit each of the eight nights of Hannukah, to celebrate a supply of olive oil that was supposed to last only one night, but went for eight. Very loaves-and-fishes, but really not quite [...]
“No, I don’t think that’s what mistletoe is for.”
Here’s a little holiday number from the band Patent Pending: “She’s a Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas.” You can buy a download here.
The Cardinal Rule of Christmas Music
It’s quite simple. Nobody has ever done a decent cover version of Eartha Kitt’s 1953 hit “Santa Baby.” Never. It can’t be done. The original is a comic portrait of avarice. Eartha Kitt could carry it off. Everybody else either comes off as a gold-digging ditz (I’m thinking of Madonna) or they treat the song [...]
The Brits Weigh In.
As someone said to me today, “The British just do pop music differently.” So true. There are plenty of acts that are huge stars, sometimes with long careers, in the U.K., but nobody in America knows who they are. Another key difference is style. The British embrace a lot of crap, but they also aren’t [...]
Smokey Goes Underground for the Holidays
It’s probably safe to start this off with a mash-up, right? What could go wrong? For background, read this post (or this one), but the short version is that I’ve been collecting holiday music for decades and at this time of the year, I share ‘em with you. The Swedish producer Divide & Kreate has [...]