Archives: December 01, 2007

The Night Before Christmas, by John Cleese

Monday, 24 December 2007 11:37 AM

John Cleese has updated the classic holiday poem:

For a reading of the original text in an original manner, please also enjoy Henry Rollins's interpretation of "The Night Before Christmas."

Twelve Days of Christmas

Monday, 24 December 2007 11:08 AM

An alternative interpretation by Straight No Chaser, a men's a capella group from Indiana University.

Holiday Music Countdown: Number 3, all the paper, tinsel, and the folderol

Monday, 24 December 2007 01:20 AM

We've nearly made it through the month-long countdown of my favoriate holiday songs, and now we come to the best of the best. (Find previous holiday countdown posts here.)

3. Merry X-Mas (To Whom It May Concern) (Miles Davis with Bob Dorough)

In 1962, at the age of 36, Miles Davis was already a music legend. Three years earlier he'd released Kind of Blue, his masterwork, on which he'd collaborated with many of the great players and arrangers/composers of the time to develop a new style of jazz -- cool jazz.

Executives at Columbia, his record label, pressured him to contribute a song to Jingle Bell Jazz, a Christmas album that they were compiling of music from jazz artists in their stable. He called in Bob Dorough, an unconventional composer and singer, to write lyrics and sing -- one of few vocalists to perform on a Miles Davis recording. Gil Evans would handle the arrangement.

According to Jack Chambers (Milestones), Davis complained to Dorough, "What the fuck am I supposed to play for them? 'White Christmas'?" (cite)

The resulting tune was "Merry X-Mas (To Whom It May Concern)." Dorough's bitter and disenchanted lyrics trip along through the song, while Davis's trumpet swirls around and punctuates the points.

One of the fun things about the internet is that you can find amazing and detailed information, particularly about an icon like Miles Davis. For example, we can discover that the song was recorded on August 21, 1962, in Columbia Studio A in New York. The performers included the Miles Davis Sextet plus Bob Dorough. The recording was finished in 12 takes.

I wasn't able to find the lyrics anywhere, so I've transcribed them here.

Blue X-Mas (To Whom It May Concern)

Merry Christmas.
I hope you have a fine one,
But for me it’s blue.

Blue Christmas,
That’s the way you see it when you’re feeling blue.
Blue X-Mas,
When you’re blue at Christmastime you see right through
All the waste
All the sham
All the haste
And plain ol’ bad taste.

Sidewalk Santa Clauses are much much much too thin.
They’re wearing fancy rented costumes,
False beards,
And big fat phony grins.
And nearly everybody’s standing round holding out
Their empty hand or tin cup.
Gimme gimme gimme gimme. Gimme gimme gimme.
Fill my stocking up,
All the way up.

It’s a time when the greedy
Give a dime to the needy.

Blue Christmas.
All the paper, tinsel, and the folderol.
Blue X-Mas.
People trading gifts that matter not at all,
What I call
Folderol.
Bitter gall.
Folderol.

(Instrumental)

Lots of hungry homeless children
In your own backyards
While you’re very very busy addressing
Twenty-zillion Christmas cards.

Now, Yuletide is a season to receive, and oh to give
And ah, to share.
But all you December do-gooders rush around
And rant and rave
And loudly blare.

Merry Christmas.
I hope yours is a fine one,
But for me it’s blue.

I'm more a pessimist than an optimist. If I were a little more of a cynic, this would be my favorite Christmas song. As it is, I love the way it cuts through the glitter of the season. And I love the music, still sharp today, and the wit of the lyrics.

Incidentally, if Bob Dorough's voice sounds familiar, it may be because he composed and sang many of the songs for Schoolhouse Rock. Think back to "Three Is a Magic Number" -- that's Dorough at work.

Holiday Music Countdown: Numbers 5 and 4, with waltzing and romancing

Sunday, 23 December 2007 02:29 AM

Another day clicks by and we draw ever nearer to Christmas -- and to the end of the countdown of my favorite holiday songs. (Find previous holiday countdown posts here.)

5. The Christmas Waltz (Nancy Wilson>

"The Christmas Waltz" is another beautiful song that not a lot of artists seem to take on. I can't figure out why -- unless the waltziness of it frightens them. It is indeed a waltz, "in three-quarter time" as the lyrics say. How lovely and timeless those lyrics are:

Frosted window panes,
Candles gleaming inside,
Painted candy canes on the tree.
Santa's on his way.
He's filled his sleigh
With things,
Things for you and for me.

It's that time of year
When the world falls in love.
Ev'ry song you hear seems to say,
"Merry Christmas.
May your New Year dreams come true."

And this song of mine
In three-quarter time
Wishes you and yours
The same thing too.

Frank Sinatra recorded a stellar version of this, and if you know the song you probably know it from him.

I prefer Nancy Wilson's interpretation. (Of course I don't mean Nancy Wilson of the band Heart. I mean the song stylist, "Fancy Miss Nancy.") You can find it on Ultra-Lounge's Ultra-Lounge Christmas Cocktails, Pt. 2. Nancy's version sticks to the waltz tempo a bit more, so one could dance to it if one wanted. I'm content to sit and listen to how her warm voice and crisp delivery capture the song perfectly.

4. Baby It's Cold Outside (Dean Martin, Brian Setzer and Ann-Margaret)

Why do I like "Baby It's Cold Outside" so much? There are many reasons not to like it. It's quite retrograde: Who today would say "there's bound to be talk tomorrow," "neighbors might think," or especially "my maiden aunt's mind is vicious"? One friend of mine called it "the date-rape song" because of the line "hey, what's in this drink?" There's talk of smoking, too. This is not a politically correct song in our enlightened times.

But I do love it. It's a mini-musical of courtship. I love its flirtiness ("your eyes are like starlight now"). And it's funny and sharp. "Think of my lifelong sorrow ... if you caught pneumonia and died!" I know I'd laugh, and then I'd stay for at least a few minutes more.

 

Here's the song's original movie performance, from 1949's Neptune's Daughter. Yes, that's Ricardo Montalbán serenading Esther Williams. Dig his swanky apartment with panoramic view and built-in, well-stocked bar, and her nifty fur cape.

For recorded versions of this song, I've always liked Dean Martin's, mostly because he's such a smooth-talking charmer. The song fits his persona to a 't.' The girl in the recording is nameless, just some studio singer. The way the song is produced she sounds like a chrous of girls, a whole roomful of long-stemmed babes that Dean is trying to date at one time -- and apparently succeeding with.

An alternative is provided by the version with Ann-Margaret and Al Hirt. (Find it on Yule B Swinging Too.) Ann-Margaret is in full-on kitten mode, purring at Hirt's velvety seductions. They're not sparring at all; they're both looking for ways for her to explain why she's clearly not leaving.

And then there's the Brian Setzer duet with Ann-Margaret on Boogie Woogie Christmas. I've come to like this one best. Ann-Margaret is a whole lot sassier and no less sexy, and Setzer is awfully ardent and persuasive. Who'd want to go out in the cold and leave behind someone so warm?

Holiday Music Countdown tangent: We need a little Christmas, and skating lessons

Friday, 21 December 2007 08:16 PM

Bit of a hard day today, so I will hold my holiday countdown post until tomorrow.

Fortunately, I have a treat to tide you over, sent to me by frequent commenter Erich Maria . It's a video of Mitzi Gaynor singing "We Need a Little Christmas" -- but it's more than just that:

From an email exchange between me and Erich:

EM: You would think they would have gotten some kids who could ice skate.

CC: That’s a riot! Do you think the kids are falling on purpose? Too funny.

EM: I don't know, but 0:09 she claps her hands and the kids behind her fall down. Then at 0:17, she stomps her boot down, someone else goes down. Could be a coincidence ...

Watch and decide for yourself!

Holiday Music Countdown: Number 6, plus music history, world history, and geography lessons

Thursday, 20 December 2007 11:44 PM

Continuing my countdown of my favorite holiday songs. (Find previous holiday countdown posts here.)

6. Little Drummer Boy (Up the Khyber) (Hoodoo Gurus)

You young'uns may not know about the Hoodoo Gurus. Back in the mid- to late-80s and into the 90s, a wave of Australian bands enjoyed success in the alternative rock world. Men at Work and Midnight Oil were probably the best known, but the Hoodoo Gurus were more my style. Lots of twangy guitars, catchy tunes, big hair. Good stuff. Look at the videos for "I Want You Back" and "Like Wow Wipeout." It's like a time machine back to college for me, I'm telling you.

Anyway, years later I picked up Lump of Coal (the virtues of which CD I've harped on several times this month), which opens with a storm of drums and some twangy guitars: "Little Drummer Boy (Up The Khyber)." It's been among my favorite Christmas songs ever since.

A bit about the song title: Like many Americans, I have a limited grasp of world geography. I didn't spend much time thinking where the Khyber might be. I suppose I figured it was a river in Australia, as that's where the Hoodoo Gurus hail from. Perhaps I had a faint memory about something called the Khyber Pass, but I didn't stress my poor brain worrying about it.

Today I took it into mind to wonder where the Khyber might be, and what it might be. Wikipedia made clear that no river in Australia was involved, and that the Khyber is instead the mountain pass that links Pakistan and Afghanistan.

But what does an Asian trading route have to do with a Christmas song? You might guess that the three wise men were supposed to have come on this route, or maybe that the Hoodoo Gurus happen to be big fans of the history of trade. I don't know for sure. But it happens that "Up the Khyber" is the name of a song by Pink Floyd, off the album More -- an instrumental that features an extended, frenetic drum solo ... just like that in the Hoodoo Gurus song.

Wikipedia: the gift that keeps on giving.

Holiday Music Countdown: Number 7, O Canada!

Wednesday, 19 December 2007 07:40 PM

Only six shopping days 'til Christmas -- but seven songs to enjoy. Here's the next tune in my highly-subjective holiday music countdown. (Find previous holiday countdown posts here.)

7. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Barenaked Ladies & Sarah McLachlan)

There's not a lot complicated about my affection for this version of "God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen." It's traditional yet unconventional; spunky and a little offbeat as Barenaked Ladies songs always are; and musically pretty as Sarah MacLaughlin songs are. It doesn't sound particularly Canadian, but maybe my ears aren't tuned to detect that frequency.

I found this on a compilation (Maybe This Christmas), but it's also available on Barenaked for the Holidays. I'd not heard of this album before tonight -- the things one learns when writing blog posts!

When I discover a new holiday album, I look to see if it includes songs that I don't recognize -- often a good sign. In this case, there are several Hanukkah songs and several original songs, all of which I'm unfamiliar with. Joy! I bought it and am currently listening. I'll provide a full report soon, but early indications are that I've found some new favorites here. (The opening song, a manic version of "Jingle Bells," has already won my heart.)

Keeping track of Laura

Wednesday, 19 December 2007 12:56 PM

Some weeks back I mentioned that my sister Laura is traveling through Latin America over the Christmas holiday, and that I would be renovating her blog so she can keep us informed on her whereabouts and adventures.

At last, the new site is up (mostly -- still have to migrate photos to the new gallery), and Laura has posted her first new entry. Please stop by Have You Heard From Laura. You can leave her a comment to wish her a Merry Christmas and offer encouragement as she struggles to learn Spanish.

Most of her posts are from previous trips. Note the photos of her traveling companion, Mr. Toast. He's seen much more of the world than I have.

One of the striking things about Laura is how quickly and easily she meets people and makes friends. This new post is a perfect example. Within forty-eight hours she met at least a half dozen people, got recommendations on where to stay and eat, and made arrangements to hang out with like-minded travelers. Who needs a guide book?

Holiday Music Countdown: Number 8, the admission's free

Wednesday, 19 December 2007 12:20 AM

I realize some people are weary of holiday music by now -- particularly those who work in retail and have been listening to it since well before Thanksgiving. But we're getting to my very favorite songs now, and the best is yet to come! (Find previous holiday countdown posts here.)

8. Step Into Christmas (The Wedding Present, Elton John)

Elton John (now Sir Elton Hercules John) released "Step Into Christmas" in 1974 on the underappreciated album Caribou. It's upbeat and energized, and there's everything in the world to recommend it.

But the version I prefer is by The Wedding Present, a band from England that has a strong post-punk vibe. For this song, they've kept the vibrancy, but they've dropped a lot of the polish and bounciness, as well as Elton John's characteristic piano and keyboards; in their place they've substituted buzzy, distorted guitars. The singer, David Gedge, has a raspy quality to his voice, and sings with a noticeably more British accent than Sir Elton does. (The Wedding Present is from Leeds, England, much farther north than Elton John's Middlesex.) The result is a more abrasive song that manages -- counter to the standard image of punk and post-punk -- to be melodic and happy.

Although I grew up in the 70s and still love much from that decade, I lean a bit to the 90s version, the one by The Wedding Present.

Which version anyone prefers is a matter of taste, of course. I'd love for you to listen to both and give your opinion. There's a video of each on YouTube, but the audio quality is so poor for both that I'd hate for you to judge on that basis. (Listen if you like: Elton John and The Wedding Present.)

You can check out a sample of the Elton John version, and I suspect you've heard it elsewhere. The Wedding Present's version doesn't seem to be readily available though, so I'll share it with you here: "Stepping Into Christmas" by The Wedding Present.

Which is your favorite? Leave a comment or send me an email. (Bob, I think I can guess which you prefer, but maybe you'll surprise me.)

Pittsburgh-area Bloggers invited to "The Vagina Monologues"

Tuesday, 18 December 2007 05:46 PM

UPDATE: Please tell other bloggers and post this on your site -- spread the word about this neat event.

As you may know, City Theatre invites me often to attend and review their productions. They asked me to help promote an event coming up this January:

Pittsburgh Bloggers Invited to "The Vagina Monologues"

City Theatre, on Pittsburgh's South Side, is staging a new production of the mega-hit "The Vagina Monologues," and they're extending a special invitation to the bloggers of Pittsburgh -- female and otherwise.

"The Vagina Monologues," Eve Ensler's revolutionary and entertaining theatre event, will star Erica Bradshaw, Holli Hamilton and Laurie Klatscher. These three awesome actresses will list pet names for private parts, tell stories about discovering "downthere," and discuss the wonders of birth. Staged in City Theatre's 111-seat Hamburg Studio, the shocking truths and raucous humor will be an up-close and personal experience for all.

Local bloggers are invited to bring a guest and attend the show for free on Saturday, Jan. 12 at 5:30 pm. You'll also enjoy a complimentary glass of wine in the theatre lobby bar beginning at 4:30 pm. If you choose to write about "The Vagina Monologues" on your blog afterwards, the theatre will also provide a special discount code that you can offer your readers.

IMPORTANT: To reserve your seats, please send an email to Margie Romero (mromero at citytheatrecompany.org) by Wednesday, January 2, 2008. Include your name, the name and URL of your blog, and the number of seats you wish to reserve (1 or 2).

Space is limited, so sign up today!

I'll be there, most definitely. If you're going, I'd love to meet up with other bloggers afterwards as well -- we'll grab a coffee or a drink somewhere on the South Side and discuss the show. Drop me a note if you plan to go.

UPDATE: The deadline for reserving free seats has passed. A few seats are still available for purchase for that night, and the show continues through February 17. You can receive a special discount of $5 off by mentioning the word "blog" when you call for tickets -- tell them you read about it on My Brilliant Mistakes.

Holiday Music Countdown: Number 9, hope there's oil under your rose vine

Monday, 17 December 2007 09:50 PM

It's rather a jolt, after a weekend of holiday parties and meeting up with family and friends, to find oneself back at work on a Monday -- and to realize that there's still more than a week to go until Christmas. Even so, the month rushes on, and the countdown of my favorite holiday songs ticks down to another lovely tune. (Find previous holiday countdown posts here.)

9. The Merriest (June Christy)

I will not be surprised if you don't know our number nine song, "The Merriest." Almost no one seems to know it. At least, almost no one seems to have recorded it -- except for the singer who introduced it to the world, June Christy.

This Time of Year is a winter concept album by June Christy, released in 1961. The tracks on it were all new -- which was not typical for albums of that time, when standards were ... well, standard. Ms. Christy wanted to counter the trend of every Christmas album including the same old songs. Most of the tunes on this album are slower, almost ballads, and in keeping with her cool singing style. "The Merriest," though, is more like the tunes for which she first became known: Upbeat, with complicated melodies and sophisticated rhythms.

Few people seem to tackle this song. I will guess it's because this is a hard song to perform. Either that, or everyone is fully satisfied that June Christy's version is one for the ages.

(Background info on This Time of Year from AllMusic.com)

Holiday Music Countdown: Number 10, a star dancing in the night

Sunday, 16 December 2007 09:58 PM

It's Sunday night, and there's a winter wonderland outside. Cold, cold, cold, and snowy enough to make up for the lack of precipitation we've had so far this winter.

Inside it's warm, and I'm drinking a cup of hot cocoa and listening to Christmas music. Let's have another song for the countdown, shall we? (Find previous holiday countdown posts here.)

10. Do You Hear What I Hear? (Bing Crosby)

Bing Crosby's recording of "White Christmas" is his "best-selling recording, and the best-selling single and best selling song of all time." (cite) For many, it's the quintessential holiday song.

You've most likely figured out, though, that it's not my favorite song by him. Oh, it's a fine song, and Bing's crooning fits it perfectly. Plus he does that nice whistling in the middle.

But my favorite Christmas song recorded by Bing is "Do You Hear What I Hear?" I've a fondness for songs that tell a story, and in this case Bing's baritone brings depth to the tale. Who else could sing "with a voice as big as the sea" and actually sound as big as the sea? With each verse, the song builds in intensity, to an ending that sounds fully grand and awesome.

Holiday Music Countdown: Numbers 12 and 11, country melodies and city swingers

Saturday, 15 December 2007 11:33 PM

Yesterday I went to two Christmas parties with fun friends, and in the crazy rush of getting from place to place I missed posting a song for the holiday music countdown. So let's have a double-helping tonight -- extra nice for a snowed-in Saturday evening. (Find previous holiday countdown posts here.)

12. Christmas for Cowboys (John Denver)

When I was a kid, one Christmas album we listened to over and over (and over) was John Denver's Rocky Mountain Christmas. It's a pretty collection of songs, including traditional carols, popular standards, and songs written by John Denver.

Of the selections on the album, "Christmas for Cowboys" has grown to be my favorite -- a gentle, simple tune that features Denver's clear, warm voice and exemplifies his love for the American West and life outdoors.

(Side note: In skimming around various websites while writing this post, I was reminded by the John Denver Wikipedia entry of his catch-phrase: "Far out!" I had completely forgotten this -- although I can't see how, because every appearance he made on TV played it up. Apparently he said "Far out!" nineteen times during his first appearance as guest-host for Johnny Carson. That statistic is far out itself.)

Denver had a holiday special in 1975, "Rocky Mountain Christmas." This video is compiled of clips from it. "Christmas for Cowboys" starts at 2:00.

11. I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm (Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra)

Irving Berlin wrote "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" in 1937. Billie Holiday recorded it the same year, when she had only recently begun performing with the greatest big bands. This recording shows off her distinctive voice and phrasing; the band includes jazz greats Benny Carter on clarinet and Sweets Edison on muted trumpet.

I doubt any film footage exists of Holliday performing this song, but you can listen to it on YouTube. I found the song on Have Yourself a Jazzy Little Christmas.

Frank Sinatra also recorded a fine, swinging version of this song. Here's a clip of him performing it on "The Frank Sinatra Show." How sharp he looks and sounds!

Holiday Music Countdown: Numbers 14 and 13

Thursday, 13 December 2007 10:41 PM

Onward with the music countdown! We're counting down my favorite holiday songs this month. (Find previous posts here.)

14. (Everybody’s Waiting for) The Man with the Bag (Kay Starr; Brian Setzer Orchestra)

I don't have much information on this song, I'm sorry to say. But I love it for its humor, swing, and sassy attitude.

The first version I heard was sung by Kay Starr. It's upbeat, maybe a little rocking and rolling. I still think of this as the definitive version.

Recently though, I've also become enamored of the version by the Brian Setzer Orchestra, which has big band feel spiced up with Setzer's rockabilly/boogie woogie style.

Brian Setzer may be a better guitarist than singer, but his singing is still mighty fine.

 

 

 

13. Fairytale of New York (The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl)

There's a lot of backstory for this song. It was written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan of the Pogues, and originally the female vocal was to have been sung by Cait O'Riordan, the band's bassist. She left the band though (having struck up a relationship with Elvis Costello, who had been producing the band's albums), and the song sat unfinished. But the band's new producer, Steve Lillywhite, asked his then-wife Kirsty MacColl to record a guide vocal for a demo, and the band liked her contribution enough that they asked her to sing on the album version. The title of the song was chosen after the recording was complete, and comes from J. P. Donleavy's novel, A Fairy Tale of New York.

You don't need to know any of that though to appreciate the song. But how to describe a song that starts like this:

It was Christmas Eve, babe, in the drunk tank.
An old man said to me, "Won't see another one."
And then he sang a song, a rare old mountain tune.
I turned my face away, and I dreamed about you.

It's coarse and melodic, bittersweet and rich, a short story in musical form.

You can find "Fairytale of New York" on the album on which it first appeared, If I Should Fall from Grace with God and various compilations. I have it on The Edge of Christmas, which is a crazy mix of holiday tunes -- perhaps more crazy than this countdown even. I recommend it.

Don't lick it

Wednesday, 12 December 2007 08:42 PM

Little bit of a setback today, so no proper post today. Regular posting will resume tomorrow.

For now, please enjoy some Eddie Izzard, imitating someone else imitating Christopher Walken:

Need more Eddie Izzard? Of course you do. And here's a treat: Eddie Izzard monologues visualized in Lego:

• Do you have a flag?
• Death Star canteen
• Cake or Death?

(Izzard in Legos link via Coudal Partners.)

Holiday Music Countdown: Number 15, a childhood classic

Wednesday, 12 December 2007 12:24 AM

Continuing my countdown of my twenty-five favorite holiday songs. (Find previous posts here.)

15. Linus and Lucy (Vince Guaraldi Trio)

At about this point each December, I sit myself down at the piano in my living room and pull out a couple of books of music. "Christmas Favorites," "Holiday Classics," "Modern Holiday Classics," "Easy Christmas Piano." I stumble through a few bars of a few songs, squint at the notes and try to remember how they read. ("F-A-C-E," "Every Good Boy Does Fine," and "All Cows Eat Grass," but what's the other one? "Great Big Dogs Fight Animals"? I think that's it.)

Then I'll spend a few minutes with a book of songs by Vince Guaraldi, written for the Peanuts cartoons. Of course the one I focus on most is "Linus and Lucy." If I spend a concentrated half hour, I can get both hands playing together on the main theme -- and playing quickly enough that it's almost recognizable.

Then I hit the jazzy middle section, and it all goes to pot. I stumble through the treble for a while, try to get at least a couple of bars to swing, fail miserably.

Finally I make it all the way through to the last bit, which repeats the main theme, and I get swinging along again to the end.

And thus ends my piano adventure for the year. I resolve to start practicing earlier next year -- not just "Linus and Lucy" but a couple of sing-along carols, and maybe "Send in the Clowns" because it's one of my dad's favorites.

So far, in the five or so years since I got this piano, I haven't managed a regular practice schedule. But maybe in 2008....

Holiday Music Countdown: Number 16, and I wanna see a lot of snow

Monday, 10 December 2007 10:50 PM

Another December day, and we continue to count down my twenty-five favorite holiday songs. (Find previous posts here.) For a gloomy Monday, we bring up a decidely upbeat tune:

16. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (Lena Horne)

I mentioned the other day that for a long time I wanted to be Chrissy Hynde. If I could actually sing, though, I'd rather prefer to sing in the style of Lena Horne.

The readers of My Brilliant Mistakes are a sophisticated, learned bunch, but it's possible a few of you may not know of Ms. Horne. Those who are of a certain age will recall the Christmas ad she did for the Gap a couple of decades ago, back when they still used that "fall into the Gap" tag she sings at the end of the clip.

Here's a more characteristic video of her. Note how she can barely be contained, and that if she weren't wearing such a fishtail dress she'd be dancing or rocking or something all over the stage.

The black and white of the video is a bit deceptive. It seems forever ago, and really it was. And Lena Horne is alive today, although no longer performing. But she wasn't a kid in 1964 -- she was forty-six when that was filmed.

I aspire to be that hot, and that cool -- at forty-six or at any age.

Anyway, so Ms. Horne has recorded a number of holiday songs, and I flip-flop between two favorites: "Jingle All the Way" and "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" The fact is I could pick either and not go wrong. So could you. Please listen and choose your favorite.

Holiday Music Countdown: Number 17, with the Velvet Fog

Sunday, 09 December 2007 06:57 PM

Counting down my twenty-five favorite holiday songs. (Find previous posts here.)

17. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting by an Open Fire) (Mel Torme)

Mel Torme co-wrote "The Christmas Song" with Bob Wells in 1944. From the Wikipedia article:

"I saw a spiral pad on his piano with four lines written in pencil," Tormé recalled. "They started, 'Chestnuts roasting ... Jack Frost nipping ... Yuletide carols ... Folks dressed up like Eskimos.' Bob (Wells, co-writer) didn't think he was writing a song lyric. He said he thought if he could immerse himself in winter he could cool off. Forty minutes later that song was written. I wrote all the music and some of the lyrics."

Mel was nicknamed the Velvet Fog because of his beautiful voice and silken delivery. I prefer his recordings of this song to Nat King Cole's, although the latters are probably better known today. Here's Mel singing with Judy Garland, whose TV show he worked on for a few seasons and was infamously fired from.

Innovations in cocktail consumption

Sunday, 09 December 2007 01:21 PM

Researchers have developed a way to vacuum-infuse a Martini into a cucumber. And they've captured this technique on video.

Even without having tried it, I'm pretty sure this is the ideal accompaniment to sushi and sashimi.

I don't know about you, but I'm adding a food vacuum to my Christmas list.

Holiday Music Countdown: Numbers 19 and 18, ladies night

Saturday, 08 December 2007 11:49 PM

Continuing my remarkably self-centered countdown of my favorite 25 holiday songs. (Find previous posts here.) I skipped posting a countdown song yesterday, so today we get two. And what do you know! It's ladies night. (Yes, the feeling's right.)

19. 2000 Miles (The Pretenders)

I used to want to be Chrissie Hynde. Now I realize I mostly want to have her ballsiness, or whatever it was that enabled her to leave behind everything she knew in Ohio and move to England with (supposedly) nothing to her name but a copy of a Stooges record -- and once there, to make herself successful doing what she loved.

Alternatively, I'd settle for her ability to write a beautiful song, one that is tuneful, strong, sweet, and melancholy all in one.

18. Jingle Bells (Ella Fitzgerald)

I confess that I'm not crazy about a lot of Ella Fitzgerald's studio recordings. I think the people who managed her were a bit too controlling, and as a result both the production of many of her recordings and her performances on them are chilly and too clean.

In videos of her live performances, you can see how in concert she let more emotion come through. Her incredible eight-octave range was not the main focus; she used it, sure, but she brought so much more to bear in expressing her sense of a song.

In contrast, in her studio recordings every note is perfect, every sound is scripted. Which is good, except when it's too good.

But that crisp style works perfectly in her recording of "Jingle Bells," which sounds precisely like a brisk sleigh ride through a cold winter night. It moves so quickly that you think the whole contraption might slide out of control, and there's a little bit of syncopation to jazz things up. Jingle jingle, jingle-ingle all the way!

The only thing to live for is today

Friday, 07 December 2007 09:35 PM

Happy birthday, Tom Waits.

(Thanks to T&A Anthony for the reminder, and for posting a great video from my favorite Waits album, Mule Variations.)

Song for a snowy Friday: "Great"

Friday, 07 December 2007 04:28 PM

Holiday Music Countdown: Number 20, with diamond rings underneath the tree

Thursday, 06 December 2007 03:48 PM

20. Merry Christmas Baby (Lou Rawls)

Christmas is supposed to be a happy time. Really, really happy. That pressure for everyone to be happy may be what brings some of us to long to hear the blues.

"Merry Christmas Baby" was written by Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore, and popularized by blues singer Charles Brown and then Elvis Presley. If you Google for the lyrics you'll get a mishmash of stuff that appears to be a transcription of a recording by Elvis. Here's how the lyrics should read:

Merry Christmas, Baby

Merry Christmas, baby,
You sure did treat me nice.
Merry Christmas, baby,
You sure did treat me nice.
Gave me a diamond ring for Christmas,
Now I'm living in paradise.

Well I'm feeling mighty fine,
Got good music on my radio.
I said I'm feeling mighty fine,
Got good music on my radio.
I want to kiss you, baby,
While you're standing 'neath the mistletoe.

[Break]

Saint Nick came down the chimney
'Bout a half past three,
Left all these pretty presents
That you see before me.

Merry Christmas, baby,
You sure been good to me.
Merry Christmas, baby,
You sure been good to me.
I haven't had a drink this morning
But I'm all lit up like a Christmas tree.

Some artists include a final verse, which is more bluesy in spirit than the earlier part of the song -- discordantly so, as though Baby put that diamond ring and a whole big bunch of presents under the tree and then left the house, never to return.

Well Santa Claus, Santa Claus,
Won't you hear my plea.
Well Santa Claus, Santa Claus,
Won't you hear my plea.
All I want for Christmas
Is bring my baby back to me.

Of all the versions and variations of this song, I prefer Lou Rawls's rendition, mostly because I love how he sings. So sexy. I have this on Ultra-Lounge Christmas Cocktails, Pt. 2, which I recommend wholeheartedly.

Side note: In searching for a visual to accompany this post, I discovered an episode of The Muppet Show with Lou Rawls as the guest star. Here are part 1, part 2, and part 3 of that episode for your flashback entertainment.

Holiday Music Countdown: Numbers 22 and 21, with troubadours, the King, Bing, and a thin white duke

Wednesday, 05 December 2007 07:14 PM

Continuing my highly-subjective countdown of the 25 best holiday songs. (See previous entry here.)

22. Blue Christmas (Ernest Tubb and His Texas Troubadours, Elvis Presley)

Elvis wasn't the first person to sing "Blue Christmas." It was recorded by Ernest Tubb in 1948 and became a country standard.

Of course, there's a reason why people think of the Elvis version. It's because Elvis was amazing. ("Blue Christmas" starts at around 00:40 in this video.)

21. Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy (Bing Crosby & David Bowie)

This duet is terrific -- well-arranged, wonderfully sung. It's almost enough to make one ignore how ridiculous is the dialogue that these two had to wade through to get to the singing bit.

It has always bugged me that David Bowie supposedly doesn't know who Big Crosby is ("poor relation from America"?), yet he knows that "White Christmas" is Bing's signature song.

Still, the song is a pretty thing indeed.

Repeal Day! I'll drink to that

Wednesday, 05 December 2007 09:13 AM

Today is the 74th anniversary of the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which reversed the Eighteenth Amendment -- that is, today is the anniversary of the end of Prohibition. After thirteen years, Americans could once again legally make, manufacture, and sell alcoholic beverages.

Dewar's Scotch has used this as an advertising campaign this year, culminating in celebrations today. They made a couple of amusing videos:

There's a lot of irony in today's celebration for those of us who spend time in Allegheny County. Yesterday, the Allegheny County Council voted for a new 10% tax on poured alcoholic drinks.

According to the Post-Gazette, these are the council members who voted for this tax:

Supporting the drink tax were council President Rich Fitzgerald, D-Squirrel Hill, and members John DeFazio, D-Shaler, Dave Fawcett, R-Oakmont, James Burn Jr., D-Millvale, Bill Robinson, D-Hill District, Michael J. Finnerty, D-Scott, Joan Cleary, D-Brentwood, Charles Martoni, D-Swissvale, Robert J. Macey, D-West Mifflin, and Brenda Frazier, D-Stanton Heights.

If you live in Allegheny County, please vote these dummies out of office at the next election. Also remember to vote out County Chief Executive Dan Onorato, who supported this tax.

I hope that we will soon be able to toast the repeal of this inappropriate and short-sighted tax.

For today, let's at least enjoy the fact that we can legally buy a drink at all. I've read that the Twenty-first Amendment was ratified at 5:32pm EST, but I think we can start to celebrate at any time.

Looking for an appropriate drink for this special occasion? The many and assorted blogs that contributed to this month's Mixology Monday had Prohibition as their theme, so that would be a super place to start.

To your health!

Holiday Music Countdown: Numbers 25 to 23, with mambo, sleigh rides, and sanity restoration

Tuesday, 04 December 2007 02:23 AM

I'm not a religious person, and I'm turned off by the commercialism and pageantry of the winter holiday season. But I adore holiday songs. I wait as long as I can to start listening to them, and then once Thanksgiving is past I put them in heavy rotation.

Not all holiday songs are created equal. Certain songs make me dance and sing along, and certain renditions of songs are vastly superior (in my almost-humble opinion). This December I'm going to count down for you my favorite holiday songs, in the versions I consider definitive -- which don't always match the popular consensus.

Will I mention your favorite song? Am I missing the one, vital tune that would make my winter solstice if only I heard it? Let's find out.

I missed the first few days of the month, so I'll cram several entries in today to catch up.

25. We Wanna See Santa Do the Mambo (Big John Greer)

One of the first Christmas CDs I ever bought was Hipsters' Holiday, which features jazz greats performing standards, semi-standards, and wacky stuff that's awesome. It is hip and suave, sassy and sweet, and all that you could want to kick off your holiday season.

This is my desert island holiday CD, if such a thing is needed.

"We Wanna See Santa Do the Mambo" is chock full of bongo and bass-driven Latin rhythms. It features these lyrics:

We like your tummy big and round.
Your kisses have got around.
Just want to see you mambo,
And we hope you won't let us down.

Any time the insanity of gift-shopping and cookie-baking starts to cause all the muscles in your back to spasm, pop this tune in your player and feel your spine loosen right up.

24. Sleigh Ride (Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme)

Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, that lovely loungy couple, are still performing together after over 57 years in show biz. (Fun fact: Their son David Lawrence composed the score for High School Musical.)

I love their recording of this song, from their album That Holiday Feeling!, for the delightfully fake laughter and jingly bells, and for Steve and Eydie's general charm. And dig Eydie's hairstyle on the album cover!

It's not Christmas until I hear this song.

UPDATE: In my family, Steve and Eydie's album is one of the essentials of the season, but another -- probably more important -- is Johnny Mathis's Merry Christmas. His version of "Sleigh Ride" would probably be called definitive by most people, and I'd have a hard time arguing with them.

23. ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (Henry Rollins)

Sometimes singing and dancing are not enough to restore the sanity you lost in the mall traffic. Sometimes you need to hear some gun shots and breaking glass. For these times, Henry Rollins's spoken word rendition of this classic poem is your remedy.

As best I can tell, this gem is available only on the CD A Lump of Coal, which is out of print. Pick up a used copy (click the previous link).

Or listen to it here: "Twas the Night Before Christmas" performed by Henry Rollins.

Then go pick up a copy of A Lump of Coal, because all the other songs on the CD are awesome too, and everyone needs this awesomeness.

 

More to come! Remember to come back, every day until December 25, for the rest of the countdown.

Yo

Monday, 03 December 2007 11:26 AM

My knowledge of the rap music genre is not extensive, so the web page "Rap Represented in Mathematical Charts and Graphs" doesn't have its full impact on me. But in the hope that my readers are better versed, I share it here with you.

There's more where that came from.

All the fun that's fit to print

Sunday, 02 December 2007 10:33 PM

To help you plan your week, here are the key events on my schedule. Please join me when you can:

Wednesday, December 5: The 74th anniversary of the Repeal of Prohibition. I'll post recommended beverages on Wednesday. For now, if you are the sort of person who enjoys an intoxicating beverage, plan to be somewhere where you can drink one by 5:32 EST on Wednesday.

Thursday, December 6: Pittsburgh Geek Night the 56th at the Church Brew Works. 5pm to 9pm. Details at the Pittsburgh Geeks website.

Friday, December 7: Butler County Chamber of Commerce holiday event. I realize that many of you will not be interested in this, but I plan to attend. Which will create a challenge when I then rush off to...

Friday, December 7: Gist Street Reading Series, 7:30pm. The final reading of 2007, and the last before the series takes a six month hiatus. Should be a great one. Details at the Gist Street website.

Saturday, December 8: Portraits for Toys at the Creative Treehouse, 10am - 8pm. A terrific idea:

On Saturday, December 8th, the members of the Creative TreeHouse in Bellevue will put their talents to good use and hold a benefit for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh. Professional holiday portraits will be taken at the Creative Treehouse, located at 517 Lincoln Ave (2nd Floor) Bellevue, PA 15202 from 10:00AM to 8:00PM for those who bring a toy donation for Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Suggested donations are toys for boys and girls up to age thirteen and around the price range of $10. Family portraits are available for a donation of two gifts, one for a boy and one for a girl. Single portraits will be available for a donation of one gift. A holiday backdrop designed by Creative TreeHouse members will be available as will a normal studio backdrop for single and family portraits.

The whole family is invited to spend time at the Creative TreeHouse while portraits are being taken. Portraits will be available to download online with a special code provided to each guest at the event. Details here.

Sunday, December 9: Closkey family goes to the theater! Actually, this will most likely be my sister Katy, my mother, and me going to the theater, as the play we're eyeballing is Pride and Prejudice at PICT. The men of the family are guaranteed to whine and gripe, so we need not even ask them. For myself, I look forward to seeing David Whalen as a charming, blond Mr. Darcy. (Sigh.)

Sunday, December 9: There will be some kind of football game at 4:15pm. I'm not sure I'll be able to watch it -- I hope my heart is strong enough.

The day after: thoughts on my Month Impossible

Saturday, 01 December 2007 10:54 PM

Today, I did not have to write a massive number of words for a crappy first draft of a novel. I didn't have to draw anything. I planned to write a blog post, but I was not required to do so.

I've never been required to do any of those things, of course, not by any regulatory or other entity. The only person who has ever insisted that I had to undertake any creative endeavor has always been me. For a lot of people, that fact makes all the stuff I completed yesterday puzzling.

Here's what I did: I wrote the first draft of a novel, with a word count of at least 50,000 words, for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). I made 30 drawings in 30 days, for DrawMo. And I posted at least one blog entry every day for 30 days, for National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo). You can find my initial rationale for doing all this in an earlier blog post.

In the rest of this post, I tell what happened this month, what I discovered, and what I plan to do next.

Of these challenges, NaNoWriMo was the hardest by far. It takes time to type 50,000 words. I type reasonably quickly and didn't have to worry about spelling or grammar, and even so getting about 1000 words into a computer takes at least 20 minutes. Throw in the requirements of having a narrative flow to these words, and my speed drops to about 1000 words in 30 minutes.

But the bigger problems are internal editors and creativity. Everyone has an internal editor -- that voice in your head that tells you that what you're writing or making or thinking is awful and embarrassing, that you'll be a laughing stock if anyone sees it, that you have no business trying to do what you're attempting. The internal editor is cruel and harsh, and even accomplished writers and creative types fight her all the time. One trick we use in NaNoWriMo is to agree that everyone's first draft will be lousy and awful, and no one will ever have to see it. This cuts off many of the critisicms of the internal editor.

But thinking that your work is supposed to be lousy is not always a help, especially when you are forgoing other things, fun stuff, in order to sit at a computer or desk and write. So the second trick is to trust the process. As it happens, when you set out to do something and don't worry too much whether it is good or not, but in stead focus on making it something interesting or fun for yourself, that something generally turns out to have at least a little bit of good in it. Later, you can take that bit of good and make it better, revise and improve it. But for the purposes of NaNoWriMo, recognizing the little bit of good in what you've done makes it possible to go on -- much the way a single good putt or drive in a round of golf makes the other 100+ strokes bearable. At least, that's how it works for me.

This was my fourth or fifth NaNoWriMo. (Unfortunately I've not kept good records.) Through working professionally as a writer, and through other writing and blogging I've done, I've become pretty good at silencing or at least ignoring my internal editors. (Mine are a team, and they take turns attacking me from various angles. I also think they may be green in color, although I'm not certain.) My problem this time around was creativity, and the reason creativity was a problem was that I started to run out of time.

I had a busy month on the whole, and I was determined not to let any of these challenges get in the way of the rest of my life. Work, social events, family, football -- I didn't want to miss any of it. But this meant I had little time and energy for writing each day. I assured myself that I could make it all up during Thanksgiving weekend. But that weekend rolled around and I didn't have much time then either. So I found myself in the final week with four fifths of the novel to write. The next couple days I didn't meet my revised quotas either, and then I was down to four days and over half the book to finish.

As I mentioned, I can type a lot of words in an hour. That assumes, though, that I know what those words should be. As I dove into trying to reach incredible word count goals each day, I found that I was running out of ideas. Ordinarily when I write, I work in shorter bursts and do stuff in between, and while I'm doing the other stuff I think up what I should write. It's a nice system, and from what I can tell lots of other writers do the same.

But I didn't have the luxury of time to do other things. I tried, but I needed longer breaks than I was giving myself. I suspect I needed a lot more sleep too, to process the regular events of each day and the things I was creating. I drank a lot of coffee to keep my energy and attention going, but this dehydrated me which, in turn, made me groggy. On the last day I poured myself a big pitcher of water and made sure to drink it through the day; I believe this was critical to my keeping going at the end.

So I grabbed at some other tricks, like taking random suggestions. For example, my friend Miko mentioned in the comments that she'd seen a guy at the gym using a treadmill and wearing a kilt. I put him in the book, and he became the next major character and drove the plot for about a quarter of the book. I also tried jumping past scenes that seemed to be bogging down, moving my characters from one room to another whenever the action slowed down, and focusing on what was the worst thing that could happen at any moment and making that happen. With each of these tricks, I revived the momentum of the story and made it possible to write yet another page, and then another.

All well and good, you might say, but what's the point? What good does any of this do?

Here's what I got out of this:

• I accomplished something I set out to do, under terms that worked for me. I couldn't do everything I would normally do in life -- I dropped most of my exercise program and my house looks like a pig sty -- but I staying involved in the lives of family and friends, kept up with work projects, stayed in touch with world events, saw some plays, read books. I didn't have to give up everything to pursue creative endeavors, and I'm happy to prove to myself I can juggle things like this.
  
• I haven't written any fiction in a couple of years, and this helped me get back on that horse. I remember now what's fun about it and why I should make time for it.
  
• At least one section of the manuscript is worth pulling out and revising, probably not into a novel but into a short story. The whole month is worth it if I can get just one short story out of it.
  
• I got myself into a jam on this, falling so far behind schedule from the very beginning, but by working my fingers off I got myself out of it too. I'm proud of myself for not giving up when my goal looked unreachable. I very nearly did, several times. On the last day for example, when I needed to get 10,000 words by midnight but had just 9 hours, and when I had been averaging 1000 words an hour and I was pretty clearly not going to make it, I chose to keep going. I decided that if I finished after midnight, that would be not as good, but it would be OK -- I would prefer to try and fail than to give up early. I'm glad I made that choice, and even gladder that I found some internal reserves that let me finish on time anyway.
  

Will I do it again? Right this minute I do not want to, honestly. But by next November 1 I will have recovered, and I'll have had even more time to see the benefits of this past month. I bet I will sign up again.

DrawMo is a different sort of challenge for me. It's a chance to explore things that I can't do easily, to practice and improve at something.

And it's a good way to practice being bad, publicly looking bad, if you see what I mean. I think it's valuable to have one's ego knocked at least now and again. We almost all try to look smooth and sophisticated, and that is good in its way. But we can't do everything well, and it's good to be reminded that there is more in life to learn, and we are permanently imperfect, and that everyone can keep learning and growing daily. DrawMo gives me a chance to brush up against others who do things so, so much better than I do but don't make fun of my failings.

I love it, and I think everyone should try it. Even if you do nothing else after reading this, please consider drawing. Or if you're already good at drawing but bad at writing, please try writing every day, or making music if that's hard for you, or cooking. Whatever. Find some others who do the same thing and who are better than you at doing it. Try and fail and try again and fail again but better the second time, and stick with it. I promise you will be glad you did.

As for blogging every day, I don't think that has to end with NaBloPoMo. It started as a way to document the month, and it has evolved into something like an on-going conversation with life. I feel I consume a lot -- entertainment, ideas, information, food, drink, society -- and I've been troubled that it's all being sucked into my brain but from there it goes nowhere. Well, it goes back out in the form of conversations and work products, but the input:output ratio is too high. This blog gives me a chance to balance it out a bit more. So I plan to continue for the duration. And I plan to enjoy it.

 

Copyright © 2004 – 2007 Cynthia Closkey