Although some of these have been kicking around for so long they're traditional at this point. I'm limiting this list to original songs rather than modern covers of Christams standards - that list would be too long.
Christmas Wrapping by the Waitresses - I love everything about this song. The sick bass line, the clever lyrics, the sax breaks, and Patty Donahue's voice. I get that some people don't like it, but that's because they're wrong.
Christmas is a Time To Say I Love You by Billy Squire - when Don't Say No came out I pretty much played the groove off the vinyl so I am at least a passing fan of Mr. Squire, but this is his best song. Such simple songwriting. It never wears out its welcome.
Thanks For Christmas - XTC. XTC is one of my favorite bands and any time I hear them played by someone else it makes me happy. My favorite part of the song is the bridge "You've been saving your love up/ Let it out, 'cause christmas time is here."
Father Christmas - the Kinks. When I was a kid this felt so subversive and "punk." But it's still a really good song. Because it's by the Kinks so of course it's really good.
All I want For Christmas is You - Mariah Carey and others. This is probably pretty much a traditional Christmas song at this point. Certainly mainstream. Probably as standard as Bing Crosby at this point, but I love it. It's exuberant, joyous, well written and performed. I'm not a fan of her in general though.
At the Closing of the Year - Wendy and Lisa. This dream pop gem opens the movie TOYS. It's not a very good movie but it's so wacky and ambitious that I appreciate the attempt. This song is too complex to become a carol, but no Christmas mix is complete without it.
I Saw My Baby Wearing Santa's Beard - They Might Be Giants - I've always loved TMBG and Lincoln is my favorite album by them. This song has a less sincere sentiment than most of the others on this list, but it's a hell of a lot funnier than "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer."
Beatles Christmas records 1964-1967 - Not technically songs, but I don't go a Christmas season without listening to them and even the little musical doodles they toss off effortlessly sound like they could be classics if they were fully realized and arranged. The first two Christmas records were too canned and the last two were too sad. These middle ones are endlessly entertaining.
Fairy Tale of New York - the Pogues. I used to spend a lot of time, money and brain cells in a pub where this was played year round. The song not only reminds me of Christmas but of the days when I could while away my evenings with pals in a bar without a care in the world.
and finally...
Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time - Paul McCartney. Look I get it. People hate this song. It's trite. It's overplayed every year. It's underwritten.Those tacky synth hits sound tacky and cheap. I don't care. This song is the musical equivalent of egg nog. Sticky sweet, makes you a little sick to your stomach, but it's not Christmas without it.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Monday, December 9, 2013
The Running Man
I run.
It's what I do for exercise.
People are supposed to get a certain amount of physical activity. I choose to run. Why? I can't get my ass to a gym and as far as I'm concerned only lunatics ride bikes on Los Angeles streets. You take your life in your own hands in a car as it is, I'm not about to risk becoming the hood ornament of some stoned manchld who's flipping through Spotify on his iphone while he drives into the setting sun on his way to the weekly visit to the medical marijuana dispensary. I'd like to go out with a touch more dignity than that.
So I run. More precisely, I alternate running and walking each day. We live in one of the most beautiful places in Los Angeles and my walks take me through canyons and over hills and trails and windy mystery streets where there are no architectural rules. I can disappear for three hours at a time on these walks depending on my work load.
But every other day I run. I have a .6 mile track nearby that's pretty nice. Compact dirt, far enough away from cars that the exhaust doesn't seem to be an immediate issue. The weather, of course, is usually nice and I rarely have to deal with the crowds (and never the attitude) of the Silver Lake resevoir, which is a prettier, more satisfying run, but frought with frustrations. Let me just throw this out there - I think it's great you're walking your dog(s). I how how much pets mean to people, but is the 30 foot leash really necessary? Could we maybe share the path? No? Sorry, didn't mean to bother you there.
I digress.
I don't like running. At all. I like the way it makes me feel when I'm done and I like the fact that I am noticably better off for sticking with it for the last four years. I feel better, I look better.
But my god, I don't like running.
It is sheer tedium. In the four years I've been running 6 miles every othe day, how many times have I been around that damn track? I could do the math, but I really don't want to know. I thought by now I'd like it, but at best I just accept that it's what I do and to man up and power through it without complaint. It amazes me that people enjoy it but I'm sure people are amazed (if not horrified) by some of the things I enjoy doing.
I thought i would enjoy it by now. People in Nike commercials always seem so happy. Either I don't have the athlete gene or Nike commercials are lies.
Probably both.
It's what I do for exercise.
People are supposed to get a certain amount of physical activity. I choose to run. Why? I can't get my ass to a gym and as far as I'm concerned only lunatics ride bikes on Los Angeles streets. You take your life in your own hands in a car as it is, I'm not about to risk becoming the hood ornament of some stoned manchld who's flipping through Spotify on his iphone while he drives into the setting sun on his way to the weekly visit to the medical marijuana dispensary. I'd like to go out with a touch more dignity than that.
So I run. More precisely, I alternate running and walking each day. We live in one of the most beautiful places in Los Angeles and my walks take me through canyons and over hills and trails and windy mystery streets where there are no architectural rules. I can disappear for three hours at a time on these walks depending on my work load.
But every other day I run. I have a .6 mile track nearby that's pretty nice. Compact dirt, far enough away from cars that the exhaust doesn't seem to be an immediate issue. The weather, of course, is usually nice and I rarely have to deal with the crowds (and never the attitude) of the Silver Lake resevoir, which is a prettier, more satisfying run, but frought with frustrations. Let me just throw this out there - I think it's great you're walking your dog(s). I how how much pets mean to people, but is the 30 foot leash really necessary? Could we maybe share the path? No? Sorry, didn't mean to bother you there.
I digress.
I don't like running. At all. I like the way it makes me feel when I'm done and I like the fact that I am noticably better off for sticking with it for the last four years. I feel better, I look better.
But my god, I don't like running.
It is sheer tedium. In the four years I've been running 6 miles every othe day, how many times have I been around that damn track? I could do the math, but I really don't want to know. I thought by now I'd like it, but at best I just accept that it's what I do and to man up and power through it without complaint. It amazes me that people enjoy it but I'm sure people are amazed (if not horrified) by some of the things I enjoy doing.
I thought i would enjoy it by now. People in Nike commercials always seem so happy. Either I don't have the athlete gene or Nike commercials are lies.
Probably both.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Blog, damn you, blog
My wife is an avid blogger and is astounded that over the last decade I haven't taken to blogging on an active and consistent basis. With all the time I spend posting stuff on the internet and generally yammering about myself in real life, blogging would seem like a perfect fit for me. But for whatever reason I've never gotten the hang of it. I like other people's blogs. They always look so much more "professional" than my lame attemps and I figure they must be wizards or something. When I have tried my hand at this form of communication in the past I've always looked at the results and thought, "Okay that doesn't LOOK like a blog! Blogs have clever headline fonts and cool pictures and... I dunno. Links and stuff.
None of that is beyond my technical ability, it's just I've never rolled up my sleeves and gotten under the hood with the templates because why bother when I don't have any content. So I don't create content because I'm underwhelmed with the "look" and I don't work on the "look" because I don't have any content.
Yes, this is ridiculous series of excuses not to blog. I know that. Fortunately blogging is an incredibly optonal activity for the vast, vast majority of us. so I guess in the spirit of just shutting up and doing it, I'll periodically post word farts like this until I get into a groove with it. No one's reading, so why not?
None of that is beyond my technical ability, it's just I've never rolled up my sleeves and gotten under the hood with the templates because why bother when I don't have any content. So I don't create content because I'm underwhelmed with the "look" and I don't work on the "look" because I don't have any content.
Yes, this is ridiculous series of excuses not to blog. I know that. Fortunately blogging is an incredibly optonal activity for the vast, vast majority of us. so I guess in the spirit of just shutting up and doing it, I'll periodically post word farts like this until I get into a groove with it. No one's reading, so why not?
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