Well, its that time year so i thought i'd post an item about christmas...or more specifically christmas songs. What is YOUR favorite christmas song? Also, I'm trying to figure out the name of a certain song and the kid's movie that its from. It sorta goes: "I'm mister warm christmas....everything i touch, starts to melt in my clutch...ect.67 responses total.
I am partial to the South Park Christmas CD
"O Come Emmanuel" has always been my favorite, then "The 12 Days of Christmas" by those two yooper-sounding guys, and finally "The 12 Days of Christmas" done as a parody...there's a thing about putting up the lights, Christmas cards, kids whining, etc. I wish I knew who did it.
Oops...forgot "Carol of the Bells".
"Angels We Have Heard on High" is a fave. I just dig the lyrics. And.. oh, shoot. I can't remember the title, but it has the "O Night Divine" chorus in it. But the best of all time: "Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto" by James Brown. Hell yeah!!!
has anyone listened to the Bob Rivers Twisted Christmas CD's?
Sounds like I need to do some shopping. :) Aside from the Messiah (which is at best only arguably Christmas music) and Captain Kangaroo's Nutcracker Suite (which I would be vastly surprised if anyone else here has heard), hmm. Carol of the Bells, though I haven't heard a good version in a long, long time. The Boars Head, ditto. Lots of old, obscure carols that I only know because my father somehow manages to find recordings of obscure Christmas music around this time of year. This is the one time of year when he has any talent whatsoever for procuring decent music.
Oooh! John Denver and the Muppets Sing Christmas!!!
I haven't heard Tom Lehrer's Christmas Carol in years, but I remember it as being extremely funny. It was a hodgepodge of parodies of various different carols. http://gunther.simplenet.com/v/data/achristm.htm In terms of real Christmas carols, I tend to like a lot of the classical ones, but cringe at the muzakized versions of them that are getting played all over the place this time of year. I also seem to be developing a real distaste for such dumbed down carols as Frosty the Snowman, and Santa Clause is Coming.
You may want to add a "...To Town" to that, Steve. It sounds a bit...well...Lehrer-ish. =) There was a song at Meijer tonight annoying the beejeezus out of me. Something about a stupid snowflake tapping at her window. I almost shot the damn speakers. Greg F. - I have a copy of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir doing "Carol of the Bells" in mp3 format. Want it?
There's this version of "Go tell it on the Mountain" sung by (presumably) a gospel choir with a very deep bass singing the melody. I absolutely adore it. And on this same tape (Made before I was born, copied off of records, shock!) the same group sings "There's a star in the East on Christmas Morn" that I also love. Along with 'Carol of the Bells' and...other stuff that I can't think of when running on 5 hours of sleep and a headache.
Actually, this year I got ahold of a REALLY good Christmas cd....it was $5, and part of the money went to Toys for Tots. It had classic vocalists....Ella Fitzgerald, Rosemary Clooney, Bing Crosby, and sever ofthers that I cannot remember in my sleepiness. It's realy good. :) Oh...Mahalia Jackson is another one. :) And I'm really appalled that nobody has mentioned the Chipmunks. :)
Coventry Carol.
Total guess, Sarah: "Here Comes Susie Snowflake". I'm pretty sure that Rosemarie Clooney sang a version, though I'm not sure if it's the definitive one. I had heard somewhere that Jimmie Boyd, who sang "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" ended up in the cast of The Electric Company. Just like Violet Beauregard. (No, I don't mean he *ended* up there. You know what I mean.)
((( Fall 1999 Agora #183 <---> Music #218 )))
Yes, that's it, drewmike. I hate that song. Everytime she sang, "Tap tap tap" I wanted to shoot shoot shoot the speakers.
As far as I'm concerned, the only Christmas song worth listening to is "Fairy-Tale of New York," by the Pogues. "It was Christmas Eve, babe, in the drunk tank..." :)
It's certainly a good remedy for overexposure to more traditional Christmas-music sentiment..
I'm partial to Walt Kelly's "Deck Us All with Boston Charlie".
re18: How about the Cryptkeeper's version of "Deck the Hall with
parts of Charlie"?
I've listened to about 3 feet of Christmas CDs thusfar this
year. Some got a second spin thru the CD player, including the
Cheiftans, Tom Paxton, Peter, Paul & Mary, Leon Redbone, and
some others.
I have all three of the Bob Rivers Chirstmas CDs, and three
more of his other twisted tunes.
My best discovery after the fact was "Peace" by The
Rotary Connection, a Chicago group if I recall. The voice you
recognize most prominetly is Minnie Ripperton.
Ringo Star put out a Christmas CD this year. His version
of "Little Drummer Boy" (dhuh!) and "Christmas dance should be getting
radio airplay, but are not.
I do get a chuckle out of Black Flag's [bleep] Christmas.
I like a lot of the versions of "Little Drummer Boy" I've heard. There's a song called "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree" by some hard-voiced woman. I don't know who it is, but I wish I did; I'd like to buy the album. Can anyone help?
Heh. Forgot there's the Web these days. Is the singer I'm thinking of Brenda Lee?
I really like the Dave Matthews Band's "Christmas Song". I heard it for the first time tonight, and it's really sweet.
Another fave, John Lennon's "So this i Christmas". Melissa Etheridge also did a live version of this, and it rocks.
...oops. lost an "s" somewhere
Although "I Christmas" would fit in quite nicely with his famous claim that he was more famous than Jesus....
My friend Sara and I are doing a Christmas radio marathon on WCBN, from 8pm on Christmas Eve to 6am on Christmas morning. We're going to be playing a lot of holiday music, so this item is really helpful. Keep 'em coming! I heard of a Kinks song called "Father Christmas (Please Give Us Money)." Has anyone else heard this? What record is it on? Another cynical Christmas song: Martin Newell's "Christmas in Suburbia."
For humorous Christmas songs, I've always liked "Gramma Got Run Over by a Reindeer."
you're a mean one, mr. grinch winter wonder land by flemming and earl(to the tune of led zep) mr heat mr. freeze
How could I forget the grinch song... I love that show. =)
Hey, what do you know? Someone else around here I know! Just don't call it a Merry-Thon, or Comedy Central is gonna go after you.
Find Father Christmas by The Kinks on a Rhino collection:
Billboard Rock 'N' Roll Christmas. Or invite me to stop and join
you.
When I heard Stevie Wonder's "Someday at Christmas" I was
in awe of a great song by a Motown artist that was not a cover tune.
But then again, The Tempations version of "Rudolf" is one of my
favorites.
Sixpence None The Richer does a nice version of the Grinch song, nothing beats the origional with Boris though... Rebecca St. James has out a really good Christmas CD too, with a version of Lennon's Happy Christmas.. Don't forget the Waitresses song 'Christmas Wrapping'
Tom Waits, "Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis".
("...and Charlie, hey, I'll be eligible for parole come Valentine's Day")
Re #32: Doesn't Boris just read the story and the guy who does/did the voice of Tony the Tiger sing?
I've heard the same thing. A friend of mine has the cd, and the liner notes for that song list a non-Boris name, but I wouldn't recognize the name of the guy who does Tony the Tiger if it jumped up and bit me.
Re #35 Tony Marvin, who at one time was Arthur Godfrey's announcer, was the original voice of Tony the Tiger. And that's our little-known fact for today.
re. #31 - thanks for the info! re. #33 - damn, I forgot all about the Tom Waits song. Thanks! We're going to try and get the Grinch soundtrack, and a co-worker said he's going to burn "A Lonely Jew on Christmas" onto a CD for us. We also have some indie-pop Christmas and Hanukah compilations at the station that we're going to play.
I still got about 2 and half feet of Christmas CDs to be listened to this year. Two John Denvers just went into the CD shuffler (one with the Muppets).
I've always liked "Jingle Bell Rock" but I never hear it... And for church type songs I've always liked "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and "Oh Come All Ye Faithful." I really like the Southpark Christmas Album... Specially the "Merry F'kn Christmas" by that teacher guy, and "I saw Three Ships" by Shelly...
If you ever play "Jingle Bell Rock" around me, I will throw cookie dough at you. I still love "O Come Emmanuel". I can't wait to sing it this weekend.
Sarah- well, first I would have to get an album of Christmas music... which I don't currently have... And none of my dad's multitudinous cds has Jingle Bell Rock on it... <sighs dramatically>
Good. =)
Aw, Jingle Bell Rock is a great song. C'mon, everybody sing!: Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring Snowin' and blowin' and bushels of fun Now the jingle hop has begun...
::aims the rocket launcher:: FOOOOM!!! Jewel has a christmas CD out. Pleh.
"O Come Emmanuel"... Feh. A good song, I suppose, but my family sang it at least once a day, every day for a month, every year while I was growing up. I'm a little tired of it, at least of singing it. I suppose a good small-choral arrangement of it would strike my fancy, but...
Jewel can go away and never come back as far as I'm concerned.
Oh, come now. Don't be so harsh. I heard she spills her cans in that Civil War movie.
And?
"spills her cans". heh. She was described in Jane magazine as a "whiny coffee house wench". :)
Yes!!!! =)
I long ago decided that I'd never want to be her boyfriend. I couldn't endure all the poetry. But the cans might be the deal-maker for me in deciding whether to see the movie.
I got my Christmas card from Jonathan Edwards today. This year it's a CD!
Two songs: Jingle Bell Rock and The Night Before Christmas. I'll listen to
it tonight.
(For the younger set: Jonathan Edwards sang the hit "Sunshine" ("Sunshine,
go away today...I don't feel much like dancin'...") which is now pretty much
only heard on Oldies stations.)
Jonathan Edwards?? As in "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"? Heck, I didn't even know he was still alive, let alone putting out albums! Are Jewel's cans recyclable?
Snoopy and the Red Baron
Everytime Jewel comes on the TV screen or whatnot, my neighbor chines in with: "Awwwww...who made the pretty girl cry?" Note to self: See civil war movie with Jewel....
Re#53: Yeah. Didn't you hear? - he's gone goth.
resp:6 No. Although the Messiah is traditionally performed at Christmas, there is enough material in there that portions of it could be done (and have been) for Easter cantatas. resp:8 Although I love little kids, too many of them have just ruined a lot of carols for me-- or at least to the point that I don't like singing a lot of them. The ones you mentioned, Steve, I think are gems, but the kids forget the majority of the words. Another case in point-- most kids forget the intro to "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." resp:40 resp:45 "Veni, Veni, Immanuel" started out as a Gregorian chant written in 12th century France. I'm sure you might find it more refreshing if you sang it in the original Latin. If you don't have the lyrics, they are easy to find on Mannheim Steamroller's _A Fresh Aire Christmas_, along with a fabulous version of "Carol of the Bells," which is Ukranian, by the way. Some of my favorites are a little more obscure: while "Silver Bells" is well-known, "Los Peces en el Rio" is not. I never did learn the lyrics, but my youngest sister did and shared them with us. (Spanish is quickly becoming the second language of my family). Others are more light-hearted: Jorge Jorgeson's "Yingle Bells" and "Santa Claus at the PTA" are other faves :)
resp:2 You mean the 12 Days of Christmas by the Mackenzie Brothers? They may be Yooper-sounding, but they are Canadian characters. Evidently the dialect is on both sides of the border. "I'm Gettin' Nuttin' for Christmas," by.. I can't remember.
NP: Dan Crary, "Christmas Guitar." Bluegrass guitar. The idea of this seemed too Musak-y to tolerate, but I was getting to like it as I was hanging out at Elderly Instruments today so I brought it home, and Leslie loves this style of guitar playing.
oh... did anyone mention Spinal Tap's 'Christmas with the devil'?
In our house, Thanksgiving marks the official opening of Christmas music season. NP: "A Roman Christmas," a collection of Italian concertos and cantatas on the Naxos label. This material all dates from around 1700. The Alessandro Scarlatti cantata is clearly for Christmas, and the Corelli concerto was designed to be the background music for shepherd plays at Christmas. The brief liner notes say the rest of the music is associated with the holiday, but I really don't hear it. To my uneducated ear, if you plopped this disc in the player in June, you'd say, "Nice baroque album." $7, like all Naxos discs.
#1 Christmas disc in this house: "We Three Kings", by the Roches. Baroque music, specifically Christmas-oriented or not, works well too.
NP: "Carols at Christmas," Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band. This 1998 album might be my favorite of the four? Prior Christmas albums, if only because it's live, and also exceptionally well recorded. Besides Prior's voice (with lots of harmony support) you also get the odd jazz riff (derived from Charpentier ?!?) and some singing from Rosie Kemp on two songs; I assume Rosie is Maddy's daughter.
One of my favs is "I wonder as I wonder."
Toss in there the entirety of Menotti's opera "Amahl and The Night Visitors."
Fun trivia: "For Unto Us a Child Is Born" from Handel's Messiah was
originally an diddy Handel wrote called "No, di voi non vo fidarmi" (No,
never will I trust you), and in a time crimp, trying to get the piece done
for the date it had been commissioned, he wiped it free of its lyrics and
put the new (and present) text in place of the old. I got to perform the
original, "No, di voi," while at Interlochen, my first summer at camp
('94) with the High School Women's Choir.
I'd like to hear that sometime. I know, of course, (and prefer) the original words to the US National Anthem, "To Anacreon in Heaven". At one time I was pleased to be able to unearth the original words of the Mendelssohn work later adapted and labeled "Hark the Herald Angels Sing". The original is a hymn to Gutenberg.
I'd be curious to read that. Do you still have the lyrics about Gutenberg?
somewhere ...
You have several choices: