Beans's Christmas music post inspired me to write a little bit the other day, to provide a little commentary on the subject, and also as a little create outlet for me since I'm taking some time off over the holidays.
Now in my house, Christmas just started a few days ago, and will go through epiphany of course. The Christmas music will continue just as the decorations remain up. As Beans shared, Josh Groban did a fine job with O Holy Night.
There are some wonderful Christmas songs out there, ones I never grow tired of listening to, and yet there are some that are just awful. It's almost as if these artists are phoning it in, writing or performing a song just to rake in some bucks around the holidays. These are songs that are purely pop drivel, as the artist may add a couple topical lyrics and a jingle bell or two to an uninspiring pop song in a weak attempt to capture the theme of the season.
Speaking of which, Taylor Swift is getting all sorts of pop-culture press this year, partially because her Eras Tour has raked in nearly a billion dollars, but also since she's dating some football player on an overrated team. But the other day I heard her version of a Christmas standard and it was lousy. I'm no Taylor Swift fan, but nor am I a hater. Some people love her and that's fine, but her music does nothing for me. And it does even less so when she attempts to sing Eartha Kitt's Santa Baby, with a version that is weak and vapid at best.
That led me to thinking about some of those Christmas songs that are iconic by one particular artist. Sure, there are plenty of Christmas albums out there and plenty of artists put their mark on various songs, but some just can't recreate the magic that is made when certain artists practically own the song.
Dean Martin's Let It Snow is one of those perfect tracks for me, and nobody does that one better. I would put Bing Crosby's White Christmas against any one else's version. It may not be the absolute best, since I can't say I've heard them all, but it also brings back fond memories of me as the kid and my dad playing the album. I've already expressed my love of Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song." It's my favorite song of the season and also evokes the same strong memories.
I would also put Vince Guaraldi's Christmas Time is Here in that memorable song category. No idea if anybody else has a version, but that one is iconic if a bit melancholy. The whole Charlie Brown Christmas album is wonderful and I listen to it on repeat. There are versions on YouTube that play it over and over, with several hours of his jazzy take on the standards.
Judy Garland did it well but I have to say I really like Michael Buble's version of "Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas." His "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" is also excellent and gives Bing Crosby a run for his money. They're both great crooners though so I suppose that's understandable.
This one gets me in the feels:
I don't necessarily have a favorite but I do enjoy Stevie Nicks's version of Silent Night. Apparently it is the most covered Christmas song, with 3,700 interpretations out there. From that same album as the dusty Fleetwood Mac singer, the Eurythmics cover of Winter Wonderland is pretty good. And Brenda Lee with her rocking around the Christmas tree is pretty much unmatched. Here are more:
Have a Holly Jolly Christmas by Burl Ives
Christmas Baby (Please come home) by Darlene Love
Andy Williams - It's the most wonderful time of the year.
And not necessarily iconic but I really like:
Amy Grant- (a two-fer) Grown up Christmas List and Breath of Heaven
Coldplay's Christmas Lights
Faith Hill's A Baby Changes Everything
And finally my new favorite of the season:
Stella Cole, who croons like a cross between Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand
Anyway, lots of music above, most of which you've heard before, so if you need to pick a couple, I recommend Charlie Brown and Stella Cole. Enjoy!
And for my second act:
Christmas dinner was good enough, but I almost ruined a $70 chunk of prime rib. I did plenty of research on different ways to make it last year: Super high temp, then you turn it off and let it rest, or slow roast at a low temperature for a few hours. I used the high/rest option last year, so I opted to change it up this year and went for the slow roast. Somehow I put it in to slow cook at 350 instead of 250, and so by the time I got home from a movie (somewhat a tradition of ours), the internal temperature was already 165, when it should have never gotten above 118. So instead of nice pinkish-red rare roast beef we had medium well to well. It wasn't a big hit for the family so we had leftovers and my wife made it all better in a delicious beef stew. I won't make that mistake again, but I feel like I need to go to confession. Last year's turned out excellent so I'm not sure why I tried to fix what wasn't broken. Fortunately, we also had some lobster tails I found at the commissary, and lava cake for dessert which took the sting off a little bit.
It was an easy post-Christmas week around the Tuna household. I worked Wednesday and Thursday, but was home early as there was little to no work to be done since the Sailors and Officers were only showing up to muster*, then back out on liberty. However, I'm all square on the annual training requirements. I'm well educated on how to not sexually harass anyone, and avoid sex traffickers, so I've got that going for me. Drove the San Diego Port Commissioner in the Holiday Bowl Parade on Wednesday morning for a quick 30 minute route, which was nice. I had no interest whatsoever in the bowl game (USC vs Louisville) so I declined the free tickets. That night we went out to dinner with my wife's cousin who was in town to visit her new granddaughter whose daddy is a Navy Seal. Someone to add to my prayers.
Hope you all had a great Christmas, and that it continues for you too.
*Commanders can give a max of 96 hours special liberty so Weds/Fri morning musters keep them within regs. We have no junior sailors that need more supervision.
Can't go wrong with Martin, Crosby and Cole for the season. And "Christmas Time is Here" is a classic in the short time since 1965, thanks for the Stella Cole vid Tuna, a wonderful voice. Aaaahh.....that prime rib.....Uff Da............. :)
ReplyDeleteI'll probably let my wife make a Turkey or Ham next Christmas.
DeleteAnother excellent Christmas song is "Grandpa got run over by a Beer Truck!"
DeleteTuna, my mother had the Bing Crosby record and pulled it out every Christmas; it remains my strongest "song association" with the season.
ReplyDeleteTo your point, there is a lot of repackaged "drek" out there. Christmas songs have become much like the equivalent of animated movies nowadays: everyone has to do at least one. I have heard a remake of Guaraldi's "Christmas Time"; it was okay but not up to the original. Remakes I do like include Bob Segar's "Little Drummer Boy" as well as For King and Country's the same tune. For a newer Christmas tune, I enjoy Gwen Stefani's "You Make It Feel Like Christmas", a duet with her husband Blake Shelton. It is peppy, and the video is actually pretty amusing as well.
Prime Rib: You are a braver man than I. I have never attempted it due to the cost of the meat, if nothing else.
I really enjoy the season song associations! I'll check out Gwen/Shelton. Meat was expensive, but it is for the birth of our Lord, so I didn't mind.
DeleteI've never heard the Enya "O Come..." before..lovely, somewhat ethereal with the ison. My taste in Xmas music is all over the place, but mostly rooted in the western religious themes,.and Victorian English. Throw in the Clancy Brothers for good measure.
ReplyDeleteEvery one of those songs was pop-ish in their day I suppose- not too many iconic versions of the religious ones.
DeleteBummer about the meat... Next year! (Is what always say.. :-)
ReplyDeleteNext year will be fowl I'd expect!
DeleteExcellent list of Christmas music. I do love the way the old style crooners and chanteuses (lady crooners, you know, really good night club female singers) could and can (as there are a new generation of crooners and chanteuses out there, witness Michael Buble, Puddles the Clown and the gals who sing on Post Modern Jukebox.)
ReplyDelete"Mary's Song" is one of Mrs. Andrew's favorites. Though we did hear one hackette (sorry, ladies, but I identify actors and actresses and such by their genetic code, so to speak) just slaughter it. That particular XX chromosomal makeup should have been scourged out of the studio by some guy wearing Jesus shoes and a robe, just my feelings. Okay, maybe not that bad but Jiminy Crickets producer people, show some restraint (like, oh, say, whomever let Barbara Streisand or Neil Diamond near a Christmas song...)
As to the meat, bummer. Mrs. Andrew and I always convert roasts to soups, but she likes her meats cooked medium well or better (I can go anywhere from medium rare on up.) The whole wishing to improve thingy is a part of one's genetic code. Trust me, once you've reached 'perfection' with a dish it's hard not to keep 'tweaking it' to make it better.
My tale of horrid outcome Christmas Food will appear maybe tomorrow, so stay tuned for that.
Stella did a PMJ song which I shared a few months back. Search the blog for her name if you are interested. Looking forward to your next post.
DeleteThumbs up on Enya, my wife's favorite.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip on how NOT to do prime rib, should I ever get such a cut.
We have discovered that Costco's filet mignon is really really great meat, and one nice thick slice divides into two nice servings, so even at $25/pound that's actually a lot cheaper than all but drive thru chow when dining out.
JB
Always loved anything Enya does. Every food is cheaper out of your kitchen, and even more so today- I am shocked at the prices in the major grocery stores. I'm grateful for the local commissary. I claimed $70 for the beef, but it was a day before expiration so it was marked down $20!
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