Merry Christmas

Merry Monday - My Favorite Holiday Music

(OK, yes... it's actually Tuesday. I was busy.)

Today's Theme: The Christmas story!

OK, OK. I know that many of my friends and readers are not religious at all. But whether you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, or whether you believe that the Christmas is a reinterpretation of pagan stories of winter rebirth; some of the best Christmas songs are related to the central nativity narrative.

I tend to gravitate toward the more human side of the story - the combination of confusion and wonder that the players must have felt - rather than the choirs of angels and prophecies of old.

Tomorrow: Interfaith Bonus Music for my friends of different (or no) faiths!

Part 1: The Annunciation
Gabriel's Message: by Sting
In 1996, various artists got together for a Christmas compilation to benefit the Special Olympics. While there have been many iterations of A Very Special Christmas since, the original is, well... special. It popularized this song, a weird and wonderful tale of the annunciation. The original is a Basque carol, but this modern take heightens the sense of alienation one would feel if an angel really did come down from heaven and declare to your teenage self that you were having God's baby.

Part 2: Telling Joseph
Joseph, Who Understood: by the New Pornographers
I'm sure there are folks who would consider this song sacrilegious, because: a) it's by a band with the word "pornographers" in their band name, and; b) it portrays Joseph's existential crisis as he tries to deal with the fact that his intended is having someone else's baby. He's really not cool with the scandal that Mary's unplanned pregnancy is causing in Galilee. Ultimately, though, he comes to accept the situation, even declaring of the baby: "Mary, he is mine." I feel like this message of acceptance and forgiveness is what the holidays are all about.

Part 3: Mary Ponders
Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song): by Sara Groves
This song is the opposite of the one above, in terms of audience. Most of the folks who know this one have heard it in church or on a Christian radio station (it was written by Amy Grant). But I just think it's a beautiful melody and a beautiful sentiment. Gladys Knight does a really nice version, but I think this one is my favorite because it's small, the way I imagine Mary really would have felt.

Merry Monday: My Favorite Holiday Music

Today's Theme: Christmas Bummers

When I was little, I was pretty familiar with every single children's book that our local library offered. And every year, starting around August, I repeatedly checked out "The Book of Christmas." It was from a Time-Life series (remember those?) about the supernatural world, and it was filled with stories of trolls and ghosts and talking animals. It was about the dark of winter, and how Christmas represents hope for light in the darkness.

When I told people that this was one of my favorites, saying, "It's about the dark parts of Christmas," they would cock their heads and say, "Christmas has a dark side?" And they'd laugh.

But at a very young age, I understood that Christmas isn't all "Santa Claus and ho-ho-ho, mistletoe and presents to pretty girls" as Lucy van Pelt put it.

Or, as Todd van der Werff (my pop culture soulmate and critic at the AV Club) put it:

...there's a kind of melancholy that bubbles up around the holidays, a melancholy that unites all of the greatest Christmas stories, from A Charlie Brown Christmas to It's a Wonderful Life to A Christmas Carol. I realize this is such a snobby thing to say, but the people who think Christmas is about unalloyed joy, about smiling until you're gritting your teeth, I don't think they GET IT, not really. Christmas is about another year coming to a close and drawing the people you love closer to you because you don't know what you'd be without them. It's about what you don't have as much as what you do have, about the realization that loneliness is the flip-side of love and happiness only comes easily after you've been through some pain. To me, Christmas and New Year's are all wrapped up in sadness and melancholy and loneliness, and that's what makes the happiness feel that much more earned, that much more essential.

And so I offer four songs that "get it."

"Fairytale of New York," by the Pogues with Kirsty McColl

For many folks, this is the ultimate Christmas song. There are many others who have no idea why any Christmas song would include the words, "You're an old slut on junk." But this is the magic of Christmas... you might be in the drunk tank. But a new year is still right around the corner.

"Christmas Day," by Dido

This story song, like many a Dido ditty, begins with a sweetness, and finishes with devastation.

"I Remember," from Evening Primrose, sung by Theresa McCarthey

In 1966, a teleplay called Evening Primrose aired. The composer for the songs was a young Stephen Sondheim. The play aired only once, and only Sondheim fans know of it - it aired in color, but the color masters have been lost. However, one of the songs "I Remember" (sung, in the play, by a young woman who has been living in a department store for years... don't ask) is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. There are few good recordings of it (Barbra Streisand did it on one of her Christmas albums, but I don't like that version). The one below is my favorite. I love the tune, but the lyrics are true standouts. "And ice, like vinyl, on the streets" is one of my favorite lines. The song reminds me of a lost New York winter, like those described in Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale, and the sadness of it's final lines ("and at times I think/I would gladly die/for one day of sky") never seems to lessen for me.

"Calling and Not Calling My Ex" by Okkervil River

Your ex might not be a superstar, but everyone can relate to wondering if you should call old friends or exes over the holidays.

Merry Monday: My Favorite Holiday Music

Today's Theme: Winter Songs!

These songs are part of my holiday playlist. Although they aren't officially "holiday" songs, they all put me in the winter spirit.

Winter Song: by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson

I love this song's message of hope, love and light in the winter... and if you have lived in northern climes, you know that message is needed in the darkest days of winter. Plus, this video is adorable.

River, by Joni Mitchell. Version by Robert Downey, Jr.

This song could definitely fit into the "Christmas bummer" category as well as the Winter category. It's a beautiful song, but super-depressing. There are also a lot of great versions, but for some reason I particularly like this version by Robert Downey Jr. from Ally McBeal.

Swingset Chain, by Loquat

Again, kind of a bummer. (Seriously. If you've lived in a snowy place -- winter can be a huge, dark, bummer). This one is about looking back to winters' past - in particular, the frozen playgrounds of childhood, and how those loves and friendships have been lost.

Walking in the Air, from The Snowman

Watching The Snowman during the holiday season is a tradition in my family. It's a sweet story, but the most magical sequence is this one, where a boy and his snowman fly through the arctic skies. Beautiful. (You might want to view this one full-screen).

Do you have a favorite winter song?

Merry Monday: My Favorite Holiday Music

I REALLY like the holidays. One of the things I like most is the opportunity to listen to holiday music on constant repeat. So I wanted to share some of my favorites with you. Warning: my tastes are a little eclectic. I have so many songs in the "Christmas Bummers" category that it might take two posts.

For the next several Mondays, I'm going to be sharing my holiday listening playlist. Many of the songs aren't traditional Christmas songs, but to me, they exemplify the spirit of the season. We'll start with something pretty traditional, however:

Today's Theme: Classic Carol Remix

There's something about those old carols - the melodies are sweet, the lyrics full of archaic language. I love those songs, but I often like the modern versions more than the old standards. Let's face it: I'm a modern gal.

"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" - Barenaked Ladies with Sarah McLachlan

Seriously? Who doesn't love this one?

O Come O Come, Emmanuel - by Rebecca St. James

When I was a little kiddo, I listened to the Joan Baez album "Noel" from September until the New Year. It was pretty much my favorite record. O Come O Come, was the song that transfixed me more than any other.

O Come O Come, Emmanuel is a carol that's right on the edge of being one of the majors. It's no Silent Night or Away in a Manger. But everyone's heard it. It's probably the most overtly Biblical of any of the carols, but it has a modern edge all the same.

Rebecca St. James capitalized on those features in her version for her Christmas album. Sorry the video is a bit lame - it's all I could find. You should check out the original.

Holly, Ivy and Rose - by Tori Amos

The Holly and the Ivy is an awesome carol. It's definitely under the radar, but I like its medieval sounding tune and woodsy imagery. Unfortunately, most recorded versions seem to be on the Christmas albums released by random civic choirs in mid-sized cities.

On her album, "Midwinter Graces", Tori Amos took the bones of several traditional carols and built new songs upon them. Holly, Ivy and Rose is the sweet song that sprung from The Holly and the Ivy. It features vocals by Tori's daughter, which add to the sweetness. (I realized I used "sweet" twice to describe this one, but I mean sweet in a good way. Not in a gross, saccharine way).