Courtney sez...
For years and years, my favorite Christmas song—modern rock Christmas song, mind you; this article is not about the classics—was “Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy” sung by David Bowie and Bing Crosby, two great voices that had absolutely no business being anywhere near each other, which is what made the song so great in my eyes. And then, one Christmas season, in the mid-80s, as I sat sneering at something or other, listening to WFNX in my room, I heard what would become my REAL favorite Christmas song ever. “It was Christmas Eve, babe/In the drunk tank…”

If I had to pick just one Christmas song to listen to for the rest of my life—which is something I don’t wish to ponder—I would be morally, spiritually, and emotionally obligated to choose the Pogues, “Fairytale of New York”. Over the course of the last 20 years, I have become irrationally obsessed with this particular track. For some reason, it has taken root in my soul, permanently. I’ve never spent Christmas Eve in the drunk tank, or been lying there almost dead on that drip in that bed, but, this song is my song. And it’s tangled up in some pretty poignant memories for me, including a few wonderful Christmas parties that always ended with my friend and I, as drunk as Shane, singing at the top of our lungs in front of his tree, to raucous applause, mind you. But, the story in this song kills me. Every time. If you played this song 10 times in a row, you can be sure of at least an 80% chance of tears on my end as Shane croons, “I kept them with me babe/I’ve put them with my own/can’t make it all alone/I’ve built my dreams around you.” Put me on the beach, in July, and play this song—blubbering idiot in two minutes, sooner if I decide to sing along. And I always decide to sing along. Sometimes, I’m Kirsty (R.I.P.), sometimes I’m Shane. Always, I’m rolling my “r” in the best imitation of an Irish brogue possible.

As adults, we learn, quite quickly, that Christmas has a raw underbelly of disappointment, and broken promises, and heartache, and this song certainly brings that into pointed relief. Yet the wonder, and the beauty, and the timeless appeal of this song is that it just as pointedly shows us the wonder, and the beauty, and the hope that Christmas brings, and of the everlasting power of love, and I can’t even finish the sentence because I’m bawling…

Ok, better now. There are so many incredible moments in this song, but the most beautiful and haunting piece is the ending, the swirling, waltz-like coda. And you see the couple (at least I do), she in her hospital bed, he in the cell, sleeping, drifting away, and I always see them dancing together, on a snow covered New York street, under the lamplight, as the snow falls, twirls around them. I always think of it as his last dream before he dies, the dance he may have had, the dance he still wants, a memory to keep him warm in the cold. It’s melancholy, a little cliché, but it is the vision in my head of this song. Two lovers dancing away into a snowy night. A promise renewed. Someday, I want to dance with someone to the ending of this song, in the snow. Until then, I’m going to sing along and cry, every single time…

MJ sez:
In typical fashion, I'm late again. I will say this. What C said above holds true for me as well. This song holds so many special memories for me that it's almost impossible to put them into words. Suffice it to say, I don't claim my Northern Irish heritage makes me smarter than anyone by any means, but it makes me appreciate this song probably more than most you know.

I just want to take this time to say a few things this close to Christmas.

First, to our small readership. Thank you for seeking us out or stopping by. We both really appreciate it. We hope to have many new articles and other good stuff in '08. Stick with us, it will be worth it.

Secondly, to my partner in crime. Thanks for carrying things the last month or so since my family invaded. You've been doing a fantastic job holding this place together while my time has been limited with both work and home responsibilities. Thank you very much.

It's my wish for everyone that they have a safe, happy and healthy holiday season. Take some time to ENJOY it while it's here, people. Realize what a special time of year this is and find ten minutes to just sit and reminisce or enjoy a song or anything that allows your brain to shut off and just be.

Happy Christmas, everyone!
-----
MJ and I wish you all a very Happy Christmas, and a peaceful New Year. See you in 2008.

Fairytale of New York - The Pogues

Labels: BFF, Christmas, The Pogues

Hey, the other music blogs do it; why shouldn’t we?

Courtney sez:
I’m going to get this written, from my perspective, before I read any of the other lists that are popping up in every print and online rag out there. Admittedly, I did not buy as much music this year as I have in the past; maybe I was more selective, maybe a little picky, maybe there wasn’t much out there to spark my interest. At any rate, these five albums made my year bearable, enjoyable.

1. Wilco, Sky Blue Sky: I don’t know if there are words to describe the effect this album had on me. I think that if you first hear music during times of extreme emotional turmoil, you hear it differently. When this album was released, I was on the brink of a decision that would change the way I was living my life, a difficult and painful, but ultimately positive decision, and this album gave me strength. This album is about rebuilding, about fear, and about messy emotions that can cloud our thinking. Ultimately, it is about a search for clarity, and understanding, and every note is perfect. Plus, I think the guitar solo on “Either Way” is one of the prettiest pieces of modern guitar work I have ever heard. Nels Cline is transcendent on this record, and Sky Blue Sky, in my opinion, brings Wilco to yet another higher level.

2. Robert Plant and Allison Krauss, Raising Sand: Sometimes, the most unusual and unexpected pairings bring the most unusual and unexpected joys. I’ve already written here about how much I love this album. Since buying it, I have recommended it, burned it and bought it for other people. I am the Krauss/Plant evangelist. In my opinion, this is the record of the year.

3. White Stripes, Icky Thump: I dug this more, I think, than other White Stripes fans, but this is a solid album. Admittedly, seeing them live in July helped my appreciation, but there’s some really fine songs on this album, A Martyr For My Love For You standing out in my head. Jack White is certainly an interesting guitarist of wide-ranging skill. And somehow, Meg’s drumming seems to be more about interpretation than actually keeping a beat. Consider this grinding, crunchy, dark collection my summer album, which, sort of sums up my summer anyway. Largelyl dark, with moments of brilliance and light.

4. Amy Winehouse, Back to Black: Ah, the train wreck. How the world loves a train wreck. However, this one brilliantly channels the sound of 60’s soul, her big wall of sound proclaiming, “what kind of fuckery is this?” Intense. Ennervating. A lot of the indie press wants to pit her against Lily Allen, insinuating you can’t like one and like the other. Me, I like Amy’s raunch.

5. Richard Thompson, Sweet Warrior: The ultimate guitarist’s guitarist. Thompson is an unparalleled songwriter and technically and emotionally brilliant player. Although not every song on Sweet Warrior is a masterpiece, the ones that grab you will not let you go. And Thompson is a story teller. Guns Are the Tongues sweeps you up into these characters like a movie, and moves you to an understanding and a sympathy. And no one writes a ballad like Thompson, a ballad in the traditional sense of the word. Again, another stunning live performance I was privileged to see this past year, and will be seeing again in 2008.

So, those are my favorites. I’m sure my dear co-conspirator has his own list; maybe there’s some overlap, maybe no. Now, I’ll go read the press and see who agrees with me.

MJ sez:
Only one of the above makes my personal list, but that's what makes music great. We can all agree to disagree and maybe turn each other on to new and great music. I haven't actually heard anything from the Plant/Krauss record, but everyone I know who knows music swears by it, so it's going on my list to get soon. The White Stripes are a band who I personally think have reached their zenith and are on the way down, but that's just my opinion. I love Amy Winehouse AND Lily Allen, but suddenly, I have a source for British music in my life, so I may have a bit of an advantage there. She doesn't make my list, though. Of course, I love Richard Thompson's record, but it also doesn't make my top 5 cut for the year.

What does, you ask?

Read on, I'm doing mine countdown-style, because, well...that's how I ROLL:

#5. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank. Modest Mouse burst onto the scene 2 years ago with a fine debut, and continued making excellent music with this second effort. I personally find it both soothing and disturbing at points. It's a truly great collection. I urge you to seek out this band.

#4. The National - Boxer. I got turned onto this band by someone at work, who hasn't steered me in a bad direction yet. Wow, was he ever correct on this band. The secret to being a band like the National is not to be anything to scoff at. Mistaken for Strangers is such an AMAZING song that it fills me up inside and makes me want to weep. Honestly. You MUST get this record.

#3. Kanye West - Graduation. All silly bets with 50 Cent aside, this WAS the rap/hip hop record of the year, maybe of this decade. There isn't a bad song on it, and you should own it and break off the knob when you put it in your CD player. Must have for any collection.

#2. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky. What Courtney said, and more. We both have the Wilco fever, and quite frankly, this record delivered in a BIG way. I listen to it constantly. There aren't enough adjectives to describe how much I love it.

#1. Radiohead - In Rainbows. It's just been in the last couple of days towards the end of this year that I've realized that this record means as much to me as "OK Computer" which is in a class of it's own, in my opinion. I know thoughts are divided on what Radiohead means in today's world. They are the best band in the world, in my humble opinion, and I defy anyone to tell me who's better. Musically, emotionally, and lyrically, they deliver EVERY time. This record is BRILLIANT.

So there you have it, my top 5. I'm sure Courtney won't wince too much at my top choice, although I know she doesn't dig them nearly as much as I do. Like I said, opinions make the world go round. Please feel free to share any top choices in comments that we might have missed, because as stated, we're always looking for new good shit to listen to.

Cheers!

Labels: Alison Krauss, Amy Winehouse, BFF, Kanye West, Modest Mouse, Radiohead, Richard Thompson, Robert Plant, The National, the White Stripes, wilco

My mother emailed me this morning to tell me that one of her neighbors has two tumors, one on each side of her brain. Doctors have done a biopsy, and right now, she and her family are waiting to hear what this means. I'm having trouble with news, on two levels, one of which is much more charitable than the other. I'll talk about that first, as it's the simple explanation. In 1997, this family lost their oldest son, a Gulf War Marine veteran, to a work-related accident. He left behind a wife and daughter as well. Their youngest son has struggled with drugs and alcohol for many years, although I believe he is now clean and trying to reconnect with them. As my mother put it, thinking of Peter, the oldest, I'm sure, "how much sorrow can one family bear". And I don't know the answer to that question; I don't know if I'll ever be invited to know the answer to that question ever again, since the last time I talked to this woman was at her brother Peter's funeral.

You see, a long time ago, Rosemary was my best friend. She was like another sister to me. We were always friendly, in the way neighborhood friends are, but we became really close after Darren died. His death rocked us both, and we started going out for coffee every Sunday night, then walking in the evenings during the week, then hanging out almost all the time. She and Peter even fixed me up with one of his friends, Scott, which is where, I believe now, the crack in the armour appeared, and eventually wrecked us. Because, like a lot of women friends who trust each other do, I told Rosemary everything. I had no secrets from her. NONE. I even told her that I had a one night stand with a friend while I was in a fight with Scott. And again, she knew every detail, both about the fight and why we had it, to the details about the hook up. Eventually, so did my boyfriend. We stayed together for a while longer, but then, in one of the weirdest New Year's Eves ever, we got into a huge fight because I was giving him permission to go to a party without me, as I wanted to stay home. I was tired, I'd been working a lot, and wanted to stay in and watch a movie and go to bed. We get into a fight and don't speak for four days, and eventually, we break up.

Now, during those four days, Rosemary switched into girl power mode, taking me out with her friends, listening to Gloria Gaynor in the car, and, essentially, THROWING me at another guy, a guy I would eventually marry, and later divorce. Never marry the rebound guy, trust me. It never ends well. It took me years to realize it, years that involved reconciling with and again dating Scott(because he told me the reason she did this), that she decided to throw me at my future-ex husband because she saw her chance to go after Scott. I know none of this, of course, and with what seemed like my best girlfriend's blessing, embark on a whirlwind courtship and engagement. Of course, I asked her to be in my wedding, and she accepted.

Around Christmas time of that year, I started to notice her becoming distant. Finally, a few days before New Year's Eve, I called her and asked her what was up. She informs me, over the phone, that not only can she not be in my wedding, but we can no longer be friends. The fight we had was so vicious, my family thought I was fighting with my fiance about the wedding being off. Among the things she claimed were her reasons that we couldn't be friends anymore were I was never truthful with her about Scott, or that fling, and I kept secrets from her all along. Unquestionably not true, as I've stated, but, this is one of those hard trust lessons you learn, and the phone call ended, and we didn't speak again until her brother's funeral. It was one of the most painful conversations I had ever had in my life, because I truly didn't understand where it had come from. She knew EVERYTHING about me, every secret, every emotion, every fear. I helped her heal from the death of our good friend, and this is how she ends it?! I became furious, and gave her Christmas present away to my fiance. It was the Counting Crows first album, and for years, it was ruined to me because it made me think of her, and I hated her. In later years, when Scott finally reveals to me that she did it all to try and get to him, I just found it really, really sad and petty.

So, in hearing she has two brain tumors, which is terrible and awful, I'm fighting the terrible and catty thoughts about the karmic wheel of life coming around. But, no hurt she may have inflicted upon me deserves that kind of cosmic balancing out. Seriously. Despite all the ridiculous theories she has about me, or why we can't be friends, I'm really quite shaken that she is so seriously ill. And I'm conflicted, because I'd like to reach out to her personally, let her know I'm thinking of her, let her know that the past is past and that if she needs me, I'm here. But, deep in my heart, I really believe she'll reject it, and I don't know if I can take that twice.

Labels: counting crows

Music notes, I just got that. I crack myself up.

What's been happening? Well, I've been busier than a one-armed paperhanger lately. Hence my complete lack of presence on this blog.

And speaking of "presence"...

• Led Zeppelin (!) played together last night at London's O2 arena, and apparently tore the house down. I think I would have given most of my vast fortune to see this show. It's a charity event, of course, but still. LED ZEPPELIN! Mr. Robert Plant, Mr. Jimmy Page, Mr. John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham subbing (I'm sure) admirably for his late Pa. Here's the set list: 1. Good Times, Bad Times 2. Ramble On 3. Black Dog 4. In My Time of Dying 5. For Your Life (first time EVER played live) 6. Trampled Underfoot 7. Nobody's Fault (But Mine) 8. No Quarter 9. Since I've Been Loving You 10. Dazed and Confused 11. Stairway to Heaven 12. The Song Remains The Same 13. Misty Mountain Hop 14. Kashmir 15. Whole Lotta Love 16. Rock and Roll. I'm literally trembling typing those songs, just trying to think of how it must have felt for the long time fans, like myself, to see them up there doing them. The reviews have been amazingly positive, and given the era in which we live, that's saying something.
• The White Stripes (a personal favorite of my co-blogger) may never tour again, according to Jack White. He already has the Raconteurs, and will continue to make White Stripes records. Just no tours. I guess if Pearl Jam (Remember them? Yeah, I barely do, either. Harumpf.) can tour randomly and never show up in certain towns, Jack and Meg can quit touring. I just think it's a bit selfish to expect your fans to keep paying for records that have become increasingly average and to never actually expect to see them play the songs live. Ah well.
• Now is the time of the year when lists start popping up all over the place, and this place will be no exception, if Courtney has her way. We'll be posting a list of our favorite albums of the year very soon (she's been busy too!) and you can feel free to hammer away at us, as most music lists end up in endless debate anyway. I will say that if you seek out Rolling Stone's Readers Top 25 list, their top choice is my top choice after considering things. I'm not linking it because you can make with the clicky-clicky if you want to.
• Justin Timberlake's quest to own all of Middle Earth came to an end in Abu Dhabi (of all places!) last week. Honestly, hasn't the FutureSexLoveShow been going on for like four years now? He's like the Grateful Dead, anymore. Endless touring. Dunno how he does it. He's a hell of a performer, though, I have to admit. His HBO special back in September was truly a great show.
• My pick for the best new Christmas record of the year is Martina McBride's White Christmas. It's been in regular rotation in my rides to and from work. I'm not the biggest C&W fan, but this is a really good record.

That's it. Have a lovely day, kids.

Labels: Justin Timberlake, Led Zeppelin, Martina McBride, Music News, White Stripes

MJ sends me this mp3 today, asks me to figure out who the influences are, other than the Cure and Echo and the Bunnymen. Bauhaus and Joy Division come to mind, "Transmission" era JD. Good stuff here.

Missing You - A Place To Bury Strangers

Labels: A Place to Bury Strangers

I'm not sure there is a modern Christmas album more universally loved than A Charlie Brown Christmas. The music that accompanied the classic special is part of my heart, really. Each year, it is the first album I dust off for the holidays, generally, Thanksgiving night, after the dishes are done and the belt buckle loosened. I have a copy in the cd player of my car as well, and it stays from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day, often to the expense of other music. It's one of those rare albums you can listen to over and over again and never tire of, and find something special and unique in the notes.

The special itself is a family tradition for me; my sisters and I will stop whatever we're doing and watch it the night it airs on television, even though we each own a copy to watch whenever we want. In the years when I was a classroom teacher, I would assign this for "homework"--knowing full well my sixth graders would watch it anyway--and I gave a quiz the next day, for extra credit points on their next test. (I'll reprint it at the end of this). During Mass in the Christmas season, my sisters and I would tip our heads back, in imitation of the Peanuts gang, and sing, "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing!", to the dismay of our mother. Eventually, she laughed, too. But, the best moment of the special has to be Linus' speech at rehearsal, quoting the Gospel of Luke, and turning to his friend, simply stating, "That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown." Tears in my eyes, every time.

It's hard to separate the music from the special. Its lasting gift, I think, is in its simplicity, a quiet, unassuming elegance, reminding us of the spirit of the season. Much like Linus does.

MJ, anything to add?

Here's the quiz; remember, I wrote it for middle school students. You shouldn't have too much trouble. ;)

1. What winter activity are the kids doing at the beginning of the show?
2. Which character could “raise a cloud of dust in a snowstorm”?
3. Why is Charlie Brown depressed?
4. What does Sally ask Santa for in her letter?
5. How much does Lucy charge for advice?
6. What do all the kids do at rehearsal instead of practice their lines?
7. Name any three (3) other kids from the gang.
8. Explain what Linus believes is the true meaning of Christmas.
9. Where do the kids get all the ornaments for the tree?
10. What is the name of the Christmas carol they sing at the end of the show?

MJ sez:

I know the answers to all of those. It was just on last night, and yes, I watched it, despite owning the DVD and the soundtrack. It's a rite of passage for me, every year. The Grinch (the cartoon, not that shitty movie), Charlie Brown, It's A Wonderful Life, you know, the standards. But I'm totally with you on this soundtrack being one of my absolute put-it-in-and-break-off-the-knob records, every year at this time. It's genius. Brilliant. Couldn't recommend it higher, and it is the perfect accompaniment for a calm Christmas morning, coffee, and pastry.

Well done. Love the post.

Labels: Christmas, Vince Guaralidi

Christmas Time is Here (vocal) - Vince Guaraldi Trio

Labels: Vince Guaralidi