The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late) -
This one is a love it or hate it. There are no grey-area feelings when it comes to this OR the Chipmunks in general. And as much as I hate to admit it, I am decidedly pro.
A jolly mix of singing and studio chatter, it was sung by a man who named himself Dave Seville (just like in the cartoon, kids!) in three-part harmony, using technology that became the precursor to that damned Autotune (T-Pain would be proud to know him) and it's now a classic. Not only that, it's a classic with three Grammys. Yep, the Chipmunks totally own Miley Cyrus! I guess all that perfectionist-ass fussing Dave did at Alvin during the recording paid off!
"You're a little flat Alvin"
Jerk.
If you love it, nothing else will do. And if you hate it, rest assured. It is 100% remake-proof. You can't remake it. It's sung by high pitched chipmunks.
I've heard some atrocious remakes: Madonna as a wanna-be Betty Boop singing Santa Baby, Billy Idol singing Jingle Bells; but you'll never hear Beyonce or Lady Gaga or Nickelback remaking this one. Only the Chipmunks themselves could. And they did in 2007. And it was a little flat.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
12 Days of Christmas Music, part 4: Calm yourselves!
Happy Holidays -
OK, this is less about the song, than to address the general complaint from folks that "Happy Holidays" as a greeting or a goodbye from waitstaff, shopkeepers and barristas is somehow offensive and a sign that our country is going down the drain. That somehow wishing someone a non-denominational, winter version of "have a nice day" or "come again" is step one to a Communist invasion. One minute someone says "Happy Holidays," next minute it's Red Dawn. And, well ... Patrick Swayze is not around to protect us anymore!
OK, this is less about the song, than to address the general complaint from folks that "Happy Holidays" as a greeting or a goodbye from waitstaff, shopkeepers and barristas is somehow offensive and a sign that our country is going down the drain. That somehow wishing someone a non-denominational, winter version of "have a nice day" or "come again" is step one to a Communist invasion. One minute someone says "Happy Holidays," next minute it's Red Dawn. And, well ... Patrick Swayze is not around to protect us anymore!
Well fear not, Christmas fans, turns out that old upstart Irving Berlin wrote that song in 1942. 67 years ago. That's right, the Greatest Generation gave it the stamp of approval. If you're older than 67, maybe you have a complaint of this newfangled greeting.
But if not, come on! It's one of the more listenable Christma erm -holiday songs and that is a godsend. And it's meaning is pretty clear. Just listen.
"May the calendar keep bringing happy holidays to you. "
New Year, Easter, St. Patty's Day, National Ice Cream Appreciation Day, Yorkshire Terrier Day, Boxing Day, and even that anniversary you keep forgetting. May ALL of them be happy. Can we all not get behind that? Do we really need to find an excuse to be extra grumpy in the season of thanks and giving (and Thanksgiving)
To be honest I don't know what holiday you celebrate, and unless I do, I'm going to wish you a great holiday season. I'd say that's a far cry from shouting, "Your religion sucks," as you walk out the door.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
12 Days of Christmas Music, part 3: The hap-happiest time of the year!
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
A song with a little bit of holiday confusion. On the surface, a celebration of all things wintery, festive and Christmasy:
"With the kids jingle belling
And everyone telling you 'Be of good cheer'"
... A little preachy, but OK ...
"It's the hap-happiest season of all
With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings
When friends come to call"
... a little inadvertently sexually confusing, but I'm with it so far ...
"There'll be parties for hosting
Marshmallows for toasting
And caroling out in the snow"
... yes parties, yes caroling. Um ... toasting marshmallows? Did Andy Williams celebrate Christmas in the woods? ...
"There'll be scary ghost stories
And tales of the glories of
Christmases long, long ago"
... Ok, Ok ... yeah, tales of Christmases long long ago-Wait! What the hell with the ghost stories! We are totally camping. I have never told ghost stories at Christmas. Not ever. Not even the Scrooge ghosts count on this one. This is a camping song that was rewritten with Christmas in it. I would get to the bottom of this, but there's only 15 minutes left before I'm due to write day 4's Christmas song blog.
So in the meantime, grab that tent and sleeping bag and hunker down by the ol' campfire with an acoustic guitar and a can of baked beans, because it's Christmastime!
A song with a little bit of holiday confusion. On the surface, a celebration of all things wintery, festive and Christmasy:
"With the kids jingle belling
And everyone telling you 'Be of good cheer'"
... A little preachy, but OK ...
"It's the hap-happiest season of all
With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings
When friends come to call"
... a little inadvertently sexually confusing, but I'm with it so far ...
"There'll be parties for hosting
Marshmallows for toasting
And caroling out in the snow"
... yes parties, yes caroling. Um ... toasting marshmallows? Did Andy Williams celebrate Christmas in the woods? ...
"There'll be scary ghost stories
And tales of the glories of
Christmases long, long ago"
... Ok, Ok ... yeah, tales of Christmases long long ago-Wait! What the hell with the ghost stories! We are totally camping. I have never told ghost stories at Christmas. Not ever. Not even the Scrooge ghosts count on this one. This is a camping song that was rewritten with Christmas in it. I would get to the bottom of this, but there's only 15 minutes left before I'm due to write day 4's Christmas song blog.
So in the meantime, grab that tent and sleeping bag and hunker down by the ol' campfire with an acoustic guitar and a can of baked beans, because it's Christmastime!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
12 Days of Christmas Music, part 2: I saw mommy doing what?!
... kissing Santa Claus.
There's a couple famous versions of this song. The big two I remember from my childhood are the one by the Ronettes (with a 20-something Ronnie Spector at the helm) and the one by the Jackson 5.
It's a classic. That is, it's a very old song that really, you can't update anymore. It has long since passed the threshold of creepy. (Although apparently no one told John Mellencamp that)
The premise: a sneaky child who should be in bed on Christmas Eve catches Mom and Pop (in his Santa gear) putting presents under the tree and sneaking a quick snog. Now, I don't know about your folks, but at my house, Christmas Eve was not a time to enjoy some Santa Claus cosplay and make out under the mistletoe. More often than not, it was a time for Dad to create a reindeer-like clatter as he attempted to put together whatever technological monstrosity my brother and I had begged for that Christmas - cursing a storm and breaking it in the process. We wouldn't have snuck downstairs for all the Christmas cookies in the house. We just wanted to wake up the next morning to a freshly superglued GI Joe playset and call it a win.
Sing it with me kids! "I saw mommy scolding Santa Claus ... after he broke Optimus Prime's leg off that Niiiiight..."
In the Ronettes version from 1964ish one has to wonder why a 22 year old woman hasn't figured out the truth about Santa and seems neither concerned with Mom's flexible thoughts on wedding vows or dad's need to strap on a fake beard at 2 a.m. - depending on how you take it.
In the J5 version, at least you can tell little Michael is a child and is trying to convince his 300 or so brothers that he totally saw the Santa smooch go down that night. They don't believe him and he tries and tries in vain to convince them.
"I saw Mommy tickle Santa Claus
Underneath his beard so snowy white" (creeeeepy!)
"Oh, what a laugh it would have been
If Daddy had only seen"
Um, is little Michael Jackson crazy?! Poor damn Santa would have caught a nasty Joe Jackson beat down is what would have happened. Christmas would be canceled. That sound like an F-ing laugh to you, kid!? get back upstairs and mind your business!
There's a couple famous versions of this song. The big two I remember from my childhood are the one by the Ronettes (with a 20-something Ronnie Spector at the helm) and the one by the Jackson 5.
It's a classic. That is, it's a very old song that really, you can't update anymore. It has long since passed the threshold of creepy. (Although apparently no one told John Mellencamp that)
The premise: a sneaky child who should be in bed on Christmas Eve catches Mom and Pop (in his Santa gear) putting presents under the tree and sneaking a quick snog. Now, I don't know about your folks, but at my house, Christmas Eve was not a time to enjoy some Santa Claus cosplay and make out under the mistletoe. More often than not, it was a time for Dad to create a reindeer-like clatter as he attempted to put together whatever technological monstrosity my brother and I had begged for that Christmas - cursing a storm and breaking it in the process. We wouldn't have snuck downstairs for all the Christmas cookies in the house. We just wanted to wake up the next morning to a freshly superglued GI Joe playset and call it a win.
Sing it with me kids! "I saw mommy scolding Santa Claus ... after he broke Optimus Prime's leg off that Niiiiight..."
In the Ronettes version from 1964ish one has to wonder why a 22 year old woman hasn't figured out the truth about Santa and seems neither concerned with Mom's flexible thoughts on wedding vows or dad's need to strap on a fake beard at 2 a.m. - depending on how you take it.
In the J5 version, at least you can tell little Michael is a child and is trying to convince his 300 or so brothers that he totally saw the Santa smooch go down that night. They don't believe him and he tries and tries in vain to convince them.
"I saw Mommy tickle Santa Claus
Underneath his beard so snowy white" (creeeeepy!)
"Oh, what a laugh it would have been
If Daddy had only seen"
Um, is little Michael Jackson crazy?! Poor damn Santa would have caught a nasty Joe Jackson beat down is what would have happened. Christmas would be canceled. That sound like an F-ing laugh to you, kid!? get back upstairs and mind your business!
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