Ready or Not, Here Come the Holidays
Thanksgiving used to be an important holiday for me, and it will be again, but right now I just plain hate it. Christmas, on the other hand, I love. Despite the struggle of squeezing out a budget for presents for the kids (they are sometimes visited by St. Nicholas on his day, December 6, courtesy of Auntie Hurricane Miah and her German heritage, visited by Santa at their Meme’s house, and by La Befana at ours), and the increasing discomfort around my in-laws during the holidays, I love Christmas. I love Christmas goodies, Christmas cards, but mostly, I love Christmas carols. Now, don’t get me wrong – there is one local station that plays all Christmas songs, all the time, from shortly before Thanksgiving until about New Year’s, and it gets old fast. But right now my Launchcast is on “Rock Holiday,” where Neil Diamond is singing Jingle Bell Rock.
I have favorite carols, and make no mistake, some of them have to be a certain version. Just about any O Holy Night will do, though I object to Celine Dion on general principles and I love the Tevin Campbell version. Good sense-memory there. That may well be my favorite carol. I’m also pretty fond of Silent Night. Christmas is not Christmas without Nat King Cole doing The Christmas Song. Chestnuts roasting and all that. By the way, if you ever choose to roast chestnuts, either on an open fire or in an oven, be sure to poke holes in the shells first or you will never clean the nut meat off your ceiling. Let’s see, what else? Eagles, of course, Please Come Home for Christmas. Sting’s Gabriel’s Message. Guilty pleasures include Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer, of course, and Run DMC’s Christmas in Hollis. Wham’s Last Christmas. Band Aid, Do They Know It’s Christmas. Just about anything off the first 2 or 3 “Very Special Christmas” albums, before they sold out, but especially the Bob Seger version of Little Drummer Boy, in addition to the ones I already listed. The two priorities throughout my childhood, music-wise, were the Nat King Cole and Barbara Streisand albums. And who can forget David Bowie and Bing Crosby, with Little Drummer Boy/ Peace on Earth?
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Christmas Rap. That esteemed recording artist, Sir Mix-A-Lot, is best known for one of my theme songs, “Baby Got Back.” (Which reminds me, there’s another long-overdue post.) Few people, though, recall a much earlier opus of his, “Square Dance Rap.” Let me refresh you:
Freaks on the left and freaks on the right
Grab your partner, hold him tight
Put your hands in his Levi's
Hold his rear while he grips your thighs...
My beats are icky, do the Square Dance Rap
My beats are icky, do the Square Dance Rap
Well, one year we were on our way to pick up our tree, and somehow the entire family – Mom, Dad, Chelle – sort of made up a new song. “Christmas Rap.” My tree is icky, do the Christmas Rap…
Guess you had to be there.
Favorite carols I have missed, anyone?
Oops...
Spinal Tap, Christmas With the Devil
AC/DC, Mistress for Christmas
Bob & Doug MacKenzie, Twelve Days of Christmas (Canadian version)
Jeff Foxworthy, Redneck Twelve Days of Christmas
Adam Sandler, Hannukah Song (the first two, number three just sucked)
I have favorite carols, and make no mistake, some of them have to be a certain version. Just about any O Holy Night will do, though I object to Celine Dion on general principles and I love the Tevin Campbell version. Good sense-memory there. That may well be my favorite carol. I’m also pretty fond of Silent Night. Christmas is not Christmas without Nat King Cole doing The Christmas Song. Chestnuts roasting and all that. By the way, if you ever choose to roast chestnuts, either on an open fire or in an oven, be sure to poke holes in the shells first or you will never clean the nut meat off your ceiling. Let’s see, what else? Eagles, of course, Please Come Home for Christmas. Sting’s Gabriel’s Message. Guilty pleasures include Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer, of course, and Run DMC’s Christmas in Hollis. Wham’s Last Christmas. Band Aid, Do They Know It’s Christmas. Just about anything off the first 2 or 3 “Very Special Christmas” albums, before they sold out, but especially the Bob Seger version of Little Drummer Boy, in addition to the ones I already listed. The two priorities throughout my childhood, music-wise, were the Nat King Cole and Barbara Streisand albums. And who can forget David Bowie and Bing Crosby, with Little Drummer Boy/ Peace on Earth?
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Christmas Rap. That esteemed recording artist, Sir Mix-A-Lot, is best known for one of my theme songs, “Baby Got Back.” (Which reminds me, there’s another long-overdue post.) Few people, though, recall a much earlier opus of his, “Square Dance Rap.” Let me refresh you:
Freaks on the left and freaks on the right
Grab your partner, hold him tight
Put your hands in his Levi's
Hold his rear while he grips your thighs...
My beats are icky, do the Square Dance Rap
My beats are icky, do the Square Dance Rap
Well, one year we were on our way to pick up our tree, and somehow the entire family – Mom, Dad, Chelle – sort of made up a new song. “Christmas Rap.” My tree is icky, do the Christmas Rap…
Guess you had to be there.
Favorite carols I have missed, anyone?
Oops...
Spinal Tap, Christmas With the Devil
AC/DC, Mistress for Christmas
Bob & Doug MacKenzie, Twelve Days of Christmas (Canadian version)
Jeff Foxworthy, Redneck Twelve Days of Christmas
Adam Sandler, Hannukah Song (the first two, number three just sucked)
posted by SaraSmile | 6:55 AM
2 Comments:
Mine's the Canadian classic "The Twelve Days Of Christmas" by Bob and Doug MacKenzie!
I'd post the lyrics but it'd take up too much space. But let's say this much, it's TRULY Canadian! :)
Three French toasts, two turtlenecks, and a beer... in a treeeeeeeeeeee!!!
Jeff Foxworthy does a pretty decent Redneck version too.
Oh, and who can forget the Adam Sandler Hannukah songs?
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