snuh (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} snuh) wrote,@ 2007-12-12 16:20:00 |
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'tis the season...
It's time for the third annual Christmas post. I really enjoy putting them together, it's one of the few things that gets me in the holiday mood - the readers seem to like them as well, since these posts usually receive between 50,000-100,000 hits over the year. So, without further ado...
The Moonglows were one of the most seminal R&B and doowop innovators. In 1959, on the way to Motown, some guy named Marvin Gaye replaced legendary leader Harvey Fuqua. On March 6, 2000, The Moonglows were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Here, they ask Santa to bring their baby back.
Clarence Carter sang one of the saddest songs ever to make the Billboard Top Ten, Patches. It's about a deathbed request a sharecropper made to his thirteen year old son to keep the family farm afloat. Unfortunately, the farm floated away in a flood. If that's not sad enough, Clarence is blind. Maybe that's how he was able get away writing a song about a Back Door Santa.
Parliament-Funkadelic bassist, Bootsy Collins, reminds kids that if you fake the funk to Rudolph The Funky Reindeer, your nose will grow. Someone should shine the spotlight on that sucker.
Christmas In The Caribbean
Most people associate Christmas with ice, snow and cold weather. What a good reason to bring some tropical warmth to the festivities.
The Mighty Diamonds are one of Reggaes standard bearers, recording classics of the genre since 1969. Here they apply their sound to one of the holiday's perennial favorites.
The Upsetter, Lee "Scratch" Perry, joins Sandra Robinson to work his musical mojo on the holidays.
The Aggrovators were one of Jamaica's finest session bands. Here's a serving of some fine Dub madness.
Before there was Reggae, there was Calypso. Trinidadian, Lord Beginner, was one its top practitioners. He was one of a few Calypso musicians that helped clear the way for all the Caribbean artists that came afterwards. Here's a warning to not drink too much on Christmas Eve.
Here's another Lord, this one is Soca (Soul/Calypso) proponent Lord Nelson. Here he asks to trade in Santa's old sleigh and reindeer for a big car, with a chauffeur and a helicopter. With sentiments like that, I bet he gets a lot presents.
Now, let's take a break from the tunes and listen to Jon Stewart explain how Jews didn't steal Christmas. In fact, they work at 24 hour convenience stores so Christians can get the day off.
Bummed Out Christmas
Call it Seasonal Affective Disorder or the holiday blues, this can be a difficult time of the year for many. Suicide hotlines are usually going overtime, so to help those feeling down, here's some music you can relate to.
Porn Orchard And The Opal Foxx Quartet sing about how Christmas Sucks. They did such a good job imitating Tom Waits and Peter Murphy that people listening think they're hearing the originals. From the 1993 Christmas compilation from Flagpole magazine, The Mother of All Flagpole Christmas Albums.
When you're feeling down, nothing is worse than bright and cheery major-key songs. The best thing to do is to juxtapose music like that with a minor-key and listen to the fun commence.gillen said it best - Tom McRae "managed to make a completely insipid song bearable! Normally, I rank McCartney's carol about one peg above 'Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer'".
The Homestretch
Now it's time for an uplifting tune. Here's some Gospel to fill your soul.
Chet Atkins is one of a kind. He's a world class performer/producer/manager and he invented a style of finger picking the guitar that you can hear in all sorts of genres today. Here, he shows off his magic with a Christmas standard.
Back in the 1960s, Booker T. and the MGs were formed as the house band for Stax-Volt Records and revolutionized R&B music. No band played in the pocket like they did, everything they ever recorded was in the groove. Here's a little bit of Christmas grooviness from the Memphis Group.
Another instrumental band of the 1960s, The Ventures, perform a swingin' cover of Sleigh Ride.
No, this isn't the Frank Black Pixies. Thurl Ravenscroft was an actor that voiced such iconic characters as Tony The Tiger and worked on How the Grinch Stole Christmas. This is my favorite Christmas song, it comes via WFMU, which plays Santa everyday of the year, bringing some of the most entertaining music you'll ever come across.
The best Christmas album of all-time? I'd have to go with Phil Spector's A Christmas Gift For You, every year I try and post a cut from it. We close this year's collection with a rousing version of a great R&B holiday song.
It's been a great year for this blog, the amount of visitors this year already doubled from last. I attribute it mostly to The HypeMachine, which sends all sorts of crazy traffic my way. I'd like to give a hearty thanks to all the people that work hard keeping it going. Another shout-out goes to Jon Skomp (microskomp), who all year long gives me invaluable help with the hard-to-finds - mucho gracias, my friend!
Hat tips go out to the following - they helped provide some of the music used here: Taylor McKnight, The Pop View and Noise For Toaster - thanks, peeps!
I've also revived the tunes from the Posts Of Christmas Past. There's more holiday music to be found than you'll know what to do with, enjoy:
Finally, I want to wish everyone reading this the best of holidays. Thanks for coming by and visiting, it's truly appreciated. I'm looking forward for a great 2008 of music blogging, I hope you'll join me for more fun this upcoming year.
It's time for the third annual Christmas post. I really enjoy putting them together, it's one of the few things that gets me in the holiday mood - the readers seem to like them as well, since these posts usually receive between 50,000-100,000 hits over the year. So, without further ado...
The Moonglows were one of the most seminal R&B and doowop innovators. In 1959, on the way to Motown, some guy named Marvin Gaye replaced legendary leader Harvey Fuqua. On March 6, 2000, The Moonglows were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Here, they ask Santa to bring their baby back.
The Moonglows: Hey Santa Claus - 2.56MB
Clarence Carter sang one of the saddest songs ever to make the Billboard Top Ten, Patches. It's about a deathbed request a sharecropper made to his thirteen year old son to keep the family farm afloat. Unfortunately, the farm floated away in a flood. If that's not sad enough, Clarence is blind. Maybe that's how he was able get away writing a song about a Back Door Santa.
Clarence Carter: Back Door Santa - 3.40MB
Parliament-Funkadelic bassist, Bootsy Collins, reminds kids that if you fake the funk to Rudolph The Funky Reindeer, your nose will grow. Someone should shine the spotlight on that sucker.
Bootsy Collins: Boot-Off (Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer) - 9.44MB
Christmas In The Caribbean
Most people associate Christmas with ice, snow and cold weather. What a good reason to bring some tropical warmth to the festivities.
The Mighty Diamonds are one of Reggaes standard bearers, recording classics of the genre since 1969. Here they apply their sound to one of the holiday's perennial favorites.
The Mighty Diamonds: Frosty the Snowman - 5.89MB
The Upsetter, Lee "Scratch" Perry, joins Sandra Robinson to work his musical mojo on the holidays.
Lee "Scratch" Perry & Sandra Robinson: Merry Christmas, Happy New Year - 5.40MB
The Aggrovators were one of Jamaica's finest session bands. Here's a serving of some fine Dub madness.
Aggrovators: Santa Claus Dub - 3.80MB
Before there was Reggae, there was Calypso. Trinidadian, Lord Beginner, was one its top practitioners. He was one of a few Calypso musicians that helped clear the way for all the Caribbean artists that came afterwards. Here's a warning to not drink too much on Christmas Eve.
Lord Beginner: Christmas Morning the Rum Had Me Yawning - 4.41MB
Here's another Lord, this one is Soca (Soul/Calypso) proponent Lord Nelson. Here he asks to trade in Santa's old sleigh and reindeer for a big car, with a chauffeur and a helicopter. With sentiments like that, I bet he gets a lot presents.
Lord Nelson: A Party For Santa Claus - 5.41MB
Now, let's take a break from the tunes and listen to Jon Stewart explain how Jews didn't steal Christmas. In fact, they work at 24 hour convenience stores so Christians can get the day off.
Jon Stewart: Message From A Jew - 3.40MB
Bummed Out Christmas
Call it Seasonal Affective Disorder or the holiday blues, this can be a difficult time of the year for many. Suicide hotlines are usually going overtime, so to help those feeling down, here's some music you can relate to.
Porn Orchard And The Opal Foxx Quartet sing about how Christmas Sucks. They did such a good job imitating Tom Waits and Peter Murphy that people listening think they're hearing the originals. From the 1993 Christmas compilation from Flagpole magazine, The Mother of All Flagpole Christmas Albums.
Porn Orchard And The Opal Foxx Quartet: Christmas Sucks! - 2.76MB
When you're feeling down, nothing is worse than bright and cheery major-key songs. The best thing to do is to juxtapose music like that with a minor-key and listen to the fun commence.
gillen said it best - Tom McRae "managed to make a completely insipid song bearable! Normally, I rank McCartney's carol about one peg above 'Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer'".Tom McRae: Wonderful Christmastime - 7.81MB
The Homestretch
Now it's time for an uplifting tune. Here's some Gospel to fill your soul.
Kelly Pace & Friends: Holy Babe - 10.01MB
Chet Atkins is one of a kind. He's a world class performer/producer/manager and he invented a style of finger picking the guitar that you can hear in all sorts of genres today. Here, he shows off his magic with a Christmas standard.
Chet Atkins: Jolly Old St. Nicholas - 3.07MB
Back in the 1960s, Booker T. and the MGs were formed as the house band for Stax-Volt Records and revolutionized R&B music. No band played in the pocket like they did, everything they ever recorded was in the groove. Here's a little bit of Christmas grooviness from the Memphis Group.
Booker T. And The M.G.'s: Jingle Bells - 3.72MB
Another instrumental band of the 1960s, The Ventures, perform a swingin' cover of Sleigh Ride.
The Ventures: Sleigh Ride - 4.46MB
No, this isn't the Frank Black Pixies. Thurl Ravenscroft was an actor that voiced such iconic characters as Tony The Tiger and worked on How the Grinch Stole Christmas. This is my favorite Christmas song, it comes via WFMU, which plays Santa everyday of the year, bringing some of the most entertaining music you'll ever come across.
The Pixies with Thurl Ravenscroft: Santa's Too Fat For the Hula Hoop - 2.05MB
The best Christmas album of all-time? I'd have to go with Phil Spector's A Christmas Gift For You, every year I try and post a cut from it. We close this year's collection with a rousing version of a great R&B holiday song.
Darlene Love: Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - 3.99MB
It's been a great year for this blog, the amount of visitors this year already doubled from last. I attribute it mostly to The HypeMachine, which sends all sorts of crazy traffic my way. I'd like to give a hearty thanks to all the people that work hard keeping it going. Another shout-out goes to Jon Skomp (
microskomp), who all year long gives me invaluable help with the hard-to-finds - mucho gracias, my friend!Hat tips go out to the following - they helped provide some of the music used here: Taylor McKnight, The Pop View and Noise For Toaster - thanks, peeps!
I've also revived the tunes from the Posts Of Christmas Past. There's more holiday music to be found than you'll know what to do with, enjoy:
i guess there'll be no airing of grievances this year
deck the hall with boughs of bandwidth
Finally, I want to wish everyone reading this the best of holidays. Thanks for coming by and visiting, it's truly appreciated. I'm looking forward for a great 2008 of music blogging, I hope you'll join me for more fun this upcoming year.
