If Christmas is a time for family and loved ones, for many of
my generation, raised in an age of Hallmark cards and
sentimentality expressed through consumerism, The
Pogues "Fairy Tale of New York" is the perfect Christmas
song. I don't think I'd ever heard any couple go at each
other the way these two do. I think that's part of the allure
for most people, the whole "You cheap lousy faggot" thing,
but things are a whole lot more complicated that it simply
being a case of these two people hating each other. The
music expresses a nostalgic tenderness - these two hate
each other, in part, because they don't know how to let go
of each other. It's a twisted kind of amour fou.
2. Silent Night - Space Needle
(Sorry couldn't be found) Granted Space Needle, from Seattle, didn't record much, just two albums of 1990s prog rock, but somewhere along the line they recorded an all feedback version of "Silent Night" that was capable of driving people away in droves. It was awesome. I played it on the radio every winter. If you can find it, it's on A Christmas Present to You From Zero Hour Records.
3. Santa Claus is Coming To Town - Bruce Springsteen
While there's a view other versions around,
most of them from the last year or two, this
black and white footage from 1978 more
closely mirrors my own experience with
Springsteen. I think I was five or six at the
time, and Springsteen was in his must-
save-rock-n-roll phase. When the band
changes tempo halfway through, I was
hooked on rock forever. I probably wanted
to learn to play the saxophone in Jr. High
because of this song.
4. Oh Holy Night - Enrico Caruso
There are times though when something more traditional
is called for, and that's typically when I'll admit that my
soft spot is for a more straight-ahead rendition of Oh Holy
Night. Opera legend Enrico Caruso probably set the
standard with this early record. Caruso was the first major
selling vocalist, and perhaps the first pop superstar. He
held many of the best-selling records until Elvis Presley.
5. Little Drummer Boy - Bing Crosby, David Bowie
My wife and I are a secret mission to bring our
daughter over to our side of the cultural fence.
It began with Star Wars and Gene Kelly, and it
continues here. She knows both of these gents
by name as well as their related bodies of work.
BONUS.
Happy New Year's.
1. The Ice of Boston - The Dismemberment Plan
