This is Day Two of what is my longest "staying home" days off stretch of the year. Worked Friday and now no actual work until Thursday. Finished off the week with a little movie - THE HOBBIT - yesterday and the last couple items of Christmas shopping. So, I'm hoping to stay inside for a day or two except for a trip or two to the gym this weekend. No basketball or football or baseball to worry about this week. Unfortunately we may be missing my Mom this week for Christmas - she's not feeling well enough to make the trip up here. Spending the morning trying to see how to make my Blogger better, considering what Tivo to catch up on first and listening to some tuneage . . .
SUNDAY MORNING TUNEAGE
TEARS FOR FEARS - MAD WORLD. I sound like quite the hipster dufus to say that I was into this song in 1982 - a mere 19 years before Gary Jules covered it for DONNIE DARKO. But it's true. I was an original, early adopter fan of Tears For Fears and "The Hurting" was an album to obsess over. I've heard the Jules version so much over the past few years - it's good to hear this version again. I love that percussion beat over the top of the song - pop songs don't understand that as well these days. And it is a mad world, ain't it?
"All around me are familiar faces . . ."
BLACK JOE LEWIS - SUGARFOOT. I like that these guys keep coming up in my Random Play on iTunes. Is it too late to say that what were 2009 up and coming darlings are probably not going to be the break out stars that were predicted? This is a fun bluesy, funk single off their first full album "Tell 'Em What Your Name Is." I still keep my Amazon alerts up to see if they release new stuff. Nothing this year. They are playing New Years Eve in Austin if anyone wants to go . . .
IT WAS 30 YEARS AGO TODAY . . . Chaminade of Hawaii defeated #1 Virginia and Ralph Sampson in what is still one of the biggest upsets of a top rated team . . . Wayne Gretzky names Sports Illustrated Athlete of the Year . . . President Reagan appoints Alan Greenspan to the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board- he was previously an economic advisor under President Ford. . .
DEADLIGHTS OF 2012 . . . Willie Ackerman was a drummer of note. Louis Armstrong, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and even the Monkees. You can hear a sample of his work on Marty Robbin's "El Paso" . . . Detroit guitar hero - Eddie "Guitar" Burns passed away last week. His Blues guitar was considered second to none. He's a legend that not enough Motown folks know about.
QUICK LIST (a random, uninformed list off the top of Shawn's head)
MOST DEFINITIVE CHRISTMAS SONG VERSIONS
10. WHAM! - LAST CHRISTMAS. For a song that's just from 1984 - there seems to be a rash of covers recently. And none of them seem to understand the way that Wham! and their semi-herterosexual lyrics captured the Christmas spirit perfectly. While female voices sound nice - this is best portrayed as a man singing. Decent covers - Coldplay, Taylor Swift.
9. NAT KING COLE - THE CHRISTMAS SONG. Written by Mel Torme. But Nat King Cole made it what it is. Don't fall for his original version - it took until 1953 for him to do a full orchestra version and that's what really works for me. Interesting covers - Herb Alpert, Babyface and James Brown.
8. BAND AID - DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS. Another 1984 classic Christmas tune. The charity single genre has practically disappeared. But certainly you'd think that few people are brazen enough to cover it. This song has had 2 other official Band Aid covers and a number of bands have tried to sing it with a single artist. Why don't people cover "We Are The World"? Because they shouldn't try. Leave this one alone. BTW - I can still identify just about every voice on the song. Good covers - None.
7. BURL IVES - A HOLLY JOLLY CHRISTMAS. Johnny Marks wrote this song and many others including "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer". Burl Ives wasn't the original artist but can you imagine any other artist doing a better job? Me neither. It's a song that doesn't get a ton of covers and that's good. Good covers - None come to mind.
6. THE WAITRESSES - CHRISTMAS WRAPPING. I love this version so much. But it's interesting that most of the covers don't cover it word for word - it's one of the more changed lyric songs I can recall. The song's a great template. Best covers - The Donnas, Miranda Cosgrove.
5. ELVIS - BLUE CHRISTMAS. The beauty of Christmas songs are all the genres that it encompasses - soul, pop. country, etc. And they aren't all happy songs - there are sad ones about breaking up with your lady too. Elvis sings breakups as well as any singer ever. The song was 9 years old when Elvis made his version. That should have been all we needed. Perfectly captured. Best covers - The Beach Boys, Michael Buble.
4. EARTHA KITT - SANTA BABY. I love the debate if this is really a tongue in cheek song. It's weird to think how the lyrics to a 1953 song are still relevant and fun today. Eartha's version is saucy and naughty in just the perfect levels. Other versions try to be too sexy. And rarely does it work. Best covers - Madonna, Miss Piggy.
3. FRANK SINATRA - WINTER WONDERLAND. This 1934 song might be the one I think of as being covered the most. I don't have official statistics on the number of covers for the songs on this list but this one has lots. And I like some of them. It suits most voices and is a good little ditty. Frank captured the whimsy of the song and it shows off the great timbre of his voice. Good versions - Perry Como, Elvis, Ella Fitzgerald.
2. JUDY GARLAND - HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS. In this case, the original version from MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS is unbeatable. And if you don't cry just a little - you might not have a heart. To me this song and #1 are what define Christmas and the Holidays. Best other versions - John Denver and the Muppets, The Carpenters, and Take 6.
1. BING CROSBY - WHITE CHRISTMAS. Irving Berlin wrote what is the best selling single of all-time. The opening stanza is often left off - it helps set the mood that the singer is in Los Angeles and wants to be back home in the North. It defines Christmas and Bing's voice captures it perfectly. Hard always to imagine it in the hands of any other artist. Still my favorite version of any single Christmas song. Good covers - Jo Stafford (really, really good version), Perry Como and The Partridge Family.
Definitive means the versions of the song that comes to mind when I hear that title. It isn't always the first but it's typically the bet and the one where I say - every subsequent version is playing in the shadow of that one. Some just don't get covered much - like "Feliz Navidad" and when they do, it's usually not something you would put in your top Christmas songs. Also off the list for that reason - "Christmastime Is Here", "The Chipmunk Song" and "Happy Xmas (War is Over)". The Worst? Or is it least definitive? I can't decide the best version of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town". Bruce has a claim but I think there are better versions to be had. And the same for "Jingle Bell Rock". And there's something wrong that I don't have any John Denver Christmas song on the list.
9. NAT KING COLE - THE CHRISTMAS SONG. Written by Mel Torme. But Nat King Cole made it what it is. Don't fall for his original version - it took until 1953 for him to do a full orchestra version and that's what really works for me. Interesting covers - Herb Alpert, Babyface and James Brown.
8. BAND AID - DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS. Another 1984 classic Christmas tune. The charity single genre has practically disappeared. But certainly you'd think that few people are brazen enough to cover it. This song has had 2 other official Band Aid covers and a number of bands have tried to sing it with a single artist. Why don't people cover "We Are The World"? Because they shouldn't try. Leave this one alone. BTW - I can still identify just about every voice on the song. Good covers - None.
7. BURL IVES - A HOLLY JOLLY CHRISTMAS. Johnny Marks wrote this song and many others including "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer". Burl Ives wasn't the original artist but can you imagine any other artist doing a better job? Me neither. It's a song that doesn't get a ton of covers and that's good. Good covers - None come to mind.
6. THE WAITRESSES - CHRISTMAS WRAPPING. I love this version so much. But it's interesting that most of the covers don't cover it word for word - it's one of the more changed lyric songs I can recall. The song's a great template. Best covers - The Donnas, Miranda Cosgrove.
5. ELVIS - BLUE CHRISTMAS. The beauty of Christmas songs are all the genres that it encompasses - soul, pop. country, etc. And they aren't all happy songs - there are sad ones about breaking up with your lady too. Elvis sings breakups as well as any singer ever. The song was 9 years old when Elvis made his version. That should have been all we needed. Perfectly captured. Best covers - The Beach Boys, Michael Buble.
4. EARTHA KITT - SANTA BABY. I love the debate if this is really a tongue in cheek song. It's weird to think how the lyrics to a 1953 song are still relevant and fun today. Eartha's version is saucy and naughty in just the perfect levels. Other versions try to be too sexy. And rarely does it work. Best covers - Madonna, Miss Piggy.
3. FRANK SINATRA - WINTER WONDERLAND. This 1934 song might be the one I think of as being covered the most. I don't have official statistics on the number of covers for the songs on this list but this one has lots. And I like some of them. It suits most voices and is a good little ditty. Frank captured the whimsy of the song and it shows off the great timbre of his voice. Good versions - Perry Como, Elvis, Ella Fitzgerald.
2. JUDY GARLAND - HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS. In this case, the original version from MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS is unbeatable. And if you don't cry just a little - you might not have a heart. To me this song and #1 are what define Christmas and the Holidays. Best other versions - John Denver and the Muppets, The Carpenters, and Take 6.
1. BING CROSBY - WHITE CHRISTMAS. Irving Berlin wrote what is the best selling single of all-time. The opening stanza is often left off - it helps set the mood that the singer is in Los Angeles and wants to be back home in the North. It defines Christmas and Bing's voice captures it perfectly. Hard always to imagine it in the hands of any other artist. Still my favorite version of any single Christmas song. Good covers - Jo Stafford (really, really good version), Perry Como and The Partridge Family.
Definitive means the versions of the song that comes to mind when I hear that title. It isn't always the first but it's typically the bet and the one where I say - every subsequent version is playing in the shadow of that one. Some just don't get covered much - like "Feliz Navidad" and when they do, it's usually not something you would put in your top Christmas songs. Also off the list for that reason - "Christmastime Is Here", "The Chipmunk Song" and "Happy Xmas (War is Over)". The Worst? Or is it least definitive? I can't decide the best version of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town". Bruce has a claim but I think there are better versions to be had. And the same for "Jingle Bell Rock". And there's something wrong that I don't have any John Denver Christmas song on the list.
NETFLIX PLAY NOW OF THE WEEK . . . sometimes the best docs just take you to a place you'll never go - THE HIGHEST PASS is about the highest altitude navigable road - this one in the Himalayas. . . THE 50 GREATEST FINISHING MOVES OF THE WWE is here well, just because they made it. And I want to see another Stunner. . . and I'm still in the middle of Season One but now I can catch up with PORTLANDIA (Season Two) . . .
Shawn's fave movies according to FLICKCHART
#147 - High Fidelity
#367 - Thank You For Smoking
#368 - The Aristocats
RANDOM PROJECT UPDATE - The MST3K project is coming along quite well, thank you. I'm working my way up to the halfway point of Season Six. These are from October of 1994 now. I would have been watching and taping these as I worked on Saturdays at Gen X. These are the episodes that I watched over and over for a week until the next one came along. I made it through THE CREEPING TERROR which is a hilarious Blob-ish creature. I'm up to the fun but failed TV pilot - CODE NAME: DIAMOND HEAD. But the best thing with these episodes is the addition of shorts. They've gone off blueprint of just doing a movie and now the best things are the shorts and the vignettes and the letters that make it seem like a comic book. Coming soon - the standout - THE VIOLENT YEARS (written by Ed Wood).
SHAWN'S TOP ALBUMS OF ALL-TIME (a tribute to the art of the album)
#54 - Steely Dan - Can't Buy A Thrill (1972)
It was 1984 when I discovered this album. I was familiar with some of Steely Dan's work but didn't own any of their albums. I heard the album at Believe In Music while perusing the video rental section. They weren't finished with Side One when I plopped down my money to purchase the album. I've gone on to enjoy most of their albums but this first one holds an important place in my heart. I've got lots of respect for Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. These ten songs fit together for 40 minutes of incredible jazz influenced rock. It certainly backs up the claim of all movies and albums from 1972 being awesome. The two hits - "Reelin' In 'The 'Years" and "Do It Again" certainly define the sound of this group. But the other tunes like "Dirty Work", "Kings" and "Only A Fool Would Say That" are worthy of a listen. Smart lyrics and interesting guitar work. This might be a Top 50 album if I thought hard enough on it.
It was 1984 when I discovered this album. I was familiar with some of Steely Dan's work but didn't own any of their albums. I heard the album at Believe In Music while perusing the video rental section. They weren't finished with Side One when I plopped down my money to purchase the album. I've gone on to enjoy most of their albums but this first one holds an important place in my heart. I've got lots of respect for Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. These ten songs fit together for 40 minutes of incredible jazz influenced rock. It certainly backs up the claim of all movies and albums from 1972 being awesome. The two hits - "Reelin' In 'The 'Years" and "Do It Again" certainly define the sound of this group. But the other tunes like "Dirty Work", "Kings" and "Only A Fool Would Say That" are worthy of a listen. Smart lyrics and interesting guitar work. This might be a Top 50 album if I thought hard enough on it.
Previous Rankings
#55 - The Doors - The Doors (1967)
#56 - Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends (1968)
#57 - REM - Automatic For The People (1992)
#58 - The Who - Who's Next (1971)
#59 - Paul Simon - There Goes Rhymin' Simon (1973)
THIS WEEK IN TELEVISION
MONDAY
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (NBC) Whatever your Christmas Eve night brings - putting this on in the background is the best thing you can do for yourself. If you haven't seen it in a while - pay attention and feel better about the world.
A CHRISTMAS STORY (TBS) Marathon time again.
DINERS, DRIVE-INS & DIVES (FOOD) There's a marathon tonight that includes his best moments in all seasons and it ends with a new episode that includes a gas station selling some great seafood.
TUESDAY
DOCTOR WHO: THE SNOWMEN (BBC) A depressed Doctor is hanging out in 1892 with a top hat. At least that's the picture I've seen from the annual special. You forget how much you miss having new Doctor Who episodes around until you go a couple months without one.
K-9 MARATHON (SYFY) For those who need a little more Who - this is a marathon of the 2009 series. Thirteen hours should test your patience.
WEDNESDAY
DARK MATTERS: TWISTED BUT TRUE (SCI) The latest season comes to an end tonight with the true story of Typhoid Mary. This series doesn't seem to be running out of weird science facts to lay on me.
BEN & KATE (FOX) Jeremy says I should be watching this show. Tonight's got the four best episodes and I may end up putting them on the Tivo.
THURSDAY
HAPPY NEW YEAR, CHARLIE BROWN (ABC) I hope my own children can learn a lesson from this one as Charlie Brown can't enjoy the New Year party with his girl because he put off reading "War and Peace" all vacation.THE MINDY PROJECT (FOX) There have been some great episodes. But there have been a share of clunkers. Because of that I can't decide if this is a keeper yet. Might have to replace it with "Ben & Kate" but you decide tonight with a mini-four pack of Mindy.
FRIDAY
UNDERCOVER BOSS (CBS) Because it's the end of the year and they know that nobody is watching. There's not much else on tonight for you so you might end up on this innocuous show. They're giving you a three hour marathon for you to make your decision.
DUCK DYNASTY (A&E) I believe this is the 4th marathon of episodes in the last 5 nights. Poor "Storage Wars", the days of you ruling this network are done.
SATURDAY
STORAGE WARS (A&E) Well, you do get Saturday nights to yourself, "Storage Wars". Live with it. But know that the Ducks rule the roost now.
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE (ABC) Post College Football - ABC airs alternating combinations of Harry Potter films, Pirates and Pixar films. You could do worse.
AUSTIN CITY LIMITS (PBS) Sonic Youth and their "The Eternal" album.
SUNDAY
CALL THE MIDWIFE HOLIDAY SPECIAL (PBS) Much like "Downton Abbey" last year - as we get to the end of the year, the more juice this show seems to be getting. Climb on board before the rest of your friends. This looks like a good introduction to the series.
UNITED STATES OF BACON (DESTINATION) Todd Fisher is a bacon expert? Who do you apply for that? And now he's got a show eating his way across America.
AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR . . Jack In The Box ads are the best. You know I've always defended their commercials - not the food. Here there was a nugging . . .
Three words - weiner dog lasers . . .
The Ticket Oak creeps me out already but add in the dude in the Santa hat and his scream and I'm spooked. . .
Three words - weiner dog lasers . . .
These Diesel shoes look fun and I like the line - "The shoes don't care."
The Ticket Oak creeps me out already but add in the dude in the Santa hat and his scream and I'm spooked. . .
"They tell me that I'm lazy
Worldly wise
I realize
That everybody's crazy
A woman's voice reminds me
To serve and not to speak." - Steely Dan
Decline to walk the line. There's fire in the hole. Stay hard.
sb
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