Christmas Music

Many, myself included, gripe about the way too early start to the Christmas holiday shopping season. It seems as though the moment Linus wakes up in pumpkin patch on November 1^st (with the Great Pumpkin once again stiffing him) the holiday advertisements begin.

What also starts just as early now-a-days is the 24 hour non-stop holiday music on some radio stations. For whatever reason, as much as I hate the November start to the shopping season, I enjoy the music aspect. Others must as well, because the stations wouldn't be playing it this soon unless their research showed dopes like me are listening to it.

Time was there was one radio station here in the 518 switching to the all holiday format, then another followed. I would program both of them into the car radio dial. And, thanks to the wonders of XM radio, I have even more choices.

XM has seven, count 'em seven, different stations in the all-holiday format, ranging from pops, holiday traditions, current pop, soul, Latin and Hanukkah. As for this blogger, I have the two local stations programmed, along with XM's traditions and pop. I could do more, but as it is now, going back an forth between the four may cause a traffic accident.

As for the non driving periods, I have 26 Christmas CD's, and another holiday 325 songs on my iPod. Some are as old as Louis Armstrong and Bing Crosby, and some as recent as this week's iTunes purchase of Kelly Clarkson's new release.

With this background, I though it would be a good time to take a look at the list of Top Ten best holiday songs ever, which I first put together in my newspaper column last year. There have been some revisions, corrections, etc.

Let me start off by saying there will be no barking dogs, braying Italian donkeys or annoying singing chipmunks here. Nor any lisping kids with missing choppers.

Ditto for “White Christmas” (although we will see Bing later on) and “The Christmas Song” (chestnuts roasting on an open fire). To me, they are the holiday equivalent of “Free Bird” and “Stairway to Heaven”, that is to say, they have been way too overplayed.

With that bit of blasphemy out of the way, let's get to the list.

I will start with an honorable mention. Anything Brian Setzer has done on his many Christmas CD's is worthy of this or any other list. Two of the best are his versions of "Baby It's Cold Outside" and "O Holy Night." Both have been recorded scores of times of course, but these stand out. In "Baby," Ann-Margaret duets with him, and sounds just bad-girlish enough for the song. As for "O Holy Night", well, for a man known for his guitar playing, just listen to this vocal. 

Now, on to the Top 10:

10) “The Hanukkah Song”, Adam Sandler. Any song which can include The Fonz, The Three Stooges, and Mr. Spock, while taking a shot at O.J. Simpson has to be included. Plus, Sandler plays a nifty guitar while managing to come up with an amazing number of words to rhyme with “Hanukkah.”

9) “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”, Bruce Springsteen. The Boss' live take on this classic borrows from the Phil Spector/Crystal's arrangement, but gets the nod here because of the blistering Clarence Clemons saxophone solo. And, like the Hanukkah Song, it is a live recording.

8) “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”, Judy Garland. Garland introduced this sad Christmas tune in 1944's MGM flick Meet Me In St. Louis. Her expressive voice is perfect for the song's melancholy subject matter. The song has been recorded countless times (I have ten versions on my iPod), and had some lyric changes (Frank Sinatra found the “until then we'll have to muddle through somehow” line depressing, and asked lyricist Hugh Martin to change it, hence the “Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.”) Plus, it was played in The Godfather, which is reason enough to include it here.

7) “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”, Darlene Love. Love quite simply lays down one of the most powerful vocals ever recorded here, backed with Spector's Wall Of Sound arrangement. First released in 1963, Love still performs the song on David Letterman's show every year, and has lost nothing off her fastball.

6) “Santa Baby”, Eartha Kitt. This ode to selfish Christmas materiality is given a wonderfully naughty take by Kitt. I always imagined her in her Catwoman costume waiting for the big guy in red come down the chimney. This version blows away the dopey Madonna cover which was needlessly recorded years later.

5) “Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy”, Bing Crosby & David Bowie. Told you I'd get Der Bingle on the list. I have always loved this medley, which makes the seemingly mismatched pairing of two icons from completely different eras work. I remember watching when they performed this on Bing's 1977 TV special, which was aired a few weeks after his death.

4) “Little Saint Nick”, Beach Boys. Released during the height of the 'Boys' 1964 popularity, this is really nothing but one of their car songs given a holiday slant with sleigh bells. Which means a tasty Brian Wilson arrangement, nasally Mike Love vocal, and flawless harmonies. Why should Santa settle for a sleigh, when he can get the job done much faster with a little bobsled we call the ol' Saint Nick?

3) “Santa Claus Is Back In Town”, Elvis Presley. When the King released his first Christmas LP in 1957, all the controversy centered on his version of “White Christmas.” Which makes it quite ironic no one seemed to have issue with this song with a winking obvious double meaning about what looks to quite a special visit between Santa and his hostess.

2) “Christmas Time Is Here”, Schroeder. OK, not actually Schroeder, but his stand in, Vince Guaraldi. No list of holiday classics is complete without something from the A Charlie Brown Christmas. Guaraldi's sparse jazz arrangements perfectly fit the mood of the anti-commercial holiday spin Good Ol' Chuck displays during the show. If you think I should have included “Linus and Lucy”, “Christmas Time Is Here” or “What Child Is This” from the same album instead, well, I have no argument.

1) “Sleigh Ride”. Leroy Anderson's composition about a snowy trip is the greatest holiday song ever written. Only problem is figuring whose version is best. The original recording from the Boston Pops is classic, as is the composer's own version, but are they better than Johnny Mathis' jazzy reading? Or the Ronette's ring-a-ling-a-ling ding-dong-ding take? And was Ella Fitzgerald's vocal better than Karen Carpenter's? Plus, especially in the wake of his recent death, how can we forget Andy Williams? Actually, when it comes to this great tune, there are no losers. It'll nearly be like a picture print by Currier & Ives.

Drue gets sentenced, NYRA gets richer, Underwood gets panned

Item: Dennis Drue Sentenced

23 year old Dennis Drue was sentenced last week, and will spend his next 5 to 15 years in prison for his role in the horrific accident which killed Shenendehowa High School students Chris Stewart and Deanna Rivers last year.

Drue, had previously admitted his guilt to all 58 counts with which he was charged, which I found surprising considering he had uber-lawyer Steve Coffey as his attorney. Then I started to read about some of the evidence Saratoga County DA Jim Murphy had ready to use had it gone to trial. Such as a blood alcohol level in excess of .08, along with with witnesses ready to testify they saw Drue getting hammered that night, prior to getting into the car. Plus his speed of 81 mph at impact. Plus evidence of Drue being allegedly stoned that night. Plus evidence of text messages from Drue while he was driving, which would indicate he was on his way to score some more pot when he took the lives of these two teens.

All this from a man who had manged to have 22 (22!) prior traffic offenses, and have his driver's license suspended 5 (5!) previous times. So, considering Drue is 23 years of age, it means he has done all this in about seven years. Why the hell was he even allowed to drive before the tragedy last December? Why?

The victims' survivors, along with Murphy appear to be quite pissed at the term of Drue's sentence, feeling it should be greater. I can't pretend to know how the survivors feel; hopefully this gives them a bit of closure since at least the man is now in jail. I will say the fact Drue will not be behind the wheel for awhile makes me feel safer.

Item: Furor Over Sound of Music

One never knows what will cause twitter to explode. Not sure what it says about our current culture, but this week the inspiration of such an explosion came courtesy of NBC's live broadcast of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Sound of Music.

Actually the backlash started long before the broadcast itself. Several, including descendants of the Von Trapp family expressed outrage over the casting of Carrie Underwood as Maria. With that bit of advanced panning, there is no way Underwood would come out ahead.

Why for so many was it just short of blasphemy to have anyone else but Julie Andrews as Maria? True, Andrews' performance in the 1965 film version is one of the all-time greats, but she didn't even originate the role. That distinction goes to Mary Martin, who was in the original cast when the stage version premiered in 1959.

Which leads to another thing people were bitching about during Thursday night's airing, namely how it did not synchronize exactly with the movie. Memo to you turked-off tweeters, who want to know the reason why "My Favorite Things" was sung in the abbey, and not in the Von Trapp house during the storm. It's because that's how it is in the stage version, that's why. And, this was a stage show.

Final thoughts. Was Underwood's performance the best Maria ever? No; Julie Andrews does not have to worry about her place in history. But I don't think Mary Martin rolled over in her grave, either. This young lady can sing, and has the guts to give it a go live. Which compared to what happened in another live NBC event a few years ago, namely Ashlee Simpson's pathetic lip synching to the wrong damn song on Saturday Night Live (and even more pathetic excuse for it at the end of the show), well...

Item: Race Track Fees To Rise

The New York Racing Association continues to make news, and alas, once again they don't look very good in the process. Firstly, they decided to raise the prices of everything at the Saratoga Race Course, such as grandstand admission, clubhouse admission, box seats,and parking. They will probably charge me a fee to rent the air into which I blow my cigar smoke in the picnic area, too.

Now, NYRA told us the reason for the fee hike, is to make them more financially sound. Sounds good on the surface, I guess. But, what they didn't tell us is they are also giving some pretty hefty salary hikes to its top executives as well. Oops, that was the part they left out of the press release.

NYRA has been an embarrassment for some time now, what with mishandled finances, etc. But, more locally, they continue to have no idea as to how to run their best asset, namely the 150 year old track at the Spa. There has been an ever so gradual decline there over the past few years, and this is without the threat of casino gambling providing competition in the near future. No matter, because right now, NYRA is providing plenty of competition all by their lonesome.

'Til next time, keep smiling.