By Less Lee Moore
I like to troll thrift stores for old craft books and the best ones are usually found at the “Bibles For Missions” shop down the street from my building. Recently, I came across a hardcover Better Homes and Gardens’ book called Easy Bazaar Crafts. It just reeked of “country ducks” and calico, so naturally I had to peruse.
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I know this song’s privileged, paternalistic attitude is totally inappropriate, but it just reminds me so much of teenaged Christmases, I can’t help but love it. Plus, it features many of my teen musical crushes: Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Boy George, and of course, Marilyn (before the drugs took their toll).
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By Jesse Roth
Every holiday season, the media never fails to deliver its audience the unwelcome gift of what I’d like to call the “and your point is?” story. From what I can tell, the big story this time around reflects on this new phenomenon known as “people other than Bing Crosby recording Christmas music.” Thus far, most of the stories have gone along the lines of “Oh. My. God. You mean Bob Dylan released a Christmas album?! And Mariah Carey released one in 1994?! And wait? What’s this? Andrea Bocelli has one too, and he’s singing with MUPPETS?!? What a craaaazy decade we’re suffering through!”
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Yes, it’s full of ’80s cheesiness, but that’s what makes it so great. You can just picture George Michael and Andrew Ridgely performing this song in sweaters that would make even Bill Cosby blush.
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To me, “Christmas Song” means a song that is about the holiday. I’m not sure what crazed goon chose “My Favorite Things” to include on the Christmas radio station, but I can’t abide by it. That also excludes songs from Christmas specials that are not about the holiday. Like “We’re A Couple Of Misfits” from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer—it’s not about the holiday. Your interpretation may vary, and that’s good.
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I think it has everything. Lush orchestration, festive jangly bells, underrated reindeer, and more than a little bit of indie magic.
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By Lisa Anderson
Carols are an inevitable part of the holiday season. Most of us have carols, whether sacred or secular, that we love, and others that we hate. It’s not unusual to end up sick of all of them by the end of the season, either—especially for someone who works in retail. I’ve decided to make a list of five of my favorite contemporary holiday songs. They all take a fresher and more realistic view of the season, as well as not being so overplayed that they barely register.
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By Less Lee Moore
Halloween conjures many images: candy, costumes, decorations, haunted houses, and horror movies. While these are all integral parts of the holiday, there is one factor that is often overlooked but which is vital to embracing the spirit of the season: music.
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By Emily C.
When I was a kid growing up in the 1980s, American public broadcasting stations (PBS) played episodes of the English cult TV series Doctor Who. Personally, as a young child I couldn’t really get into the show; I thought the episodes of Monty Python’s Flying Circus were much funnier, and the guys on that show seemed less freakishly scary than the star of DW, Tom Baker. (Of course, I ask myself now why my parents let me watch Monty Python at age 4. That show could get a bit adult-oriented to say the very least). As a child I found Baker less engaging than other TV characters, and more frightening and unusual than anything. Peter Davison (the next Doctor after Tom Baker) was far more “cuddly” and seemed more tailored to smaller children with his wan, handsome smile and cricket clothes.
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By Eric Weber
“Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, a creature was stirring. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, but it was hard to say that St. Nick would be there. A Christmas of another color brings a killer on the loose.”
Tagline for 1974’s classic chiller, Black Christmas
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