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Post by americanchai on Nov 19, 2013 12:54:02 GMT -4
This is my new favorite Christmas song Cyndi Lauper and The Hives!. Also if you live in NYC, the Hives will be showing up with her at the Beacon Theater on December 7 for a Christmas spectacular - wish I could go! Can you tell I love the Hives (and Cyndi Lauper)!? |
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missjennifer
Lady in Waiting
Posts: 115
Sept 19, 2005 12:32:30 GMT -4
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Post by missjennifer on Nov 21, 2013 15:00:23 GMT -4
I truly can't believe "Wonderful Christmastime" isn't a joke. Like, Sir Paul is totally punking us or something. It is such an abomination. Assault on the ears "Wonderful Christmastime" would be bad enough on its own...but the worst of it is, we had the right to expect a better Christmas song from the man who wrote "Blackbird" and "Eleanor Rigby."I mean, when you compare this and John Lennon's "Happy Christmas"...well, it reinforces some unfortunate stereotypes about who the real brains and talent was in the Beatles. |
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crankykate
Lady in Waiting
Posts: 131
Jul 20, 2006 9:26:59 GMT -4
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Post by crankykate on Nov 21, 2013 16:56:06 GMT -4
Maybe I should put this in the True Confessions thread, but I HAAAATE "Happy Christmas." (I've never gotten the whole John Lennon Mystique anyway, but that's a conversation for another day.) Not as much as I hate "Wonderful Christmastime," mind, which as far as I'm concerned is in a class of horrible-ness all by itself.
However, I do like "All I Want for Christmas is You," as performed by iCarly with Big Time Rush, which may tell you more than you wanted to know about my questionable taste in music.
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Post by margojata on Nov 22, 2013 12:23:50 GMT -4
I truly can't believe "Wonderful Christmastime" isn't a joke. Like, Sir Paul is totally punking us or something. It is such an abomination. Assault on the ears "Wonderful Christmastime" would be bad enough on its own...but the worst of it is, we had the right to expect a better Christmas song from the man who wrote "Blackbird" and "Eleanor Rigby."I mean, when you compare this and John Lennon's "Happy Christmas"...well, it reinforces some unfortunate stereotypes about who the real brains and talent was in the Beatles. Hey, those are fighten words!  I personally prefer Paul's music to John's. I think Paul owned the early to mid 70's, and the Beatles songs were just VERY different styles. Paul was always capable of the shmaltz, while John had the nuttiness of the Plastic Ono Band. I think if Paul had written a Christmas song in the early 70's it would have been a totally different story. Of course we'll never know, but by 1979 I think Paul's magic touch was gone. The Christmas Waltz always makes me cry. In fact a lot of the old classics make me cry. I had a fairly (or completely) miserable childhood, so it's actually a miracle that I can listen to most of the old stuff and still keep the season bright (or whatever)! |
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missjennifer
Lady in Waiting
Posts: 115
Sept 19, 2005 12:32:30 GMT -4
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Post by missjennifer on Nov 22, 2013 15:32:32 GMT -4
"Wonderful Christmastime" would be bad enough on its own...but the worst of it is, we had the right to expect a better Christmas song from the man who wrote "Blackbird" and "Eleanor Rigby."I mean, when you compare this and John Lennon's "Happy Christmas"...well, it reinforces some unfortunate stereotypes about who the real brains and talent was in the Beatles. Hey, those are fighten words! I personally prefer Paul's music to John's. I think Paul owned the early to mid 70's, and the Beatles songs were just VERY different styles. Paul was always capable of the shmaltz, while John had the nuttiness of the Plastic Ono Band. I think if Paul had written a Christmas song in the early 70's it would have been a totally different story. Of course we'll never know, but by 1979 I think Paul's magic touch was gone. The Christmas Waltz always makes me cry. In fact a lot of the old classics make me cry. I had a fairly (or completely) miserable childhood, so it's actually a miracle that I can listen to most of the old stuff and still keep the season bright (or whatever)! Oh, I didn't mean I believed in the stereotypes about who was the real genius in the Beatles...you bet I know it was more complex than that. I mean that putting those two songs up against each other, it provides ammunition to those who say, "John was the REAL genius and Paul was just the shallow hack." I actually like a good deal of Paul's music, even the sillier stuff. But it's easy to see why Paul sometimes seemed to go overboard in saying "I was the cool one, really," when after John's death, everyone started lionizing John as the can-do-no-wrong saint and genius and--well, not vilifying Paul, but at least denigrating his talent. I still maintain that if Paul had written a Christmas song that was as simple and heartfelt as "Blackbird" (I mean, that was a beautiful song that got across a message about civil rights with nothing more than a few simple images), it could have been one for the ages. (Oh, and I love "The Christmas Waltz" too--especially Frank Sinatra's version. Natalie Cole does a nice one too. One thing I've always wondered--the 2009 Disney animated version of A Christmas Carol had a wonderful end-credits song, "God Bless Us Every One," sung by Andrea Bocelli. Why is it that the song from The Polar Express gets airplay, but not that one? And the sooner they stop playing "Same Old Lang Syne" as a Christmas song, the better. Just because it takes place on Christmas Eve doesn't make it a Christmas song. We want to hear something cheerful or reverent--not some dreary, depressing song about a couple of whiners. |
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Post by chonies on Nov 22, 2013 15:40:06 GMT -4
The comment about the Monkees and Ríu ríu chíu disappeared, but I agree in a way math has not yet accommodated. I love that song.
My friend suggested a few English-style carols that are all but impossible to find recordings of, and I'll dig them up in case anyone wants to do some sleuthing.
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missjennifer
Lady in Waiting
Posts: 115
Sept 19, 2005 12:32:30 GMT -4
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Post by missjennifer on Nov 22, 2013 15:54:35 GMT -4
The comment about the Monkees and Ríu ríu chíu disappeared, but I agree in a way math has not yet accommodated. I love that song. My friend suggested a few English-style carols that are all but impossible to find recordings of, and I'll dig them up in case anyone wants to do some sleuthing. I edited that out because I realized I'd made the same point about Riu Chiu and how they should play it instead of the repetitive Feliz Navidad in an earlier post. My bad. You might want to look up a CD called The First Nowell. It might be out of print, but you could probably get a used copy. It's a chamber chorus doing lots of old English carols. I used to have a cassette (yes, a cassette) of the Canterbury Choir doing carols. There was one on there called "Rejoice This Night" that I have never heard anywhere else. Unfortunately, I loaned the cassette to a college friend and she lost it. |
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Post by narm on Nov 22, 2013 23:08:27 GMT -4
I really detest John Lennon. I can't stand him. He's one of mr. narm's biggest influences, and this is a Sticking Point. I think Happy Christmas is okay, but I remember back in the day on FT, someone pointed out that Yoko was "caterwauling" and I've never been able to unhear it, just as the poster advised.
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Post by chonies on Nov 23, 2013 1:02:16 GMT -4
I really detest John Lennon. I can't stand him. He's one of mr. narm's biggest influences, and this is a Sticking Point. I think Happy Christmas is okay, but I remember back in the day on FT, someone pointed out that Yoko was "caterwauling" and I've never been able to unhear it, just as the poster advised. I'm neutral on the Beatles overall and don't know enough about the mechanics of their music to take a position in the Eternal Argument of Paul v. John, but John in popular culture is just really, really irritating, especially with his, "I was a child genius, man" thing. Anyway, xmas music. I am trying to locate a copy of Hillbilly Holiday and am not having a lot of luck. I even looked in Sweden, as they say, and nothing. It was one of my favorites when I worked in the record store, up there with the various Motown Christmas songs. missjennifer, was the song possibly called 'Rejoice the Night?' I've found a few recordings of that, and I was wondering if they could possibly be the same song. |
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Post by americanchai on Nov 23, 2013 10:03:52 GMT -4
This isn't the "I hate/love the Beatles" thread but I hate the Beatles. My dad is a Paul person all the way and I've had to endure years of Beatles/Wings/Paul solo shit on long car trips. Hate. That said, if I had to choose under pain of death, I would take Paul over John any day.
I also hate traditional Christmas music too, but mostly because it is so. over. played. everywhere. This wasn't always so. But also, living in Georgia the last 15 years, it doesn't get cold enough or frosty enough to feel like what Christmas felt like to me as a kid so it doesn't fit (to me). I have started getting more into rockabilly/punk Christmas stuff, because it's generally not traditional stuff. Reverend Horton Heat has a good Christmas album.
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