Sorry, didn't mean to go a week between posts - I spent much of this week in the Pittsburgh area visiting family. Had a delightful time, actually, and I must admit that although I do not identify as a Christian, it was liberating to be able to say "Merry Christmas" to people without wondering if I was offending anyone. (Very few people actually mean "Merry Christmas" with a malice of domineering their religion over anyone else's, I find. It's just that those who do, are disproportionately vocal about it.)But whatever holidays one chooses to observe this month, with my wishes for peace and good will among all men and women, here are 10 songs of the season I enjoyed this past week, beginning with James Brown's fascinating intersection of social-justice finger-wagging, Christmas cheer, black liberation and multiculturalism. (If by multiculturalism we mean random shouts of "Volare," "Hava nagila," and "Danke schoen!")
1. James Brown, "Hey America"
2. Clay Aiken, "Mary, Did You Know?" (Ed.: Yes, Mary, we did.)
3. Vince Guaraldi Trio, "Christmas Time Is Here"
4. Several renditions of "O Holy Night," all better than this one
5. Vanessa Williams, "What Child Is This?"
6. Boney M, "Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord" (for the OMGWTFLOL files)
7. John Denver and the Muppets, "The Peace of Christmas Day"
8. South Park cast, "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel"
9. Alison Moyet, "Coventry Carol"
10. Darlene Love, "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"
2 comments:
(Ed.: Yes, Mary, we did.)
Lame.
That Vanessa Williams version of "What Child..." is an absolute gem that doesn't get nearly enuf play. A fab arrangement and it makes a great segue with Smokey Robinson's "God Rest Ye Merry".
Sorry, "Anonymous" but Pop Argot's Clay/Mary comment was golden. However, posting anonymously is indeed "lame".
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