I often have occasion to revisit something I wrote years ago on this site, and I’m happy to say that more often than not, the archived post still holds up. I say that because I just re-read my Christmas music manifesto from 2022, and I stand by all of it.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been in a weird mood this holiday season. On the one hand, from Thanksgiving on, I’ve leaned heavily into all the things I love about the season, including and especially the time I’ve spent with my family and friends. The comfort, the familiarity, the sense of community, the shared experiences – I love those things every year, but this year even more so. It’s the dread of what is to come next that has both given all that more meaning, and created an uncomfortable edge to it all. We need a little Christmas more than ever this year, because we’ve got some real shit coming at us.
I played all the videos in that post – am I right about “Pat-a-Pan” or what? – and this lyric from “Good King Wenceslas” stood out:
“Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing
Ye who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing”
I would object less to a “Christian” takeover of our government if there were anything remotely Christ-like about the “Christians” in question. These people make the Pharisees and the Philistines look like Moses and the crew that fled Egypt.
Anyway. Let’s brighten things up a bit, shall we? Tis the season and all that. Postmodern Jukebox never misses:
It’s not just their impeccable musicianship, it’s their showmanship. We were out of town when they came through Houston recently, and I am more determined than ever to see them live at some other time.
The rendition of “Fairytale of New York” that was performed at Shane MacGowan’s funeral makes me want to cry and dance at the same time.
I don’t know who the members of that band were, but God bless them, every one.
We should all hold space in our hearts for Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol, with one of the greatest villain songs of all time:
Razzleberry dressing is nice and all, but how do you top that?
Coverville did its 20th annual Christmas cover story last week, and it’s a banger, with a lyrically correct version of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”, done by PMJ. “Oi To The World” and the Ronnie James Dio version of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” are standouts as well.
All right, all right, it is Christmas Eve, and we have certain ritualistic obligations to meet. So here you go:
I love that as much now as ever. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Important to remember now that evil times are upon us, living well is the best revenge.
As a stocking stuffer, I would like to recommend a simple but engaging game, Golf on Mars. No ads, addictive, at least 200,000 holes. Plays well on an ipad.