November 26, 2007

Who’s the Man with All the Toys?

What did PC say yesterday? Nothing would keep me away from this blog? Well, of course he’s right. And there are some wonderful treats today. But how about our visits—we never would have dreamed that 77 Santas would be such a hit! We’re almost up to 13,000 hits. Last year, I think we had around 2,000 for the entire season. Thank you, everyone who’s visited, who have left comments, and have just enjoyed the music. After all, that’s what we’re about—finding some of our favorite Christmas tunes, some obscure and some not, and sharing them.

The Man with All the Toys – The Beach Boys
It’s barely over a minute and a half but it’s absolutely sublime. The harmonies and that “oh” after each verse—I dare you not to sing along. Let's just hope the man doesn't have too many more toys to recall this year.

I’ll Be Home for Christmas – Fats Domino
The man is a force to be reckoned with, inspiring a myriad of Beatles tunes. Classic Fats on this track—that bluesy/boogie-woogie piano, a nice sax solo, and of course the man’s incredible vocals. He’s an American original that is still going strong, despite a close call in Hurricane Katrina. Keeping that in mind, here’s a little bonus: Walking to New Orleans. It’s got nothing to do with Christmas but it’s beautiful.

In the Bleak Midwinter – The Pipettes
There’s just something cool about a girl group who wear matching polka-dot dresses in 2007. If only Phil Spector weren’t a complete nut, he could make a great Christmas album with this British group.

O Holy Night – The Vienna Boys Choir
Fall on your knees! I love the unabashed theatrics in this song—and this version, complete with a pipe organ, really starts to purr at the 1:36 mark. That would make even an atheist fall in love with a religious song.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Lovely blog. Thank you.