Category Archives: swing

TreeMenodus Holiday Fun: I Saw Trees

Tromp tromp tromp, whew! Hack hack hack, hooboy! The extraction of the right evergreen is almost as hard as giving virgin birth!

Take this word of warning to heart through Erik Darling’s “Revenge of the Christmas Tree.” Frolicsome bluegrass, yes; but beware, boyo! The tree might bite back.

With a little help, p’raps it could be jolly. Dick Gardiner offers the twanging country tale of a little boy who follows a stranger into the woods with “Santa Helped Me Cut a Christmas Tree.” (I’m not sure, but i think the little boy was institutionalized while his brothers moved on…).

For those who axe, Maple Leaf Learning teaches us counting and clear cutting with “Three Christmas Trees.” Xylophonically childish!

Jug band hee holiday fun from Max E Voltz who wants to go out and cut down “A Natural Christmas Tree.” Consider my knee slapped. (But watch out for the twist ending.)

Brassy jazz from Danish Big Band Radio (feat. Mads Mathias) might remind you of smokey joints without family values, but “Chop Chop (The Xmas Tree)” wails and nails it down home.

The blues pick up the pace for “Last Minute Chopping” from Dr. BLT. Bubbas with axes.

Peter Lerman swings up another classy slab of jazz with “Let’s Chop Down a Christmas Tree.” It’s the big band look at family fun–tree-doh, diddy-o, tree-oh!

Merry Mistletoe: Sinatra, et al; Lauderdale

Grampa Frank Sinatra was really something back in 1957. His “Mistletoe and Holly” gives him a co-writer credit. He owns this old time piece of holiday celebrating, I’ll tell you that. His voice is a sensuous waltz of seduction. Brrrr.

Jack Jones hey-girls the lounge bop out of it even more.

Kidz Bop clunk together some youngsters’ harmony for their version. It’s Frank clone.

Leigh Nash injects some welcome innocence in her turn. Pop that oldie, girl.

Ms. Waskin and Radio sass up the girl parts of the next one. They sound like they’re waitin’ for a bus.

Faith Evans turns up the asthma attack with her breathy, overly percussive arrangement. It stops short of actual soul and lands in the toy department.

Just about my favey-fave is the warbling abandon from Jenny Daniels. She loses herself (and her metrical place) in this bows to the nose belt-down. Weee!

The other multitudinous mash-ups aren’t worth repeating. (Not even The Hot Sardines‘ big band finger-popping bit.)

Let’s turn this on its head for a surprise twist ending: Jim Lauderdale, a CW songwriter of note, good-ol-boy-ing “Holly and Her Mistletoe.” Not the same old hat standard at all, gang! It’s a down south dive dance tune with just a hint o’ nasty to it.

Xmas Dance Party: swing

Swing dance is what you do when you hear hot jazz and can’t help yourself. Symptoms include the Lindy Hop and the Charleston.

Louis Prima infects ya with “What Will Santa Claus Say (When He Finds Everybody Swingin’)” from the Depression era. It’s bit measured and careful and, let’s just say it, white. That’s so you paying folks won’t hurt yourselves first time out.

Swing has evolved to become boogie woogie, jitterbug, and rock. But jazz and blues N’awlins-up “Santa Swing Me a Christmas Tune” by Banu Gibson and The New Orleans Hot Jazz. Just a dash too much Dixieland, dawlin.

Leaning more heavily into the jazz, Duchess Di and Dave Keyes make “Swing into Christmas” sultry and slow-dancing, and gee–not so swing. But saxy!

Also, not quite there–but not to be missed–the Mother Ukers ukulele band wit up “Santa’s Xmas Ukulele Swing” giving us a soundtrack to clap to if not sashay. (Sorry for the fragmentary sample… just had to hear it.)

Some cool chick Sylvia Aimerito decided she could sing as cool as any other jazz chanteuse, so we got “Swingin’ Santa.” Not complaining, but with a little money this could be a cool cool song.

Scatting out “Swing into Christmas” some music by committee group (Smashtrax Music LLC) has latched onto the messiness of jazz with brass, electric guitar, and velvety vocals. It’s tunes for the business class, but i am susceptible to its charms.

Baby It’s Cold: 1959 what’s so funny

Jolly joyful music has now become codified as novelty nuttiness. Ho ho ho.

In terms of stright comedy, this year Tom Lehrer recorded his “Christmas Carol” both live and in studio. Once more, a reminder, how much the 1950s shaped novelty Christmas music.

Unintended comedy sounds like “Wistful Willie” by Jimmy Rogers. This was a clear miss despite the jazz drums and upbeat story. The guy just couldn’t learn from Jimmy Dean’s Sandy Sleighfoot.

We find another over-orchestrated promo 45 from Line Materials (this time w/word-jazz narrator, Ken Nordine): “The Kinds of Christmas.” Do kids today get such manipulative messages for free?

Unfortunate comedy results from Russ Regan triying some more of the Chipmunks’ schtick with “Dancer, Prancer and Nervous” The Happy Reindeer Song. Wow, that’s bad.

By 1959 The Three Stooges have dwindled to Joe DeRita trying to look like ‘Curly’ Howard. But kids’ shows are big bucks. So it’s a wise guy renaissance. Their shorts are making the rounds, full-length movies and cartoons are just around the corner. Hence, novelty tracks like “Wreck the Halls.”

Despite the hit-and-miss laughs, i’ve got to highlight a country-swing-rock mix from reliable Johnny Horton. It ain’t what i’d call funny. But “They Shined Up Rudolph’s Nose” is fun for kids, twisting teens, alcoholic dads… durnitall, it’s jolly and joyful for one and all. That’s music!

My Top Ten on Christmas Day

As far as 2015 is concerned, i wanna hear these over and over again.

#10. My good friend, Pete the Elf, makes me laugh. He finds such cool novelty Christmas music i could platz. He gave me a dozen disks recently and this number stood out: Rappy McRapperson singing “Gimme Stuff.” Clueless hip hop and breathless techno combines with genuinely youthful grabbiness. (I’d take that hug.)

BLUE ALERT #9. Dirty stuff works with me when it’s gleefully inappropriate. Denis Leary is hit or miss funny, but in claymation, he’s pretty fuckin’ funny.

#8. Back in the ’70s we called techno rave music electronica. It wasn’t simply addictive percussion, it was moog magic and synthesized science. It was wonderfully amazing. Here is Joy Electric’s “Lollipop Parade (On Christmas Morn).” Hardly kid music, but it takes me back.

#7. You can maybe tell, parodies float my boat. Bob Rivers is pretty good. And I love Joel Kopischke. But Robert Lund out Yankevics them all. Here is “Santa” with a nod to R.E.M. (Beware, Santa comes off pretty creepy here.)

Elves Gone Wild

#6. My childhood music is scramble eggs memory to me now. But when i found old vinyl from Tex Johnson and His Six-Shooters i was transported to the shag carpeted wonderland full of presents. Please enjoy the a cappella ‘cowboys’ singing about “Fum Fum Fum” whatever that is.

Tex Johnson

#5. South Park plays hard and once every fifth bit i crack a smile. Usually i nod at the excess and understand the anthropological reasons behind this satire or that angry barb. But Cartman’s “Swiss Colony Beef Log” reminds me of the religious realization of getting the expected gift.

#4. Barenaked Ladies has a dynamite Christmas/Chanukah album. It should be listened to in its entirety. I’ll point out “Christmastime (Oh Yeah)” as a stellar example of warmth and love and stuff like that.

#3. Sloppy Seconds celebrates Santa Claus Vs. the Martians with their “Hooray for Santa Claus.” It revives me from the torpor of the holidays and resurrects my spirits for the next 365.

#2. Here’s a catchy number (even the missus likes dis a one). In fact it was so seminal to my seasons’ greetings, i posted my own Youtube slide show for it. (Not my strong suit.) Not gonna go all green(sleeves) on ya, but the poor Doug firs… poor li’l things…. Celtic Elvis knows.

#1. One more Youtube that i have posted. Tarquin Records has an incredible Christmas album as well (including songs for Thanksgiving, Halloween and Groundhog’s Day). Get it! John Aley has a swing number that pops my cork and reminds me (like i need it) that i’ll never get any better present than a happy marriage.

 

State Forty: Idaho

FIFTY DAYS OF ‘MERICA-MAS
Gem State? More like Tater State!
Many have heard “It Happened in Sun Valley” (at least from the South Park Christmas album). It is NOT a Christmas song. It is a Winter-time have fun in a ski lodge song. It appears on a dozen or more Christmas compilations from The Glenn Miller Singers to Mel Torme to Jo Stafford. But no, not going to address it here.
Melissa Nielsen sings about how geedee cold it gets in the winter in Idaho with “The Idaho Song.” It’s yet another parody of ‘Frozen,’ if you collect those. I admire her homemade spunk and vocal power despite the amateur tech here. But it’s a ‘Let It Go’ parody and those are so-o-o long.
How ’bout some Country Swing with those Braun Brothers (Gary, Billy, and Muzzie–who has many more albums to his name)? “Christmas In These Idaho Hills” captures the laid back, effortless music picked out by these strong-willed hearty folk (i’ve got in-laws from Nampa–they cool). This album, When the Cowboy Sings, came out nearly thirty years ago, on cassette. To get airplay, these entrepreneurial bards sent copies to radio stations in sacks of taters. Hope you get one in your stocking!