Year-round Yuletide oddities
Skip back with me to flying angels and gods… How high do they fly for Xmas?
Bud Martin brings the spoken word approach to that old country cornpone number “Santa, Does Your Reindeer Fly to Heaven?” See, Mama wants some presents, and I don’t wanna drop ’em off at the cemetery….
Whoa, look out. The Jiggi Verandah Band gets reverently iconoclastic with “Daddy Flies with Santa Claus.” This almost country psychedelia chants into your subconscious with machine gun fire. Seek therapy, gang!
Maybe we got it all wrong. Maybe you don’t want to schlep home for Christmas on some ol’ stupid airplane. Maybe you want to really FLY!
Oceaon of Lotion to the rescue with “Fly Me to the Christmas Disco“! Guess what the musical genre is? No, really, guess! (I’ve got the swirlies!!)
So what’s the deal with airline connections! Flights cancelled, or bags missing, or forgetting to book the trip home for Xmas until too late–holy cow.
Big band lounge time! Mark Leen’s “Fly Home for Christmas” bemoans the long distance romance with just the right amount of hey baby. He’s hurting, you can hear it in the Alright!
Doug Stone knows how to fiddle up some country comfort, so his “Santa’s Flying a 747 Tonight” attempts to mend the separation of him and his baby. Boot scootin’ moody.
Dreamworks’ Penguins of Madagascar jive up their “Flying Home for Christmas” with comical commentary so that the pop tune comes to childish life. See: they’re flightless birds! Har to the hardehar.
The big trouble starts with Ady Dolan’s “Flying Home for Christmas“–man, oh man, this guy has travel woes! Strip searched! Smelly seat mates! Attendants with attitude! Is it even worth it!? Smooth lounge pop.
People leave work around the holidays and journey home, the place where they hailed from. It’s the stuff of biting family comedy (along with trains and automobiles). Let’s sing–but in a courteous sotto voce so we don’t get Air Marshals coming after us.
Steve Dafoe claims “I’m Flying Home for Christmas” in the weakest folk pop possible. Strum, mutter, strum cliche. Ho humbug.
J.Dub (feat. Sheena Robinson & Monay) plaintively rap about the need to return to the nest in “Flying Home for Christmas.” It’s smooth soul rap, so it softens the homesickness.
Driving pop from TobyMac points the lovelorn in the right direction as in “Bring on the Holidays.” The flight is only the initial arm of the journey, but still–gotta find something pretty to listen to.
Likewise the home-centric reflections of the country bluegrass “Christmas Time at Home” from Rhonda Vincent. Still, it starts with flying.
Living Voices goes full Lawrence Welk with “Flying Home for Christmas.” The schmaltz, the corn, the maudlin mistiness… it’s an ambience you couldn’t cut with a candelabra.
Doesn’t Jesus, the reason for the reindeer, also take wing? Actually i don’t know this one. Let’s consult the musicians.
Richard Poulette fiddles and electric guitars “Flying High on Jesus.” The power of prayer lifts.
Power garage rock from The Guitirate hails “Uncle Jesus Flying Through the Stars.” Up up and away.
While up in the sky around Christmas, notice something’s going on over our heads. Angels swarm these nights.
I have been known to trance out to an Enya tune in my time. So i welcome “Journey of the Angels” wherein Celtic paganism meets The Church. New age thrumming.
Just as NewAge but now with more country-western, The Front Porch Country Band carries our moods skyward with “Fly Away Christmas,” a high-concept song about shiny things.
Let’s garage band mash-up with that NewAge lilt for Polkadot Cadaver’s “Christmas Angel.” Sounds reverent if not exactly from above.
CueHits bangs the pop hard with “Little Angel.” There’s talk of flying high, but i suspect high heels.
Reducing the Christmas flying routine to a little toy might trigger iconoclastic ideation.
Rowdy House has got the number with “Toy Plane Christmas.” Boy does this song deliver the goods on–everybody. Pop irony.
Sometimes flying high is just tripping out. If reindeer can do it, stoners can too.
Previously noted “Walking in the Air” from the UK Xmas cartoon ‘The Snowman’ has left a legacy for druggies. Aurora’s rendition is ethereal. Pop with only high notes.
A dated comedy reference, “Flying Over Colorado” depicts Santa’s reindeer encountering a mysterious cloud over the first state to legalize marijuana. A showtune of, uhh, i dunno, proportions. Ho koff ho.
The magic of flying reindeer is institutionalized to the point that the power of it drives many a simile/metaphor. We don’t have to be celebrating gift delivery to be talking about those high hoofers.
Hadley Park (happily) returns to tell us of the hope of reuniting lost loves with “If Reindeer Can Fly.” Twangy banjo always adds value to a broken-hearts song. But not really about the four-legged.
“Cold December Flies Away” is a centuries old Catalonian carol about goodbye to Winter (birth of JC?) and hello to Spring (killing of JC?). It’s a celebration from a New Lutheran minister. Whoosh.
Let’s get even more off topic with the inspiring “Fly,” an aerobic country racing backtrack for a young person with skates and some frozen water. John McCutcheon flies.
The anticipation of presents causes children (in their dreams?) to be “Somewhere Hovering Over Indiana” according to A Christmas Story, The Musical. Naw, i guess it’s Santa’s sack that’s doing the aerial act. Andy Walken leads the kidcast from some TV presentation.
Failure to launch is better than failure at flight. Like Buzz Lightyear, Santa has to land–or fall with style. What’s the opposite of flying?
Hadley Park has a sweet if nasal country cutup “Santa Crashed His Sleigh in Our Garage.” Hope he got to you first.