Year-round Yuletide oddities
Sometimes i don’t get it…. Punchline shimmy-shammies their BLUE ALERT rap “Punchline Christmas Rap” with So go ask Santa and his eight reindeer,
For 37 Everywhere. Get it?
Why does Waylan St. Palan enjoy “Christmas at the Bar“? There’s 37 relatives that just don’t agree–And every single one of them has cornered me. Burlesque jazz squalling. Merry, merry, merr–I’m tellinya–yeah.
Three hundred may be magic for bowling, but what else can we say about it? Sure, it’s a triangular number and the sum of a pair of twin primes (149 + 151), as well as the sum of ten consecutive primes (13 + 17 + 19 + 23 + 29 + 31 + 37 + 41 + 43 + 47) and, okay, it is palindromic in 3 consecutive bases: 30010 = 6067 = 4548 = 3639, and also in base 13. But other than that….
John the Singer invites you to drink 300 beers now that you’ve made it through the shitstorm of this year. BLUE ALERT “Merry Ducking Christmas” ducks no punches in an experimental garage kind of way. Sounds like how existential angst feels.
The Macc Lads get way more BLUE ALERT with their “Jingle Bells.” Sex is like breathing for these hardcore punkers. See, when Beater found 300 johnnies in his Christmas stocking We didn’t see him ’til New Year’s Eve. That’s 300 condoms in one week, mathematicians.
Jamie Cullum’s “The Pianoman at Christmas” has got three hundred songs about Santa Claus under my fingers. This psychological study adds symphony to the lonely. Worth a listen.
On the lighter side, June Christy wishes you “The Merriest” for Christmas and the next 300 and some odd days. This swingin’ jazz easy listening needs listening to. It’s hep, cat.
Keeping it weird, yeah. Cate Le Bron DJs over Bradford Cox recounting a tragic holiday fire he came to too late in “Fireman.” That’s… that… uhh… yeah.
Balderdash & Humbug’s “Marvin the Substitute Reindeer” is another ‘Rudolph’ parody. But it does tell a story. (Have you ever seen Santa Claus mad, boys and girls?) Bit of a giggler. And the little girl digression tries our patience. Bit misogynistic actually.
David Ayers introduces “Marvin the Loud Mouth Laughing Reindeer” with braying guffaws. Not a fully rounded character. Not a chance to help with the sleigh. But the dixieland screeching is full on. Holee cow.
Donner may have began as Donder or Dunder. It’s a Germanic thing. But who cares–no mentionable songs about this reindeer exist. At this point we lump the last two together.
F’rinstance, “Donner & Blitzen” from The Peter Pan stable of singers flutes its way jazzily through a harrowing adventure through the awful storm.
Mostly European the expression that looks like a Far Side character’s rounded-lips surprise acts as punctuation, or I s’pose these days, emoji to get your attention for the following pronouncement:
“Oh Christmas” by Zefereli is the alt-zen folk lesson in calming down for the holidays. Soporific. So, i need something else.
“Oh Christmas” from Calypso Rose is a cry for whiskey–and the celebration of Christ’s birth. Parang rager.
“Oh Christmas, Oh Navidad” is Mundo Armijo’s order to children to play all day, in the name of God. Sweet salsa.
“Oh Christmas” as Josue Alfredo Ayala tells it is a call to be a bird. Unintentional novelty returns with symphonic jazz tastelessness.
Xmas being celebratory in nature, shoutings might include explosive ejacuations of exclamations. Huzza becomes hurray and other variations, it being a clamor populi.
“Hurray Hurrah” is some of the most Carrib fun we can have here on the blog. Singing Francine leaves nothing behind with her hand-clapping, ululating folk synth party.
Whitening up the locale, “Hurray for Christmas” from Steve DeDoes & Don Sebesky (feat. April Tini) recall The Lawrence Welk Show with their carefree jazz simplifications and jolly harmonies.
Greg Helmer gets quietly personal with his 2016 USA woes and the blues in “Hurray Hurray for Christmas.” Mixed message, dude. But mightily talented.
Hooray Heroes change up the spelling and countryfication of the concept with the sassy “Hooray, It’s Christmas Time!” Like you don’t care!
Retro jazz from Janet Seidel continues our new spelling with “Hooray for Christmas.” Heavy on the drums, light on the interjection.
Some exclamatory songs aren’t hollering at Xmas itself, they want the notice of a certain someone. YOU!! (maybe)
RuPaul (feat Markaholic) gathers the girls with “Hey Sis, It’s Christmas.” This dance rap stokes the folks afraid to enter the dance floor. Come on (you can have a refrain, too)!
Just as queer, Randy Rainbow’s “Hey Gurl, It’s Christmas!” smacks the fourth wall show tune style. Those in the know expect the political commentary, but this extravaganza is the whole party start to finish.
“Hey Little Drummer Boy” is rockabilly reverence, believe it or don’t. The original po’ boy wittout no geeft is honored in style by Tiger Room. (Not fur shore ’bout the credit here, several ‘bands’ on several compilations are credited for this hot number–my link is to the earliest i could find.)
Rocking Cosgrove makes pop music out of rocking country in “Hey Baby It’s Christmas.” Seamless and catchy, but i’m trying to lower my sugary intake. Phew.
Oli Patto goes the imperfect pop route with “Hey! Baby It’s Christmas Day!” slamming the lyrics hard and riffing off ’12 Days.’ Ironic pop.
Fing’s “Hey Baby It’s Christmas” is classier with bebop and harmony and gravelly vocals. Not pop much.
Tony Spar and Brett Lashley big band up “Hey Baby It’s Christmas” with more jazz than you can handle. Delightful.
Still feeling deserted around the holidays? Still?! Sing with brimming eye!
Jim Caliendo soft rocks “Another Blue Christmas” as homage to The King. Stellar effort, decent song.
Steven Acker could take pointers, as his “Another Blue Christmas” is limp rock with empty lyrics. Elvis’s coattails can’t carry this.
Shredding blues guitar stretches “Another Blue Christmas” from Andrew Mellor to the breaking point. How many anothers can a man take?
Sweaty club jazz from David George and The Crooked Christmas Orchestra sneaks “Another Blue Christmas” up on you from expecting Santa to getting shafted.
Let’s restock, or at least take stock (again) in the whole return of the thing. Upbeat music should do it, regardless of the cliches piled on.
Messy but hopeful dance music from Fuselage strings lines of lines together for a garage stomping “(It’s Starting to Look Like Christmas Once Again).” I’m up, but i don’t know why.
“Merry Merry Christmas (Again)” is Tyson Leslie’s way of talking toys and years and–i guess other stuff. Measured pop.
Easy listening strings and piano pretty up the old saw of being happy that “It’s Christmas Once More.” Sherry Allen underplays that overpowering vocal talent she has, but–yawn.
Taking on the War on Christmas Rich DiMare heralds how “It’s Okay to Say Christmas Again.” Make Christmas audible again.
Steven Curtis Chapman hasn’t much to say in “Christmas Time Again” but has great jazzy swing fun doing it.