From the John Denver and the Muppets – A Christmas Together TV special.
Entries categorized as ‘Christmas’
Twelve Days of Christmas – John Denver and the Muppets
December 25, 2008 · Leave a Comment
Categories: 1979 · Christmas · TV
Tagged: 12 days of Christmas, Christmas, John Denver, Muppets, TV
Ring Out Solstice Bells – Jethro Tull
December 17, 2008 · 1 Comment
So, as mentioned in the last post, I was doing some Christmas shopping after work this evening and was getting a bit hacked off with the festive music. I was in a toy shop when I heard this and it fair discombobulated me for a moment. Jethro Tull? In a toy shop? I then realised that this had somehow slipped onto the Christmas playlist on a token festive ticket. Christmas is after all a re-appropriation of a pagan festival to celebrate the Winter Solstice. Made me chuckle to myself that Jethro Tull were getting played around the Bull Ring like this and it’s not even really a Christmas song. Can I say “winterval” at this point?
The animated video to this is rather good. I seem to remember it doing the rounds a year or so back. Check out the codpiece on the dancing people. Ian Anderson would be approve.
Categories: 1976 · Christmas · Prog
Tagged: Christmas, Jethro Tull, Ring Out Solstice Bells, Solstice, winterval
Fairy Tale of New York – The Pogues
December 15, 2008 · Leave a Comment
I’m starting to get into the Christmas spirit now the decorations have gone up so I had a go at trying to play Fairy Tale of New York on the mandolin, badly.
I shall spare you my version although there is a karaoke version performed by a group of us at a wedding a couple of years back that lurks on Facebook if you know where to look.
Mind you there’s worse versions about. Katie Melua seems to have stepped in a few times to sing Kirsty’s part and does a fair job although it doesn’t invoke anywhere near the same emotional response in me, and Shane McGowan is way past his best. A trawl of YouTube will turn up a version or two if you are so inclined. The biggest travesty though that turned up as the version on my wife’s Now…Christmas album featured Ronan flipping Keating. Now… that’s a shite version.
Everybody knows that the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl’s version is the best Christmas song ever.
The BBC did showed a great documentary about this last year and it may well be on again this year. I suggest you keep an eye out on BBC4.
If not though you can find it in 6 parts on YouTube starting with part 1 here.
(oops I really did write this on the 15th honest but then left it in draft.)
Categories: 1987 · Christmas · Folk · Irish
Tagged: Christmas, Fairy Tale of New York, Kirsty MacColl, Pogues
