Tis the Season

Now that we are beyond Thanksgiving, let's welcome Christmas.

Of all the trappings of the Holiday season, what I like most is simply listening to carols. My favorite is probably (this is one those things which changes occasionally, depending on mood) 'Hark the Herald Angels Sing'. That's greatly sentimental because the Peanuts gang sings it at the end of their marvelous Christmas special, but it's still a great song.

As we all know there's tons of celebrity Christmas songs out there, and most of them are at least ok. I just heard for example Paul McCartney's 'Wonderful Christmas Time'. It's simple and sentimental, but infectious.

The Little Drummer Boy is classic, and let me tell you that of all people Bob Seger's cover is fantastic. He really nails the song. That's one that's on my list of maybe favorite. It's that good. And Bing Crosby and David Bowie's is right up there too. Talk about cross-generational; I don't know who's idea that was but it really works.

A list such as mine can't be complete without Silent Night. It's a carol which succinctly expresses what Christmas is all about.

I might ruminate more on this as Christmas grows nearer. But, for now, it's a good start.

Thurl and George

It's 3:20 on a Saturday morning. I have Christmas tunes on via the Sounds of the Seasons channel on Music Choice. Right now it's playing some pop drivel by the Jonas Brothers. Who are they?

I like this time of day. It's quiet; a good time for reflection. Good thing I'm nowhere near a mirror though. That reflection might not be pleasant.

Hey, wait; they're playing You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch. I gotta listen to it.

Okay, cool. Did you know that song (the Grinch one) is sung by Thurl Ravenscroft? He was also the voice of Tony the Tiger for over 50 years. It's true. It's like how Heat Miser from The Year Without A Santa Claus is also voiced by the narrator from the Underdog cartoons, George S. Irving. I like knowing things like that. It's trivia, but trivia is neat.

Speaking of trivial, I had shrimp ramen yesterday. From Dollar General. For lunch. Just so you know.

All right, back to work on a new book I'm writing. The idea just came to me Monday and I've already written 6500 words. Wish me luck! 

Hark, Charlie Brown

I mentioned my favorite Christmas novelty songs one day last week. I think I got into trouble over Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer. I would have thought Christmas at Ground Zero might have been the one to draw ire. Oh well.

But as to my favorite straight out Christmas song, one which takes Christmas seriously, that's a tough call. Schubert's Ave Maria always brings tears to my eyes; what a glorious, glorious tribute to the Mother of Christ. It's beautiful in Latin, and the thing is you don't have to understand the language to comprehend the profound beauty of the song. 

Midnight Mass at old St. Dominic here in Detroit always ended with Joy to the World, and as such meant Christmas, to me, had begun. That would have to be near the top of my list. I've always had a soft spot for O Little Town of Bethlehem, and I love Adeste Fideles too.

Yet I would have to say my favorite is likely (I say likely because our feelings for songs do tend to ebb and flow a bit) Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. And I mean precisely how the Peanuts gang sings it at the end of the Charlie Brown Christmas special. Maybe that's too sentimental of a choice. But when the kids all yell, "Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!" then launch into that hymn, well, I still get chills no matter how often I've seen the show.

So, it's Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. But I may be open to suggestion.

Christmas and John Lennon

During the Christmas season we hear ad infinitum all and every Christmas song imaginable. That's okay, of course. They are part of the holidays and many are well worth hearing, containing sentiments expressed well and to a good point.

Not all of them quite make that standard, however; even some of the better ones. John Lennon's Happy Xmas (War is Over) is one of those. It is a neat little tune, at times ethereal and perhaps even angelic. But the trouble with it is that it preaches to the choir just a bit too much, while more or less undermining the very sentiments it pretends to address.

War is over...if you want it. Well, of course the bulk of the Western world wants it. Indeed, most individuals in the world want it. Yet the problem with calling for the end of war is that it falls on too many deaf ears. So long as that's the case, so long as there are those who do in fact want it on some level, then we have little more than something too idealistic to be practical.

Especially when you attempt to combine Lennon's general philosophy with the apparent point of the song. One need only recall the words of another famous song of his to get that irony: Imagine there's no heaven...no religion. In short, he usually in his life appealed to sentiments contrary to Christmas. Without Heaven or Religion there would be no Christmas. Indeed, with nothing universal and eternal, the sentiments he expresses in his work are rendered meaningless. There can be no brotherhood of man worth salt without forever.

And Forever is precisely what the greatest Christmas songs call us towards. Family, friends, fellowship; these are eternal values. John Lennon ultimately only speaks in support of earthly ones. Values of the type he could not safely proclaim even or especially in the Gulag, or modern China or North Korea. Places, it must be noted, without heaven or religion. Places mired in earthly concerns.

In the end, what he preaches must be hollow. Or, and we should truly and fully hope and pray for this, the song shows he was in fact a better man than his professed creed. Because as it is, what he calls for is little more than comfort and self indulgence. Those feelings are not in the Christmas spirit.

John Lennon and Christmas

During the Christmas season we hear ad infinitum all and every Christmas song imaginable. That's okay, of course. They are part of the holidays and many are well worth hearing, containing sentiments expressed well and to a good point.

Not all of them quite make that standard, however; even some of the better ones. John Lennon's Happy Xmas (War is Over) is one of those. It is a neat little tune, at times ethereal and perhaps even angelic. But the trouble with it is that it preaches to the choir just a bit too much, while more or less undermining the very sentiments it pretends to address.

War is over...if you want it. Well, of course the bulk of the Western world wants it. Indeed, most individuals in the world want it. Yet the problem with calling for the end of war is that it falls on too many deaf ears. So long as that's the case, so long as there are those who do in fact want it on some level, then we have little more than a vague ideal too fantastic to be practical.

Especially when you attempt to combine Lennon's general philosophy with the apparent point of the song. One need only recall the words of another famous tune of his to get that irony: Imagine there's no heaven...no religion. In short, he usually in his life appealed to sentiments contrary to Christmas. Without Heaven or Religion there would be no Christmas. Indeed, with nothing universal and eternal, the sentiments he expresses in his work are rendered meaningless. There can be no brotherhood of man worth salt without forever.

And Forever is precisely what the greatest Christmas songs call us towards. Family, friends, fellowship; these are eternal values. John Lennon ultimately only speaks in support of earthly ones. Values of the type he could not safely proclaim even or especially in the Gulag, or modern China or North Korea. Places, it must be noted, without heaven or religion. Places mired in earthly concerns.

In the end, what he preaches must be hollow. Or, and we should truly and fully hope and pray for this, the song shows he was in fact a better man than his professed creed. Because as it is, what he calls for is little more than comfort and self indulgence. Those feelings are not in the Christmas spirit.