For the final Christmas Around The World, I thought I'd go to where it all began. I hope today finds you happy, safe and peaceful, where ever you are in the world. Merry Christmas.
For some reason I had always assumed Christmas Island was in the Pacific (maybe I had it confused with Kiritimati). Turns out it's in the Indian Ocean, and though it's only 600 miles from Jakarta, it's actually a territory of Australia. Crikey! Geography never was my best subject. I hadn't meant for so many of these Christmas Around The World posts to be tropical in nature, but songs about the sunnier scenery in December make a nice counterpoint to the traditional winter tunes we're used to hearing this time of year.
Leon Redbone is probably familiar to most people as Zooey Deschanel's original duet partner, and the voice of Leon the Snowman from Elf. Most of his career has been spent swimming just under the mainstream, and he's maintained quite an air of mystery. Not much is known about his past, and at one point it was thought that he was one of Andy Kaufman's alter egos. I guess the fact that Leon's still here and Andy's not finally put that rumor to rest.
They say when you're Irish, everyday is St. Patrick's Day. Does that mean if you're half Irish that it's every other day? The one advantage wearing green would give you at this time of year is it gives you a head start on dressing festively... throw on a red scarf and you're ready to go!
I'd mention some of the customs of the season in Ireland, but this song does a much better job of it than I possibly could.
I spent Christmas in San Diego ten years ago. My dad's entire family met down there for the holidays, and I remember going to my Aunt's condo on Christmas Eve and thinking how weird it was that it was in the mid-70's and people were laying out on the beach. But despite the warm weather, it was one of the most memorable Christmases of my life. Watching the sunset from the boardwalk at the Hotel Del Coronado, and then heading into the lobby for a family picture in front of their absolutely massive Christmas tree was a lot of fun. And when you've got family together for dinner and presents, it really doesn't matter whether it's cold outside or not.
I absolutely fell in love with this song last year. The lyrics reminded me of the two holiday seasons I spent in Las Vegas, plus I was in the middle of falling in love with my fiance last December, so the almost overwhelming sweetness of the lyrics that aren't talking about fake snow and billboard lights fit my frame of mind perfectly. The original version features Simone White on the female vocals, but this acoustic version has Wedding Present bassist Terry de Castro singing with David Gedge. Whether you're under a blanket in front of a fireplace or on a blanket sitting on the beach, this is a perfect song for Christmas cuddling.
I was going to post a different song to represent Trinidad and Tobago in the Christmas Around The World series (Lord Nelson's "A Party For Santa Claus," I promise I'll post it next year), but as awesome as it is, it didn't fit in with the apparent theme of songs that describe Christmas in the location. So here's one that does.
I'm pretty sure I paid two dollars for this CD many years ago, and it was worth is just for Joseph Spence's beautifully bizarre version of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" (check it out here). But this year it's made its way into the yuletide rotation, and it's been a treat. If you're feeling adventurous and craving something different from the same dozen song you seem to hear ad nauseum this time of year, it's worth checking out.
As news broke yesterday that Chris Feinstein passed away on Monday, most of the stories have focused on him being the bass player for Ryan Adams and the Cardinals. I guess that's understandable, since it was both his most recent and most popular gig. But he'd been an important part of Nashville's rock scene for years. He'd been a member if some of Nashville's seminal rock bands... The Questionaires, Shadow 15, Bedlam and Iodine among them, as well as recording and touring with Matthew Ryan. He'd also done studio work with Patty Griffin, Moby, the Strokes' Albert Hammond Jr and former Split Enz guitarist Tim Finn. And while his musical resume is impressive, I'll remember him most just for being a really nice guy. I got to know him during the Iodine days, and it was always a treat to talk to him. He was one of those people who would always greet you with a smile, and he could excitedly talk music with you for hours. He may have been a New Yorker for quite a while now, but there are surely a ton of people here in Nashville who are immensely saddened by the news of his passing. I'm definitely one of them.
For those of who who may only be familiar with his more recent discography, here are a few highlights from his musical legacy. Godspeed Chris... you will be missed.
I was going to post Matthew Ryan's "Heartache Weather" from his second album East Autumn Grin as well, but I couldn't find the CD. Turns out Matthew has made a tribute video to Chris using the song...
New Orleans is one of my favorite cities that I've ever visited, and I've been itching to find an excuse to get back there. It's probably a fun place to be this time of year. Not that they need an excuse to party, but I can just imagine the balconies of Basin Street decorated with garland and lights, and the sound of carols being played by a brass band drifting out of the clubs. They might not have snow or be wearing scarves and mittens, but I imagine there's no shortage of Christmas spirit in the Big Easy when Saint Nicholas goes marching in.
I remember reading a review of the Flight Of The Conchords' show at the Ryman back in February that commented on how so many of their songs were really salacious slow jams disguised as acoustic ditties. After listening to their second album, I Told You I Was Freaky, it's obvious why... because a lot of the songs they played that night are indeed R&B seductions.
I've been listening to this album without the benefit of having watched the entire second season of their HBO show, so I've been able to judge most of the songs on their own merits, without the context of the show to frame them with. There are some great and hilarious tunes on here, but in general you can definitely tell that a lot of these songs were written for the show, rather than their first album where the show was written around the songs. That shouldn't be interpreted as a knock on the album, just an observation. "Sugalumps" is quite possibly the most hilarious thing I've ever heard, and "Rambling Through The Avenues Of Time" is an absolutely perfect send up of Billy Joel. But a song like "Demon Woman" is probably appreciated more when you've seen the setup that their show provides.
The other obvious influence of the show on this album is in the production. While there are still a few acoustic based tunes, most of these songs have much fuller and much more electronic arrangements than their debut did. For a band that used to bill themselves as New Zeland's fourth most popular folk comedy duo, they sound surprisingly at ease kicking out the electro-jams. As they declare on the opener "Hurt Feelings," "Some people way that we are not rappers. We're rappers." They're also one of the funniest shows on television, which makes their announcement last week that they wouldn't be back for a third season utterly depressing. Here's to hoping they at least keep releasing albums.
It's that time of year when your email inbox fills up with a thousand forwarded messages from cousins and aunts that you haven't seen in the last decade, but for whatever reason they feel like forwarding a holiday message with a thousand lines of address headers makes them feel closer to their family this time of year. Next time send a card.
That said I actually enjoyed the Christmas trees around the world email that I'm sure everyone has already seen by now. And if you haven't, enjoy the world's largest Christmas tree on the slopes of Mt. Ingino, just outside of Gubbio, Italy. Apparently it's been an annual tradition since 1981. If you speak Italian, you can read all about it. If not, it's designed with 500 colored lamps and 40,000 feet of cables, and it lights up every year on December 7, the eve of the feast of Immaculate Conception.
This song actually came up in conversation at my annual Christmas party Saturday night. A couple of my friends had heard it in the car earlier that day, and thought it was absolutely the stupidest song they'd ever heard. I couldn't disagree more. Yeah, it's goofy, but that's what makes it one of my absolute favorite Christmas songs.
Christmas came early for pop nerds in Nashville this year, as one of the best double bills I've ever seen shared the stage at the legendary Ryman. Really, if you are a fan of rock and roll, you could not have asked for a better bill, or two bands more perfectly suited to be playing together. If you had been paying by the melody, tickets would have been five times the top tier price of fifty bucks.
Adopted hometown heroes Superdrag took the stage promptly (and I mean promptly) at 7:30. They may have been playing to a half full house at the start of their set, but the guys were clearly pumped to be playing at the mother church. Kicking things off with "Slow To Anger" and "Keep It Close To Me," they delivered a 40 minute set that was heavy on their mid-nineties Modern Rock radio classics. "Do The Vampire," "Sucked Out," and their standard closer "Destination Ursa Major" were all present and accounted for. And though they were tearing up the entire time, their smiles seemed to grow with each song as more and more of the crowd filed in. Even if frontman John Davis hadn't made repeated comments about what an honor it was for them to be playing there, their demeanor on stage made it obvious that they were having one hell of a good time.
After a forty minute wait that was spent listening to fortysomethings explain to their significant others how great Cheap Trick was when they last saw them in high school on the One On One tour, the house lights thankfully went down. An intro tape that featured an animated Japanese announcer, song snippets, and various quotes about the headliners from episodes of The Simpsons made it clear that yes indeed ladies and gentlemen, we were ready to rock. With a one-two punch of "Way Of The World" and "Come On, Come On," Rockford, IL's finest came out swinging and made it clear that they definitely belong among the greats who have played Nashville's most fabled stage. The set was heavy on the hits and surprisingly light on deep album cuts. I'd have gladly sacrificed any of the songs they played from their most recent album The Latest (although "Sick Man Of Europe" was a highlight) in order to hear fan favorites like "He's A Whore" or "Southern Girls." The pop purists among the crowd may have cringed when they broke out their 1988 power ballad "The Flame," but the song definitely highlights Robin Zander's still formidable vocals, and it gave the middle aged wives and girlfriends their "hug and sway" moment. When the band next tore into "Surrender" (the most perfect pop song ever written, says me), all was forgiven, although it seemed a bit early in the set to be playing their most popular song. As it turned out, it was the end of the main set already, just an hour into the show.
They kicked off their encore by reprising a song from their Las Vegas Sgt. Pepper residency, playing an outstanding version of "A Day In The Life." The Beatles' classic made an impressively appropriate segue into a raucous version of "Dream Police" that featured a guest appearance from Journey's Jonathan Cain on keyboards. After that back to back powderkeg, and entire audience was floating on a musical high that seemed like it could last forever, which is why it was all the more surprising when Rick Nielsen and Bun E. Carlos started off the intro to "Good Night." Surely the band wasn't going to call it quits after a mere 75 minutes? When Zander sang "That's the end of the show, now it's time to go," they meant it, and we got our unfortunate answer.
All though the concert was way too short, it feels like it's hard to complain. Yeah, it was brief, but it was also incredibly good. After over thirty years together, the guys have lost absolutely none of their ability to put on an utterly fantastic show. And frankly any setlist that includes "She's Tight" can do no wrong.
I've never been to Hawaii. My parents promised my sister and I a trip there when we were kids, but then we moved from Washington to Tennessee, and suddenly it was no longer feasible. They took us to the Bahamas instead. Now I'll admit the Bahamas are nice, but they ain't Hawaii. My fiance and I looked into a trip there recently while honeymoon planning, but as soon as we saw the cost of airfare, it was crossed off the list of possible destinations. It'd be cheaper to fly to Europe, and we aren't going there either.
What does any of this have to do with Christmas? Absolutely nothing, so I'll get back on track. I used to work with a lady from Hawaii, and I loved that she always signed her Christmas cards Mele Kalikimaka. It's funny that sometimes we learn language through song. I mean, everyone knows how to say Merry Christmas in Spanish, right? We can thank Jose Feliciano for that.
Until last year the only versions of this song that I'd ever heard were Chris Isaak and Bing Crosby with The Andrews Sisters. Two years ago I picked up KT Tunstall's Christmas CD at Target for 75 cents. I'm not really a fan of hers, but I do love Christmas music, and at ninety percent off I'll check out just about anything. It turned out to be a pretty good CD, and her version of this song is ridiculously fun.
One of my favorite Nashville Christmas memories was going to see the Trees of Christmas exhibit at Cheekwood. A few years ago they ended the annual event, apparently after a falling out between the various garden clubs that did each of the themed trees. They still have Christmas exhibits there, but they aren't nearly as big or as cool as they used to be. My favorite was the year they did Christmas Around The World, where each tree represented the various yuletide traditions from countries all over the world. Not only was it festive, but it also appealed to the history nerd in me.
I always post a bunch of Christmas songs this time of year, and I thought this December it'd be fun to do a theme. So every couple of days I'll be posting a song celebrating Christmas around the world. I haven't really planned exactly how many songs I have that fit into this theme (feel free to leave suggestions in the comments), but I came up with a half dozen off the top of my head, so I figure I'll be able to dig up a few more in order to do a post every 2-3 days leading up to Christmas. To kick things off, here's a theme song for the series, courtesy of the Candy Man...
. Most of his career has been spent swimming just under the mainstream, and he's maintained quite an air of mystery. Not much is known about his past, and at one point it was thought that he was one of Andy Kaufman's alter egos. I guess the fact that Leon's still here and Andy's not finally put that rumor to rest.
as well, but I couldn't find the CD. Turns out Matthew has made a tribute video to Chris using the song...
of their HBO show, so I've been able to judge most of the songs on their own merits, without the context of the show to frame them with. There are some great and hilarious tunes on here, but in general you can definitely tell that a lot of these songs were written for the show, rather than their first album where the show was written around the songs. That shouldn't be interpreted as a knock on the album, just an observation. "Sugalumps" is quite possibly the most hilarious thing I've ever heard, and "Rambling Through The Avenues Of Time" is an absolutely perfect send up of Billy Joel. But a song like "Demon Woman" is probably appreciated more when you've seen the setup that their show provides.
