Christmas Songs to Get You Groovin'

Just when you thought I was done talking about music!  I've been really enjoying the Christmas music this year and although there are many classics that I love, I thought I would share a few that are less traditional. 


The Waitresses - "Christmas Wrapping"
Gotta love a new wave Christmas! As a bonus you can watch someone's crazy light display set to this song.




The Pogues w/Kirsty MacColl - "Fairytale of New York"
When I read the lyrics, this is sort of depressing as far as Christmas songs go but leave it to the Irish to suss out what the holidays are all about: drinkin'.





No Doubt - "Oi to the World"
This is how I love Gwen Stefani - punked out and playing with the boys. This is from the album A Very Special Christmas 3 which is solid all the way through.




That's What Christmas Means to Me My Love - Hanson
Hanson's Christmas album is actually pretty good.  Yes, I said it. Hanson.




What are your favorite Christmas songs?

31 Days of Music -- Day 31 (The Finale!)

Your favorite artist of all time 

Firstly, I have to say blogging about music for 31 days straight (almost) was just as fun as challenging.  I had to really think about some of my responses but due to the length and the nature of some of the questions, some days didn't get such thoughtful entries.  And that's OK.  I think sometimes, music is background noise at best. I love the line in High Fidelity where John Cusack says he just wants to play something he can ignore.  Though I do feel that way sometimes I guess most music, for good or bad, is something that has always captured my attention.

Anyway, this last blog is supposed to be about the musicians that I love and picking one artist is just too tough.  I think that because I have such varied musical tastes, I HAVE to pick a few different artists. As was proven in yesterday's entry, my tastes have changed through the years, heck, they change throughout the month.

So, since I just referenced High Fidelity, I've decided end it on my top five favorite artists of all time, in no particular order:

• Ani DiFranco
• Elliot Smith
• Hazel
• Sleater-Kinney
• The White Stripes

There they are. I think given the last month, these are not surprising, nor do they require any further justification.  I love everything they do (or did) and if there are any 'misses' among their catalog, I typically forgive it given the rest of their work. And while this list may shift and change, I feel pretty good about it today.

So.... Who's your all time favorite artist(s)?

31 Days of Music -- Day 30

Song/Album that brings up a certain time in your life 

Mom's boots were rock-n-roll. And Dad's hair.

I'll name a few that are really strong in my memory.  First, I was about three or four years old when we lived on SE Ramona. By rights I probably shouldn't remember much from then but with music as aid to my memory, I recall quite a bit. I particularly remember an afternoon spent with my dad and "Uncle" Mark, making paper airplanes and drinking Coke, *right* from the bottle. It was a hot, summer day and the doors and windows were open so that music could float from the house to the front yard. In fact, this song must have always been playing at that house because every time I hear it, I think of those year:

 

I call this one, "eye brows"

Fast forward to the late 80's.  I was an awkward middle-schooler with seriously big bangs and an equally serious love of MTV.  We were the only family in the cul-de-sac with cable and many afternoons were spent with my BFFs, Nicki and Teri (why are they not on Facebook?!), eating mud-pies and dissecting the dance moves of Janet, Miss Jackson if you're nasty:

They airbrushed my face.

Moving on to the 90's - my hair has been somewhat tamed; still working through the eyebrow issues, though.  This is about when my mom decided to cancel cable TV and all sugary treats were banned from the house.  Probably because by now, my brothers' friends Tommy and Seng were living with us nearly full time and the food and entertainment budget had to be cut drastically. Also, it was a rough time for the boys what with all that extra testosterone in the house, they were bound to get in to trouble. Luckily I had Natalie Merchant along for the ride that last year of high school, first year of college. I especially remember an ill-advised camping trip in the middle of winter, wherein I converted April in to a 10,000 Maniacs fan:

This picture is pre-digital. Post beers.

Then in the late 90's, I was going to school and working at Camelot Music where I made lots of new friends and went to lots of shows (see Day 27).  Twice, I went to see Tori Amos with my buddy Jaimee and every time I hear Raspberry Swirl, I think of her and the many beer soaked nights we spent in my little apartment, playing Tekken 3 until the wee hours.

BC, the Battle Axe and us

Any tribute to the late 90's needs to include a trip to the Gypsy, the retro bar where Janie was working and where we spent a lot of time, but not a lot of money (that girl could sweet talk the bartenders somethin' fierce).  I especially think of driving there in Heidi's purple car, listening to this song by Depeche Mode (oddly, I don't hardly ever remember the rides home):

Yes, gray even then.

Of course, one of my fondest memories happened in August of 2002.  When ever I hear When I'm Sixty Four, I think of the amazing day we shared and the awesome party that our family and friends put together for us and I am reminded fondly of my husband who's hair will be really, REALLY gray when he's 64.

Good times on Fremont Street.  And fully clothed.

In 2004, the gang went to Vegas for Halloween.  Obviously, there are a ton of songs about Vegas but the album that comes to mind and brings back vivid images of driving around on the strip is Green Day's American Idiot.  Probably because it was one of the few CDs the whole group could tolerate.  Also, it was a fun album to get ourselves revved up for drinking and acting a fool in the hot tub.






Obviously, I could go on and on but I fear I'd run out of room.  Besides, I want to hear YOUR musical memories, too!

31 Days of Music -- Day 29

An artist everyone hated but you liked:  Joanna Newsom

I know, I know - it's her voice.  Or maybe it's the fact she plays the harp or comes off like a woodland faery but I find it sort of endearing.  And I love her song writing.  Who references the Chronicles of Narnia?  Just give her a try.  All these songs are from her debut "The Milk Eyed Mender":

Peach Plum Pear

The Sprout and the Bean

Sadie

31 Days of Music -- Day 28

Song/Album that you feel is your life anthem:  "I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone"  by Sleater-Kinney

If you have to have an anthem, what better than, "I'm the queen of rock and roll?"   I love how this song equates lust with rock idolatry and also, seethes with the self assurance and swagger not heard from women outside of the rap genre.  And it totally kicks ass.

it's fine
when it's all mine
it's on my wall
it's in my head
memorize it till i'm dead
it's yours
now i'm so bored

i wanna be your joey ramone
pictures of me on your bedroom door
invite you back after the show
i'm the queen of rock and roll

i just don't care
are you that scared?
i swear they're looking right at me
push to the front so i can see
it's what i thought
it's rock'n'roll

i wanna be your thurston moore
wrestle on the bedroom floor
always leave me wanting more
throw away those old records

we go downtown
put on our best frowns
give me a chance
i know i can dance

it's fine
cus it's all mine

31 Days of Music -- Day 27

Artist you have seen live the most times:  Hazel

Part of the perk of working at a music store was getting free tickets from the label reps and I took advantage of it whenever I could.  I stole the idea of snapping a photo of my ticket stubs from Tom but many of them aren't represented here.  I've seen Sleater-Kinney 6 times and Ani and Natalie tie with 5, but Matt and I figured we went to at least a dozen Hazel shows in their heyday.  (mid '90's)

 

 

How many times did I stumble through these doors?

Unfortunately, so many of them were at venues like Satyricon, Berbati's Pan, The Oh Hell Cafe, and La Luna, often the only proof of attendance was a hand stamp that would sweat itself away by the end of the night.  I think these gritty locales were part of the charm of seeing Hazel live. It was like being admitted to a club house in your friend's cool older brother's basement lair.  I often pushed to the very front, risking life and limb and eardrums to get a good look at the band.  I could reach out and touch Pete.  I had to dodge Jody's spit and Fred's pitchers of water.  

The sound was also appealing to me. 

L-R: Brady, Jody, Pete and Fred

I love male-female harmonies and Pete and Jody were the first band I had really heard that incorporated this to punk music. Also, they had a dancer. It wasn't high art. It wasn't even great live music but more like some odd sort of street theater with a house band.  While grunge was ruling Seattle, Portland embraced a more lighthearted indie sound played by outcasts and freaks.  Hazel was my favorite of the bunch.

I wish I had a good version of their live music but this link was the closest thing I could find on YouTube.  It won't embed and there is the end of one song before the actual song starts but it is a good quality performance given it was recorded in the days before video phones.  Or you can settle for the "Day-Glo" video below to get a pretty close depiction of what you'd see at a live show:

31 Days of Music -- Day 26

An song/album that changed your opinion about an artist: 

"Liz Phair" by Liz Phair (2003) 

I always regretted not seeing Liz Phair live and now, if the opportunity every arose, I probably wouldn't go if you paid me.  I loved her debut Exile in Guyville and thought her third album Whitechocolatespacegg was sadly underrated. Listening to those albums, I thought she was a creative songwriter and intentionally under-produced. I thought she was tough, smart, and totally in-your face.  

I thought she was a role model for Gen-X girls trying to navigate the tricky world of relationships in the 90's with dudes that make better friends than lovers.  Then she made this steaming pile of shit and I lost all respect for her.  I can't more accurately describe the album than below, taken from pitchforkmedia.com:

"Ten years on from Exile, Liz has finally managed to achieve what seems to have been her goal ever since the possibility of commercial success first presented itself to her: to release an album that could have just as easily been made by anybody else.

In recent interviews, Phair has been upfront about her hopes of mainstream success, and claims full awareness that Liz Phair is likely to alienate many of her original fans. What she doesn't seem to realize is that a collection of utterly generic rocked-out pop songs isn't likely to win her many new ones. It's sad that an artist as groundbreaking as Phair would be reduced to cheap publicity stunts and hyper-commercialized teen-pop."

31 Days of Music -- Days 20 thru 25

Clearly, I fell off the blogging wagon so today I will cram a week's worth of goodies in to one blog to make up for it.  I really admire people who have the gumption to do this for a living.  I don't even have a job and I fell behind!

Day 20 - Favorite love song: "She" by Hummingfish 

I guess as a girl, I'm supposed to love love songs but honestly, when I look through all my MP3s and CDs, I find that I am more attracted to songs about loss and grief than joy.  Of course, I'd love for John Mayer to think my body is a wonderland or Dave Matthews  to crash in to me, but here's a song that I consider just a little more realistic.  It's from a Portland band that isn't around any more but I loved this album.  Maybe it's because when it was released, I had just moved in to a little one bedroom apartment with my future husband and we learned how to love and fight along with this song.  I also adore how it depicts love as something less than perfect and yet, so much better than you ever thought. (Sorry, couldn't find a way to upload MP3 so you can't hear how pretty Deb Talan's voice is)

You've been in love maybe two times

They never changed you

Didn't touch you deep inside 

They seemed to need from you too soon

You became a planet 

With an unwanted moon

Her visage didn't smite you in the eye

Like lightening striking from the sky but

She looked right at you 

And smiled and asked your name

You couldn't know 

That your heart would never be the same

She is not what you expected

You thought you were garrisoned

You had all your sides well-protected

She is more than she seemed

Asks more than a dream

Nothing less than everything

She gives you more

Than you knew you wanted

Now what you're wanting 

You never ever had before 

Real, true, imperfect love 

Funny how life becomes so complicated

It's easy to argue, she is opinionated

So are you

But simple things can bring you back

When you're riding on the wrong track

She takes your hand, gives it a squeeze

A small white flag blowing in the breeze

You make some dinner

And laugh at little things

The sun sets gently on today

Your soul is singing

She is not what you expected

You thought you were garrisoned

You had all your sides well-protected

She is more than she seemed

Asks more than a dream

Nothing less than everything

She gives you more

Than you knew you wanted

Now what you're wanting 

You never ever had before 

Real, true, imperfect love

Day 21 – Favorite song from your childhood: "My Baby Takes the Morning Train" by Sheena Easton

I had the 45 record. And I played the hell out of it.

Day 22 – First album owned: "Thriller" by Michael Jackson

I honestly can't remember if this was my first album but it is the first one I remember listening to all the way through. Up until this album I was mostly a connoisseur of 45 singles (see day 21). Probably because the cost was minimal and my tastes were ever changing.  

This post pretty much sums up how I feel about MJ now.
 

 Day 23 – Favorite lyric from a favorite song:

 Where to begin? You can probably pick any of the Ani DiFranco lyrics from Day 13 but honestly, I think my two favorite lyrics of all time are:

  “Do you know where you are? You’re in the jungle baby!” 

from Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N' Roses and

 “She walked in thru the out door, out door” 

from Raspberry Beret by Prince. 

These come to mind and make me smile every time I see a big, overgrown houseplant or someone entering a store the wrong way.

 

Day 24 – An song/album that you wish more people would’ve liked more: "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" by Neutral Milk Hotel.

Thanks to Mike Cain for turning me on to this album.  It is a top 10 for me and I can't help but think if it had been more popular, they would have stayed together and written more music.  It is a real shame that didn't happen. Please, if you have the mind to learn more, read this review from Pitchfork.  I can't possibly pick a favorite song from this album so here's the title track:

 

Day 25 – An album that disappointed you: "West" by Lucinda Williams 

I thought it sucked. I was disappointed. I don't have any more to add.

Pausing the Music for Festivus

Saturday was our annual Christmas party with friends which we affectionately refer to as Festivus.  We decided to stay local this year instead of trekking north to the Mossy Rock cabin as we have for the past two years.  We started the day early with a delicious breakfast of Crème Brulee French Toast that Nikki prepared for us all and then drove up Mt. Hood to Snow Bunny.  The plan was to find a free place to sled further up the mountain but luckily, perhaps due to it being so early in the season, no one was was minding this particular set of slopes and we were able to play without having to pay the exorbitant tube rental fees.
 

The roads were clear and dry - perfect conditions for snow play!

 

James and Iliana, ready to rock the slopes!

It's hard to smile when you're bundled.

I think this first hill was the most fun for Maura and Iliana.

Before the great finger maiming of 2010.

Me and D, going for a new land speed record!

 
Unfortunately, my camera died *way* earlier than expected (ahem, stupid kids' toys!), otherwise there would be some sweet pictures here of Mike's daredevil attempts to snowboard on a children's sled and of April bouncing her head off the slopes.  Also, many various shots of Matt and Jason taking shots of Bulleit to keep warm.

After we sustained all the cold and bruising we could take, we regrouped at our house for drinks, gifts and food.  April was technically the host this year and decided on a roast for our Festivus feast.  Good call, as it turned out so freakin' good.  Also on the menu were roasted yams, braised cabbage and pumpkin cheesecake.  

April's famous roast really brings all the boys to the yard.  Or is it that foxy apron? I think the best part was that my kitchen looked cleaner when she left than when she arrived! What a hostess.

When Maura wasn't being generally adorable she was a great help in the kitchen. She quickly mastered the art peeling carrots without loss of fingers.

The gift exchange was a success as always.  I wish I had made better use of the little battery life I had left and gotten pictures of everything.  As usual, this group really knows how to pick the perfect gag gifts. 

Oh Christmas Tree! Your ornaments are falling on the ground.

How did I score the Beatles pint glasses?  Perhaps a Festivus miracle?!

Even Tika and Ray got presents this year.  Thanks auntie Nikki!
Happy Festivus, everyone!

31 Days of Music -- Day 19

Favorite song from a movie/tv soundtrack 

While it would be easy to pick anything from any Quentin Tarrantino or John Cusack movie (he's really a soundtrack actor, isn't he?) I am picking two songs from movies that are not even great but have great music.

Stevie Nicks & Sheryl Crow -" If you Ever Did Believe" from Practical Magic

This was really a forgettable movie but I always loved the soundtrack.   Sheryl and Stevie harmonize so well together.

Crash Test Dummies feat. Ellen Reid - "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" from Dumb and Dumber.  

This could be one of the stupidest films I ever paid to see but again, killer soundtrack.  I mostly think it's cool that they chose to do an XTC cover.  No one gives them props.

31 Days of Music -- Day 18

Favorite singer

Yikes, this is a tough one.  I find that I like singers who's music I like, not just who have the best quality of voice.  And of course, I think that different music requires different styles of singing.  Maybe that's why I don't love American Idol -- yes, I agree that Kelly Clarkson is wildly talented. No, I don't wanna hear her sing "A Moment Like This." 

I will try to make a short, succinct list of singers I love:

Alison Krauss

Anne Wilson

Beth Ditto

Billie Holliday

Corin Tucker

Dolly Parton

Erykah Badu

Fiona Apple

Mary J. Blige

P.J. Harvey

Shawn Colvin

Susan Tedeschi

Ben Harper

Bradley Nowell

Eddie Vedder

Jeff Buckley

Johnny Cash

Morrissey

Paul McCartney

Paul Simon

Ray LaMontagne

Sufjan Stevens

Thom York

Van Morrisson

That said, if I could sing like anyone, it would be Julie Andrews.  Maybe because I grew up watching "The Sound of Music" and "Mary Poppins" and I guess those songs and her voice are just embedded in my memory of what a great singer is.



I love the three minute mark where she sings with her reflection.  (Yep, I used to do that in the mirror as a kid. Now you know my secret - I'm a total dork.)

Who's your favorite singer?

31 Days of Music -- Day 17

Favorite bassist

I don't know. I like Kim Deal, Charles Mingus, Gail Greenwood and Bud from Sublime.  I wouldn't say I pay enough attention to pick one favorite, BUT, I know who my LEAST favorite bassist is:

Seriously, a douche bag this enormous could cleanse a whale vagina.