Merry Christmas to all those who are so celebrating. & Happy Christmas if you live in the UK, because that's what they say instead.
I don't have any festive music for you today; just music for slow-moving afternoons, which is the way my Christmas usually passes. I hope somewhere out there there are some humbugs, jews and travellers in a similar boat: slide around the floors with me, socks on.
Shearwater - "If You Stay Sober". A lovely lop-sided song from Shearwater's first album, from the band's first winter. From when the narrator's me-and-you was an easy thing, able to wash away the memory of dark times: "two days in '95" when he "wanted to die". With swing of drums and guitar, Jonathan Meiburg singing like he's swaying from a star, then a fiddle to underline the heaven come to earth - the way joy does sometimes just appear. [buy]
Christine Fellows - "Paper Anniversary". Tomorrow will be a post about death so today let's let it be about love. (Easier said than done. But seriously, wait, let's stay in the parentheses; it's easier here. And on "Paper Anniversary", Christine makes true love sound simple as punch, no harder than piano keys struck-and-echoing, a wheezy out-of-key organ, a statement of the things that Simply Are: "There's no better time than the second time, of anything, with you." It's a song that jolts with sentiment strongly felt, that jumps with the gladness of a moment shared. It's a yay.
[buy])
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Amy at Shake Your Fist's best songs of 2006 has lots of very great things.
RIP James Brown. [photo (c) diane arbus]
Posted by Sean at December 25, 2006 9:22 AMhappy christmas! I've cooked the dinner with my sibling, ate it and am now ready to drop...thanks for the music! :)
Posted by aisha at December 25, 2006 5:45 PMMerry Christmas to you guys, too. I spent quite alot of my time today listening to a parody of "The Christmas Song" (aka "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire")done by Brendan Reed at lead vocals, the infamous drummer who freaked out one night. I'm just trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my 2-week break now...
Posted by J.S. at December 25, 2006 10:05 PMThanks Aisha!
J.S. - I was at the party where those songs were recorded... I'm pretty embarrassed to admit that it's me singing backup on "Jingle Bell Rock"...
Posted by Sean at December 25, 2006 10:13 PMIt's okay, Sean, I enjoyed that one too. Let me tell you, it sounded (hey, look it just came on!) amusing after that crappy trip to Quebec where all the French I spoke was "Merci," and "Un peu," when a fuse got blasted in my hotel room and housekeeping asked if I spoke French... That was in the summer.
Posted by J.S. at December 25, 2006 10:18 PMThanks, Sean. At least your day was peaceful (or I hope it was). More than I can say for mine. Best holiday wishes!
Posted by Amy at December 26, 2006 12:05 AMI'm falling pretty hard for Christine Fellows. Thank you so very, very much for the introduction.
Posted by c at December 26, 2006 12:14 AM
and it will begin playing. All songs are also available to download: just right-click the link and choose 'Save as...'
