Even though many don’t ever release Christmas albums, most artists have a holiday song for radio stations to play in December. For years there wasn’t a way to have those songs in your collection unless you sit in tape them off the radio, yes kiddies, this was how we got our music in a time before the internet and CD burners. But in 1987, a compilation of holiday music came out with the biggest names in music titled A Very Special Christmas which is naturally December’s induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame. As an added bonus proceeds from the album were donated to the Special Olympics.
The album was a mixture of rock legends like Bob Seger, with Little Drummer Boy and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s rendition of Merry Christmas Baby, granted his version of Santa Clause Is Coming to Town is more associated with him, but the Pointer Sisters version of that song is what appears on the album. The eighties upstarts represented weren’t too shabby either including Madonna appropriately doing Santa Baby and Whitney Houston’s rendition of Do You Hear What I Hear? And long before the genre became mainstream, Run-DMC’s Christmas in Hollis made the tracklist. But the highlight of the album is my personal favorite Christmas song of all time Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by U2.
Five years later, a second volume was released including contributions from Boyz II Men (The Birth of Christ), Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (Christmas All Over Again), and Debbie Gibson (Sleigh Ride). Then in 1997 the third album featured Dave Mathews Band (Christmas Song), Blues Traveler (Christmas), and another personal favorite Hootie and the Blowfish’s rendition of The Christmas Song. 2001 saw the release of the fifth installment and the series also includes Jazz, World Music, Live and Acoustic albums. Today with advent of iTunes you can mix and match your favorites but it would be hard find a better array of Christmas music than that found on the original A Very Special Christmas. Now only had it included The Twelve Pains of Christmas it would have been perfect.
I have to admit I was a late-comer to You Tube, but I’ve found myself spend more and more time on the sight checking out mostly live performances, although I wish people would stop posting crapping videos taken off their camera phones because the quality is usually horrible. Even one of my favorite reads, Bill Simmons recently inducted thirty-three videos into the You Tube Hall of Fame including videos of Beavis and Butthead watching Hulk Hogan’s video and the top 10 baseball fights (how was the minor leaguer who mule kicked the catcher not number one; greatest move ever). And don’t let the Sports Guy moniker fool you because, much like the 9th Green, it's not just about sports as he takes on pop culture too, but you may want to skip whenever he starts going on and on about Boston sports. But anyways. Aside from the videos on his list, here are some videos I’m checking out.
Bruce Springsteen - Pay Me My Money Down (Conan O’Brien)
I used to be a faithful watcher of David Letterman (which I once appeared, sadly which hasn’t got onto You Tube yet) but as I grow older, I, much like Tony Kornheiser, can’t stay awake to watch it anymore. But I still check out the late night shows to see if they have any great guests on to tape (I’m not cool enough to Tivo) and that was the case Friday with Bruce Springsteen on Conan O'Brien. If this is any indication of what his tour is going to be like, I’m, going to have to pick up some tickets. But while watching it, I swear I saw Conan O’Brien on acoustic guitar and low and behold, it was him. They even let Jimmy Fallon, who was on earlier for an “In the Year 2000” bit, play the spoons and if you look closer, you can see Thomas Hayden Church in the background playing the glockenspiel or something.
This video has something to live up to as Jack White’s other band; The White Stripes always has great videos. The Raconteurs video doesn’t disappoint, but for some reason this video reminds me of an old cartoon that involved racing and included a dog, thing was named Dastardly or something like that, and it’s now totally bothering me that I can’t remember the name. It doesn’t help that Black would looked exactly like the baddie in the cartoon if he put on a top hat.
This video should put to rest all those plastic surgery rumors following Ashlee Simpson these days because it is now obvious that she didn’t go under the knife, instead it was the lead singer of Kajagoogoo that beat the ugly out of her. I love how the video is in black and white to give it the serious edge, but only succeeds in making it harder not to laugh while watching it. What sad though is that I reviewed her album (Hey, How Long Till the Music Drowns You Out?) and don’t even remember this song. Although I don't see this song in iTunes, does this means she has a new album coming out? Maybe that meteor set to hit the Earth on Monday will turn out to be a good thing after all.
Tribute and cover albums are tricky, usually an artist that gets such a treatment are already legend so it’s a heavy burden to try to live up to such greatness. And when it comes down to it, who want to hear flash in the pan groups try to recreate Jimi Hendrix songs when you can just go out and get The Ultimate Experience for the same price. Even with establish artists such as Rod Stewart or the recent collaboration between Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs (see my review - Who Knows Where the Time Goes), I would much rather spend my money on the originals. But on occasions, such tributes work like two years ago when Eric Clapton released a whole album of Robert Johnson tunes. Now you can Bruce Springsteen to that short list.
We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions is full of songs that were written or at one time recorded by the album’s namesake Pete, and for those who initially though Bob, please smack yourself upside your head for me (Plus his last name is spelled Seger). To recreate the classic American folk music, Springsteen recruited about fifteen musicians and vocalist whom then brought along instruments from tubas to banjos to accordions to washboards and of course Springsteen provide the harmonica himself. All of them packed themselves into Springsteen’s New Jersey home over three days.
Springsteen is no stranger to folk music himself releasing acoustic classics like Nebraska and The Ghost of Tom Joad, but where those albums are somber affairs about the darker sides of the American tradition, The Seeger Sessions play more like a party that still resonates in twenty-first century America, whether that be in the north or south, red or blue. Pay Me My Money down can get anyone up and dancing and opener Old Dan Tucker, where Springsteen growls like Tom Waite, is so dirty it’s good.
That doesn’t mean the guy behind the Vote for Change Tour shy away from Seeger’s political side. On Mrs. McGrath, the line, “All the foreign wars, I do proclaim live on blood and mother’s pain” is more poignant today than when Pete Seeger sang it or when it was written in the nineteenth century in Ireland. Then there is the title track, which also became the theme song during the civil rights era and Eyes on the Prize, another protest anthem, that’s name which has also become rooted in civil right.
Also include here are children songs that I probably haven’t heard since before I started school like Erie Canal and John Henry. If there is a problem I could find here is that just over an hour, it may be a little too long. He maybe should have kept three or four songs off and saved them for what I hope will be a second volume to the Seeger Sessions.
With Christmas only week away, it’s officially time to break out my mix tape of my favorite holiday songs. I really try to avoid Christmas music more than a week from the holiday because it always seems I get burned out from it if I start listening to it after Thanksgiving, which most department store start to play them. Even today as I listened to my personalized Yahoo radio station (see the link in my sidebar to listen to it yourself) I heard three different versions of The Christmas Song. But anyways. Hear are my favorite holiday tunes that easily fit on a single CD and feel free to leave a comment letting me know some of your favorite holiday tunes:
![Terror Alert Level: Severe [RED]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidjcsCV5I3jWQDVTcnVoXbArSx3kHl02FZ8FkOHBBKP2w8mQulcCF614SIw1GjuB2JtKV2YcQOKXtMlnW2ulLSOvYvvXzDwZ3JF4Mlh0Dt2nfEL1oGLh0sk7O-GRHWbCPvJmMMKg/s400/small_severe.png)
on my 