Nov
28
First: I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, if you were celebrating.
Second: I’m currently obsessed with making an epically awesome holiday mix of festive ass-kickery. Here’s what I’ve got so far:
No Christmas for Me, Zee Avi • This Warm December: Brushfire Holiday’s, Vol. 1
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Joshua James • Fields & Floods
Winter Song, Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson • The Hotel Café Presents Winter Songs
Little Drummer Boy, Pink Martini • Joy to the World
Holy, Holy, Holy, Sufjan Stevens • Songs for Christmas
We Three Kings, The Roches • We Three Kings
Ave Maria + Intro, Chris Cornell & Eleven • A Very Special Christmas, Vol. 3
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, Mason Jennings • This Warm December: Brushfire Holiday’s, Vol. 1
O Come All Ye Faithful, Weezer • Christmas With Weezer
God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman, Barenaked Ladies & Sarah McLachlan • A Winter’s Night
Frosty the Snowman, Fiona Apple • The Hotel Café Presents Winter Songs
Christmas in Prison (Live), John Prine • A John Prine Christmas
Happy Xmas (War Is Over), Billy Bob Thornton & The Boxmasters • My Dreams of Christmas – Single
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, Over the Rhine • The Darkest Night of the Year
Winter Wonderland (Single Version), The Andrews Sisters • Christmas
Blue Christmas, Elvis Presley • Elvis Christmas
Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town (Q-Burns Abstract Message Remix), Johnny Mercer & The Pied Pipers • Merry Mixmas: Christmas Classics Remix (Digital Version)
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Ella Fitzgerald • Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas
Please Come Home for Christmas, Willie Nelson • A Very Special Acoustic Christmas
A Holly Jolly Christmas, Burl Ives • Have a Holly Jolly Christmas
We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Weezer • Christmas With Weezer
I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm (Stuhr Remix), Kay Starr • Christmas Remixed – Holiday Classics Re-Grooved
Christmas Canon, Trans-Siberian Orchestra • The Christmas Attic
We Three Kings, The Reverend Horton Heat • We Three Kings
Calling On Mary, Aimee Mann • One More Drifter In the Snow
Oiche Chiun (Silent Night) Enya • A Very Special Christmas, Vol. 3
Gabriel’s Message, Sting • A Very Special Christmas, Vol. 1
Carol of the Bells, Mormon Tabernacle Choir • Joy to the World
Wizards In Winter (Instrumental), Trans-Siberian Orchestra • The Lost Christmas Eve
Link to the iMix of all these songs.
Some kind of widget exported by iTunes that may or may not work in your browser:
Aaaaaand a bunch of mostly-crappy YouTube videos of the songs:
“No Christmas For Me” — Zee Avi
“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” — Joshua James
“Winter Song” — Sara Bareilles/Ingrid Michaelson
“Little Drummer Boy” — Pink Martini
“Holy, Holy, Holy” — Sufjan Stevens
“Ave Maria” — Chris Cornell
“Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town” — Mason Jennings
“O Come All Ye Faithful” — Weezer
“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” — Barenaked Ladies
“Frosty the Snowman” — Fiona Apple
“Christmas in Prison” — John Prine
“Hallelujah” — Over the Rhine
“Winter Wonderland” — The Andrews Sisters
“Blue Christmas” — Elvis
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” — Ella Fitzgerald
“Please Come Home for Christmas” — Willie Nelson
“Holly Jolly Christmas” — Burl Ives
“I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” — Kay Starr
“Christmas Canon” — Trans-Siberian Orchestra
“Calling on Mary” — Aimee Mann
“Gabriel’s Message” — Sting
“Carol of the Bells” — Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Hope you enjoy these as much as I have been. Got any additional song suggestions?
Nov
23
You start with a baby harp seal, which you hunt through the ice of eastern Greenland or the chilly Magdalen Islands with your double-barreled shotgun.
(Are they . . . gone yet?)
So anyway, how about the weather? No really: Seattle is in the midst of Snowpocalypse ’10, or as our local news has been referring to it—usually via infographic while airing footage of some poor reporter shivering on the side of the road somewhere saying “Yeah, it’s totally cold as fuck, back to you Jean”—ARCTIC BLAST.
A little snow can do a whole lot of damage in Seattle, and I’ve never been so grateful to have my commuting days behind me. Yes, I may be getting slobby and (more) socially inept and frankly, kind of fat, but thank god I don’t have that shitty drive any more. Yesterday’s icy streets resulted in a horrific traffic nightmare that trapped hundreds of commuters, like my friend Mona, who was on a bus for five hours trying to get home, and my former coworker Kristina, who spent a jaw-dropping 11.5 hours stuck on I-5.
Nearly twelve hours with no water or bathroom, you guys. I just saw 127 Hours and I was like, KRISTINA TO SAVE YOURSELF YOU MAY NEED TO DRINK YOUR OWN URINE ALSO DO YOU HAVE A KNIFE.
Seriously, I feel so bad for anyone who got stuck in yesterday’s mess. What a crazy situation, and after just a few inches of snow, too. It worries me to know we live in an area that can be completely and utterly gridlocked like that—in a natural disaster, there would be no way to leave unless you had a spare Blackhawk helicopter stored in the garage.
In other words, Seattle = zombie chow.
The upside of the snow is that it’s beautiful and the boys have been loving it. Today I bundled them up, stuck them in a sled, and dragged them down the street to a park where a bunch of kids were sledding, and man, if that wasn’t one of those parenthood File: Save As moments. Riley went down the hill again and again and again, just wild with joy. Dylan rode with me, hooting “WHEEEEE!” in my ear. Just perfect.
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