And a chilly good day to you. In this installment: some of my favorite Christmas albums, the daily blogging is done, the Victorian View-Master, and the usual stuff & nonsense.
13 Favorites
We have a strict rule: no playing of Christmas music until we're driving back from my Aunt Carolyn's Thanksgiving dinner. From then until we go to bed on December 25th, Christmas music plays pretty much non-stop at home.
The music we listen to may be good only to our ears; we've had this music for so long that they're old friends. It's hard to hear them anew. Still -- Christmas is a time for familiar, cozy comforts, and the music we enjoy reflects that. (Although streaming tons of new-to-us music off of Amazon is tilting the balance these days...)
All links go to Amazon unless otherwise noted.
A Charlie Brown Christmas (Vince Guaraldi Trio, 1988) How can you not have this CD? A classic, of course, that stays listenable, always fresh, with the sound of real children singing. Love that. "Christmas is Coming" always gets my attention. This is one of the few CDs Liz and I had in our separate collections when we merged households.
Nomad Christmas (Various Artists, 1997) I bought this as a cassette from a music store on Ninth Street in the late '90s, I think. (Local bassist Robbie Link appears on it.) I love the more exotic and jazzy versions of some well-known carols, along with songs and melodies from other countries I'd not heard before. All instrumental, a great low-key album for when you're decorating the tree or wrapping presents. This was one of our first forays into "world music" for the holidays.
A Very Reggae Christmas (Kofi, 1994) We bought this from the gone but not forgotten Carrboro branch of Nice Price Books (used books and records). Kofi surrounds familiar old melodies with heavy beats and exciting arrangements so that I hear them fresh every year. Kofi transforms two of my most despised Christmas songs -- "The Little Drummer Boy" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" -- into listenable music. And, God, he makes "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" sound like a true celebration of joy and not a prim, tasteful dirge.
Holiday Songs and Lullabies (Shawn Colvin, 1998) This was an impulse purchase while I waited in line at the gone but not forgotten CD Superstore at Brightleaf Square, and one of the best I ever made. It’s a wintertime album of ballads, folk songs, and lullabies -- the cold night, the stars in a dark sky, the child in its crib -- plus a few carols that were unfamiliar to me, such as "Little Road to Bethlehem" and "Love Came Down at Christmas.” It's a record for sitting in a dark room, watching the lights glint on the tree, and listening to the understated arrangements and Colvin's gentle voice.
Christmas Caravan (Squirrel Nut Zippers, 1998) The Zippers were a local band who flared brightly for a few years before burning out and disbanding. But not before making this CD, which we did not like at first, but that has grown on us over the years. More than any other CD on this list, Christmas Caravan is an acquired taste -- many of the songs are originals or tunes little known to me, Katherine Whalen's vocals take getting used to, and Jimbo Mathus' arrangements make each song so different the album as a whole lacks a unity. But tucked into this CD are some great one-of-a-kinds: "Christmas in Carolina," "I'm Coming Home for Christmas," "Hanging Up My Stockings," and my favorite-ever version of "Sleigh Ride."
American Folk Songs for Christmas (Mike, Peggy, and Penny Seeger, 1989) We usually waited until our annual drive to Florida before listening to this 2-CD set in one sitting. This year, we’ll listen to it on the 25th as we prepare our Christmas meal. The record is a respectful, lovely collection of folk and Appalachian hymns, carols, spirituals, shape-note, and songs clumped together to tell the Christmas story: the stars, the shepherds, the birth, the joy of Christmas day, and, too, the excitement the day brings to a poor household: jokey songs, counting songs, high spirits. The sound is of a family gathered with their instruments around the hearth -- almost painfully spare and austere, and beautiful in its directness to the ear and heart.
The Bells of Dublin (The Chieftains, 1991) A great smorgasbord of traditional and British Christmas tunes, with really great guest turns: the McGarrigle Sisters on "Il Est Ne/Ca Berger" and Nanci Griffith on "The Wexford Carol." But as comforting and charm-laden as Celtic-flavored Christmas music can be, the Chieftains keep their eyes on today and so the album layers in some tartness: Elvis Costello on "St. Stephen's Day Murders" and my favorite, Jackson Browne's "The Rebel Jesus."
Christmas Night: Carols of the Nativity (John Rutter, The Cambridge Singers, The London Sinfonia, 1987) We have several of Rutter's Christmas CDs, but this is the first I bought (thank you, CD Superstore) and the one I like best. As with all his productions, the sound is crystal clear, the choral singing full and lush, and Rutter's arrangements restrained yet full of emotion. I like the selection of carols here, and the mood of it all -- faithful, in all senses of that word.
In the Christmas Spirit (Booker T. & the MG's, 2011) If you are of an age to have heard the first airings of David Sedaris' Santaland Diaries on NPR back in the late '80s-early '90s (produced by a young Ira Glass), then this music is what you heard in the background. Low-key, funky, and could have been recorded yesterday. It plays in eternal rotation in heaven.
A String Quartet Christmas (Arturo Delmoni, et al., 2010) When I'm making sausage balls or Liz is decorating the tree, then what's needed is instrumental background music that sets a low-key, quiet mood. This set of 3 CDs fits the bill. (They were originally released as individual CDs in the late '90s under the title Rejoice!) These short string quartet arrangements of carols, hymns, and traditional melodies stick to the classic selections; no secular guff like "Frosty" or "Rudolph" here, thank Festivus.
Down Came an Angel (Jacqueline Schwab, 1999) Schwab, who provided the piano background to some of Ken Burns’ documentaries, here performs improvised arrangements of carols, spirituals, and other religious hymns of the season. These are Schwab’s personal explorations of the songs and their spaces, with shimmering moods, tempos, and dynamics that refuse easy listening. It’s too contemplative an album to try to sing along to; not quite jazz, not quite anything except itself. This is music you have to stop and listen to. One of the most emotional, mysterious, and great albums in our collection.
Tis the Season for Los Straitjackets! (2002), Yuletide Beat (2009) (Los Straitjackets) Christmas tunes given an uptempo surf-guitar makeover by a band that wears Mexican lucha libre masks. Sharp, propulsive guitar work, a frantic and frenetic drummer, and that unmistakable surf-band beat just put a smile on my face every time. We Three Kings (YouTube) grabs you from the first bars with the Straitjackets’ characteristic sound, though I do enjoy the “? and the Mysterians” vibe in God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (YouTube).
There are so many more I could have shared. But I need to save a few for next year’s newsletter!
The last #blogvember posts
The daily blogging in November is over. Whew. Here are a few posts from the last two weeks that had some merit.
Oddments
The images in this newsletter are animated GIFs from an online collection of Victorian Christmas-themed stereographs from the Public Domain Review.
In the 1860s, the stereoscope was the Victorian View-Master: put a card with two images side-by-side into the viewer, hold the viewer up to your eyes, and there is a single image in three dimensions.
A Holmes stereoscope, the most popular form of 19th century stereoscope (Image: Wikipedia)
This brief video shows what a deluxe stereoscope looked like; that compact, collapsible frame is so emblematic of Victorian design and engineering. Clever chaps, those Victorians.
Happy Holidays
The nights are darker, earlier, and longer. Keep warm, eat good food, spend time with those you love. Enjoy the quiet, listen to music from your childhood. Take a walk outside and really feel the cold.
Lots to do between now and the 25th; it’ll get done, you’ll figure it out.
You worked hard in 2019. Here’s raising a glass that, next year, all that hard work bears luscious fruit.
I’m taking a break from the newsletter till 2020.
And so, to all, a good night.
I’m Michael E. Brown. One of my goals with my website and this newsletter is to improve and sharpen my writing. So if you have any feedback, please send it along!
This was issue #0007 of Learning As I Go for December 8, 2019.