Thursday, December 17, 2009

Episode 47: Baby, It's Cold Outside


Since this episode is pretty self-explanatory, how about an anecdote? As a child, I always thought that the line "See the blazing Yule before us," from Deck the Halls, made reference to a tradition dating back to the pagan roots of this holiday; namely, the ritualistic burning of Yul Brynner, star of such films as The King and I, on a large pyre fuelled by yew-wood and holly. And since I never knew the lyrics to "Baby, It's Cold Outside," past the title phrase, I assumed the rest of the verse was, "So warm yourself next to Brynner, aglow." But I digress... Merry Christmas!


PLAYLIST

King's Singers - Deck The Halls
Vince Guaraldi - Christmas Is Coming
Vince Guaraldi - Christmas Time Is Here

The Drifters - White Christmas
Ertha Kit - Santa Baby
Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Jordan - Baby, It's Cold Outside
Darlene Love - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

Bing Crosby - It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
Bing Crosby with the Andrews Sisters - Jingle Bells
Bing Crosby - White Christmas

Vince Guaraldi - O Tannenbaum
Vince Guaraldi - Skating
Vince Guaraldi - Linus and Lucy
John Denver and the Muppets -12 Days of Christmas
John Denver and the Muppets - We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Barenaked Ladies & Sarah McLachlan - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings
Joni Mitchell - River
Celine Dion - O Holy Night
John Williams - Carol of the Bells
Brassroots - Sleigh Ride
Andy Williams - It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Frank Sinatra - Let It Snow

John Lennon & Yoko Ono - Happy Christmas (War Is Over)
Simon & Garfunkel - 7 O'clock News/Silent Night
Judy Garland - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Thurl Ravenscroft - You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch

Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song
Vince Guaraldi - Hark, The Harold Angels Sing


LINKS

Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas - "Little Drummer Boy" by Bing Crosby and David Bowie (1977)
The Star Wars Holiday Special - "Happy Life Day" (1978)

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Episode 46: New Old-Fashioned Way























Somewhere between the sacred and traditional Christmas carols and the chintzy slop we covered in Episode 45, there's the Christmas Song: It's pleasant, it's catchy, it's relatively recent yet seems destined to feature for many Christmases to come. So in our last "regular" episode of 2009, we're rocking out to our favourite Christmas songs. In a new old-fashioned way. Whatever that means.

PLAYLIST

Brenda Lee - Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

Bobby Helms & The Anita Kerr Singers - Jingle Bell Rock
Burl Ives - Holly Jolly Christmas

Chuck Berry - Run Rudolph Run
Otis Redding - Merry Christmas Baby

Elvis - Blue Christmas
Bruce Springsteen - Merry Christmas Baby
U2 - Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year

The Pogues & Kristy McColl - Fairytale of New York

Jackson 5 - Santa Claus is Coming to Town

LINKS

Population Control the Key
Limousines at the Copenhagen Summit
Krampus

Monday, December 7, 2009

Episode 45: Roasting Chestnuts



Many subscribe to the adage that if you don't have anything nice to say, you shouldn't say anything at all. Sorry, folks, this is not the time for etiquette: Christmas is at stake! So this week, we take a look at the most horrendous Yuletide musical offerings over the years. Why would you subject yourself to this gauntlet of chintz? Well, we here at Awkward Silences are experts at making catty remarks. Also, it's considered "with it" to like things ironically. So here we go...

PLAYLIST
Gayla Peevey (not, as we thought, Shirley Temple) - All I Want for Christmas is a Hippopotamus
The Royal Guardsmen - Snoopy vs. the Red Baron
Alvin and The Chipmunks - The Christmas Song

Jose Feliciano - Feliz Navidad
Cindy Lauper - Christmas Conga

The Beach Boys - Little Saint Nick
The Beach Boys - Santa's Beard

Paul McCartney - Wonderful Christmas Time

Wham! - Last Christmas
NewSong - The Christmas Shoes (Patton Oswalt's raunchy take on it here)

Jackson 5 - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

Band Aid - Do They Know It's Christmas Time

(Patton Oswalt also has a great take on The Chipmunks)