7 posts tagged “christmas songs”
Today's track is by Weird Al Yankovic.
And as a bonus, here we see Weird Al doing James Brown "Living with a Hernia"
As I am just about to plaigiarise Helpless Dancer's blog, today's Christmas track is by the Who from Tommy. It's called simply "Christmas"
OK I'm going to stop mucking about on this so stand by for some quality. This is The Blue Nile recorded at their recent gig in Belfast by my German correspondent Marc.
Family Life is a beautiful song and contains the line "tomorrow will be Christmas - we'll sing all the songs that light up the tree" It therefore qualifies as todays Christmas track.
I first encountered Spike Jones as a child. I had an uncle who seemed to posess Spike's whole back catalogue and there was much for kids to find fun with. Adults I'm sure found it funny on another level in the same way today's families laugh at different bits of the Christmas panto or the Simpsons.
Wikipedea:
Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911, Long Beach, California – May 1, 1965, Beverly Hills, California) was a popular musician and bandleader specializing in performing satirical arrangements of popular songs. Ballads and classical works receiving the Jones treatment would be punctuated with gunshots, whistles, cowbells, and ridiculous vocals. Through the 1940s and early 1950s, the band recorded as Spike Jones and his City Slickers and toured the USA and Canada under the title, The Musical Depreciation Revue.
A wee forewarning to Helpless Dancer, If you thought Steeleye Span was "the bottom of the pit" - perhaps you should skip this one!
More info on Spike Jones HERE
A few records have reached the charts featuring only the human voice. A few records by what could be regarded as 'folk' acts have also crept in over the years. I am fairly sure though that this track is the only one ever to appear on Top of the Pops, and feature in the charts which was sung entirely in Latin!
I remember seing the TOTP performance in the early 70's. It is fairly hazy but I think the band came on singing the choruses,dressed in monastic robes and did a kind of choreographed slow walk as Maddy Prior stood at the side singing the verses.
This video would seem to be of a much more recent vintage (if it had been from the 70's or 80's they'd have done that folk singer finger in the ear thing!) Today's Christmas track is Steeleye Span and Gaudete.
Edit: Thanks to the two private messagers who point out that there has been one other Latin hit. Read all about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaudete
This is spoof rockers Spinal Tap with a record originally released at the time of the hilarious film "This is Spinal Tap" Where they expertly take the p**s out of the music business in general and self important rock bands in particular. The track (the one here) was re-worked for the later "Break Like the Wind" album in 1992.
"What?" I hear you say, "have you taken leave of your senses?" With one calendar month to go, every shop and public place is belting out Slade/ Wham/ Wizzard etc. and it really is almost to much to bear!
Fear not gentle reader! my Christmas tracks will be things you will be unlikely to hear in B&Q when you're buying your tree! You may not have heard them for some time - maybe not at all! they will be sometimes funny, sometimes subversive and there'll be one every couple of days till Yuletide!!
To give you a flavour of what's in store, here is Mr. Tom Waits.
