Friends are like bras; a good one never lets you down
On the twelfth day of Christmas, a song from John Berry. That voice. This song. Every year. Every. Year.
It’s simply THE SONG I have to hear on Christmas day.
Merry Christmas, friends! May you always remember the best moments of life and love today.
Oh, on the eleventh day of Christmas, Tim Minchin sings to thee…
This song does me in every time. I listen to it on repeat because there are smiles, a laugh or two, and there are tears. Tears for what once was, what is, what might be, and what is. It’s an EVERYTHING song to me.
Bless you, Tim. Bless you and your humanist heart. You really know how to get to me.
Last year, I encouraged you to get his album Apart Together. If you didn’t, do yourself a favor and get it now. It’s a work of art and has been in heavy rotation throughout this past year for me. I truly believe Tim Minchin is one of the greatest composers of our lifetimes. Not only has he written beautiful music for the stage (Broadway, the West End, etc.), he’s funny and deeply rooted in crafting songs that speak to the soul of us all. He gets it. And he shares it with us, even when so many of us feel we’re not into “that kind” of music. Friends, he writes about us, for us, and it’s most definitely the kind of music we need in our lives.
On the tenth day of Christmas, Justin Hines brings a smile to my face.
I know, I know. It’s the same every year. But it’s the same every year for a reason! I’ll always include him and his songs. I. Just. Will.
On the ninth day of Christmas, a song from Brenda Lee!
She was 13 years old, y’all. 13. THIRTEEN! I don’t know about you, but I don’t think most 13 year olds could pull this off. But she did.
On the eighth day of Christmas, I think we could all use a little something different, don’t you?
Well, here’s something different!
On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love — me — gave to…me…I gave this to me:
A punk pop song to get my blood pumpin’ and get me out of bed.
On the sixth day of Christmas, I awoke to see:
Two Christmas songs from Louis Prima just waiting to be played for me!
On the 5th Day of Christmas, what do you want to see?
How about something a little cultural?
I think my favorite is the spiderwebs. Which do you like?
On the 4th Day of Christmas, Weird Al sang to me:
Yep. The Night Santa Went Crazy.
On the third day of Christmas, here’s what I give to thee:
Amanda Shires!
On the first day of Christmas, my true love (me) gave to me…
LYLE LOVETT! Because everyone deserves some Lyle in their lives.
Show this to some young person in your life. Tell them this was a big hit when you were a kid. In the comments, post a link to the pic you took of them as they listen to it.
And then you can tell them this was another big hit. But nobody ever knew why. Or how.
“And they whirled and they twirled and they tangoed
Singin’ and jingin’ the jango
Floatin’ like the heavens above”
That’s a beautiful bit of writing, isn’t it? It has no right being in this song.
If you want to fall down a weird ass rabbit hole, go to YouTube and listen to all the covers of this song. From America to Todd Rundgren and countless others. It’s insaane! But, whatever. At least I didn’t include “Disco Duck” here. I love you too much for that.
There’s one place on earth I don’t like to visit. It’s a “goddess temple” in the middle of nowhere in Nevada. What bothers me most about this place is not that there are bad vibes or negative energy there, but that there’s nothing there. It’s a void. It’s as though someone took a great cosmic vacuum to this plot of land and pulled up every last mote of emotion, of energy, of soul. I end up feeling physically ill and injured every time I’ve visited (the 1st time for a photowalk, the 2nd & 3rd times with others to see if they felt the same as I had). When I walked beyond the border of the property, I would suddenly feel a burst of fresh, cool air in my lungs and my body would straighten, my mood would brighten, and I felt as though as veil lifted from my vision. I would wander around, my camera to the eye and I’d want to photograph everything, from the sky to the gnarled exposed roots of a plant that had forgotten what it had once been. I’d walk and walk until my travel companion would have to come looking for me, having called out for the past hour and getting no response. Then came the agonizing walk back through the void. I’d approach it full of hope that I’d just had a momentary lapse of health or mood, only to suddenly feel ill once more the very instant my foot crossed some unseen but very real plane. At that point, I’d hurry as quickly as my now hobbled body and soul could toward the car and drive as swiftly as possible away from the wretched place.
I’ve never been able to figure out how a location could feel so absolutely empty while surrounded by glorious mountains, hills, skies, flora, and fauna. Oh, and that reminds me of the lack of animal life in that space. No insects, lizards, birds, or any other sort of creature was ever spotted on that property. Beyond it, life was practically teeming in the air, on every surface. How could that be?
It’s been over ten years since I last visited the site and I’ve considered a trip out there again to see if anything has changed. But then I wonder if I really need to experience it again and think of several other locations I’d much prefer to see once more.
I think I’d like to try Jay’s Grave* instead. At least I would be able to identify the sensations and give them reason to exist. Plus, fog! And apparitions!
* Word for word the comment I’d left for Tom Cox’s “GHOST” entry.
Please consider adding Tom to your list of regular online visits. He’s a marvelously evocative writer and his podcasts are lovely.
There is another post I started a week or two ago explaining my absence, but this was more important. Shall post that one soon.
I should probably wait to post this as a Two-fer Tuesday selection, but I’m not gonna wait. And, technically, these aren’t a two-fer pair. Different artists, different vibes, but both called to me yesterday and I’ve been listening to them repeatedly ever since.
Before I let you get into the videos, I wanted to share a thought with you: we may not have time machines, but as long as we have music, we can travel anywhere and to any time.
Song number one is a song I know you’ve heard hundreds if not thousands of times and probably never knew the title. Boy does this take me back! I can picture the setting so clearly in my mind, too. I was seven and we’d just moved to California. The song had been out for a year at this point, but the warm SoCal sunshine made it feel fresh and new. This song became one of THE SONGS on which I based every romantic notion I had up until I actually had boyfriends.
Suavecito
The second song is a cover of one of my favorite Waterboys’ songs — The Whole of the Moon. I love the original and I now also love this version by Fiona Apple.
Oh, hell’s bells! Here’s a third song for your listening pleasure. Jon Batiste with I Need You, an upbeat and good kind of infectious song.
More like “Night 12” because I’m all over the place right now. I meant to post yesterday and I couldn’t keep a signal to save my life.
Well, to make up for that, please go watch this. My heart is now full.
The kittens are kind of like Odie. Especially Tiger Lily. Cats. So fucking funny.