Christmas Songs

[poliphilo]

Ugh- Christmas music!

I'm not talking about carols or even Christmas hymns- I like a lot of those. I'm talking about Christmas pop songs. Aren't they horrible?

And inescapable at this time of year: Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Slade, Wizard, Cliff Richard.

The chingly sleigh bells, the fake bonhomie. Like being backed into a corner by a sentimental drunk with mincepie breath.

There are only two Christmas songs I can stand. The first is White Christmas. Well,  it's Irving Berlin and Irving Berlin was a mensch. And the second is the Pogues' Fairytale of New York.

"You scumbag, you maggot, you cheap, lousy faggot"- ah now, there's the true spirit of Christmas!  

Comments

[cybersofa.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately these days the Pogues' record always makes me cry over dear Kirsty. Not that that's going to stop me playing it.

There was a very interesting "Making Of" programme about it on TV last Xmas. There is in fact no such thing as the NYPD Choir, and the people in the video were actually firemen, who got incredibly drunk during the filming.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Yes, I saw that programme too. Why isn't there a NYPD choir? There dang well ought to be!

Kirtsy McColl was a great talent. Do you know her version of Cole Porter's Miss Otis Regrets? Sublime.

[cybersofa.livejournal.com]

Yes, got it on a Best Of CD, delightful. But name me a track of hers that isn't! She was the one-woman Beach Boys. I was lucky enough to see her as guest singer with rockabilly rebels Matchbox, back in the early days. Very lucky indeed in fact, I discovered later, as she found live performance so difficult.