I don’t want to ruin Last Christmas for anyone who might see it and not figure out the film’s big twist within the first 10 or 15 minutes, so I won’t.
But I’ll give you this warning: Don’t listen to the George Michael song that inspired this movie, and refresh your memory of the lyrics, because they are a spoiler. A very literal and very big one. D’oh!
Indeed, if you can get through this supposed rom-com without figuring out how it all ends, then you may just enjoy the movie. Continue reading
Anyone who knows me knows there are few things I love more than Christmas music. I made Very Marty Xmas mixes for 10 years, and continue to maintain an “Ultimate” playlist version of the mix on Spotify that includes everyone from Mariah Carey to Andy Williams to Harry Connick, Jr. to Darlene Love singing festive tunes, and is updated all the time to include new tracks.
But here’s the rub: I’m Jewish. And one thing that bothers me every year is that, despite how much I enjoy the Christmas season and all the music, I wish Hanukkah was better represented. Unfortunately, while Jews have written many of the most beloved Christmas songs (it’s true!), we haven’t done a very good job of writing songs for our own holiday. So those Members of the Tribe who are looking for seasonal music are often stuck with Adam Sandler’s “Chanukah Song” — which was funny the first few times, but now, 13 years later, it’s just tired (not to mention totally outdated). Continue reading
Photo credit: TSgt Suzanne M. Day/Creative Commons
True story: If you want to know what the best Christmas music is, you should ask a Jewish person.
Why is that? Honestly, I really don’t know. Perhaps it has something to do with, as Sarah Spigelman Richter recently wrote on Mashable.com, a deep-seated sense of FOMO for “a culture that is in no way destined to be mine.” Feeling left out can be hard, so we appreciate the “Americanized, agnostic version of the Christmas season” that much more because it’s not really ours.
Or maybe that has nothing to do with it.
What I do know is that were it not for the Jews, we wouldn’t have some of the best Christmas songs of all time. “White Christmas,” anyone? “Silver Bells?” “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)?” Etc. Etc. All written by Jews. So clearly, we know our holiday tunes. Continue reading
My blog readers have landed on Santa Claus and Hanukkah Harry’s “Nice List” this year.
So as my present to you all, I’ve compiled what may be the ultimate “Very Marty Xmas” playlist, using Spotify.
That right: It’s three hours of some of my favorite holiday songs — I say “holiday,” because the playlist does include some Hanukkah and New Year’s songs too. (Screw you, Fox News.)
Nearly every track from my best-of compilation is here, as are a bunch from other years, plus a few tracks that never made it on to a mix in all my 10 years of making them.
Unfortunately, some tracks had to be excluded because they’re not on Spotify. Specifically, that includes what may be the best version of “O Holy Night” I’ve ever heard, the one Trombone Shorty did on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Oh well. I’ve embedded the video below because this wouldn’t really be an “ultimate” playlist without it.
(I also wish the Stephen Colbert/Jon Stewart duet “Can I Interest You in Hanukkah” was on Spotify, but maybe that was hoping for too much.)
So without further ado, here’s the mix. Hopefully you have a Spotify account so you can enjoy it. Continue reading
Where does the time go?
Seriously. How is Thanksgiving already this week?
And of course, then there’s Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. Then Hanukkah is a week and a half later, and not long after that is Christmas. And then before we know it, it’ll be New Year’s Eve.
Holy crap, the year is almost over.
But on a happier note (I think), the holiday season is now officially here.
Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, or something else (Festivus, anyone?), it’s likely you’re going to be buying and receiving lots of gifts over the course of the next month.
I’ve been saving up to buy all kinds of things for my niece and nephews.
Yes, I have a list of things I want too, but it’s not exactly the kind of things you might expect. Here’s what’s on my Holiday 2012 Wish List …
Anyone who knows me knows I’m a huge fan of Thanksgiving.
Yes, I love me some turkey and gravy, a couple days off from work, time to see friends, maybe hang out in New York City and see a show, and just generally have fun.
But one of the best things about Thanksgiving is that when it’s over, that’s when the coast is clear to break out the holiday music and play those songs on repeat for a month straight.
That’s basically what I’ve done since Friday, and thankfully, I’ve amassed quite a collection so there’s a lot to listen to. Many of those songs have been included on my Very Marty Xmas mixes over the years. Continue reading
What is there to say about A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas?
It’s funny (I’d say funnier than the last film, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay), the 3D effects are generally completely gratuitous (and some are very cool and/or very funny), there’s a jolly soundtrack, Neil Patrick Harris makes another amusing appearance, you may never watch A Christmas Story the same way again, it begins well and ends well but has some slower moments in the middle, and there’s a must-have holiday gift called WaffleBot that I totally want. Continue reading
On this, the day of Christmas Eve, allow me to wish all my non-Jewish readers a very merry Christmas.
My “gift” to you is this clip from Turner Classic Movies, which shows It’s a Wonderful Life as it was originally intended: As a Hanukkah story.
Enjoy, and ho ho ho!
A few years back, I got into a discussion with a friend when I told her how much I love Christmas.
“No,” she clarified. “You love the Christmas season. You don’t have to deal with the family and the religious stuff.”
She was right about all of that. I’m a huge fan of the season, with the pagentry and the lights and the deals and the happier mood and the lighter workload and the food and the celebrations and the traditions and yes, the music.
Oh, how I love the music of the Christmas season. Continue reading
I don’t know exactly when it was that I became such a fan of Christmas music, but 10 years ago I decided to create a mix of my favorite holiday tunes.
A friend of mine suggested I give it out to people as a sort-of Christmas card, and she even gave the mix the name A Very Marty Xmas.
The rest is history.
With the exception of 2008, I’ve made a mix every year for the past decade.
I say humbly that these compilations have become as much of a beloved holiday tradition as A Charlie Brown Christmas or the all-day A Christmas Story marathon on TBS.
And yes, I’m Jewish, which makes the whole thing even more fun. (Then again, so was Irving Berlin, and he wrote “White Christmas!”)
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