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I’ll Be Home for Christmas

22 Dec

I can’t remember the last time I was home for Christmas week. (Actually, that’s not true. It was 1999. And I know that because I went to see The Talented Mr. Ripley in Framingham with Farrah on Christmas Day. So let me start over.)

It’s been a long time since I was home for Christmas week. Most years since I was a wee tot I have spent it in Florida with my family. That one time, in 1999, I didn’t have off from work, so I stayed in Boston. It was also the year I went to my last Matzo Ball. So lame. But this year, by choice, I’m staying in Boston. I’m going to have a vacation at home. And I’m really looking forward to it.

How will I spend the week? Well, for one thing, I’m not going to the Matzo Ball, even though Christmas Eve is now apparently “Jewish Valentine’s Day.” Whatever. Instead, I have plans to see a movie and go for Chinese food on Christmas day, the “traditional” Jewish way to spend the holiday. I may come into work one afternoon just to clean up and get organized (we’re off all week). And I may go to lunch with some friends who are working. Oh, and I’ll probably see a few movies. But other than that, I’m an open book. I may just buy my Hanukkah present — a new computer — and set it up. I will likely clean my apartment again, maybe do some more purging. Maybe I’ll take a road trip all the way out to Framingham or Burlington to brave the “after Christmas sale” shoppers. Oh, the options. I sort of like knowing I have a week ahead of me with nothing to do, really, and all the time in the world to do it.

Maybe it’ll actually snow next week. Finally. That would actually be nice. If it does, I promise I won’t complain about being in Boston in the cold instead of in sunny Florida. I’ll be sleeping in my own bed, hanging in my own apartment, sleeping late, coming and going as I please, running errands if I need to, and just doing my own thing, and that’s more exciting to me this year than getting a tan — not that I ever do.

So, as I begin a well-deserved week off, I just wanted to tell y’all that I’ll still be here and blogging all week — though likely not as frequently. If you’re looking for something fun to read, you can count on me to deliver when I can. Have a good one!

Christmas (Baby Please Watch This)

22 Dec

There are so many great holiday traditions on television, and for me, there is none more exciting than the night when Darlene Love visits David Letterman to sing my all-time favorite Christmas song, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” She’s been doing this for years on the last show before the holiday, and I have to say, the season isn’t complete until she’s been on. Paul Shaffer always does big, Phil Spector-esque musical direction and Darlene just always sings the hell out of the song, with a thrilling finale that includes plenty of snow. It’s the same thing every year, but it’s simple, classic, and wicked exciting. I love that her performance last year is online (as is the one from 2004 and one from 1995). In fact, I could probably watch the clips and listen to the MP3 all day long. (No joke or exaggeration.) I can’t wait to see her do it again tonight. If you want to see real holiday magic, be sure and tune in.

A Very Internets Christmas

20 Dec

Will the wonders of the internets never cease? Today I came across a site that features (almost) nothing more than Christmas music videos, holiday specials, holiday episodes of various television shows, tv commercials, and more. There are 101 things to watch, including last year’s holiday episode of The Office, the Festivus episode of Seinfeld, and the video for Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas.” (And if you look elsewhere on the site, you can also find this year’s holiday episode of The Office.) It’s a gold mine for holiday fun, and as the weekend gets closer, this only makes me more excited.

And So This Is Xmas …

19 Dec

I knew after last year’s mix that A Very Marty Xmas 2006 had some pretty high expectations to live up to. Well, now that all the songs have been selected, the hard decisions have been made, the CDs have been burned, and the mix has been sent out and received, I thought I’d share for those of you lurkers out there what ended up on the mix. I think my seventh collection — that’s right, my seventh — is another winner, filled with classics both old and new, some oddities, the requisite jolly-ness, and even a pro-Hanukkah song thrown in for good measure. And of course, there are some surprises between the songs that are not listed. So without further ado, here’s the track listing:

The Killers — “A Great Big Sled”
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy — “Party for Santa”
Jimmy Buffett — “Christmas Island”
The Echelons — “Christmas Long Ago (Jingle, Jangle)”
The Ronettes — “Frosty the Snowman”
Darlene Love — “White Christmas”
Elliott Yamin — “This Christmas”
The Fray — “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”
Barenaked Ladies with Michael Bublé — “Elf’s Lament”
Sufjan Stevens — “Come On! Let’s Boogey to the Elf Dance!”
Cyndi Lauper and Frank Sinatra — “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”
The Pussycat Dolls — “Santa Baby”
Diana Krall — “Let It Snow”
James Taylor — “The Christmas Song”
Kelly Clarkson — “My Grown Up Christmas List”
Harry Connick Jr. — “Blue Christmas”
Sarah McLachlan — “River”
Aimee Mann — “Calling on Mary”
The LeeVees — “Goyim Friends”
The Chipmunks (with David Seville) — “Hang Up Your Stockin’”
Papa Don Vappie’s New Orleans Jazz Band — “Please Come Home for Christmas”
Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews and the New Orleans All-Stars — “Oh Holy Night” (from Studio 60)

If you’d like to compile your own version of A Very Marty Xmas 2006, nearly all those songs can be found on iTunes, or various music blogs (like HotstuffFiles.com or PodBop). The Studio 60 track can be found here.

Considering at one point I had enough songs to compile a double CD, you can be sure there will be a A Very Marty Xmas 2007 one year from now. Stay tuned … and of course, happy holidays!

What Do You Want for Christmas?

18 Dec

If you didn’t see Saturday Night Live this weekend, with Justin Timberlake as the host, then check out this video. Just make sure co-workers or prudish friends/spouses, etc. aren’t around. You were warned.

Another classic short in the holiday episode (last year it was “Christmastime for the Jews” and “Lazy Sunday”). Maybe SNL should only do one episode each year …

TV PSA

18 Dec

Folks, if you haven’t yet seen the Studio 60 holiday show from a couple weeks ago, here is your chance: NBC is repeating it this evening.

Do yourself a favor and tune in tonight at 10 p.m. to see one of the year’s classiest, best-written episodes of television. Continue reading →

Too Much Cheer?

7 Dec

Compilation of A Very Marty Xmas 2006 is now in full swing. I dipped into the “unusued holiday music” folder on my computer last night and found more than 200 tracks (!!!), so there is a lot to choose from — not to mention the new stuff I’m discovering this year. For example, this morning I found an MP3 of Elliot Yamin, my guy from American Idol, covering Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas, which is one my all-time favorite holiday songs. The Killers have a great new holiday song this year. And then there’s The Daily .Wav, which keeps putting up quick clips from the holiday episodes of old tv shows, and blogs like HotStuffFiles.com, which are counting down to the holiday with new tracks every day. Plus, I’ve already got Jamie Cullum singing “Let It Snow.” So I’ve got a conundrum this year in terms of narrowing down all my available options. Which of Harry Connick Jr.’s tracks will make the cut? (Right now I’m leaning toward “Blue Christmas.”) And do I include Diana Krall’s “Christmas Time Is Here” or “The Christmas Song” … or her version of “Let It Snow?” Do any of Jimmy Buffett’s songs go on the mix, and do I even bother opening Regis Philbin’s holiday CD, which I purchased in the bargain bin after last year’s Christmas, or uploading the others I’ve acquired this year (like Aimee Mann and Sufjan Stevens’ CDs)? I forgot how much work went into making this mix, and while I always like when a project like this keeps me busy, this year’s mix is proving to be a real challenge already.

Ich Bin Ein Ballooner?

6 Dec

Is it just me, or does that balloon look like it’s giving the Nazi salute? I mean, look at it. Take away the peppermint stick and it’s basically saying, “Heil Christmas!” Yes, I know this sort of thing was a minor plot point on Monday night’s Studio 60, so Aaron Sorkin sorta beat me to the punch, but every time I walk by the balloons in front of the Babcock Street fire station they make me wonder. And considering last year the balloons in front of the station bore a striking resemblance to George W. Bush, I’m starting to wonder if maybe firemen shouldn’t be picking their own holiday decorations. (And yes, I’m saying this with tongue firmly in cheek.)

Christmas Is Coming

27 Nov

Thanksgiving: a weekend that is simultaneously too short and too long. How is that possible?

But anyway, now that we’re over that hump, we can start the countdown to Christmas. I’ve begun the season by finding an MP3 of Jamie Cullum singing “Let It Snow” (thanks to Cullumography.com). You can bet that it will be on A Very Marty Xmas 2006. And this past weekend I purchased both Sufjan Stevens’ Songs for Christmas and Aimee Mann’s One More Drifter in the Snow. Songs from both albums will definitely make it onto my CD as well. I know I have a hard act to follow after last year’s mix, but I’m feeling up to the challenge, and looking forward to choosing songs.

Got any suggestions, or know of songs I’ve missed in year’s past? You can assume my mixes have already dipped into the classics; last year I wrote about a “best of the box” mix that would probably include most of the obvious candidates. So what else should I know about? I’m open to ideas.

And for the record, I will not be changing the name of my mix to A Very Marty Holiday. Unlike the city of Boston, I know what should be called a “Christmas” symbol and what should be a more generic “holiday” symbol. I can’t believe that after last year’s brouhaha, it seems the whole thing is about to start up all over again. It’s just silly, if you ask me.

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like …

10 Jul

It may only be July 10, but to me, it’s the first day of the holiday season. Why? Because I received my first four (unsolicited) holiday CDs in the mail at work today. Nothing earth shattering — they’re last year’s releases — but what do I care? They’re new to me and I’m more than happy to get the ball rolling on the new A Very Marty Xmas CD. Now the hard part is deciding which of the tracks — if any — on Hanukkah Swings! and SantaMental will make it. (Not sure I’ll use the other two albums. I may even give them away.) Tough choices indeed. Last year’s mix set the bar so high that I need to start now if I’m going to top it this winter.

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