I couldn’t agree more with David Letterman. As my non-Jewish friends get ready to celebrate Christmas, I present for your viewing and listening enjoyment Darlene Love singing “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” on last night’s Late Show. This is my all-time favorite Christmas song, and once again (and after a one-year absence) Darlene just blows it out of the water.
Merry Christmas, everybody!
Hanukkah starts tonight at sundown, so to get you in the spirit, here’s Adam Sandler’s song. Oh boy! I hope I get a harmonica on this lovely, lovely Hanukkah.
We’re expecting a big snow storm here in Boston today, so in that spirit, I thought I’d repost (nearly two years later) Jamie Cullum’s great performance of “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”
Mother Nature, I say bring it on.
God bless the Interwebs.
I discovered this week that on Hulu.com you can watch the Studio 60 “Christmas Show” episode from 2006. For my money, this was one of the best holiday-themed episodes of any show of all time — and definitely one of the finest hours of this short-lived TV series. Continue reading
Cadillac Records tells the story of the influential Chess Records label, founded by Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody) in Chicago in the 1950s, and home to such legendary artists as Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright), Little Walter (Columbus Short), and Etta James (Beyoncé Knowles).
The film includes all the essentials of the musical biopic, including sex, drugs, and a sketchy manager-type — the title comes from Chess’ habit of paying off his successful artists with Cadillacs, instead of giving them the money they’re rightfully earned.
But it also includes one other very important element: great music. Continue reading
It’s one thing to go to a restaurant because the food is good. It’s another to go because you like the ambience. But that’s how I feel about the Cheesecake Factory, which every year plays the single best holiday music of any store or restaurant I patronize. It’s like they somehow got a copy of my Very Marty Christmas mixes and put them all on shuffle. No kidding. They play Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas,” Stevie Wonder’s big tunes … all the classics, plus some not as good but still enjoyable ones like Kelly Clarkson’s “My Grown-Up Christmas List.” And this year, to up the ante, they even have a holiday-themed cheesecake with peppermint candies. No, I didn’t have that when I went to the Factory Saturday night, but I almost did. I may just have to go back to try it. But anyway, that’s another endorsement from me: The Cheesecake Factory at holiday time.
The more things change … I returned to my old second home, Star Market/Shaw’s on Comm Ave., last week and was shocked to learn that the whole place had been remodeled! It was only in April that I moved, and while I now do my weekly grocery shopping in other Star Market locations, I find it hard to believe that I haven’t been back to this one in a long enough time that it gave the store a chance to totally change and look completely different. And don’t get me wrong: It looks great! I really enjoyed walking up and down the aisles discovering where all the foods had moved to. Yes, I know it’s totally lame to be excited about a supermarket’s new look, but I spent a lot of time here during the first 11 years of my Boston residency, so I considered this a big deal.
The more they stay the same … Alright, I finally have to post something about this: My new next-door neighbor plays an instrument. A guitar. Or at least I think it’s a guitar. It sort of sounds more like a banjo. But it’s an instrument nevertheless. And he plays it a lot. Like, every night. However, things are different now. For one thing, a guitar (even one that sounds sort of like a banjo) is not nearly as bad as a violin. Or a flute, for that matter. Secondly, it’s not like it’s soooo loud that it interferes with my TV-watching like the playing did in my old place. And finally — also most importantly — I’ve met my neighbor and he’s a nice guy. So if I was ever that annoyed by his playing, I’m sure he’d stop, even though I know he doesn’t have somewhere else to go. So I’m going to keep a positive, tolerant, flexible attitude about this. Still, it’s totally amusing to me that I’ve moved next to another instrument player. What luck I have.
Ah well. As the saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
My friends, as I survey my collection of unused holiday tunes, I’m very quickly coming to the realization that there may not be a Very Marty Christmas 2008. I spent some time this past weekend re-listening to last year’s mix and congratulating myself once again on what a great, fun compilation it was. (Really. At various times, I found myself saying out loud, to no one but myself, how great an album it was.) Heck, I even made two CDs — the second being my best-of collection. So how could I possibly top those this year?
Before anyone blames this on the economy or laziness or anything else, know this much: I’m trying. But of all the new holiday music I’m listening to — Sheryl Crow, Kristin Chenoweth, the Brushfire collection, Brian McKnight, Ledisi, and even Neil Sedaka — very little of it is any good. Of course, I love the new Harry Connick Jr. holiday album, but I can’t really make a CD of only Harry Connick tunes. That wouldn’t be very cool — or legal. And I really don’t want to make a subpar CD of leftovers that didn’t make it onto previous year’s mixes (like Dido’s “Christmas Day,” a perennial also-ran, or Darlene Love’s now-three-year-old “Christmastime for the Jews“).
Really, I’m just not as excited about making a mix this year like I was last year. So maybe the best thing for me to do is go out on top and leave folks wanting more. After all, last year’s mix was really good. Like, instant-classic good. Maybe by next year I’ll have enough material to compile a really good and worthy ninth (!!) Very Marty Christmas CD. And, maybe I’ll rally and find enough for a good CD this year. You never know what can happen around holiday time. Stay tuned.
Alright, American Idol fans, I know you’re out there. David Archuleta’s CD hit stores today and David Cook’s hits stores next week. I’ve already heard Archie’s CD (I downloaded it for free last week) and it’s as bland and unexciting as I’d expected it would be. That said, I’ll bet the girls in this video just love it. The video (which I found on PopWatch) shows a group of Archie fans watching as the winner was announced back in May. Suffice it to say, they’re not happy. Not in the least. But that doesn’t even come close to capturing their absolutely hysterical reaction. They cry! They scream! They pout! They throw paper! They hurl insults! These girls are absolutely devastated. It’s seriously one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Check it out for yourself. And for the record, if you recall, my reaction to David Cook’s win was a bit more subdued, though I’ll admit, I was happy.
It’s hard to be so wrapped up and engaged in the election process and then just drop it simply because we now have a winner. So here are what I hope will be my last thoughts (and some other things) before I get back to writing about me and my own life again. Continue reading
Martin's Musings 