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  • Excellent Christmas songs…

    Excellent Christmas songs…

    So my last post was on awful Christmas songs. It only follows that today’s post will be on excellent Christmas songs, right?

    I know this time of year can be very annoying when it comes to holiday music, especially if you happen to work in retail, where the season may start as early as late October. There are also plenty of people who like to listen to Christmas music as soon as the holidays start. It’s easy to find awful Christmas songs, but what about the excellent ones?

    A few years ago, when I was writing a whole lot of music reviews on Epinions.com, I went through a phase during which I reviewed a bunch of Christmas albums. I started in early October, reasoning that my reviews would be available just in time for the holiday season, giving people time to buy them in time for Christmas. Of course, now I sit here thinking it was funny that my husband once gave me two Christmas themed albums for Christmas. You’d think by December 25th, I’d be tired of listening to any music having to do with the holidays… and the holidays would be over in a week, anyway.

    In any case, there are a few albums from that time period that I go back to again and again, year after year. And I have also made some new discoveries this year. So, without further ado, here’s a few excellent Christmas songs for your listening and viewing pleasure. And if you have any to add or beg to differ, please feel free to leave me a comment.

    Some Children See Him

    The first time I heard this very progressive Christmas song was in 2004, when I happened to buy James Taylor’s Hallmark album, A Christmas Album. I was very moved by the lyrics, which are about how different children around the world see baby Jesus. Of course, we all know that not all children believe in Jesus Christ. Indeed, I’m not even sure if James Taylor is a believer. I do love what he does with this song, though.

    Celebrate Me Home

    Kenny Loggins has done his share of holiday music. His 1999 album, December, is full of original and traditional music for the holiday season. One song that was not on that album is this classic, “Celebrate Me Home”. I never get tired of it any time of the year. It’s about coming home for the holidays, but it’s full of heart and hope.

    This Christmas

    Mary J. Blige’s new holiday album includes this classic hit, which was first made popular by Donny Hathaway in 1970. The first time I heard it, Jane Monheit was singing it; but I think I prefer Mary J. Blige’s more soulful rendition. I also like that it’s new for 2013!

    You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch

    Of course, this song is a classic at Christmas time, thanks to Christmas TV specials. Cee Lo Green takes on the Grinch with his fun rendition of “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch”. I dare you to listen to this and not break into a big smile.

    Mary, Did You Know?

    “Mary, Did You Know” is another newer song which has been recorded by a lot of people, everyone from Wynonna Judd and Kenny Rogers to opera diva Kathleen Battle. The version I have included to this list is by Sonya Isaacs, a bluegrass artist whose voice, in my opinion, is just gorgeous. Yeah, this song is very emotional and some may find it a little over the top religious. It still touches me every year. I love the melody and Isaacs’ vocal reading.

    Gabriel’s Message

    Sting covered this song in 1987 for the very first A Very Special Christmas compilation. Since then, he has updated it with a more haunting, deeper version for his 2009 album If On A Winter’s Night. I like them both, but I think I prefer Sting’s edgier, earlier version from 1987.

    Highland Cathedral

    Technically, I wouldn’t call the beautiful German piece “Highland Cathedral” Christmas music, per se. Amy Grant included it on her 1999 album A Christmas to Remember and I later used it as my wedding march in November 2002. I could listen to this all year, but I’m a little biased. “Highland Cathedral” was composed by Ulrich Roever and Michael Korb in 1985 and is now quite popular in Scotland. I think it fits very well during the holiday festivities.

    Christmas Time Is Here

    I never get tired of “Christmas Time Is Here”, especially when it is performed by the Vince Guaraldi Trio. The above version includes vocals by the Peanuts gang, but I love the haunting melody on its own, too.

    Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

    I’m talking about the one done by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, of course. I have heard this song done by plenty of folks and no one does it quite like The Boss does.

    Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

    I have included Judy Garland’s iconic version here, but this song has been successfully covered by a lot of fine singers. I am pretty partial to James Taylor’s version, myself. This song is meant to be consoling and sweet and Judy Garland certainly captures that in the film Meet Me In St. Louis.

    And with that, folks, I hope your holiday season is going well… See you next time!

  • I think I’ve arrived…

    I think I’ve arrived…

    Lately, I’ve been posting videos on YouTube. Last night, one of them was muted because of a copyright violation. I think I’ve arrived…

    I have sort of a fascination with YouTube. I love watching videos, especially of old TV commercials, PSAs, music videos, and television shows. Of course, most of those videos are uploaded without the proper authorization from copyright holders. It always amuses me when someone writes in the video description that they don’t own the copyright to whatever it is they’ve uploaded. As if the powers that be at some random media company or YouTube is going to care that you bothered to admit that you don’t have the proper license to share something. If they catch you and are so inclined, they’ll probably still yank the video or, perhaps less harshly, mute it.

    It took me a long time to start uploading videos to YouTube, mainly because of copyright issues. You see, I am not particularly interested in being on camera myself. I am very self-conscious about how I come across on film. I sound better than I look. I’ve also been to a lot of interesting places and have a lot of photos and videos. Several months ago, I finally broke down and started using Garage Band and iMovie, two software packages that have been on my computer and went unused for years. I’ve discovered that I like making movies and videos, as long as I don’t have to be on film.

    Maybe six or seven months ago, I started making videos with photos from my travels and music tracks. A few times, I used music made by a recording artist. Most of the time, I use karaoke tracks that I pay for and then provide vocals to. I know this isn’t quite legal and I would like to make it right, but they don’t make it simple to ask permission to use music. Wouldn’t it be something if music distributors offered a simple way to buy the rights to use music, kind of the way people who sell stock photos do? If I could find a simple and reasonably affordable way to purchase the rights to use music, I probably would in an effort to prevent copyright claims. I recognize that people who are creative should be getting paid for what they do. At the same time, I don’t have the ability to create entirely original music. Or, maybe I do… it would just take a really long time and a lot of effort.

    One thing I have noticed from uploading my videos is that I am attracting other musically inclined folks. There’s one guy in Scotland who plays guitar and piano who has offered to send me a track that I can add vocals to. If I hadn’t illegally uploaded a few videos featuring my vocals, that couldn’t have happened. Perhaps the next step is to make something totally original with an original melody and lyrics. I don’t see myself as able to write a melody, but I could probably write decent lyrics. I’ve never tried to, but writing comes somewhat easily to me. I’d love to give it the college try.

    Last night, when I saw the YouTube note letting me know that one of the music publishers had made a claim and the sound on my video was muted, I decided to remove the video altogether. It had been up for about six weeks and the people I wanted to see it had seen it, so it served its purpose. I still have the film on my computer and it still tears me up to watch it, even though it had only gotten about 25 hits on YouTube. I don’t tend to share my videos extensively, anyway.

    Even though I know that copyrights are important, I find it very difficult to create something entirely original. Every idea has an inspiration and many times, it comes from an unoriginal source. Sometimes, if I am in a public place taking video, there’s music being played that I couldn’t turn off even if I wanted to. I have a couple of videos on YouTube like that, too; and they got the matched third party content notice, though the videos are still playable. And I see on YouTube that copyright violations, while not legal, are certainly rampant. If they busted every single user for copyright infringement, they would have very few videos to show.

    Anyway, I don’t upload many videos to YouTube and after this first experience with a video being muted, I’m not sure how many more I will upload. I need to go on vacation again anyway, so I’ll have more photos and film. Even though I think I’ve arrived, maybe moviemaking isn’t my forte. On the other hand, the prospect of sharing music and collaborating with others from other lands is exciting to me. Maybe this will lead to another skill.

    shargram (in Scotland) and Doc Protool (in Italy) collaborating on The Beatles’ “Yesterday”.

  • The X Factor USA Recap: Season 3 – And Then There Were 12

    X Factor elimination

    Oh X Factor. Why can’t you do anything right? And how much of this is to blame on Simon Cowell? Well, from a technical perspective, it’s not his fault that there was a technical slip-up, but this is his baby and the Mickey Mouse mistakes will all direct back to him as the face of the show.

    If you had invested two hours into Wednesday’s show like I did and then saw on Thursday that you weren’t going to get what was promised, which was an elimination, did you even bother with Thursday’s show? I don’t see why you would’ve. According to the ratings, no one did.

    The rhythm of the show is off. After eliminating someone tonight, they’re eliminating two people tomorrow. I wish the show was more organized. You have to think that this is probably the last season of the X Factor in the USA.

    X Factor Elimination

    Carlos Guevara was eliminated surprisingly. It made sense in that he was a great story, but when it came time to deliver, he didn’t deliver. Still, from a human interest story, they have to be disappointed that he was the first elimination. They could’ve told many more stories about Carlos.

    Performances of the night

    It was 80s night. This was both good and bad. It was good in the sense that most of the songs were fun and recognizable. But being recognizable made some of the acts try and change them up too much.

    Khaya Cohen performed Madonna’s Borderline, which was the perfect performance of the night. She has that Amy Winehouse twang. To me, it’s one of Madonna’s most fun song and Khaya’s performance was fun as well. However, she has the chops to sing it better than Madonna ever could.

    Rachel Potter and her legs performed Heart’s Alone. It was a diversion from her country style, but it worked well because it showed off her vocals and stage presence. She was once booed on stage, but now she’s getting those cheers, deservedly.

    Rion Paige sang Pat Benetar’s We Belong very well. She’s such a ball of fire.

    Duds of the night

    Tim Olstad just doesn’t have it. He redid Phil Collins’ Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now) and if I closed my eyes, I’d think he did a pretty good job. But in watching him, I had to see how uncomfortable he was (which made me feel uncomfortable) and since this is a TV show, he just doesn’t have it. Demi said it best. He doesn’t have the X factor.

    No one else really did terribly. Even though Carlito Olivero is a mess on stage, I found his energetic performance of Rhythm Is Gonna Get You fine. Can you really do an outstanding performance of that song, or is it supposed to be a clusterf***?

    Who are the front runners?

    At this point, my girl Khaya is the best singer. Simon is propping up Restless Road as the best thing since Wonder bread. And Alex & Sierra to me, seem to be the best mix of solid vocals, excellent stage presence, and creative versions of the songs they’re singing. Either that, or I just dig me some Sierra. She’s the baddest girl in his history of this show.

    I wasn’t a fan of Josh Levi’s version of Straight Up, but he’s got a mini-Usher vibe going. Everyone’s favorite grandmother, Lille McCloud took a step backward by doing Chaka Khan, but she’s still really good. I still think Rachel Potter has her work cut out for her, no matter how well she’s done so far.

    Who goes home?

    I think Tim is done. He’s like Old Yeller after getting rabies. We just have to shoot him out of his misery.