My wife went out and bought James Taylor at Christmas and then asked me if we already had it. I told her we have a JT album from Hallmark that I received from my sister a couple years ago. Come to discover – as the discussion in the Amazon post describes, they are largely – though not exactly – THE SAME ALBUM. Carol returned the disc.
As for the album: if you like James Taylor, you’ll probably like the disc. What does one want from a Christmas album? A couple of unexpected cuts – he sings In the Bleak Midwinter, which I seldom here on “secular” albums. A twist on the familiar – “Jingle Bells” reminds me of a slowed-up version of the Bing Crosby/Andrews Sisters version, for some reason.
As I noted the other day, Lefty asks LOTS of questions. One from this post last week got me thinking about “Christmas” songs, and why some of them actually are considered as such. Moreover, why one couldn’t play some of them, say, in January? Or February? Three of them are on all versions of the James Taylor album: Winter Wonderland, Jingle Bells, and the somewhat randy Baby, It’s Cold Outside. Let It Snow also qualifies. And as I’ve described here, we’re not even IN Christmastime, we’re in Advent, so some of those Christ-Mass songs don’t even make sense until December 25 or later – the Three Kings may have taken their time getting to the manger.
So, I resolve:
1. to keep playing Christmas music until January 6, Three Kings Day, and
2. in honor of the biggest Christmas geek I know, to play some winter songs on January 30
Probably doing other things on January 30, which will be discussed in due course.
You might have heard about the so-called “War on Christmas from these articles:
Mo Rocca Wants His Christmas Big
‘Christmas’ makes a comeback in public spaces
W.Va. City’s Xmas Scene Has No Jesus
Critics Aren’t Keeping Quiet Over ‘Silent Night’ Lyrics Change
But no one can declare a war on Christmas like this person.
Studio 60 is rebroadcasting its Christmas show, last broadcast on Monday, December 4, on Monday, December 18. The last six minutes or so are rather affecting.
Oh, the pictures are of the Christmas caroling Carol and I did this past weekend. I’m in one of the photos.
