The Gift Outright

I always love the ceremony of the Inauguration.  I always get goosebumps during the oath.  And I'm a sucker for nice winter gear.  The poem is always great to hear, too.  My favorite of all the Inagural poems is Robert Frost's poem, The Gift Outright.

12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 12

Christmas Eve!  This has been fun, albeit often done in bulk.  Tonight, we're featuring one of my favorite songs of not only Christmas but probably of all time.  That'd be True Blue Miracle from Christmas Eve on Sesame Street.  It's such a beautiful happy pretty song, and I love the idea that all the Sesame Street gang takes the subway to a different area of the city to get Christmas trees and go ice skating, then have to take the subway back to town.

Ricky and I have spent the last few Christmas Eves watching Christmas Eve on Sesame Street.  It's been a fun way to prepare for Christmas... and this special is so nostalgic and fun.  I strongly recommend it.

I hope you enjoyed this mini series.  It's been fun talking about what festive things I've done and thinking about what songs I like.

12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 11

Yesterday I continued on my tour of old friend Christmas parties by heading to Worcester to embrace my college days.  Tim has been teaching at HC and living across the street from the campus, and he held an egg nog party for his friends.  It was really fun getting together and laughing about crazy old stories.  When we were getting into our cars, though, Jess and I both agreed that we wished that this was 7 years ago and we lived across the street from an off-campus party and didn't have to drive over an hour home.  Alas.

I asked Ricky what Christmas song he wanted, and that was Robert Smigel's Christmastime for the Jews, which was featured on SNL a few years ago.  It made him laugh so hard he cried.  Not a traditional Christmas carol, but definitely a good one for this.  And it's clay animation... who doesn't love that?!




Christmastime for the Jews from Bix Pix Entertainment, Inc. on Vimeo.

12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 10

It's been a crazy weekend, so I am woefully behind on this.  Saturday night was Friendmas.  Friendmas is the annual Christmas get together my friends from high school and I have every year to get together and catch up.  We have a Yankee Swap and play weird games.  It's really fun, and as we've all been pairing off and settling down it's been nice having the spouses be a part of it.

This song doesn't have anything to do with Friendmas, but I wanted to talk about it for a moment.  This day, I thought I'd take a moment to talk about a favorite one of mine from the 80's.  I am of course talking about Christmas in Hollis by Run DMC.  It ends Die Hard (a Landry brother Christmas movie favorite) and it always makes me laugh. 

12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 9

Tonight was one of our favorite Christmas traditions:  decorating stockings!  For the last few years, Ricky and I have been painting stockings for ourselves and the pets.  It was very nice to have some egg nog, paint, and watch Bob's Burgers.  I will post our stockings soon.

Speaking of pets, can we just take a moment to appreciate this photo of President Obama shopping with and for Bo at a Petsmart?!?

HOW CUTE IS THAT?  He's picking out some snacks for his dog Bo.  How great is that?  There are also photos of Bo meeting a poodle named Cinnamon.  Worth checking out.

Anyways, back to Christmas music.  We watched a favorite of mine for the last 20 (!!!) years:  The Muppet Christmas Carol.  I've loved this movie since it first came out in theatres, and no season is complete without a viewing.  In honor of that, here's my favorite song from it, It Feels Like Christmas.  Keep your eye out for the cutest mouse Muppets ever, which Ricky loves.

12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 8

Caught up on this!  Huzzah!  Tonight I had perhaps the least holiday-ish thing:  a dentist appointment.  But it was a necessary evil, I suppose.  Clean bill of teeth health, though I need to get a filling replaced.  The week is winding down, and we're getting closer to some Christmas parties, and the big day itself.  Tomorrow is my last day of work for the year, and we get out early which is nice.

Today we'll play some super cheesy music... I'm of course talking about Paul McCartney's Wonderful Christmastime.  I feel like it's super cheesy (and possibly highlights why Paul needs someone like John to edit him and keep him from going into super cheese fest).  I do like the music video because it's so dated and of that era.

12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 7

Wednesday I managed to get a lot of Christmas wrapping done!  Is there anything more satisfying than getting almost all of you wrapping done?  I locked myself in the bedroom and wrapped almost everything and organized it.  Only a few things left that need to arrive in the mail, to find where I put a calendar for someone, and then I'll be done.  In the craziness of the last few weeks, I was nice to have a night to catch up and checking things off my list.

In honor of Christmas wrapping... It's Christmas Wrapping by the Waitresses.  I've always thought this song made me feel like I'm working seasonal help at The Gap, folding sweaters.  I have a feeling if I actually worked at The Gap, I'd be really sick of this song, but since I haven't I'm cool with this song still.

12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 6

Tuesday was another holiday party, but this one was for the entire college.  It's nice to get fancy, have some drinks and tasty food at a swanky club, and look at fancy paintings of famous people.  The desserts weren't as good as last year, but it's okay.

For Tuesday, let's play Someday at Christmas.  I often feel like Stevie Wonder's lyrics leave little to be desired, but after the events from last week it's been on the brain recently.  I also am a big fan of the background singers and blasting this song on high.

12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 5

Monday began a very busy week of holiday events.  My department had a holiday lunch downtown, and we did our Yankee Swap.  I managed to luck out and being a wine and a weird sushi kit and come home with wine and beer.  Huzzah!

Today let's highlight a favorite of mine, though I know somewhere my mom is groaning.  I've always loved the marriage of styles and generations when David Bowie and Bing Crosby came together to sing The Little Drummer Boy.  The opening is insanely cheesy, but I do love the arrangements.  (I found a version that skipped most of the opening, which is probably for the best)

I tried to purchase it on iTunes for a Christmas mix I made for a friend, but unfortunately you can't get it on iTunes.  WTF, iTunes.

12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 4

No surprise, I've let this slip, so I'll just do a bunch of catch up right now and talk about what I was doing on each day.  On Sunday, I worked.  I've been doing some holiday hours at a gift shop on the weekends.  It's been fun, and as Ricky says, fulfills my high school desires to be Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail.

So let's do something a little classic.  I've always loved The Nutcracker, and I feel like it's so pretty.  So here's the dance of the sugar plum fairies.  Whenever I hear those bells, it brings to a moment when it's cold and snowing and there's lots of lights everywhere and evergreen.  Here's a version of it I heard recently and am a big fan of.  It's from a favorite band of mine:  Pamplemoose!

12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 3

Feeling a little better today, less overwhelmed with the sadness of yesterday's events.  I think it helps that I spent the day helping friends move back to the state (yay!) and then went to a super fun Christmas party hosted by good friends Mike and Christine (yay times two!) at night.  They have a yankee swap where everyone needs to bring a gift from their house, and it's always entertaining to see what crap people have lying around.  My coworkers should be expecting a sushi maker on Monday at our work swap, as I try to pass it off as a nice gift.

I think in the vein of old friends, I'll post a song by the Royal Guardsmen.  The reason being is because when I was in elementary school chorus we had to sing this song, which I always thought was a crazy song.  Then, years later, I found out that someone wrote it in the 60's sincerely, and it was a pop hit... not just something weird our chorus teacher thought up.  I also felt the same feeling of "wait... people knew that song in real life?" when I found out that he wanted us to sing an Alan Sherman song at a concert.

Weird song performed quite sincerely by a bunch of Brits.  I promise tomorrow's song won't be Peanuts- themed.

12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 2

I know it's hard on a day like this to think of holidays and celebration.  My heart aches and I am haunted by the photos of small children holding hands being led out of their school by police, their innocence shaken and probably gone forever.  I'm also saddened by the photos of young parents hugging each other in parking lots, overcome with grief.  Of President Obama tearing up at a press conference not as an elected official, but as a parent putting himself in their place.  It's all a lot to stomach and hopefully this moment will be the moment that calls for changed legislation and help for those who are mentally ill and unstable.

In spite of this, and maybe because of this, I listened to music that cheers me up at the end of the day at work.  A brief escape from the stress of today.  While this doesn't erase the feelings I'm feeling, it does help alleviate some of that sadness.

I decided on Vince Guaraldi's Ice Skating, since I've always loved A Charlie Brown Christmas, and thought it'd be a nice note to end today on.  Kids enjoying wintertimes and feeling carefree, something that every child should have, and sadly a grouping of them lost today.

Hug your loved ones a lot tighter tonight, and be very grateful of everything you have in your life.

Obligatory Hurricane Sandy post

I want to thank Hurricane Sandy for bringing rough winds and high seas so the roads are treacherous and Ricky and I can spend the day at home and be safe inside.




Not to be confused with this Sandy, though...

Stay safe, everyone!

Ten! Ah ah ah ah!

On my way to Worcester yesterday Erin texted me that Jerry Nelson had passed away.  I read a few months ago that he was in failing health, and that he had pretty much retired from puppeteering except for the vocal work of Count Von Count.

When I was rattling off to Ricky all the characters Jerry Nelson played, he was amazed.  Sherlock Hemlock, Camilla, Gobo, Emmitt Otter, Robin, Fozzie's mom, The Amazing Mumford, Floyd Pepper, Dr. Julius Strangepork, Uncle Deadly... I could just list roles, but that'd be boring.

Here's him as Count Von Count, along with Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog.



And here's a video I found of Jerry Nelson singing When The River Meets The Sea at Jim Henson's memorial service in 1990 with another Muppeteer, Louise Gold.   Try to keep a dry eye at this one:

Happy Birthday, Julia Child!

It's Julia Child's 100th birthday today!  My first job out of college was for public television, and I remember getting goosebumps standing on the stage where The French Chef was shot.  You could see the pipes for her kitchen in a corner!  When they tore down those offices, moved across town, and sold the land to a local college (years after I had worked there) I remember feeling melancholy that her studio was gone in turn.

Anyways, I feel like so many people are inspired by her, so it would feel done and disingenuous to talk about it here.  She did a lot for French cooking, and making it accessible, she did a lot for women in television and in a field that was dominantly menfolk.  And she did a lot for those cooks who when a mushroom or chicken falls out of the pot and no one's home, dusting it off and putting it right back in the pot and pretending it never happened.

I mean, that's never happened to me.  I don't know what you're talking about.

I found this clever video that has a variety of clips of her through the ages, and it felt appropriate today.  There are many more clips on youtube, which I'd recommend checking out.

Ticky Tacky

If you watch Weeds (I do not) you probably recognize the song as the theme song.  I recently stumbled upon this song, and I'm in love.  The simple style, Malvina Reynold's voice, and the lyrics... all of it.  I've been listening to it on a loop for a few days now.




Also, I wish that when I grow old that I could look like her.

Michael Caine

Last night Ricky and our friends Tom and Fodor went to see The Dark Knight Rises.  It was good, though perhaps 45 minutes longer than it needed to be.  Michael Caine is in it as Alfred and (without giving any of the plot away) has several emotional acting scenes.  This reminded me of this video from The Trip:



Gotta love some Michael Caine getting emotional... and Michael Caine in general.

Skipping over the ocean like a stone

It's a cover, but it's still amazing.  I showed Ricky this week the documentary Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talking About Him)? which he liked.  I think it's slightly biased and sycophantic-ish, but still worth checking out.  And it's been streaming on Netflix for months, so it's easy to access.  Ricky realized how much he liked Harry Nilsson's music, if nothing else.

Here's Everybody's Talking, from Midnight Cowboy, which is perhaps one of his biggest songs.



And here's One, which I used in college (both the original and the Three Dog Night cover) in a play I directed to try and set the tone of the beginning and end of the play.

Don't cry, shop girl. Don't cry.

I feel like so many womenfolk have their Nora Ephron movie, depending on how you grew up and also how old you were.  While I love When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle, my Nora Ephron movie is You've Got Mail.  It's not her best, but it's certainly my favorite.  I was 14 when it came out, on the eve of high school and pining for future adult relationships with all their beauty and messiness.

I wanted to be Kathleen Kelly so badly.  Her cute haircut, her dream job (owns an independent children's bookstore, what's not to love?), her perfectly New York in the late 1990's wardrobe, and her very real trial and tribulations in love.  Oh, and her apartment.  Honestly, if I saw that her apartment was for sale for $10, I'd run away to New York City right now.  For awhile in college, I tried to pull off a similar haircut to Meg Ryan/Kathleen, but grew tired of looking like I was a dandelion on fire.

Kathleen's cleverness and beautiful prose gave me something to aspire for.  I wished I could be so observant and self reflect so well.  I also wish I could write beautiful emails on fancy laptops (we had just gotten a computer and the internet about a year prior, so that was quite appealing).  Sadly, 14-year-old me did not have the capability for that and spent too much time worrying about boys not liking her to craft beautiful email prose.

A sweet and nostalgic soundtrack of Harry Nilsson and Jimmy Durante, with a hint of Carole King, also made my heart soar.  I very much so wanted to have that great NYC life and find myself walking every morning to work, chipper and with a coffee in one hand, all the while singing The Cranberries in my head.

Obviously none of that happened to me.

I read somewhere -- probably NPR -- that Nora Ephron captures the melancholy of your 30's in this movie well.  Kathleen does not save her company and ends the movie unemployed and trying to figure out where to go next.  The ideal deus ex machina of Joe buying her building and letting her run it for free, or finding her a new store, does not happen.  Kathleen's longterm serious boyfriend leaves her for a news anchor (then again... she ends up with Tom Hanks, so it all works out).  Meg Ryan is not as young and perky as she was a decade earlier.  Kathleen's friends disappear, only to hear bits and pieces of their lives at their new jobs.  She can't keep the gang together, just like the shop.

But ultimately, and this might be why I love Nora Ephron movies so much, love and happiness prevail.  Kathleen and Joe court amongst coffee shops and farmer markets, until their "introduction" and plot payoff, to Harry Nilsson's beautiful and heartbreaking version of Over the Rainbow.  It was a mess and hard to get to that point, but Kathleen got there.  She got her happy ending.  All while wearing an adorable cardigan and linen dress.  All the bullshit she put up with at that point was worth it, as she tearfully melts into Joe Fox's arms.

And as I sit here, remembering Nora Ephron and this movie, I realize that she wrote the dream I have for myself, and I'm sure others have as well.  I dream for a messy life with sadness and failures, with melancholy and disappointment.  But that in the end, at the end of the day, there's love and happiness to make it all worth it.  That the good person lives a good life and can be liked and valued.  All while speaking beautifully and with punchy dialogue.

In closing, here is the ending of You've Got Mail, which always pulls at my heart strings and makes me misty.  Thanks, Nora, for bringing 14-year-old me this movie:

MFT Day 30: The WFNX of my childhood-end of college

Today marks a sad day in Boston.  Word broke this morning that WFNX has been sold to Clear Channel, likely to be butcher for parts and play Top 40 crap.  With this news, so ends an era of independent and alternative music to Boston.  Unfortunately, I feared this conclusion years ago when WBCN also fell.

I find it fitting and perhaps ironic that I got this news sitting with friends at my work's staff appreciation day.   I was at an event celebrating music and new talents when I heard that a station that championed that for the area has fallen.

I have to admit, I haven't listened to them as much in recent years.  I now travel to work via train, so my time in a car is quite limited.  But today, I'm thinking of the WFNX of my past days.  (the station started the year before I was born, so I've always had WFNX in my life)

--I'm remembering being driven to Beeman and listening to Morning Guy Tai and Henry.  I'm remembering pretty much only listening to this station in the car with my mom.

--I'm remembering names like Julie Kramer, Boy Troy, Neal Robert, which were used as frequently in our house as aunts and uncles.

--I'm remembering driving around with Jess and Christa in high school and being obsessed with not only the station, but the music they championed.  (It makes sense that Jess broke the news to me and I to Christa)

--I'm remembering getting excited to go home on college break to listen to the station, and buying the CDs I heard on break.

--I'm remembering seeing Beck in 2000 and trying to email Julie Kramer to get back stage tickets (we failed at this).

--I'm remembering driving over an hour one way to my first real job out of college, and listening to The Sandbox in the morning and Keith Dakin on the way home.  Those two shows made that year of commuting tolerable.  This station also made commuting to Worcester for a summer tolerable.

--I'm remembering the free shows at the Hatch Shell, like They Might Be Giants and Cake.

--I'm remembering all the music.  If I listed it all, I'd run out of room, so I found a video below.


So I thank you for everything, WFNX.  My music tastes are richer because of you.  I'm sad it all had to end this way, but it did give me an opportunity to look back at a life of music and memories today.