Maybe. I only say this because I'm beginning to analyze the songs too much. I mean really, if I had been Rudolph's mother, I would have told him that people who only like him once he becomes useful to them are not his true friends. And Frosty? kind of breaking some laws running here and there! (not to mention that whole "catch me if you can" thing. I do enough 2 year old chasing, lets not encourage it!)
I think my favorite, laugh out loud lyric comes from the song Here Comes Santa Claus.... I don't know who was singing it, but when I heard it last night on the radio I laughed hard. The original lyrics are lovely... but this guy added a few extra words here and there...
"Peace on Earth will come to men, if we just sorta follow the light..."
Sorta? Um, again the mom in me comes out. "My homework was sorta late." "I sorta cleaned my room" "I sorta have a job" "I sorta did something nice for someone" "I'm sorta out of money in my bank account".... Sorta just doesn't cut it around here.
I guess I need new Christmas music. I'm taking suggestions please!
I detest housework. One way I can make it tolerable is to crank up some good tunes. I like to listen LOUD and being The Mom (frequently with a child napping somewhere in the house) isn't always conducive to a major rock-out in the middle of the kitchen.
On the flip side, if I do start dancing around and singing, my kids are usually very happy to join in. So at least I'm not dancin by my se-helf, whoa ho ho ho.
What are your preferred tunes for housework? Lately my favorites are Gwen Stefani, Ben Folds, Josh Rouse, and Billy Joel's Greatest Hits CDs that I can sing along to. I tend to listen to music obsessively and love it until I kill it, then I can't stand it anymore. Poor Josh Rouse only has a few weeks left before I'm done with him.
My goal this week is to perfectly time my kid's naps around housework chores so that I can get maximum music enjoyment and volume while not ruining naps. Oh, the thrilling challenges of being me.
This bird likes to rock out, too. Enjoy.
The video is long, but it is worth watching at least 20 seconds. Especially if you love Queen/80's greatest hits, like me!
All we really want at the end of the day is a little respect. Just a little bit. Just a little bit.
Right now, at Christmas time, I am willing to bet that you have spread yourself pretty thin. As Melissa said, we have lists of lists. So here is your bossing for the day, or actually for the rest of Christmas, respect yourself. Drop some things off that ridiculous list. And play this song. It's not really a carol. Make sure you have an audience because you won't be able to stop yourself from grabbing a Christmas decoration and turning it into a microphone as you dance around the house. Your family will be delighted.
Re-re-re-re-spect!
Music Appreciation Class (pushes glasses up nose with finger):
Here is a little known fact. Most people think the song says "Take out the P-E-C". Not so.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Find out what it means to me
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Take care ... TCB
"TCB" is an abbreviation that was commonly used in the 1960s and 1970s, meaning Taking Care (of) Business, and it was particularly widely used in African-American vernacular.
At our house, it's that time again. Christmas music time. Christmas is a powerful holiday and induces some people to do things at an inappropriately early time. My old neighbor across the street put up her Christmas tree the day after Halloween. On Nov. 1, it shone bright and sparkly from her front window while I sat looking at it from my living room eating my kids' trick-or-treat candy. Or there's Paige, my friend who got her Christmas lights up a little on the early side(October 21) this year, but her kids like them and Paige has been getting lots of mileage from them.
For me, it's Christmas music. I love it, and I break it out early. Not the day after Halloween, but not too far into November either. Christmas music is uplifting and optimistic, full of the promise of Christmas itself. Music in general has that amazing power to turn a boring or frustrating moment into something better. I started listening to Christmas music in earnest this week. I don't discriminate during the holidays--I love all kinds of Christmas music: country, classical, Hawaiian slack key (yes, I really do have a Hawaiian slack key Christmas CD, it is great), latin, pop, rock, folk, children's, new age, jazz, r&b, and choral. I don't have any punk, hip-hop or electronica Christmas music yet. Maybe you can recommend some to me.
Below are a few of my favorite Christmas CDs, and I suggest you give them a listen (I linked most over to amazon so you can hear clips, or you could use your library to check out a CD before you buy it!). I want to share them with you, so read on to the end and leave a comment, because you might get a Christmas CD from me!
All-time favorites:
A tie between these two Amy Grant CDs (A Christmas Album and The Christmas Collection). I have been listening to them forever. She has a total of 5 Christmas CDs, and these two are the best. This is good for car listening because you can crank it up loud and sing along. I rock out on Emmanuel, and cry on Breath of Heaven. My husband teases me about how much I love these CDs. I never listen to any other Amy Grant music.
Always a popular choice:
Mannheim Steamroller, Christmas Celebration. Some of the songs sound a little like 80's aerobics music, but we all love it, right? My kids dance around like cheerful rock stars when we play this music. I'm pretty impressed by what these people did with their Mannheim Steamroller Christmas music (that thing in the upper right corner is a movie of Santa):
Some music you might not have tried:
Take 6, He is Christmas. This group is mostly a capella. The other bossy sisters are equally addicted. If you were in high school jazz choir, you will go nuts for this, otherwise you might find it a bit cheesy.
Liz Story, The Gift. This fascinating cover art won the Boring Design of The Year Award. The music is lovely, not boring at all.
For all the baby bloggers out there:
Baby Einstein, Baby Santa. It sounds cute and xylophoney, like all Baby Einstein products. The little kids dig it.
For your Christmas Party:
Michael Buble, Let It Snow. It's good but there are only 6 songs on it. Which is why it only costs $6.
Sarah McLachlan, Wintersong
James Taylor (That's the original JT, Paige), atChristmas. This is not his music video. I couldn't find any for my Christmas music.
Romantic Christmas music:
Josh Groban, Noel. The guy can sing.
To make your house sound like a Christmas store at the mall:
Hugs for the Holidays. Super duper cheesy, but I like it for background music.
Majestic Christmas music to blast on Christmas morning in order to wake up the adults and teenagers:
MoTab, Joy To The World. This belongs in everyone's collection. It is commanding in it's official Christmasness. Break it out at 7 AM on Christmas morning and even the moody adolescents will come running.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of my Christmas music collection. I bet you have favorites too, and I am sure there is great music out there that I'm missing, so leave a comment with your favorite music (or just leave a comment!). I want to share the music I love, so I will randomly select one comment and send that reader a mix CD of some of my Christmas favorites! Leave your comment by 8:00 PM Friday, Nov 21.
