Good morning.
I’ll keep this one brief because next week I’ll be back with my The Best Things of the Year post and there will be plenty to reflect on.
I’m writing this from Long Island at the start of my trip home for the holidays to the New York area. And as I write this, the main things I am looking forward to are spending time with my family, in particular my grandmother, who is 96, and my two nieces, who are four and half and nine months old. Those are people who are on two very opposite ends of life’s spectrum and I feel the moments spent with them, more than any other, are ones that I won’t ever be able to get back or try to repeat or refashion in some way.
Of course I’m looking forward to seeing all kinds of friends and coworkers and eating at restaurants I love and new ones I want to try in New York, but that’s what I’m most focused on as we get to the end of the year holidays.
It’s been a long month (month and a half, really) at work and I’m tired. So here’s a playlist of music that I listened to in December. I wanted it to feel like driving around in a car listening to the radio with a Christmas song dropping in every now and then reminding you that you’ve gotta finish buying presents. Once again, it is accompanied by some commentary on each selection. I don’t know if any of you like this part, but I enjoy writing it.
See you next time.
“Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)” by George Harrison - This one is from George’s Living In The Material World (1973) record which doesn’t get talked about enough because it sits right in the shadow of All Things Must Pass (1970). But it has some phenomenal songs—like this one—and is enjoyable in a different way than its predecessor. Sets the mood for end of year good tidings and hope for next year. Spiritual and deistic in the best way.
“Sing One For The Lord” by Billy Preston - Had to pair George up with Billy. From Billy’s 1970 album Encouraging Words (co-produced by George and you feel it on this song), “Sing One For The Lord” is spiritual and deistic in a dope way. This song just keeps coming at you and all of a sudden you’re like, “I’ll run through a brick wall for God.”
“Silent Night” by The Temptations - Heard this one in The Holdovers and immediately chastised myself for not having had this as part of my Christmas music rotation earlier. Smooth and mood setting.
“Outta Mind (Outta Sight)” by Wilco - Being There (1996) is probably Wilco’s best album and this was my first favorite song from the album. Tweedy and company nail the 1965-1966 Beach Boys bounce on this one and the sleigh bells propel the track along in a joyous way that makes it right at home around this time of year.
“Drink a Rum” by Smokey Burke - I’m not gonna lie. One time I looked up “underrated Christmas songs” and found this one. A little taste of paradise when the weather turns cold.
“Bungle in the Jungle” by Jethro Tull - I went to school with a kid named Greg Graziano who used to wear a Jethro Tull t-shirt. That shirt was one of those things I saw as an early teenager that made me realize there might be a thing of two I didn’t understand about the world. We played basketball together and when we made our team playlist for practice, instead of requesting stuff like “Nas Is Like” or “Come With Me” or Mobb Deep, he requested “Aqualung.” This song is absurd and undeniable. I’d love to go to a Christmas party where someone puts this on. Actually, make that any party where someone puts this on.
“If I Had Words” by Scott Fitzgerald and Yvonne Keeley - I wrote about this song when I wrote about Babe (1995). Hymnlike and holy despite its deeply 1970s production.
“Sheena Is a Punk Rocker” by The Ramones - No better palette cleanser after some thick 70s production than The Ramones. Heard this song in a second hand store and said to myself, “Shit, I don’t listen to The Ramones as much as I probably should.”
“Every Little Thing” by The Beatles - On a podcast, someone explained that the genius of this song is the way that Paul’s supporting vocal scaffolds John’s husky lead so that John can hit off-notes and still sound good. I don’t hear it, but it made me listen to this song closely in a way that almost made me cry.
“Step” by Vampire Weekend - This song always makes me think of December. It’s mostly these lyrics: “And punks who would laugh when they saw us together / Well they didn't know how to dress for the weather / I can still see them there, huddled on Astor / Snow falling slow to the sound of the master.” For some reason that’s very evocative for me. It reminds me of seeing Inside Llyewn Davis (2013) by myself at the Union Square AMC one December.
“Step Into Christmas” by Elton John - Sometimes this is my favorite Christmas song by a major rock or pop artist even though it’s not my number one (see more on this later). I like it because it sounds like it could’ve been on Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973). It’s right at that point where Elton’s production veered away from sounding like The Band to sounding like some dense, perfumed, glittering fog that confuses and dazzles you.
“Hadsel” by Beirut - I’m not the biggest Beirut fan but when I heard his latest album was based around the pipe organ I said, “sign me up!” Powerful and holy feeling. This song sounds like the times when I’ve been in church and really felt it.
“I Do Believe” by The Last Hurrah - OK, I admit it: DJ X introduced me to this song and I loved it. I’m not perfect. Sue me.
“Shine Like It Does” by INXS - My fiance and I were getting coffee at a coffee stand in Hyde Park in Austin after going to an estate sale one Sunday and the owner of the stand was playing INXS’s Listen Like Thieves (1985) all the way through. I love the guitar part on this song.
“Veronica” by Elvis Costello - Jangly and chimey and nice to drive around to in December.
“Christmas at the Airport” by Nick Lowe - Had to do a Nick Lowe/Elvis Costello back-to-back. This is one of my favorite “new” Christmas songs. One of those lyrically clever songs with an original concept that only a songwriter who’s been doing it for so long can pull off.
“Not Dead Yet” by Lord Huron - A lot of the time when I hear a song on the radio or in a store that I like but can’t place it ends up being by Lord Huron. This is a driving track that wins you over and before you know it the tune is stuck in your head.
“Eulogy For Nobody” by Debbii Dawson - Damn, DJ X, you did it again. Didn’t know Debbii Dawson but I sure do now after hearing this song. Stark and wintery but still somehow warm and persevering. A dash of late 1970s Stevie Nicks in there will do that.
“In Your Eyes” by BADBADNOTGOOD - Heard this one at a restaurant and thought the vibes (at least I think it's vibraphone) sounded seasonally appropriate. A really nice production.
“Necessary Evil” by Unknown Mortal Orchestra - This track came on at the same restaurant. Unknown Mortal Orchestra is one of those bands that people always say to me, “I can’t believe you don’t listen to them.” You know those bands or artists. Everyone has them. Great chorus.
“Present Without A Bow” by Kacey Musgraves and Leon Bridges - This is what I want from a more contemporary Christmas song. Get that sleigh bell jingle and holiday bounce in there and then tell me a story about heartbreak with holiday tropes.
“Rockestra Theme” by Wings - The name of this song is “Rockestra Theme” and I think that will give you a good idea of what is going on here. The bulk of this song consists of Paul McCartney screaming “yeah, yeah, yeah” like a lunatic in his inimitable way and yet you’re like: “You know, what? This is kinda good!” When you have Paul’s track record, you get to put out a song like “Rockestra Theme.”
“Rainbow Chaser” by Nirvana - No, not that Nirvana. This is baroque pop just on the other side of Sgt. Pepper’s. I’m a sucker for this stuff.
“Shotgun Willie” by Willie Nelson - It’s December in Austin and the weather has felt like a string of beautiful October days in the Northeast. Walking around my neighborhood in the sun makes me feel the way this song makes me feel.
“Candlepin Bowling” by Mark Orton - Another one from The Holdovers soundtrack. An instrumental composition for the movie that fooled me into thinking it was a period-accurate song I’d never heard of. I love this.
“Merry Christmas, Baby” by The Beach Boys - This is actually my favorite Christmas song by a major rock or pop star. Why? Because it sounds like it could’ve been a double A-side with “Help Me Rhonda.” A song about remorse that happens to be set at Christmas. I could listen to this one all day.