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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 21, 2020 16:44:40 GMT
Thanks to Spotify, I've been checking out some late career Christmas albums by various legacy artists. I've listened to Xmas albums from The Moody Blues, Jethro Tull, Cheap Trick (already mentioned), and Eric Clapton. I thought The Moodies and Tull's offerings were pretty good. Although, I do have a love / hate relationship with Tull's "A Christmas Song" which was re-recorded for the album. In general, I like it, but I hate how preachy it is...even if there's a moment of levity at the end. Clapton..well, much like Paul McCartney, he's done very little in the 21st Century that does anything for me, and his Christmas album is no different. I like December by The Moody Blues. It has a very eclectic tracklist and Justin and John sound great. It's hard to believe that December was released in 2003 and it remains the group's last studio album.
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Post by kds on Dec 21, 2020 16:47:30 GMT
Thanks to Spotify, I've been checking out some late career Christmas albums by various legacy artists. I've listened to Xmas albums from The Moody Blues, Jethro Tull, Cheap Trick (already mentioned), and Eric Clapton. I thought The Moodies and Tull's offerings were pretty good. Although, I do have a love / hate relationship with Tull's "A Christmas Song" which was re-recorded for the album. In general, I like it, but I hate how preachy it is...even if there's a moment of levity at the end. Clapton..well, much like Paul McCartney, he's done very little in the 21st Century that does anything for me, and his Christmas album is no different. I like December by The Moody Blues. It has a very eclectic tracklist and Justin and John sound great. It's hard to believe that December was released in 2003 and it remains the group's last studio album.
I think their sound translates pretty well to Christmas music. They did a version of What Child is This? at some point in the 80s (I think) that's also pretty good. Tull's Christmas album, also released in 2003, is to date that band's studio swansong too.
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Post by kds on Dec 22, 2020 20:07:46 GMT
I decided to give She & Him - A Very She & Him Christmas a listen. Two minutes of Zooey Daschunel on a Brian Wilson album or Will Ferrell Christmas movie is fine, but I found just over 32 minutes of her was a bit much.
Individually some of the songs were alright, like their version of Sleigh Ride, but as a whole album, even as short as it was, sounded like a boring work Christmas party.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 23, 2020 13:01:30 GMT
I like December by The Moody Blues. It has a very eclectic tracklist and Justin and John sound great. It's hard to believe that December was released in 2003 and it remains the group's last studio album.
I think their sound translates pretty well to Christmas music. They did a version of What Child is This? at some point in the 80s (I think) that's also pretty good. The Moody Blues recorded (actually, I read somewhere that it's basically a Justin Hayward solo recording) "What Child Is This" for a charity album in 1992. It's an excellent version and I'm a little surprised it wasn't included on December.
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Post by kds on Dec 23, 2020 13:41:57 GMT
It must've been on one of those A Very Special Christmas albums.
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Post by kds on Dec 23, 2020 15:51:34 GMT
I couldn't help but notice that nobody seemed to be bitching about "Baby, It's Cold Outside" this year. I guess that's what happens when "WAP" becomes the #1 song in the country.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 23, 2020 16:24:24 GMT
I couldn't help but notice that nobody seemed to be bitching about "Baby, It's Cold Outside" this year. I guess that's what happens when "WAP" becomes the #1 song in the country. I'm going to need you to refer to it as "Song of the Year 'WAP,'" kds. Thanks.
Actually there was a mention of that whole thing again this year locally, probably because a lot of the complaints and the "acceptable" remake were initially done here.
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Post by kds on Dec 23, 2020 16:36:26 GMT
I couldn't help but notice that nobody seemed to be bitching about "Baby, It's Cold Outside" this year. I guess that's what happens when "WAP" becomes the #1 song in the country. I'm going to need you to refer to it as "Song of the Year 'WAP,'" kds. Thanks.
Actually there was a mention of that whole thing again this year locally, probably because a lot of the complaints and the "acceptable" remake were initially done here. You're correct, song of the year and female empowerment anthem WAP. That's reason #872 that 2020 sucks the big one.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 23, 2020 16:41:55 GMT
Hey now, for its faults, 2020 has allowed me to permanently work from home and avoid assorted functions/gatherings I have no interest in. For that, I shall be forever grateful to it. So don't blame 2020 for the garbage music put out by stripper/hooker/reality star/"musician" Cardi B (or the people of questionable taste who enjoy her and it)!
2020 is WAY better than Cardi B. (And Megan Thee Stallion. Whose name is stupid, by the way.)
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Post by B.E. on Dec 23, 2020 16:43:54 GMT
I still haven't heard "WAP" and I plan on keeping it that way!
As for "Baby It's Cold Outside", I've heard a grumble or two when it comes on, and honestly I'm tired of it, too. It's always been one of my least favorite Christmas songs.
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Post by kds on Dec 23, 2020 16:52:06 GMT
I still haven't heard "WAP" and I plan on keeping it that way! As for "Baby It's Cold Outside", I've heard a grumble or two when it comes on, and honestly I'm tired of it, too. It's always been one of my least favorite Christmas songs. To be honest, I don't ever recall hearing Baby It's Cold Outside growing up. In my household, my folks tended to play either kiddie stuff like Disney or The Chipmunks, or more rock era stuff like The Beach Boys, or songs by Lennon, The Kinks, Billy Squier, etc etc. So, there were a ton of older Christmas songs like that one that I never heard until I was an adult. The first time I remember hearing Baby It's Cold Outside was the scene in Elf (2003) where Zooey Daschunel is singing it in the shower. I can't say overall that I've ever heard it enough to truly grow tired of it.
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Post by B.E. on Dec 23, 2020 16:57:58 GMT
As for "Baby It's Cold Outside", I've heard a grumble or two when it comes on, and honestly I'm tired of it, too. It's always been one of my least favorite Christmas songs. To be honest, I don't ever recall hearing Baby It's Cold Outside growing up. In my household, my folks tended to play either kiddie stuff like Disney or The Chipmunks, or more rock era stuff like The Beach Boys, or songs by Lennon, The Kinks, Billy Squier, etc etc. So, there were a ton of older Christmas songs like that one that I never heard until I was an adult. The first time I remember hearing Baby It's Cold Outside was the scene in Elf (2003) where Zooey Daschunel is singing it in the shower. I can't say overall that I've ever heard it enough to truly grow tired of it. Interesting. Personally, I heard it a lot, about as much as any other Christmas song. Mostly on the radio, but also self-inflicted as some of my favorite artists (e.g. James Taylor), included it on their Christmas albums.
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Post by kds on Dec 23, 2020 17:46:16 GMT
To be honest, I don't ever recall hearing Baby It's Cold Outside growing up. In my household, my folks tended to play either kiddie stuff like Disney or The Chipmunks, or more rock era stuff like The Beach Boys, or songs by Lennon, The Kinks, Billy Squier, etc etc. So, there were a ton of older Christmas songs like that one that I never heard until I was an adult. The first time I remember hearing Baby It's Cold Outside was the scene in Elf (2003) where Zooey Daschunel is singing it in the shower. I can't say overall that I've ever heard it enough to truly grow tired of it. Interesting. Personally, I heard it a lot, about as much as any other Christmas song. Mostly on the radio, but also self-inflicted as some of my favorite artists (e.g. James Taylor), included it on their Christmas albums. I don't recall if we had any round the clock Christmas stations growing up. If we did, my folks never had them on in the car. It was usually active rock, Top 40, or classic rock. And neither of those stations would play Baby It's Cold Outside. And, outside of White Christmas, the only Bing song I knew was the version of The Little Drummer Boy with Bowie.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 23, 2020 18:37:16 GMT
I feel like "Baby It's Cold Outside" is one of those songs I've always known and never known well. I don't recall hearing it for the first time, but I must have been very, very young. Yet it wasn't one that my family played specifically, either. It was more just kind of in the air.
Frankly I don't care about it one way or the other. The alleged controversy seems stupid to me; but if I'm going to choose some hill to die on, that song certainly isn't worth being the location of that hill.
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Post by kds on Dec 23, 2020 19:05:09 GMT
I feel like "Baby It's Cold Outside" is one of those songs I've always known and never known well. I don't recall hearing it for the first time, but I must have been very, very young. Yet it wasn't one that my family played specifically, either. It was more just kind of in the air.
Frankly I don't care about it one way or the other. The alleged controversy seems stupid to me; but if I'm going to choose some hill to die on, that song certainly isn't worth being the location of that hill.
I tend to think of Baby It's Cold Outside in the same way as Let It Snow, I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm, or That Holiday Feeling in that it's a fairly playful, flirty, almost non Christmas Christmas song. It's not really one that I seek out. I don't think it's on any of the Christmas playlists I've made. And, of course, the controversy around it was completely 100% overblown. If people are offended by that, I hope they've not been listening to much music of the last half century or they'll have an aneurysm. Growing up Catholic, I did hear, and love, a lot of the non secular (I only this year learned the true meaning on this term on this very forum) Christmas songs, and many of them are among my favorites like What Child Is This, Oh Holy Night, God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman, and We Three Kings.
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