BBTF.org/m/music : MLB: Holiday hits: Players dish out favorite winter tunes

Sunday, April 21, 2013

NYT: Mike Mills: A Rock Star of Fantasy Sports

(www.nytimes.com)

posted on April 21, 2013 at 10:09 AM by Repoz to music | 9 comment(s)

I once named one of my jerkball teams “Monty Stratton Got A Raw Deal”. #stand

Mike Mills rose from a chair and strolled out to his car, but not to fetch a musical instrument to perform songs from the catalog of R.E.M., his seminal alternative-rock band. A fantasy draft of Masters golfers, involving Mills and a dozen others at a house not far from Augusta National Golf Club, had just concluded. And with baseball games in the East winding down, Mills was retrieving a laptop to take stock of his ...

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1. Lassus posted on December 19, 2012 at 09:06 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Trip Shakespeare - Snow Days

Redd Kross - Super Sunny Christmas

(Fountains of Wayne does a pretty good "I Want an Alien for Christmas", but it's not that hip.)

2. Misirlou is bad, he's nationwide posted on December 19, 2012 at 09:12 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Jingle Bells by Duke Ellington

3. Matt Clement of Alexandria posted on December 19, 2012 at 09:14 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

I heard Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" on the radio a week or two ago, and you know, that's probably our best modern Christmas song. Sure, it's a big ball of cheese, but that's entirely traditional for holiday music. Tell me you wouldn't sing along with that. And you can prove it -

The Roots, Mariah Carey, and Jimmy Fallon, and children, "All I Want For Christmas Is You"

4. Jose Can Still Seabiscuit posted on December 19, 2012 at 09:32 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

I heard Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" on the radio a week or two ago, and you know, that's probably our best modern Christmas song.

Agreed, I like that one a lot. And of course "Fairytale of New York" is just wonderful. Among the classics I'd probably say Silent Night is my favorite.

5. AROM posted on December 19, 2012 at 09:39 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Mr. Hanky the Christmas Poo.

Goes well with potty training the little one.

6. Greg (U)K posted on December 19, 2012 at 09:50 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

(Fountains of Wayne does a pretty good "I Want an Alien for Christmas", but it's not that hip.)

You're telling me. I was once visiting a friend at her university dorm where a group of hipster-ish people where taking requests for music. Suggesting Fountains of Wayne earned me a room full of dirty looks.

They also have "Man in the Santa Suit", though for my money Alien is a better song.

7. Bitter Mouse is a genre addict posted on December 19, 2012 at 09:51 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Carol of the Bells.

8. Gamingboy posted on December 19, 2012 at 10:13 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Stevie Wonder. "Someday at Christmas".

I say this as somebody who is half-Jewish, that song is a universal one in it's appeal and message.

9. Fernigal McGunnigle has become a merry hat posted on December 19, 2012 at 10:18 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

“That’s a tough one, because I honestly don’t like Christmas music. I mean, I like Christmas, but I don’t like Christmas music. Probably the only one I can bear is the Alvin & The Chipmunks Christmas tape. Remember that one?”

Christmas hasn't really felt like Christmas since I first heard "Christmas Don't Be Late" by Alvin and the Chipmunks played at half speed.

10. Matthew E posted on December 19, 2012 at 10:18 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

I listed the best 25 Christmas songs on my website last year. I hope that that settles this discussion. You're welcome.

11. Pat Rapper's Delight posted on December 19, 2012 at 10:44 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Christmas Medley by trumpet duo Da Tasteebros.

12. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) posted on December 19, 2012 at 10:47 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

GRANDMA GOT RUN OVER BY A REINDEER

13. Matthew E posted on December 19, 2012 at 10:51 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Ten songs I left off the list linked above that are nonetheless excellent:

Five-Pound Box of Money - Pearl Bailey
Carolina Christmas - Squirrel Nut Zippers
At Last I'm Ready for Christmas - Barra MacNeils
Christmas in Killarney - Barra MacNeils
Silent Night/I Guess There Ain't No Santa Claus - Barry Manilow
I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas - Gayla Peevey
Welcome Christmas - from How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Christmastime Is Here - Vince Guaraldi Trio
Christmastime (Oh Yeah) - Barenaked Ladies
Cool Yule - Louis Armstrong

14. Blastin posted on December 19, 2012 at 10:53 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

So long as no one likes "Christmas Shoes." That may be the worst song (Christmas or otherwise) I've heard.

Here's Patton Oswalt's discussion of it.

15. Matt Clement of Alexandria posted on December 19, 2012 at 10:54 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

But it spawned the wonderful Patton Oswalt bit about "Christmas Shoes."

EDIT: hey, I thought I got there first. but cokes.

16. Lassus posted on December 19, 2012 at 10:54 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Squirrel Nut Zippers

God I hate this band.

17. Blastin posted on December 19, 2012 at 10:55 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Ha, indeed, MCoA.

18. Tom Nawrocki posted on December 19, 2012 at 11:01 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

I heard Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" on the radio a week or two ago, and you know, that's probably our best modern Christmas song.

That may be true, but it's kind of a sad commentary on the quality of contemporary Christmas music. I've heard that song eleventy-billion times, and the only part of it I can remember is the title phrase.

19. Random Transaction Generator posted on December 19, 2012 at 11:04 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

The one that I always look forward to hearing is "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band Aid (the original).

20. Shooty is in the Trust Tree

posted on December 19, 2012 at 11:08 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

The one that I always look forward to hearing is "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band Aid (the original).

I like making fun of that song, especially that they let Bono belt out the most self-righteous refrain.

21. Famous Original Joe C posted on December 19, 2012 at 11:10 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

#1: Little Drummer Boy as performed by Bing Crosby and David Bowie.

Honorable mention: Mariah, Band Aid, O Holy Night (Mormon Tabernacle Choir version), Mary's Boy Child (Boney M. version)

22. Ron J2 posted on December 19, 2012 at 11:12 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

I enjoy Tom Lehrer's Christmas Carol.

Christmas time is here, by golly,
Disapproval would be folly,
Deck the halls with hunks of holly,
Fill the cup and don't say "when."

(etc)

23. Matthew E posted on December 19, 2012 at 11:13 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

The one that I always look forward to hearing is "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band Aid (the original).

I like making fun of that song, especially that they let Bono belt out the most self-righteous refrain.

The Barenaked Ladies cover that song, and Ed Robertson does a pretty okay imitation of Bono on that line. It's quite a performance: they play it straight and make fun of it at the same time.

24. Lassus posted on December 19, 2012 at 11:13 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

I like making fun of that song, especially that they let Bono belt out the most self-righteous refrain.

Well, now, sure. But I'll gladly admit it gave me chills for a few years. Dude had a gift.

I really did like a lot of the "Very Special Christmas" albums, especially the first.

25. Famous Original Joe C posted on December 19, 2012 at 11:14 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

I really did like a lot of the "Very Special Christmas" albums, especially the first.

Seconded.

26. Matt Clement of Alexandria posted on December 19, 2012 at 11:17 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

The one that I always look forward to hearing is "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band Aid (the original).

I'm not saying the song itself doesn't have its cheeseball appeal, but the refrain always bugged the crap out of me. Ethiopia is a majority Christian nation in which Christmas is a major holiday. They're hungry and oppressed, they haven't forgotten their religious traditions or how to tell time.

27. Tom Nawrocki posted on December 19, 2012 at 11:20 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

I like making fun of that song, especially that they let Bono belt out the most self-righteous refrain.

I love that line. It's the best line of the song. I think it really jolts the listener out of their complacency. Of course, if you think Bono is dim and not at all self-aware, you might have a different interpretation of it.

I did my best to disembowel "Christmas Shoes" on my blog a while back. A short while thereafter, while looking at the Google searches that drove traffic to the blog, I noticed that someone had arrived at that article by typing into Google "who wrote the song christmas shoes." I'm sure that she - and you know it had to be a she - was not expecting that search to return a discussion of how "Christmas Shoes" was the worst Christmas song ever, and I still feel a little bad about that.

28. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) posted on December 19, 2012 at 11:23 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

"Father Christmas", The Kinks

29. Shooty is in the Trust Tree

posted on December 19, 2012 at 11:25 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

I love that line. It's the best line of the song. I think it really jolts the listener out of their complacency. Of course, if you think Bono is dim and not at all self-aware, you might have a different interpretation of it.

I think that song is patronizing, actually. Their hearts were in the right place so I only like to mildly make fun of it.

30. Jolly Old St. Nick Done Jumped The Ship

posted on December 19, 2012 at 11:34 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

For me it's a tossup between the Hallelujah Chorus by the Huddersfield Choral Society, Clarence Carter's Back Door Santa, and the Barking Dogs version of Jingle Bells. It's probably a good thing that Handel didn't have a dog.

31. Rennie's Tenet posted on December 19, 2012 at 11:42 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

The best rock 'n roll Christmas song is "Snoopy's Christmas," because it has the good message. The best album is Phil Spector's " A Christmas Gift for You," because he didn't mess around trying to fit his music to the season.

If you ever want to simulate Christmas in a Sun Valley ski lodge (c. 1962), try some of these:

Glow Worm - Mel Torme
Good King Wenceslas -- Mel Torme
Christmas Island - Ella Fitzgerald
Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt*
This Year's Santa Baby -- Eartha Kitt
My Favorite Things - Tony Bennett
Mele Kalikimaka - Bing Crosby
Jingle All the Way - Lena Horne
It's Christmas Time All Over the World - Sammy Davis, Jr.
Mistloe and Holly - Frank Sinatra
I'd Like You for Christmas- Julie London
Baby It's Cold Outside - Dean Matin
Jingle Bells - Count Basie Orchestra
Jingle Bells Cha Cha-- Pearl Bailey
Christmas Aulde Lang Syne -- Bobby Darin
'Zat You, Santa Claus -- Louis Armstrong
What Will Santa Claus Say When He Finds Everybody Swingin'--Louis Prima

*Don't settle for cheap imitations.**
**They're all cheap imitations.

32. Matthew E posted on December 19, 2012 at 11:47 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt*

*Don't settle for cheap imitations.**
**They're all cheap imitations.

It may be an unpopular opinion but I like the Madonna cover of this song so much more than the Eartha Kitt original. I was listening to the Kitt version just this morning, actually, and it's so droning and dull-sounding, so much so that sometimes I get the impression that she doesn't even know what she's singing. Maybe she's just going for sultry but it isn't any kind of sultry I recognize as such. Madonna, by contrast, sounds bright and sassy and keeps things moving.

33. Hack Wilson posted on December 19, 2012 at 11:52 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

My favorite was "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" sung by a bunch of hockey players, including Bobby Hull, who were not wearing their false teeth.

34. tfbg9 posted on December 19, 2012 at 12:04 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Joan Jett. Little Drummer Boy.

35. Random Transaction Generator posted on December 19, 2012 at 12:05 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

I think [Do They Know It's Christmas] is patronizing, actually. Their hearts were in the right place so I only like to mildly make fun of it.

What I like is:

- it's from my youth (nostalgia scores big points when you are 41)
- it's easy to sing along to in your car (especially belting out the chorus)
- I love the tune itself. I often hum it for hours after I hear it.
- it had its heart in the right place
- of all the charity singles of that time (and in the future), it is easily the best.

I like making fun of that song, especially that they let Bono belt out the most self-righteous refrain.

According to Wikipedia, when they got together to perform the song (by lip synching) on "Top of the Pops", Bono (and U2) weren't invited because they weren't big enough stars then (only one moderately popular song). So someone else was given the task of lip synching his part.

36. Alex Vila posted on December 19, 2012 at 12:08 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

"I'll Be Home for Christmas", by Tony Bennett when he appeared on the Daily Show is very excellent.

37. chisoxcollector posted on December 19, 2012 at 12:25 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt

It may be an unpopular opinion but I like the Madonna cover of this song so much more than the Eartha Kitt original.

Everclear's version is my favorite!

I heard Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" on the radio a week or two ago, and you know, that's probably our best modern Christmas song.

I love this song, but I actually prefer Olivia Olson's version from Love Actually. I can't believe she was 11 years old at the time.

38. Crispix Attacks 2: Swag Airlines posted on December 19, 2012 at 12:28 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

"Zat You, Santa Claus?" is an underrated Christmas standard. What other song is specifically designed for jump blues / swing bands? Smash Mouth's unhinged rendition might justify their wretched existence.

39. Matthew E posted on December 19, 2012 at 12:40 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

I actually prefer Olivia Olson's version from Love Actually. I can't believe she was 11 years old at the time.

Yes. It is superior.

40. SoSH U at work posted on December 19, 2012 at 12:42 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

- of all the charity singles of that time (and in the future), it is easily the best.

We are the World is just a wretched song.

Other than Fairytale, I like my Christmas songs well-aged. My son's school's muscial director, who is a pretty talented musician, does a wonderful job arranging some of the really old ones (God Rest ye Merry Gentleman, Angels we Have Heard on High, etc.) in a really impressive way. The downside is hearing them has left me with even less tolerance for the lightweight Christmas dittie than I had before.

41. Pasta-diving Jeter (jmac66) posted on December 19, 2012 at 12:46 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Crosby, Harry Lillis

42. SandyRiver posted on December 19, 2012 at 12:53 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

I listed the best 25 Christmas songs on my website last year. I hope that that settles this discussion. You're welcome.

Interesting that while the link included a negative comment about "preoccupation with the birth of some kid two thousand and change years ago", its #5 and #1 were very "preoccupied" with that kid's birth, albeit with wonderful tunes. Offhand, I can't think of any carol richer in orthodox Christian doctrine and Christology than "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing."

43. Random Transaction Generator posted on December 19, 2012 at 01:00 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

I actually prefer Olivia Olson's version from Love Actually. I can't believe she was 11 years old at the time.

Agreed. I assumed that she was lip synching and someone much older had sung the song because it was so good.

44. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) posted on December 19, 2012 at 01:01 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Hangovers!

45. zonk posted on December 19, 2012 at 01:02 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

I really, really, really hate holiday music... 6 more days... 6 more days.

46. depletion posted on December 19, 2012 at 01:02 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Thanks for all these great posts. I heard Susyn Waldman, the Yankee's announcer, sing a cappella the Mel Torme "Christmas Song" a few years back. She was great.

47. Matthew E posted on December 19, 2012 at 01:08 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

a negative comment about "preoccupation with the birth of some kid two thousand and change years ago"

In my mind I wasn't being negative there; just gratuitously snarky.

48. chisoxcollector posted on December 19, 2012 at 01:12 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Agreed. I assumed that she was lip synching and someone much older had sung the song because it was so good.

According to the director, Richard Curtis, her original performance was even better. He says he asked her to tone it down, or nobody would believe it was her singing.

49. Mike Emeigh

posted on December 19, 2012 at 01:17 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Ok, let's see...in no particular order:

"Pretty Little Dolly" - Mona Abboud. You can hear Johnny Carson cracking up at the end of it.

"Santa Claus is Fooling Around" - Bob Rivers. Parody version of Springsteen's take on Santa Claus is Coming to Town

"Christmas in Las Vegas" - Richard Cheese

"The Night Santa Went Crazy" - Weird Al Yankovic

"Santa's Lament" - Father Guido Sarducci

"Green Chri$tma$" - Stan Freberg/Daws Butler

I also like the Tom Lehrer piece mentioned earlier.

As for serious Christmas music, again in no particular order:

"Christmas Pipes" - Celtic Woman

London Symphony Orchestra's version of Handel's "Messiah" (although quite honestly I've never heard a really bad rendition of it, even though it's probably one of the hardest works to sing and play)

Jackie Evancho's version of "O Holy Night"

Crosby/Bowie, "Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth". Jack Black and Jason Segal do a version of it that I enjoy, also.

-- MWE

50. Mike Emeigh

posted on December 19, 2012 at 01:18 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Hangovers!

"Hey Edith, get me a beeah, willya?"

-- MWE

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Sunday, April 21, 2013

NYT: Mike Mills: A Rock Star of Fantasy Sports

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