The holidays were a magical time growing up. The amazement of coming down the step on Christmas Morning and seeing a tree lit with colored C7 bulbs, and gifts, brought by Santa the night before. It's a time that was so great that it's impossible to relive. But of course, the holiday music we grew up and associated with back then was also pivotal, and is responsible to what we listen to today.
If you're a friend of mine on Facebook, you'll know that I've been counting down my Top 100 Christmas songs, in which I plan to write a separate blog with that list. But here, I wanted to share the things I listened to during my formative years.
The first two albums I listened to were by Gene Autry, who had of course recorded the classic "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" plus 'Here Comes Santa Claus". He also had versions of "Frosty the Snowman", and two songs I remember as a kid "If I Doesn't Snow on Christmas" and "When Santa Claus Gets Your Letter". The other album I remember was something called "Christmas With the Caroliers", an album of holiday standards song by a group of...well...carolers, male and female. A musical version of "Twas the Night Before Christmas", "No Place Like Home for the Holidays" (The Perry Como classic, it was the first time I had ever heard that song, and four verses of "Deck the Halls". Stuff like that never ceases to linger in the mind.
Back then, we celebrated Christmas in school. Visions of us making Christmas ornaments, from multi-colored chains made of construction paper, to "itchy-balls" ornaments (those round things with all those holes taken from trees), with toothpicks inserted into them, then spray-painted. There's nothing like homemade ornaments! In class more often the teachers would play a variety of Christmas music on the record player, usually instrumentals. Then we had all those special TV programs based on songs, like Rudolph, Frosty, Snoopy and many others. In fourth grade I was in the Boys' Choir and we sang many of those songs, including that at our town's tree lighting during Christmas 1965..
Sunday School was different. I had gone to a Methodist Church back in the day, and during Sunday School, we'd be exposed to the Christmas hymns..."O Come O Ye Faithful", "Silent Night", "The First Noel", "O Little Town of Bethlehem", and many others. I realized they were 'separate' from the "secular" songs we knew as well. It was definitely a holy time.
Then there was the radio. My Mom always woke up to "Rambling With Gambling" on WOR radio, which, along with news and information, played many "MOR" (Middle of the Road) Christmas songs, by the likes of Johnny Mathis, Frank Sinatra, Ray Conniff, Nat "King" Cole, Perry Como, and many others. They are the easy-listening standards which still stand the test of time. She would also get some multi-artist albums with many of these same artists. Peggy Lee's "Jingle Bells (I like a Sleigh Ride)". Finally, Channel 11 on Christmas Eve would run the "Yule Log" which feature many of those same artists, along with instrumentals as well.
In contrast were the pop radio stations like WABC. Those songs rocked: "Jingle Bell Rock", "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", "Little St. Nick", and of course, many songs from the Phil Spector "A Christmas Gift for You" featuring Darlene Love, The Ronettes and others. In 1967, "Snoopy's Christmas" by The Royal Guardsmen made that station's top 10 in their weekly survey.
Nowadays, all these kinds of songs come together on my iPod and are still played on Adult Contemporary radio stations. It's cool to see the old time standards like "White Christmas" along with more recent artists like Kelly Clarkson, Michael Buble, Mary J. Blige and even Straight No Chaser.
Christmas does bring out the kid in all of us.
THE LIST: Pentatonix and Mary J. Blige are the two newest holiday entries this week, with "Little Drummer Boy" and "This Christmas" respectively. The latter comes from Blige's new holiday album "A Mary Christmas" and is a cover of a classic Donny Hathaway song. That brings the total number of holiday songs to eight this year. Bad Attitude's "Merry Christmas Anyway" makes a big jump into the Top 20 this week, going from #52 to #14, while Kelly Clarkson's "Underneath the Tree" is knocking on the door.
Just a few weeks after "Keep You" by Wild Belle drops from the top spot, the follow-up "Back Slider" assumes the #1 position, knocking out the huge "Royal" hit.. Other than that, the big news is Capital Cities' "Kangaroo Court" makes a huge jump from #97 to #13, the biggest jump ever into the top 20. The song that it breaks was "Coming Down" by Dum Dum Girls; that 2011 song went from #71 to #11 back in October of that year. And speaking of the Girls, they have a new song that is getting airplay on some alternative stations, "Lost Boys and Girls Club". Starting off very bit as somber as the prior song, and remaining slow-tempo the song retains its haunting melody throughout. Definitely something to consider.
Scenes 'n' Soundwaves 100
December 15, 2013
|
This Week
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Last Week
|
ARTIST-Title
|
Weeks on List
|
|
1
|
2
|
NUMBER ONE:
WILD BELLE
"Backslider"
Album: Isles
|
7
|
|
2
|
1
|
Lorde - Royals
|
17
|
|
3
|
3
|
Field Mouse - How Do You Know
|
19
|
|
4
|
5
|
Fitz and the Tantrums - The Walker
|
7
|
|
5
|
8
|
Capital Cities - Safe and Sound
|
19
|
|
6
|
14
|
Shannon Marsyada Trio - What You Do To Me
|
6
|
|
7
|
11
|
San Cisco - Fred Astaire
|
10
|
|
8
|
4
|
Terraplane Sun - Get Me Golden
|
20
|
|
9
|
12
|
Cate Le Bon - Are You With Me Now
|
6
|
|
10
|
7
|
Fitz and the Tantrums - Keeping Our Eyes Out
|
16
|
|
11
|
13
|
Those Darlins - Optimist
|
10
|
|
12
|
6
|
Cage the Elephant - Come A Little Closer
|
18
|
|
13
|
97
|
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
CAPITAL CITIES
"Kangaroo Court"
Album: In A Tidal Wave of Mystery
|
2
|
|
14
|
52
|
MOVER OF THE WEEK:
BAD ATTITUDE
"Merry Christmas Anyway"
Album: Christmas With An Attitude
|
2
|
|
15
|
15
|
Paul Czekaj - Wheels On Fire
|
6
|
|
16
|
10
|
Golden Void - Rise to the Out of Reach
|
18
|
|
17
|
17
|
Cold War Kids - Lost That Easy
|
10
|
|
18
|
9
|
Man Man - Head On
|
19
|
|
19
|
24
|
Haim - Forever
|
6
|
|
20
|
20
|
Florence + the Machine - Spectrum (Say My Name)
|
17
|
|
21
|
40
|
Kelly Clarkson - Underneath The Tree
|
4
|
|
22
|
16
|
Avicii - Wake Me Up
|
14
|
|
23
|
27
|
Caveman - Shut You Down
|
4
|
|
24
|
23
|
Zedd f. Foxes - Clarify
|
14
|
|
25
|
28
|
Young the Giant - It's About Time
|
4
|
|
26
|
19
|
The Satelliters - Where Do We Go
|
14
|
|
27
|
25
|
Taylor Centers - Alibi
|
12
|
|
28
|
31
|
Tired Pony - All Things All At Once
|
5
|
|
29
|
18
|
Portugal. The Man - Purple Yellow Red & Blue
|
24
|
|
30
|
43
|
Paul Czekaj - Christmas Is Forever
|
3
|
|
31
|
29
|
King Tuff - Sun Medallion
|
8
|
|
32
|
42
|
Straight No Chaser - Nutcracker
|
4
|
|
33
|
21
|
The Veils - Another Night on Earth
|
16
|
|
34
|
26
|
Emiliana Torrini -Speed of Dark
|
8
|
|
35
|
22
|
Wild Belle - Keep You
|
40
|
|
36
|
30
|
Lady Gaga - Applause
|
16
|
|
37
|
35
|
Ylvis - The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)
|
5
|
|
38
|
36
|
Phosphorescent - Ride On/Right On
|
8
|
|
39
|
37
|
Eagulls - Nerve Endings
|
8
|
|
40
|
46
|
Man Man - Pyramids
|
4
|
|
41
|
32
|
Emeli Sande - My Kind of Love
|
12
|
|
42
|
47
|
The Joy Formidable - Silent Treatment
|
7
|
|
43
|
45
|
Fitz and the Tantrums - Out of My League
|
43
|
|
44
|
48
|
Of Montreal - Fugitive Air
|
7
|
|
45
|
38
|
Phillip Phillips - Where We Came From
|
12
|
|
46
|
51
|
Cut Copy - We Are Explorers
|
4
|
|
47
|
61
|
Broken Bells - Holding On For Life
|
3
|
|
48
|
70
|
All Tme Low - Fool's Holiday
|
3
|
|
49
|
53
|
Valerie June - You Can't Be Told
|
5
|
|
50
|
34
|
Smith Westerns - Varsity
|
12
|
|
51
|
33
|
Arcade Fire - Reflektor
|
14
|
|
52
|
95
|
Eminem f. Rihanna - The Monster
|
2
|
|
53
|
56
|
Jagwar Ma - Come Save Me
|
6
|
|
54
|
71
|
The Killers - Christmas in L.A.
|
2
|
|
55
|
41
|
Foals - My Number
|
23
|
|
56
|
50
|
Hands - The Game is Changing Us
|
14
|
|
57
|
58
|
Twin Forks - Cross My Mind
|
5
|
|
58
|
39
|
Panic! at the Disco - Miss Jackson
|
10
|
|
59
|
62
|
The Fray - Love Don't Die
|
5
|
|
60
|
66
|
New Politics - Tonight You're Perfect
|
3
|
|
61
|
69
|
Portugal. the Man - Modern Jesus
|
3
|
|
62
|
59
|
The Colourist - Little Games
|
6
|
|
63
|
55
|
Bastille - Pompeii
|
8
|
|
64
|
54
|
Matthew Koma - One Night
|
18
|
|
65
|
74
|
Lorde - Team
|
3
|
|
66
|
44
|
Coldplay - Atlas
|
10
|
|
67
|
63
|
OneRepublic - Counting Stars
|
19
|
|
68
|
68
|
Alt J - Tesselate
|
4
|
|
69
|
81
|
Miley Cyrus - Wrecking Ball
|
3
|
|
70
|
60
|
Passenger - Let Her Go
|
21
|
|
71
|
83
|
Kings of Leon - Temple
|
3
|
|
72
|
80
|
Katy Perry - Unconditinally
|
3
|
|
73
|
79
|
Imagine Dragons - Demons
|
13
|
|
74
|
92
|
Of Monsters and Men - Dirty Paws
|
2
|
|
75
|
49
|
The Killers - Shot At the Night
|
10
|
|
76
|
----
|
TOP DEBUT:
DUM DUM GIRLS
"Lost Boys and Girls Club"
Album: Too True
|
1
|
|
77
|
86
|
Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know
|
2
|
|
78
|
64
|
Pearl Jam - Sirens
|
8
|
|
79
|
65
|
Holy Ghost - Okay
|
5
|
|
80
|
84
|
Plain White T's - The Giving Tree
|
5
|
|
81
|
94
|
Jack Johnson - Radiate
|
2
|
|
82
|
85
|
John Mayer - Wildfire
|
5
|
|
83
|
89
|
Goo Goo Dolls - Come to Me
|
4
|
|
84
|
91
|
The So So Glos - Lost Weekend
|
4
|
|
85
|
76
|
J Roddy Wilson and the Business - Heavy Bells
|
12
|
|
86
|
57
|
Tame Impala - Elephant
|
25
|
|
87
|
82
|
Franz Ferdinand - Right Action
|
21
|
|
88
|
----
|
Pentatonix - Little Drummer Boy
|
1
|
|
89
|
78
|
Wig Party - She Figured It Out
|
14
|
|
90
|
88
|
Sara Bareilles - Brave
|
27
|
|
91
|
----
|
Lucius - Turn It Around
|
1
|
|
92
|
----
|
Mary J. Blige - This Christmas
|
1
|
|
93
|
67
|
Bonnie McKee - American Girl
|
12
|
|
94
|
73
|
Taylor Swift f. Ed Sheeran - Everything Has Changed
|
12
|
|
95
|
100
|
James Blunt - Bonfire Heart
|
3
|
|
96
|
----
|
Eli Young Band - Drunk Last Night
|
1
|
|
97
|
77
|
The Head and the Heart - Shake
|
6
|
|
98
|
----
|
Mind Spiders - The Steady
|
1
|
|
99
|
87
|
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros - Better Days
|
19
|
|
100
|
90
|
Twenty-one Pilots - House of Gold
|
4
|
TREMORS:
101. St. Lucia, Elevate
102. Pixies, Indie Cindy
103. Colbie Caillat, Hold On
104. Maroon 5, Lucky Strike
105. Boy and Bear, Southern Son
106. The Airborne Toxic Event, Hell and Back
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