Un-Wrapping" A Christmas Classic (SNS week of 12/6/2020)

 As we are now solidly into the Christmas season, an unusual one at that, many holiday songs are invading the playlists, not just mine but of course, radio stations that have gone all-Christmas.   It's probably no secret for those following my blog and posts that "Christmas Wrapping", a 1981 song by Akron-based The Waitresses perennially tops my "Holiday Top 100" each year.  Heck, it's been doing so since my first ranking back in 1999.   While it still remains to be seen whether it stays there this year (there was a virtual tie last year with David Bowie and Bing Crosby...."Wrapping" getting the nod via tie-breaker), as I am still counting down the songs on my Facebook page....two items that have grabbed my attention regarding this song that is almost 40 years old.

Akron, Ohio based The Waitresses have a holiday classic with their 1981 "Christmas Wrapping".

The band, as mentioned above were from Akron, Ohio, a town more recently known as the home of The Black Keys, and were a fledging band from the new wave era of the late 1970's and early eighties.   They played many clubs in New York City, and were attracting a following in the U.K.    In the summer of 1981, their indie record label ZE Records requested a holiday song from all the acts on their roster.    Member and primary songwriter for the band Christopher Butler wasn't completely on board with the idea, as it would interrupt his band's touring, and he despised the holiday anyway, but he would gradually come up with potential lyrics and jot them down when he could, not finishing it until he was riding a cab to the recording studio.

The band recorded the song, and it wound up on the ZE compilation A Christmas Record.  While it didn't chart here in the U.S or the U.K., it got a lot of notice.   The band would hit the Billboard Hot 100 the following year with "I Know What Boys Like", which reached #62 on that chart, and also made my own year-end list at #85.  An album and EP also hit the charts here. That following Christmas, it made the U.K. charts, and I had heard the song for the first time as it was played on our local rock station, Morristown's WDHA.  

Since then, it's become a perennial staple on my playlists.   The Waitresses would eventually break up in 1984.  Sadly, their lead singer, Patty Donahue, would pass away in 1996 from lung cancer.  Chris Butler continued in various bands such as the dB's, The Numbers Band, and others. And while The Waitresses may have been long gone, the song definitely hasn't, and  Butler has been doing his best keeping it alive.   There have been numerous covers, most notably by The Spice Girls, and the cast of the TV show Glee, and many others, including one from a Jersey contingent which I will talk about below. 

In recent years, at the start of the holiday season, Butler holds a contest for charity to see when the first time "Christmas Wrapping" is heard in a public place or on the radio.  Called the "Wrappie Awards", the winner who hears the song first, and who contacts Butler first, gets $400 donated in their name to The Akron Main Library's Children's Department in Butler's hometown.   While radio pretty much started playing holiday music right after Halloween, Chris has limited the starting period to noon the day after Thanksgiving, this year, being Friday November 27.   

It would be the following morning that a winner was declared.   Dean Taciuch heard the song on the Amazon music stream at 9:07 AM on Saturday, November 28, thus the $400 was donated in his name to the Akron Children's Library.   

Butler, who these days has "mellowed out" in his opinion of Christmas, has done a great job embracing this awesome song that he had written, and turning it into a great program for charity, which he has done in recent years.

If you wish to make a donation to the Akron Public Library's Children's Department, check out this link: Akron Children's Library Fundraiser.

The song itself describes the year the female protagonist experienced during 1981 in an effort to hook up with a guy that she met at a ski shop the prior winter, but circumstances kept getting in the way.  At the end of the song, destined to spent Christmas by herself, has to go to an all-night grocery store where she runs into that guy, who, like her, needed cranberries.    Thus, the song has a happy ending.   And while the song has been featured in movies and specials, the song is ripe for a movie in itself.  Maybe someday it will. Hallmark, anyone?

Which brings us to 2020.  As I had hinted last week, a Jersey act, The Bryan Hansen Band teamed up with another Garden Stater, Kim Boyko, for an updated version, called "Christmas Wrapping, 2020 Edition", which like the original, mentions the trials and tribulations encountered during the year.  Unlike the original, the events of 2020 is pretty much something we ALL experienced.  While some of the lyrics are the same, there are obvious changes and some clever lines.   For example:

"Calendar pages froze in place /  stuck inside for 100 days / Losing jobs or work from home / get this quarantine over with"

My favorite line is "Flashback to good times / 2019 /midnight strikes on New Year's Eve / This is gonna be my year / Father Time says 'hold my beer' "

The song, unfortunately as of this writing is not yet available on Amazon, iTunes or other platforms as yet, at least not to my knowledge.  Both Bryan Hansen's band and Kim Boyko have had prior releases that I will explore after the holidays are over.   In the meantime, check the video for "Christmas Wrapping, 2020 Edition" below:

SOCIALLY AWARE:  In a year that has had its social issue to go along with the pandemic ones, it's fitting that Devon Gilfillan ascends to the top position with "The Good Life", displacing Surfer Blood's "Karen" after a two-week run.    "The Good Life" is, both lyrically and musically a throwback to the early 1970's when social awareness in the Black community prominently entered into society.  With the video prominently displaying the George Floyd and Black Lives Matter situations, the song is a plea to "let's all get along, no matter what we look like".   While that message is decades old, it's obviously still an open wound, sadly still an issue decades later.   What I enjoy is that artists like Gilfrillan have an awesome sound that is an alternative to hip-hop and rap, which has been the primary genre of communication.  But, as we've seen with Gary Clark, Jr and Michael Kiwanuka, it appears that this style of music---call it throwback, or perhaps a new trend---can deliver a message effectively.    If there is a particular trend for 2020--and for me there are many---this one is right up there.

After some stagnation, the Top 20 is active, especially the Top 10, where Bakar moves 10-3 with "1st Time" and has a good shot at the top next week.   The Fleshtones' "Alex Trebek", Chris Stapleton's blusey "Cold", and Molly Burch's holiday entry "Holiday Dreaming" lead the pack, with impressive moves into the top ten. For me, the Burch song is far and away the big holiday song this year so far, despite not hearing the song anywhere on radio or streaming services.   

DEBUTS:  An interesting array of new adds this week, with several new holiday entries but a few non-Christmas ones as well.    Leading the way is the latest from Gwen Stefani, with "Let Me Introduce Myself".   Of course, Ms. Stefani was the leader of No Doubt which no doubt had much success in the mid and late 1990's, and Stefani herself had some solo success in the early 2000's.   Recently, she is more known for her stint on The Voice as well as being engaged to fellow Voice coach Blake Shelton, and was last on my playlist earlier this year in a duet with Shelton, "Nobody But You", a #1 country song that reached #21 here.   Another duet "Happy Anywhere" may debut in the next week or two.    The song is, in a sense a throwback to No Doubt's heyday which mixed rock with ska.  While not overtly ska, this has a reggae beat which has scored with me several times this year.    Gwen performed the song this week on The Voice.   It has an infectious beat, and while it may not be for everyone (my wife was not that impressed), I do like it.

Right behind Gwen is an artist, which, to be honest, I had never heard of before today (Friday, December 11, as I write this), but glad I did.    Ian Roberts is an artist from Milton Keynes, which is a town north of London in the U.K.  He is also fronts the band Tinkers Lane.  He debuts at #65 with his 2015 song "Christmas At Our House".  It is an interesting story as to how I discovered this song.    Tom Corea had posted a week or so ago that he was working on a holiday song which referenced the pandemic but he wasn't sure if it would be out in time this year.   Corea, of course, heads The Hounds of Winter, his studio contingent that primarily records holiday tunes.   While I was listening to my Christmas playlist, a song from their 2017 effort Christmas Party, their version of "Christmas At Our House" came on in random on my iPod.   I was set to add that version to the blog list this week, but as is customary, I was looking for a video link for it.   It was then that I noticed Tom had posted a link for "Christmas At Our House"  on his timeline, but not the Hounds version, but Ian Roberts' original version, which had a proper video, which, like the song, won awards back in 2015..

Seems that Tom and the Hounds did play on Roberts' version as well.  While they were on opposite ends of the pond, they still managed to collaborate together thanks to Skype.  It turned out to be a nice, cohesive effort, and once again underscores how pertinent and amazing music discoveries can be.    And Corea, despite being sidelined with many of his musical projects with current bands, nonetheless has had a good year, providing similar percussion and instrumentation to many artistic projects around the world, something that can only increase his visibility even more.

Three other holiday efforts enter, all from this year.   Kelly Clarkson, who usually releases a holiday song every year (mostly from her 2013 effort, Wrapped In Red), released TWO this year.   The first, which is getting airplay is a collaboration with Brett Eldridge, "Under the Mistletoe".  The other is "All I Want for Christmas Is You", which is NOT the Mariah Carey song (which is on its way to #1 again this year), but a song from 1989 originally done by Vince Vance & the Valiants featuring Lisa Layne.  Both are good.   Ava Max, one of the better pop singers out there these days also enters with "Christmas Without You", a worthy song as well. Two of my recent favorite holiday entries, Sia's "Candy Cane Lane", and Katy Perry's "Cozy Little Christmas", re-enter this week, both for the third straight year.

In the non-holiday category, Miley Cyrus follows her blog #1 "Midnight Sky" with "Prisoner" which features Dua Lipa, another talented pop artist.  A bit more poppy and faster tempo than her last, it still has sensibilities that exceed much of what's out there these days.    Her newly released album Plastic Hearts debuted at #2 on the Billboard album chart, and #1 on the rock album list.  While some "rock purists" might take offense to that, Miley's most recent material is the real deal, and aside from justifying her recent top position on my blog list, it shows that she is running the show in terms of creative control.   Also added this week was ZZ Ward's latest, "Giant". 

Which pretty much leads to what HASN'T been added.   Aside from the "Christmas Wrapping" remake mentioned above, we have the new Shannon Marsyada holiday tune as hinted at last week: "Winter Birds".  Once again, the sentimental tune showcases her awesome singing and vocal range, while the video (seen below) is comprised of a list of loved ones who are no longer with us, who are the birds and angels in heaven.     Again, no indication of any commercial date for either "Winter Birds" or her "The Road" single whose video came out last week, but you can bet, once they are, they'll be added here.

Have a great week, and please be safe.   

Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100 Playlist

December 6, 2020

This Week	Last Week	ARTIST-Title	Weeks on List
1	2	NUMBER ONE: DEVON GILFILLAN "The Good Life" Album: Black Hole Rainbow	13
2	1	Surfer Blood - Karen	14
3	10	Bakar - 1st Time	5
4	3	Miley Cyrus - Midnight Sky	13
5	12	Fleshtones - Alex Trebek	5
6	6	Black Pumas - Black Moon Rising	12
7	9	Mabel - Mad Love	11
8	20	Chris Stapleton - Cold	6
9	27	TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK: MOLLY BURCH "Holiday Dreaming" Album: The Molly Burch Christmas Album	3
10	11	Iration - Right Here Right Now	15
11	14	The Backseat Lovers - Kilby Girl	21
12	18	Bright Eyes - Mariana Trench	10
13	17	Tennis - Superstar	9
14	13	Dan Croll - Away From Today	14
15	19	The Blue Stones - Let It Ride	8
16	4	Shannon Marsyada - A Love That Doesn't Hurt	19
17	22	Cage the Elephant - Skin and Bones	7
18	24	Christina Alessi & the Toll Collectors -  Where the River Flows	7
19	5	Animal Island - Tonight	15
20	23	Phoebe Ryan - Ring	11
21	8	Fleet Foxes - Can I Believe You	10
22	26	The Avalanches - Wherever You Go	7
23	32	Elise Farnsworth - Pixie Dust	4
24	7	Real Estate - The Main Thing	14
25	30	Deep Sea Diver ft. Sharon Van Etten - Impossible Weight	7
26	29	New Order - Be A Rebel	8
27	31	Brittany Howard - You'll Never Walk Alone	4
28	34	Winnetka Bowling League - Congratulations	4
29	15	Pickwick - Never Gonna Be Enough	14
30	16	Elle King - The Let Go	14
31	36	David F. Porfirio - Evening At the Pier	5
32	37	Fitz - Head Up High	5
33	21	Harry Styles - Watermelon Sugar	16
34	25	David F. Porfirio - Driving at Dusk	17
35	35	Phoebe Ryan - Try It Sober	9
36	48	MOVER OF THE WEEK: JADE BIRD "Headstart" (Single Only)	4
37	42	Caamp - Officer of Love	6
38	28	The Mystery Lights - 21 & Counting	17
39	33	Michael Kiwanuka - You Ain't The Problem	17
40	51	Gia Ness - Across the Universe	3
41	50	Meg Myers - Any Way You Wanna Love	5
42	39	Of Monsters and Men - Visitor	8
43	57	Meghan Trainor ft. Seth McFarlane - White Christmas	3
44	38	Christina Alessi & the Toll Collectors - Whatever Gets You Through	10
45	55	The Strokes - The Adults are Talking	4
46	49	The Shins - The Great Divide	6
47	46	Django Django - Spirals	9
48	52	Middle Kids - R U 4 Me	6
49	56	Arlo Parks - Hurt	4
50	41	Tame Impala - Is It True	15
51	58	Donna Missal - Just Like You	4
52	40	Pretenders - Didn't Want to Be This Lonely	12
53	68	James Hunter Six - I Can Change Your Mind	2
54	44	Screen Age - Blue Eyed Addiction●	30
55	64	The Mystery Lights - It's Alright	3
56	76	Sia - Snowman	2
57	53	Sea Wolf - Blood Pact	18
58	45	Guards - So It Goes	22
59	78	Goo Goo Dolls - This is Christmas	2
60	43	Morgan Wallen - 7 Summers	12
61	63	Lake Street Dive -Making Do	4
62	47	Winnetka Bowling League - Come to the Beach	18
63	54	Eliza and the Delusionals - Pull Apart Heart	28
64	---	TOP DEBUT: GWEN STEFANI "Let Me Reintroduce Myself" (Single Only)	1
65	---	Ian Roberts - Christmas At Our House	1
66	61	All Time Low ft. Black Bear - Monsters	10
67	62	Lana Del Rey - Let Me Love You Like a Woman	5
68	---	Miley Cyrus ft. Dua Lipa - Prisoner	1
69	59	Black Pumas - I'm Ready	8
70	79	Less Than Jake - Lie To Me	2
71	81	The Knocks ft Foster the People - All About You	2
72	73	Foo Fighters- Shame Shame	3
73	82	Too Much Sylvia - We Ain't Leaving Carolina	2
74	72	Royal Blood - Trouble's Coming	7
75	89	Josh Groban - Celebrate Me Home	2
76	60	My Morning Jacket - Feel You	20
77	67	Delacey  - Chapel●	33
78	86	Billie Eilish - Therefore I Am	2
79	70	Donna Missal - Let You Let Me Down●	29
80	74	Elise Farnsworth - In the Morning Light	21
81	---	Kelly Clarkson and Brett Eldridge - Under the Mistletoe	1
82	---	Kelly Clarkson - All I Want For Christmas Is You	1
83	---	Ava Max - Christmas Without You	1
84	69	The Regrettes - What Am I Gonna Do Today	23
85	---	ZZ Ward - Giant	1
86	65	Bon Jovi -ft. Jennifer Nettles - Do What You Can	8
87	71	The Jayhawks - This Forgotten Town	20
88	66	Eliza and the Delusionals - Sentimental	8
89	77	The Regrettes - I Love Us	9
90	75	Dermot Kennedy - Giants	7
91	80	Bakar - Hell N Back	23
92	84	Kurt Vile ft John Prine - How Lucky	6
93	87	Pepper - Change●	32
94	RE ENTRY	Sia - Candy Cane Lane	14
95	83	Karen Wallo - Rain Away My Sorrow	17
96	85	James Bay - Chew  On My Heart	15
97	RE ENTRY	Katy Perry - Cozy Little Christmas	18
98	88	The Beths - I'm Not Getting Excited	11
99	91	Donna Missal - How Does It Feel	24
100	90	Delta Spirit - How About It	21

 

Songs with the greatest increase in favorite points over the prior week.   ● Songs with 25 or more plays on iTunes/iPods ▲   Songs with 50 or more plays.