no supper tonight

“Daddy, what was Christmas like before You Tube?”
“Well, we always had a tree; and often there was snow; and sour mash eggnog … and … yeah, there was Santa … and … and presents … but … well, without the YouTubes … it really wasn’t much of a Christmas.”
“That’s really sad. And it’s `’YouTube,’ not ‘YouTubes.’”
“Shut up and and get me another eggnog. And crank the damn volume for the love o’ the baby Jesus, willya?”

I’m not a fan of a capella, but THIS is fun.

“Hey Ya” remains one of the best songs of the century. An admittedly young century off to an obviously weak start. And not  just musically.The original video was a masterpiece in its own right, but the Charlie Brown Christmas mash was almost as good.

 Back in the 70s, Ziggy and Fr. O’Malley got together for a duet on “The Litle Drummer Boy.” If you are over 60, half of this clip will make sense. If you are under 30, none of it will.

You know Darlene Love from “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” And while Love’s original take is the de facto standard, Bruce, Southside Johnny, and Jon Bon Jovi, pride of the Garden State, did this nice one in ‘03.

Silent Night–a version I can GUARANTEE you’ve never heard before.  And one you probably have–by one of punks most under-rated bands. Love the “My Sharona” riff. And Simon & Garfunkel’s haunting version.

It ain’t a Christmas song; but it IS a holiday concert;  soooo: they are the Pipettes–backed by an orchestra. (For something completely different, an in-store performance. Great organ).

Pavarotti and pals do John and Yoko.

Greg Lake has had a nice career following ELP. “I Believe in Father Christmas” is lovely, if moog-less.

As for “Run Run Rudolph,” … might as well search it on YouTube yourself, since pretty much everybody’s covered it since Chuck Berry introduced it. There’s some killer performances out there. But I haven’t seen any that top Brian Setzer’s rockabilly version.

Finally, THE classic. Shane and the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl and “A Fairytale of New York,” the magnificent pull-out-all-the-stops tearjerker voted the UK’s favorite Christmas song in 2004. You need to see Kirsty, who died in 2000. Still gives me the chills.  But check out the versions with Cate Riordan (esp this rousing performance in  Boston) as well. Lyrics here.