Let's face it, Christmas is a time for bittersweet songs. For every kiss stolen under the mistletoe, there's grief from the memory of family and friends no longer with us. Christmas in the Room, the #10 song in my 25 Days of Christmas Songs, captures the bittersweetness of the holidays and life. But the song by Sufjan Stevens (He has a brother named Marzuki. What up with those names?) hits on what's really important: being together. No gifts. [...]
"It's all cold down along the beach, the wind's whipping down the boardwalk...Hey band! You guys know what time of year it is? Christmas time!" Thus begins Bruce Springsteen's iconic version of Santa Claus is Coming to Town, recorded on this day 38-years ago at C. W. Post College in Greenvale, NY. One of the earliest performances of the song by Springsteen was Dec 23, 1973 at Rova Farms Function Center in beautiful Jackson, NJ. Midway through the song a brawl [...]
Christmas Without You by Onerepublic is my 8th song in my 25 Days of Christmas Songs list. Released in 2011, Christmas Without You was the band's first venture into holiday music and I think they knocked it out of the park. I think the first time they performed it live was in November 2011 at the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in Washington, DC. Also on the bill that night: Kermit the Frog. Buy the song on iTunes [...]
Elvis' If I Get Home For Christmas, from the 1971 album Elvis Sings The Wonderful World of Christmas is my 7th song in my 25 Days of Christmas songs list. Although not as popular as his first Christmas album, the aptly named Elvis' Christmas Album, The Wonderful World of Christmas did go Platinum in 1999. Heck, I'd take a platinum selling album any day. If I Get Home For Christmas was written by Tony Macaulay, who also wrote the [...]
The Nutley Little Theatre in Nutley, NJ will perform a reading of my script The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. This is from the Nutley Little Theatre website: Mark Brown's imagined sequel to Dickens’ famous “Christmas Carol” takes place a year after the title character’s miraculous transformation. But Scrooge is back to his old ways, suing Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future for breaking and entering, kidnapping, slander, pain and [...]
Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight) by The Ramones is #4 in my 25 Days of Christmas Songs list. Sure, Burl Ives has his place in any Christmas song playlist but a Christmas playlist is not complete without a punk band on it. Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight) was released in 1989 on the Brain Drain album, although I think the song may have been a B-Side release in 1987. Joey Ramone reworked [...]
While a lot of popular Christmas songs are about presents, family, and various snow-related activities, Fairytale of New York by the Pogues is about an alcoholic sleeping off a binge in a drunk tank. And how about these lyrics to warm your cockles: You're a bum You're a punk You're an old slut on junk Lying there almost dead on a drip in that bed You Scumbag, you Maggot You cheap lousy faggot Happy christmas your ass I [...]
I'm honored that selected scenes from my play The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge will be part of the holiday show J.R. Sullivan's Hometown Holiday. J.R. is an old dear friend of mine and I'm thrilled to be part of his show. J.R. Sullivan's Hometown Holiday will be at the Sullivan Theater (yes, the theatre is named after J.R. How awesome is that?) at the Nordlof Center (old New American Theater) in downtown Rockford, IL. The popular holiday variety show produced [...]
