Best Christmas Songs - Don't be a Jerk It's Christmas - SpongeBob This year "Don't Be a Jerk It's Christmas" comes in on day 8 of my 25 Days of Christmas Songs list. It's a funny song and I believe everyone should live their lives according to the lyrics. I'm pretty partial to this song because Tom Kenny is a friend of mine. He lives around the corner from me and our kids go to the same school. So put [...]
Best Christmas Songs - Mrs. Claus Ain't Got Nothing On Me - Little Jackie "Mrs. Claus Ain't Got Nothing on Me" is my #7 song in my 25 Days of Christmas Songs list. This song sounds like it just leaped out of the film Jackie Brown. It's got that old-school r&b sound I love so much. "Mrs. Claus Ain't Got Nothing on Me" is by Little Jackie, a duo consisting of Imani Coppola and Adam Pallin. Little Jackie got their name from the 1989 [...]
Best Christmas Songs - Just a Sad Xmas - Soul Duo "Just a Sad Xmas" by The Soul Duo is one of the finest soul Christmas tracks ever recorded. Oh baby is this an out-of-sight song. Soul Duo was Ida Sands and Joe Webster, otherwise known as Little Ida and Little Daddy. The duo recorded "This Is Your Day" in 1969 for the Norfolk, VA-based Shiptown label. They followed that song up with "Just A Sad Xmas." Ida was a powerhouse singer. She [...]
Best Christmas Songs - A Christmas Song For You - The Kik "A Christmas Song For You" by The Kik is a fantastic throwback to the early 1960s Beatles beat. I can't find much info about Kik. Pretty much all I can find is the band is a Dutch band. That's pretty much it. Nor can I find anywhere to buy their music here in the states. That being said, there are ways, my friends. There are ways. "A Christmas Song [...]
Best Christmas Songs - Purple Snowflakes - Marvin Gaye Marvin Gaye's "Purple Snowflakes" is a newcomer this year to my 25 Days of Christmas Song list. This is a curious song. In 1965, Marvin Gaye released a single called "Pretty Little Baby" on the Tamla label. It was his second Top 40 single of 1965. The first being "I'll Be Doggone". The song was written by Gaye, Clarence Paul and David Hamilton. The band playing on the track is The Funk Brothers. What a fantastic name. [...]
Best Christmas Songs - Christmas Without You "Christmas Without You" made my list last year and once again it's on my 25 Days of Christmas Songs list. OneRepublic released "Christmas Without You" in 2011. It was their first foray into the world of Christmas songs and it was a spectacular debut. The National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in Washington, DC. in 2011 was the first time they performed it. And as I pointed out last year, also on the bill that [...]
Best Christmas Songs - Whatever Happened to Christmas - Aimee Mann Christmas. A time to be holly and jolly until melancholia sets in. Hell, that sounds like every day of my life. But at Christmastime it's extra special. A little extra holly and holly. And a lot of melancholia. So today's song is a heaping dose of all of those emotions. Whatever Happened to Christmas "Whatever Happened to Christmas" was written by Jimmy Webb. Jimmy Webb wrote a gazillion songs. He [...]
Best Christmas Songs - Love For Christmas Oh how I love the song "Love For Christmas" by The Gems. The Gems was a Chicago-based group from the early 1960s and featured a very young Minnie Riperton. Minnie went on to have a number one hit with "Lovin' You" in 1974. The Gems were on the Chess Records label, started by a couple of Polish immigrant brothers with the last name of Chess. Go figure. Love For Christmas was written by [...]
Chick Chick. What the Hell? There's a new viral video in town folks and it's called "Chick Chick." Chinese pop star Wang Rong released a video for her song "Chick Chick." Saying the video is bizarre isn't doing it justice. And it's probably an insult to the word "bizarre." People are comparing it to "What Does the Fox Say,” by Norwegian comedic duo Ylvis, and "Gangnam Style" by Korean pop sensation Psy. I think it's in that family but just a [...]
Daniel Radcliffe Raps Alphabet Aerobics Maybe it's because he had to wrap his mouth around spells like Petrificus Totalus but last night on the Tonight Show Radcliffe showed off his mean rap skills. I mean, when did you ever think you'd see the words "Daniel Radcliffe Raps Alphabet Aerobics" in one sentence? I gotta tell you, Radcliffe does an amazing job with the Blackalicious hit. Check out it out. [embedplusvideo height="360" width="640" editlink="http://bit.ly/1vikhNG" standard="http://www.youtube.com/v/aKdV5FvXLuI?fs=1" vars="ytid=aKdV5FvXLuI&width=640&height=360&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=" id="ep7710" /]