Dan Fogelberg! I've still got vinyls (old ones), cassette tapes (maybe even an 8 track) and definitely CD's. So I know I have this...and will have to go search now, thank you. He went way too young.
The story or inspiration behind Chirstmas Eve - Sarajevo, just wraps it up neatly, with a bow.
Hate to break it to everyone, but that guy is NOT the one singing the Hallelujah Chorus. He is lip-syncing that to a recording of a large choir recording. Sorry, but it is actually the most stupid thing I have ever tried to watch. (And full disclosure - I've been a church musician for over 40 years.) We have our major Christmas service this Sunday and you haven't heard Mary, Did You Know until you've heard a good choir sing it or hear Mark Lowry (Christian comedian btw) singing it. He wrote it.
I would be remiss if I didn't throw in a plug for Detroit's own Karen Newman and "Christmas Eve on Woodward Ave." Always in heavy rotation on the Snowman family playlist. (Karen Newman was the Detroit Red Wing's National Anthem singer for many years - always got chills when she belted that out live before a game.) Enjoy ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HxgGt8G90U
SimCom, your choice of "animals in the snow" to pair with Christmas songs had me digging up this video. This is my favorite video of a dog playing in the snow. It has Harry Connick, Jr. singing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, so it does have a Christmas song.
I am a little late to the party, but thank you for this very uplifting posting. It was much needed after all the horrendous news this weekend. And if anyone is of the praying persuasion, Western WA is under water, literally. We are experiencing the third "atmospheric river" (Pineapple Express) in about 3 weeks. I believe all the major rivers broke flooding records. A great many people have been flooded out of their homes right before Christmas. This is going to take a long time to clean up and recover.
Silver Bells was my mother’s favorite Christmas song. She had a beautiful voice. Even though she passed nearly 50 years ago I can hear her sing it. And Precious Memories as well. 🥲
Rusty Chevrolet could have been filmed in my neck of the woods. When there's snow, that is. Especially the singer - he looks almost exactly as one of my uncles did when he was younger. There's a yoof in town that drives a beat-up Ford pickup truck (a two-seater, don't know the exact model), to which he has added a smoker so it can belch out proper black smoke. Goes great with the "F*ck Greta Thunberg!"-sticker on the rear.
Anyway, Jul-låtar. (Yule-songs.) Here's a few, from classic and reverent, to modern and not:
Hej tomtegubbar ("Greetings Tomte-old men", kind of), performed by the Scandinavian Department of the University of Washington at the Swedish Cultural Center in Seattle, Washington on December 12, 2010.
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Tipp tapp (untranslatable) but I found an English-language version that is quite close to the Swedish lyrics:
Det är inte snön som faller (It's not snow that's falling) by an old punk/progg musician called Anders F Rönnblom (video is animation, but also a bit NSFW) who wrote it to criticise how Jul and Christmas have been commodified and commercialised.
Staffan is Swedish for Stefanos (the saint) and so he is called St Staffan here, but that is a Christian veneer put over a much older cult. Stalledräng means the stablehand that takes care of the horses of the household, and so it refers to Hermod (one of the Äsir) who took care of Oden's steed Sleipner the Eightlegged. Despite the efforts of the church, the Cult of Staffan survived well into the 19th century, from which it has passed onto us as a yearly tradition of singing this song at the Lucia celebrations (which is also a Christian import put on top of the cult of Freja since it is her that brings light and life back after Midwinter).
I'm generally triggered (negatively) by Christmas music, and I'm generally not a Kelly Clarkson fan, but this performance of Chuck Berry's "Run, Run Rudolph" is an exception on both counts:
SC - Wishing you, Bonnie, Gangster, Spunky and the gang, a Happy Holiday season, and Healthy, Prosperous New Year.
After the Vince Guaraldi Trio, my favorite Christmas album is Christmas in the Heart by Bob Dylan. Example: https://youtu.be/1wwxZTDPc7M
Thank you!!!
You HAVE to have Mannheim Steamroller! All instrumental. Everything they do is great.
Deck the Halls https://youtu.be/QjsjIXCrwgA?si=s3LFTDCAu3Q6pXnA
Bring a Torch (or Un Flambeau en Francaise) https://youtu.be/kyAvaJzDSUc?si=HsF_D6R1B_bPZq5K
❤️
What a great collection of Christmas songs! So many of my favorites! I loved it so much I saved it for future reference 🥰
Thank you for the post! I will add this: one of my all-time favorites...
https://youtu.be/DmhrhtUUals?si=o5Po0TGVf8OI-_R4
Drummer Boy, like this...oh man.
Dan Fogelberg! I've still got vinyls (old ones), cassette tapes (maybe even an 8 track) and definitely CD's. So I know I have this...and will have to go search now, thank you. He went way too young.
The story or inspiration behind Chirstmas Eve - Sarajevo, just wraps it up neatly, with a bow.
This is a great one most people aren't aware of: Michael W. Smith's All is Well
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfP3c7zYheA
Hate to break it to everyone, but that guy is NOT the one singing the Hallelujah Chorus. He is lip-syncing that to a recording of a large choir recording. Sorry, but it is actually the most stupid thing I have ever tried to watch. (And full disclosure - I've been a church musician for over 40 years.) We have our major Christmas service this Sunday and you haven't heard Mary, Did You Know until you've heard a good choir sing it or hear Mark Lowry (Christian comedian btw) singing it. He wrote it.
I would be remiss if I didn't throw in a plug for Detroit's own Karen Newman and "Christmas Eve on Woodward Ave." Always in heavy rotation on the Snowman family playlist. (Karen Newman was the Detroit Red Wing's National Anthem singer for many years - always got chills when she belted that out live before a game.) Enjoy ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HxgGt8G90U
SimCom, your choice of "animals in the snow" to pair with Christmas songs had me digging up this video. This is my favorite video of a dog playing in the snow. It has Harry Connick, Jr. singing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, so it does have a Christmas song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sUL0KCIc48
Marina McBride's a capella version of O Holy Night is a favorite, although the Mr.'s rendition of O Holy Night is my preferred version of all time. 😍
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKlOYWwgRo8
I am a little late to the party, but thank you for this very uplifting posting. It was much needed after all the horrendous news this weekend. And if anyone is of the praying persuasion, Western WA is under water, literally. We are experiencing the third "atmospheric river" (Pineapple Express) in about 3 weeks. I believe all the major rivers broke flooding records. A great many people have been flooded out of their homes right before Christmas. This is going to take a long time to clean up and recover.
Mrs. "the Knife"
You have to have “Ring Christmas Bells,” Ray Conniff Singers version. Intense and inspiring.
Silver Bells was my mother’s favorite Christmas song. She had a beautiful voice. Even though she passed nearly 50 years ago I can hear her sing it. And Precious Memories as well. 🥲
Great choices. But I've never warmed up to the Trans Siberian Railroad.
...and I don't think too much of the Trans Siberian Orchestra, either.
Rusty Chevrolet could have been filmed in my neck of the woods. When there's snow, that is. Especially the singer - he looks almost exactly as one of my uncles did when he was younger. There's a yoof in town that drives a beat-up Ford pickup truck (a two-seater, don't know the exact model), to which he has added a smoker so it can belch out proper black smoke. Goes great with the "F*ck Greta Thunberg!"-sticker on the rear.
Anyway, Jul-låtar. (Yule-songs.) Here's a few, from classic and reverent, to modern and not:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofKk_Etapq4&list=RDofKk_Etapq4&start_radio=1
Holy Night, by Jussi Björling - also a great video to go with it.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrtR-FMuv-8&list=RDKrtR-FMuv-8&start_radio=1
Hej tomtegubbar ("Greetings Tomte-old men", kind of), performed by the Scandinavian Department of the University of Washington at the Swedish Cultural Center in Seattle, Washington on December 12, 2010.
---
Tipp tapp (untranslatable) but I found an English-language version that is quite close to the Swedish lyrics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFEtDwwgGUE&list=RDkFEtDwwgGUE&start_radio=1
---
Det är inte snön som faller (It's not snow that's falling) by an old punk/progg musician called Anders F Rönnblom (video is animation, but also a bit NSFW) who wrote it to criticise how Jul and Christmas have been commodified and commercialised.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okmVzTKvLc0&list=RDokmVzTKvLc0&start_radio=1
---
And the Northland-version of Staffan Stalledräng, which needs an explanation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3S4OTUfr5E&list=RDK3S4OTUfr5E&start_radio=1
---
Staffan is Swedish for Stefanos (the saint) and so he is called St Staffan here, but that is a Christian veneer put over a much older cult. Stalledräng means the stablehand that takes care of the horses of the household, and so it refers to Hermod (one of the Äsir) who took care of Oden's steed Sleipner the Eightlegged. Despite the efforts of the church, the Cult of Staffan survived well into the 19th century, from which it has passed onto us as a yearly tradition of singing this song at the Lucia celebrations (which is also a Christian import put on top of the cult of Freja since it is her that brings light and life back after Midwinter).
I'm generally triggered (negatively) by Christmas music, and I'm generally not a Kelly Clarkson fan, but this performance of Chuck Berry's "Run, Run Rudolph" is an exception on both counts:
https://youtu.be/HtZYc_95e9g?si=phal-EgZfnD5h2-3
Triggered?