In a Holidaze

Oy. I am still reeling from the holiday party I DJ-ed Monday night where I had to play FOUR AND A HALF HOURS of holiday music.  That's it -- Nothing else.  It was brutal. 

I mean, I love the Motown, Phil Spector, swing, jazzy holiday stuff but one after the other is hard -- everyone covers the same songs.  AND I was specifically asked NOT to play anything slow or pretty.  So it was only upbeat stuff which is hard too since there are a few classic holiday tunes that were out the window because they weren't bouncy enough.

Ah well, they paid me nicely AND the cater waiters all seemed to have been hired because of their model-like looks.  I really can't complain.  But I could do without hearing any more holiday music!

So since I'm now an expert on them,  why don't I share a couple of the really GOOD holiday songs I found?

Darlene Love -- It's a Marshmallow World
I looove this song -- it's so happy & bouncy & really doesn't even really sound that much like a "holiday song."  From A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector. More about Darlene Love HERE.

The Waitresses -- Christmas Wrapping
This is another absolute favorite holiday jam.  New wave 'n fun to sing.  The Waitresses also did "I Know What Boys Like" in case you were thinking they sound familiar.  I read somewhere that lead singer Patty Donahue was a lesbian... how's that for irony?

The Ronettes -- Sleigh Ride
Also from the amazingly awesome A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector -- this song is genius. Too bad Phil Spector is such a superfreak.  Did you know that Ronnie Spector (of the Ronettes) was married to him for years? 

From the Wikipedia entry about her:
"From 1968 to 1974, she  was married to Phil Spector, and took his name professionally. However by her own account, he kept her a near-prisoner and limited her opportunities to pursue her musical ambitions. In her autobiography, she said that he would force her to watch the film  Citizen Kane as a way to remind her that she would be nothing without him. She and Spector separated in 1973 and divorced one year later."

Arthur Lyman --  Mele Kalikimaka
I admit it - I enjoy the cocktail exotica & I love all the Hawaiian stuff. This song makes me happy & it sounds so different for a holiday jam.  Read more about Arthur Lyman, the king of exotica,  HERE.

** Starlight mints image from Idle Type's Flicker set & Christmas lights from RedHeadedBrat's Flickr set. ** 

Comments

[wwc]

I second that, and thanks for all the great tunes. It was hard for me to do my Pantone because all my favorite songs come from you!

[Parisian Cowboy]

I really enjoy reading your blog.... and you've got very nice pictures as well. Bravo, mademoiselle.