Straight No Chaser "The Christmas Can-Can"

The Rockettes they ain't.

War Is Over (If You Want It)

Twenty-nine years ago today John Lennon was shot down like a dog in the street by an obsessive crazy with a hand gun. Odd to write that so much time has passed because it seems like it happened last year, it seems so close, yet there you are, time flies in the blink of an eye.

There are all sorts of elements to the tragedy of someone dying, especially someone so relatively young, at the age of 40. Gun shot or heart attack or addictions, there are layers of sadness to any loss. In the case of Lennon, he was a husband and a father. That's on the more important, personal scale of things. On a grander scale, he was a beloved musician. A Beatle, a solo artist, a composer. But he meant so much more than those things somehow to so many. Lennon stood for something. For peace, for love, for choosing to be yourself, whatever those things may really mean to people. The loss of Lennon, to his fans, was a great loss in a lot of different ways, musically, creatively, spiritually.

When I watched the interviews on this video from "The Beatles TV" blog, I noticed toward the beginning John puts a record on what was then probably a pretty high tech stereo. The thought then occurred to me: what would John Lennon have made of today's technological world. How would he be dealing with the technology we have now, the digital world, the iTunes world, the computer in every home that allows everyone to be an artist in a easier, quicker way.

What he would would have done with this vast world of technology. The fun he would have had. Creating blogs and websites, twittering and tweeting and posting. The chance to create and share his creations with the universe. That's what Lennon lost along with his life, and the chance to experience those creations is what his fans lost.

Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra "Marshmallow World"

I don't know what it is about these two singing a silly Christmas-time song, but it puts a smile on my face. You just know once the song was over, they were gonna have a swell time, amply aided by a fully stocked bar and some swingin' chicks.

A Very Plaxico Christmas

Sunday is the day of the Lord. And Football.

What better way to warm the cockles of one's heart during the Christmas season than to watch large men chasing after other large men, one of whom happens to have a ball in his hands, and then the large men all try to cripple each other.

The only thing imbued with more Christmas spirit than the American love of football is the American love of the firearm.

Put those two things together, football and firearms (plus a little alcohol for good measure), and what do you get? A Very Plaxico Christmas.



Poor Plaxico. The guy shoots himself in the leg and he gets more time than some people who actually shot someone other than themselves. Such are the vagaries of American jurisprudence, that those who hurt themselves spend a longer time in prison than those who hurt others, particularly if there's a prosecutor with designs on higher office involved.

Try to have a merry Christmas anyhow, Plaxico.

"Santa's Workshop"

Today is the birthday of one Walt Disney. He was born on this day in 1901 in the fine city of Chicago. Disney began making animated short films, and from a small mouse enormous things came. From shorts to full length features to small amusement parks to giant theme parks to an entertainment empire, that's Disney.

In many Disney films, somebody or something has got to die. There will be grief. But in "Santa's Workshop," made in 1932 and re-colored in 2006, there is nothing but joy and happiness and one really, really jolly freakin' Santa. This is one happy dude. And how could he not be, surrounded as he is by elves and toys and the coming of Christmas Eve when he can spread joy to the world.

The Who "Christmas" and "The Acid Queen"

Ok, so this video is not really a "Christmas" video, despite the name of the song. But still, you're getting classic Who from the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, and that's a pretty good Christmas gift, isn't it? Not a whole lot of better live bands than the Who in their prime.

Band Aid "Do They Know It's Christmas"

This is a guilty pleasure. Rock stars, or what passed for them in 1984, getting together to help starving Africans was a noble concept, but let's face facts, these celebrity relief efforts can turn out to be kind of lame. Strangely though, this song has held it's own, and still sounds good 25 Christmases later.