As James Taylor once wrote, 'Well the First of December was covered with snow'.
It isn't really snowing out here, but I always like the line. This is the same guy who wrote 'the frost is on the pumpkin' --
December is always such an oddly beautiful mix of the extreme and the mild.
Celebration and reflection.
Abundance and want.
An end and a beginning in one.
And when snow does fall, it's all blanketed in a kind of silent peace.
Of course, a new month means some new sounds for the Skull & Pumpkin, and since December ultimately means That Other Holiday, I've decided to start the new block of songs with one of my favorite pieces of music ever created for Christmas.
From the 1970 musical film Scrooge comes A Christmas Carol. It's the opening piece from the musical and sets the tone perfectly.
Then, because my ridiculous tastes leave me unable to discern good films from bad films, I have graced our player with the theme song from the 1964 spectacle Santa Claus Conquers The Martians, Hoo-ray For Santy Claus! You love it, you know it.
Santa is toys, right? The Island of Misfit Toys once again finds a place in the playlist. Just me, a few instruments, and a song from Rudolph. Simplicity set to a bossa beat.
Of course, no Christmas is complete without a visit with the loo-loo-loo-ing pumpkin-headed children on the ice in A Charlie Brown Christmas. Christmastime Is Here is as deep and immovable a part of our cultural Christmas soundtrack as Silent Night and Jingle Bells.
And lastly (of the new stuff), a song I often put on the jukebox for various reasons, this time because it is indeed the most peaceful of the lot -- Peace, a George Winston piece (peace?) that never intrudes, never imposes, but somehow airs perfectly that silent music of deep, dark snowfalls and a calmed world waiting for new life.
I also added it because Winter is usually quite peaceful... unless you head really far to the North and the howling ice caverns of the lair of the Grither.
For SURE he lives somewhere in here.
Let the race to Christmas, a new year and a renewal of life begin.
DDSPeace.
Great new additions to the jukebox. "Hooray for Santy Clause" is already bouncing around in my cranium--plenty of room there. And don't be concerned about taste. Santa Clause Conquers the Martians is a classic. And as Mr Lobo of "Cinema Insomnia" says: "there are no bad movies--only misunderstood ones."
ReplyDeleteAnd the others are great. Gotta have the Charlie Brown "Christmas Time" and "Peace" is truly wonderful.
Thanks for the seasonal reload!
I really love your sharing your jukebox playlist :) Always brings a smile to my face.
ReplyDeleteBTW - the line "frost on the pumpkin is the inspiration for the title of my blog. :) (Frog on the Pumpkin) Never told anyone that....but now you know :D
Cheers!
In all honesty, I wondered, when I first 'met' you, if your site's name was based on that line, seriously. A JT fan is obsessed, as ever, haha!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoy the playlist, and my explanations for them. I find that sometimes you just let it flow and go, but sometimes you have to explain why you love certain things. Just once, then move on, haha!
Enjoy, your Majesty!