I found myself completely surprised by a setting Id never heard of a Christmas song yesterday. But let me put it in perspective . . . Although I try to avoid being down-right curmudgesonly about it I am genuinely put off by the shorter schrift Thanksgiving and Advent seem to get year by year. Between those who want to deconstruct Thanksgiving by rubbing our noses in our ancestors truly abominable behavior towards the original Native Americans and the Big Retail whiplash-jamming of the gears on November 1st from Halloween jack-o-lanterns and witches to Christmas Santas and snow-people, giving any importance to Thanksgiving and Advent seem un-American if not inhuman. OK - end of rant for now . . . But yesterday we found ourselves in the car for several hours yesterday and were playing around with Pandora radio stations. I suggested we try Ben Folds Holiday to see what campy drivel we might stumble upon with which to amuse ourselves. And what to my wondering ears should appear but Relient Ks version of Sleigh Ride. I, of course, am not quite old enough to recall this songs earliest exposure by Arthur Fiedler. But it did not take the song very long to assert itself into the pastiche of standard Christmas repertoire. I probably knew the song before the 1964 the Steve Lawrence and Edie Gormet version of 64 seemed to be heard on every radio station and and performed on every TV variety show that holiday season and many following. The song wore thinner and thinner for me over the years. It seemed that most everyone who covered it just did their best to further mine the syrupy Steve and Edie schmaltz. The last time I heard an application that made me smile was Meg Ryan chiming in on Horses! Horses! Horses! Horses! as it played on her car radio in Sleepless In Seattle. Then yesterday - Enter: Relient K (a band I have never paid any attention to whatsoever - and perhaps wrongly so.) They practically re-invented the song, punking it up and adding additional melodic content. It was such fun! Do you know their version? Your thoughts on any/all of the foregoing? https://youtube/watch?v=2Ji8selMzk0
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 03:20:08 +0000