Riffing on Neil and a soundtrack for the season - keeping me warm, fuzzy and sane

Until I started working with Glenn Mitchell, the very idea of holiday music was enough to make my flesh crawl. One of my earliest childhood memories is hearing that hideous Jose Feliciano song and wailing, "Turn it off! Turn it off!" I'd actually clamp my hands over my ears and start sobbing until someone shut it off. The same thing would invariably happen with Neil Diamond, the Carpenters, Jim Croce, Nilsson, and John Denver. The reaction was clearly physical, in addition to psychological. I don't know what it was about that genre, but even at such a tender age, I was allergic. And true, Neil Diamond has just put out his record with Rick Rubin and I wonder if he'll gain a brand new audience the same way Johnny Cash did. You've got to hand it to Rick Rubin, man. Bless. And I had no clue that "I'm A Believer" was a Neil Diamond song, either. I was editing a story during Fresh Air the other morning and this came up during Terry's interview with Neil himself. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that his version kicks the ass off the Monkees' version, too.

Have you ever seen Neil Diamond in The Last Waltz? It was his last onscreen appearance before The Jazz Singer, in which some say he jumped the shark. I can't say, having never seen the latter - but he sure works it in The Last Waltz. Martin Scorsese won my heart for the hundredth time, with that one. Supposedly he wanted Diamond for the role of Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, too. Can you imagine?!

Speaking of unbelievably wonderful and unwholesome, how's your holiday soundtrack shaping up? That was the basic premise of tonight's rant, but there's a back story to everything, isn't there? As you've probably already gathered, it's taken me years to get over my aversion to holiday music, but my tolerance level had gone up through the roof when I saw how hard Glenn always worked to put the Christmas Blockbusters together every year, for the past six years. With him, the holiday seasons suddenly seemed fun again. Damn, I'm going to miss that. This has been one Blue Yule for sure, but I know Glenn wouldn't want it that way. So here's my holiday playlist, dedicated to Glenn and everyone else who's ready for a few grins and the year's-end revelries, despite it all.


Louis XIV - This Christmas

The Ventures - Snow Flakes

Jimmy Donley - Santa Don't Pass Me By

Alan Jackson - Please Daddy Don't Get Drunk This Christmas

Rudolph & Gang - Here Comes Fatty Claus

Hilly Kristal - I Wish You a Merry Christmas

Cheap Trick - Come On Christmas

Thorazine - Merry Stupid Fucking Christmas

The Ramonas - Santa's Got A GTO

The Ramones - Danny Says

Asobi Seksu - Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight)

Ride - Snowflake

Claudine Longet - I Don't Intend To Spend Christmas Without You

Mr. Garrison from 'South Park' - Merry Fucking Christmas

AKIM & The Teddy Vann Production Company - Santa Claus is a Black Man

Street Drum Corp. - Happy Christmas (War Is Over)


P.S. I'd also be remiss if I didn't thank Danny for the Alan Jackson song, and Michael from Avenue, the St. Etienne email list, for putting together the yearly compilation, A Little Something For Under The Tree. Thank you, Michael, for helping to take the sting out of the season for the past couple of years!