joyful noise

I am, as it says above, a cynical optimist. I am a bear in the morning and a grouch when it suits me. I am not an easy person to get close to (this is neither a boast nor a challenge just a simple statement of fact…after nearly 50 years on this great blue world of ours I have made my peace with this aspect of myself.)

All that said, there are things that almost instantly cause my barriers to crumble. Things I care for and things which warm my heart no matter how dark a mood I might want to indulge. Children in and about my life are at the top of that list of things…especially the children (and those who once were children but now are not) whose lives have intimately intertwined with mine.

And this season…the hectic, joyful, frustrating, glorious time from Thanksgiving to the New Year…this season is on that short list as well. How could it not be? It is, at its best, a time of magic and wonder…of sharing and dancing…of hope never ending and faith ever lasting…and of music. Wondrous, silly, reverent, amazing music.

I love music and I have a somewhat irrational (but wholly embraced just the same) fondness for Christmas music (secular and not.) Almost every year I find a new seasonal collection to add to my collection…a new version of an old song that finds nuance not before touched upon.

Some Christmas music is eternal…even if I have heard Nat “King” Cole croon the opening line of “The Christmas Song” more times than I can count it still finds fond welcome in this quarter…and some is fleeting (that ditty about Grandma getting run over by a reindeer can be retired forever as far as I’m concerned.)

There is much to be cynical about during “the holidays”…but no reason to indulge that cynicism (unless it suits you to, it is still a free world after all.) We have the holidays…Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanza, the Winter Solstice, Christmas, New Year’s Day…and that’s more than enough to make a joyful noise about.

Have yourselves a merry little...well, you know...

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Recommended listening:

“Barenaked for the Holidays” Barenaked Ladies
(A strong candidate for the coolest holiday CD ever…a delightful mix of whimsy and reverence on traditional tunes and witty originals. Highlights include a sprightly medley of “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen/We Three Kings” featuring Sarah MacLachlan, a sanctimony-free cover “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, and “Elf’s Lament”, a tongue-in-cheek tale of Santa’s helpers fighting for better working conditions.)

“A Very Special Christmas” and “A Very Special Christmas 2”
(All-star benefits for the Special Olympics chock full of delightful holiday tunes. Volume 1 features U2 (a rocking “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”, Whitney Houston (a rousing “Do You Hear What I Hear?”, Madonna (doing…what else?...a sultry take on “Santa Baby”), and Bruce Springsteen (kicking it live on “Merry Christmas, Baby”). Volume 2 includes Tom Petty (with the original “Christmas All Over Again”), a duet of 60’s rock & roll goddesses Ronnie Spector and Darlene Love (playfully updating “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”), Vanessa Williams (a smooth, jazzy “What Child is This?”), and the unlikely teaming (via the wonders of technology) of Frank Sinatra and Cyndi Lauper (“Santa Claus is Coming to Town”). Very cool stuff indeed…and subsequent volumes have gems of their own as well.)

“Handel’s Messiah: A Soulful Celebration”
(An R&B and gospel updating of the classical chestnut that culminates with an all-star choir…including Chaka Khan, Al Jarreau, Vanessa Williams, Gladys Knight, and many others…being conducted by Quincy Jones on the most rollicking, soulful, and sanctified version of “The Hallelujah Chorus” that you are likely to ever hear.)