This week I learned that “Last Christmas” seems to be the song of Christmas 2014.
The last few years, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas is You” has been clogging up the airways. I REALLY do not like that song. It grates on me. It makes me want to go kill an elf on the shelf every time that it plays.
But it seems this year, “Last Christmas” is being played all the time. I am not in the love with the song, but it does have a catchy hook that is easily stuck in everyone’s head. Even my 4 year old son M busts out singing it now and then. (Except, his version is “Last Christmas, I gave you my poop…”)
And any excuse for radio to play more George Michael I am all on board with. The man has a beautiful voice. Plus, he wrote and produced it. He must get a nice royalty check every year come January.
I find it impressive that a 30 year old song is having such a resurgence.
And all versions of “Last Christmas” are being played to death, not even just the original version from Wham. I hear the versions by Taylor Swift and the cast of Glee on the radio as well. The Taylor Swift one is very surprising because while she isn’t one of my favorite artists, she usually puts lots of emotion into her singing. Her version of “Last Christmas” is very flat and bland. Very unlike her. Hard to believe it is from the same person who sings “Shake It Off” and “Blank Space”.
I wanted to include the video so that everyone would know what song I am referring to. I was afraid the original video would frighten everyone with it’s 1984 fashions and hair, so here is a lyric video instead…
Coming Soon! My first book: The Wind Could Blow a Bug
NOTE: This post has ADULT CONTENT. Not for young eyes.
Adult Content
Now that I have that disclaimer out of the way, let’s talk about Santa Claus.
One of my earliest childhood memories (I cannot even tell you how old I would have been) was of waking up in the middle of the night in December and hearing the sound of gift wrapping in my kitchen. I sort of groggily thought, “Oh, I guess there is no Santa Claus. I guess my mom just buys all my gifts and wraps them for me.” Then I went back to sleep.
Futurama rules
I never felt cheated by that experience. I actually think it saved me from waking up to the harsh reality years later that many kids have to go through, when they find out all their gifts come from family members shopping on Black Friday. I have just always known that there is no Santa Claus. Sure, my mom would always sign a few of the gift tags “From: Santa”. My stockings would magically be filled Christmas morning “by Santa”. We had no chimney. She would try to tell me, when I asked, that she would let Santa in the door.
Peeping Santa
I know my mother. There is no way she is opening the door for a strange old man while she is in her nightgown in the middle of the night. She wouldn’t even let people we KNEW in the house while she was in her nightgown.
I never saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus
Don’t get me wrong, I love THE IDEA of Santa and his sleigh and reindeer and elves. I love the songs. I love the Classic Coca-Cola ads with his image. I just don’t fully buy into it. I blame the realistic Capricorn in me that always seeks the truth.
Just wrong, in so many ways…
But, the little that I DO believe about the legend of Santa comes from an unlikely source.
PM Magazine.
PM Magazine was a syndicated news show back in the early 1980’s, which featured human interest stories and lots of entertainment content. In my area, it was shown on WTOL Channel 11, just before The Muppet Show. So, I would often see the last five minutes as I was waiting for The Muppets to come on. In my memory, the picture is a little greenish. I think that was because of the color TV we had that was dying and only had one color left–green.
Anyway, I remember a story near Christmas time on PM Magazine about the REAL Santa Claus.* I recall the story being about some old guy who lived in a town near the North Pole. For his town, he would dress up as Santa and deliver toys to all the kids in town.
And that was enough for me.
To know that there was one guy who played the part of Santa in one town in the whole world was enough for me. To know that something like that exists has kept me going with the Christmas spirit all these years. Of course, that was 30 years ago. Dude is probably dead by now. And there was probably one mom like mine in that town who wouldn’t want to let him in the door anyway. But maybe, just maybe, he is still delivering those presents, to this day.
What?! Ugh!
I do not plan to encourage or discourage my son’s belief in Santa Claus. But if he asks me if their is a real Santa, I will recite my fuzzy memories of that green news story to him from three decades ago.
Working at the mall recently, I got to know the Santa there very well. He is a super-nice guy. Even though I found out what his secret identity is the rest of the year, he still seems like Santa to me, because he is the only one I have gotten to know personally.
Santa is my BFF
* I am sure many of my details about the PM Magazine story are inaccurate. I found where it may have aired on 12/24/1984, with the title of Real Life Santa. I would have been only like 8 years old. But that show aired so long ago, that anyone else’s memory would be tainted with time as well. Unless someone has the actual classic footage for the Santa story, in which case I would LOVE to see it.
Coming Soon! My first book: The Wind Could Blow a Bug
This week I learned that on the right day of the year for only a donation to Toys for Tots, I could get to drive my car around Michigan International Speedway!
It was awesome!
Because I had to take my mom to the bank on Saturday anyway, I asked her if she would want to ride along out to the speedway with me. We both used to watch NASCAR racing for many years. It was the perfect activity for her–no walking.
She kept saying there would be tons of people and there would be a line.
There wasn’t.
We had a little trouble finding the right entrance to go in, but then we got to drive through a very narrow tunnel that made me nervous. Then everyone in the car had to sign a disclaimer. I even had to sign one for my son, M.
We went to enter the track on pit road.
I said, “Look! It’s pit road.”
My mom said, “Where?”
I said, “We are ON it!”
Then she was impressed.
I said, “Take pictures!”
She said, “I don’t have a camera.”
I said, “Use your cell phone.”
She forgets that there is a camera on her phone.
She got nervous when I went high in the turns. They are banked so high that my everyday vehicle seemed like it would roll over any second. It was very strange to see minivans and SUVs driving around the track together.
For your donation, you were supposed to get one time around the track at 25mph. We went more than one lap and more than 25mph, but not as many times or as fast as anyone else.
I felt a little closer to Jeff Gordon that day.
Here are our pictures:
The view from the track
Me gritting my teeth as I approach the steep banking
The view of the track through my windshield
The biggest surprise was the text I received the next morning from my mom:
Riding around the racetrack was one of the coolest things I have ever done in my life. Thank you.
Hmmm… If she is going to be that grateful for a change, I just might have to start dragging her out more often.
Coming Soon! My first book: The Wind Could Blow a Bug
This is a country song from 1993. It is a song that I have tried hard over the years to remember the title and artist. According to Wikipedia, it never charted. Which is why it is hard to remember much about it. But that summer, I watched a lot of music videos on TNT and CMT. This video was in heavy rotation, and featured a very brief cameo by Davey Allison. I was impressed by this because I had just begun to watch NASCAR races (Shout out to Jeff Gordon!). Also, Davey Allison would die that same summer in a helicopter crash.
Love this song. Good beat, good lyrics, great to crank up to the max in the car and drive.
Boom Clap on YouTube
4. All About That Bass – Meghan Trainor
I am a little over this song now, but included it on this collection anyway. I was impressed with how original the sound was when I first heard it on the radio on our vacation to Gettysburg in August. I feel like it is the kind of song my best friend in high school and I would have run out and bought the cassette single of.
5. Don’t – Ed Sheeran
I got so excited when I heard this song on the radio. I was like, “Oh, one of my favorite American Idol alums Blake Lewis finally has a hit song that all the stations are playing.” Then I discovered it was actually Ed Sheeran who sings it. If some white boy was going to sing this song, it should have been Blake. He was robbed.
6. Cool Kids – Echosmith
I like this. Very me in 6th grade.
7. Habits – Tove Lo
This girl has a life I could never imagine living.
8. Yeah – Joe Nichols
I like Joe Nichols because I always think that he sounds like George Strait, although not so much in this song. This song is very similar to “Play It Again.” Hence, why I did not put them right next to each other.
9. God Made Girls – RaeLynn
This is a really sexist song, with lyrics such as:
Somebody’s gotta wear a pretty skirt,
Somebody’s gotta be the one to flirt,
Somebody’s gotta wanna hold his hand so God Made Girls
Somebody’s gotta make him get dressed up,
Give him a reason to wash that truck,
Somebody’s gotta teach him how to dance,
So God made girls.
(Written by RaeLynn, Nicolle Galyon, Lori McKenna, & Liz Rose)
And the girl’s voice annoys me because it reminds me of the girl who plays Scarlett on ABC’s Nashville. If these are truly the reasons why God made girls, then I am a complete failure as a girl. But it has a good beat and sounds like classic country, so I included it.
10. Girl in a Country Song – Maddie & Tae
This would be the antithesis of the previous song. And the next song. Which is why I LOVE that these three songs appear together in this order on this CD.
I love these lyrics:
Well I wish I had some shoes on my two bare feet
And it’s gettin’ kinda cold in these painted on cut off jeans
I hate the way this bikini top chafes
Do I really have to wear it all day?
Aww no, Conway and George Strait
Never did it this way
Back in the old days
Aww y’all, we ain’t a cliché
That ain’t no way
To treat a lady
(Written by Taylor Dye, Maddie Marlow, & Aaron Scherz)
Any song that references classic hit-makers like Conway Twitty and George Strait is number one in my book. And they totally have a point about the bikini tops and Daisy Duke shorts. And they manage to spin it into a very catchy song.
Girl in a Country Song on YouTube
11. Cruise – Florida Georgia Line
Cruise was released to pop radio as a mix with rapper Nelly, and was a huge hit. A few years ago. Yes, I am behind.
This song is exactly the type of song that Maddie & Tae were just rallying against. The girl is in her bikini top, riding along silently in the man’s pickup truck, traveling down a dirt road she doesn’t even want to be on. I love these songs as much as the next person (I did include it on this CD, afterall), but does EVERY country song have to sound like this?
I might as well start by admitting that my literary choices do not always match those of the rest of the world.
I really REALLY loved Twilight. The WHOLE series. I have never read any books as many times as I have read those.
But it is not because they are great works of art. It is because I find them entertaining and enjoyable. I like to read about hot vampires and werewolves. I especially liked how Stephenie Meyer’s writing style reminded me of reading something my best friend would have written.
And I KNOW that you are groaning. But, sorry to say, millions of people around the world agree with me. The money don’t lie.
Everyone always talks about The Perks of Being a Wallflower as if it is some super-great book that I must read. So I did.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
WTF?
I read the last page, closed it, and said, “That book sucked.”
I am sure many will disagree with me. Maybe part of it was that it was from the viewpoint of a teenage boy, rather than a girl. But I had trouble getting past the writing style. It was written as a series of letters to an unknown friend. Sooo many things wrong with this. The letter-writing thing just felt hoaky and unnecessary. I felt as though the author was writing badly on purpose so that I would truly believe that Charlie wrote the letters himself. Except that I just found it distracting. And the so-called friend? It isn’t even anyone that he knows. And, at the end of the book, you STILL do not ever find out who he sends the letters to.
I did like that although it was recently made into a movie (I have not seen it), the book was actually published back in 1999, and actually takes place in 1991-1992 when Charlie was a freshmen in high school. I was a freshmen then, or close to it. That means the author must be my age. But Charlie did not listen to any of the same music or see any of the same movies of that time that would have helped me relate to his character.
I kept wondering if this kid was supposed to be Autistic? Then I wondered if he just was. There was even a bad child molestation and physical abuse subplot. I guess maybe that was supposed to be the plot? Or explain why the kid was weird? If it was supposed to, I missed it.
The best part of the book was when they stood in the back of a pick-up truck while driving through a tunnel. Incidentally, that was the best part of the movie trailer as well.
I never did figure out what the perks of being a wall flower were supposed to be. I could probably be considered “a wallflower”. There are no perks.
I bought this book specifically to study what other YA writers are writing about and how they are doing it. I thought I might be able to use this book to help me think of the heroine in my first book differently. But I just came out of it thinking, “If this book became a hit, maybe mine isn’t as bad as I think it is. Maybe it could be a hit too.”
I'm not stalking you. 