A Christmas Mix
Though, of course, it's still Advent, I made a seasonal mix CD titled "The Windows Are Filled With Frost" as part of the gifts that I'm giving to family and close friends (those who may appreciate my tastes in music). Here's the track listing and some annotations:
1) "It Takes a Lot To Laugh, It Takes a Train To Cry" Bob Dylan, live from the 1975 Rolling Thunder Review. The title of the mix comes from the lines of this song: "The wintertime is coming / the windows are filled with frost / I went to tell everybody but I could not get across..." Are these appropriate words for Advent? Perhaps that's a stretch, but they're winter-appropriate.
2) "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" Sufjan Stevens from his great Christmas album Hark! comes one of my favorite Advent hymns.
3)"River" Joni Mitchell, from Blue, of course. Painfully honest and beautiful.
4) "Skating" Vince Guaraldi, from A Charlie Brown Christmas. Kind of cheesy & nostalgic, but I love the piano part in this song. And, thematically, it follows Joni's song quite well.
5) "Who May Abide The Day of His Coming," from Paul McCreesh's version of The Messiah. One of my favorite Advent lectionary readings, from Micah. Can't read it without hearing this in the background.
6) "And He Shall Purify," again, this chorus follows the solo from Micah in The Messiah.
7) "Someday at Christmas" Stevie Wonder. Some social commentary here, appropriate to our own times.
8) "It Won't Be Very Long" Sam Cooke & The Soul-Stirrers. Is there a more appropriate gospel tune for Advent? Also a nice answer to Stevie-- our hope for social reality is to "gather with the angels round the throne."
9) "White Christmas" Otis Redding. I think that Otis could sing any ditty or jingle and make me stand up and cheer about it. This one is no exception.
10) "Santa Claus, Go Straight to the Ghetto" James Brown. This one is as in-your-face as any James Brown tune. Is this merely holiday cheese, or aggressive social protest? As with much of Brown's work, the line is blurred by his over-the-top machismo. A good number to liven things up.
11) "Greensleeves" John Coltrane. A classic.
12) "Blue Christmas" Low. A very traditional rendition, and quite beautiful in Low's characteristically understated way.
13) "Peace on Earth / Little Drummer Boy" Bing Crosby & David Bowie. Yes, Bing Crosby & David Bowie. It's not what you'd expect...
14) "Every Grain of Sand" Emmylou Harris (written by Bob Dylan). An answer to post-x-mas downers. "I am hanging in the balance of the reality of man / Like every sparrow falling, like every grain of sand." Remember, the incarnation is all about salvation.
15) "Lo, How A Rose e'er Blooming," Robert Shaw & Atlanta Symphony Chorus. Another favorite of mine.
16) "Corpus Christi Carol" Jeff Buckley. Whew, he's got some pipes. The lyrics to this song are strange, but reminiscent of medieval art that depicts harbingers of the crucifixion in paintings of the Madonna & Child. Lots of flesh & blood imagery, which we ought to bear in mind as we commune on Christmas eve-- this is the Christ child's flesh we're feeding on!
17) "Happy Christmas / War is Over" John Lennon. Nostalgia: I remember this being a staple growing up.
18) "Souvenirs" John Prine. Another painful yet honest song: "All the snow has turned to water / Christmas days have come and gone."
19) "New Year's Day" U2, live at Red Rocks 1983. Such yearning and intensity here.
20) "Cives Celestias Patrie" Anonymous 4, a rendition of a medieval hymn based on the twenty-first chapter of Revelation, describing the bejeweled walls of the New Jerusalem. Stunning and simple; this is the substance of our hope.
21) "Beautiful Vision" Van Morrison, from the album of the same name. "Beautiful Vision / Stay with me all the time... In the darkest night /You are shining bright / You are my guiding light /You show me wrong from right."
1) "It Takes a Lot To Laugh, It Takes a Train To Cry" Bob Dylan, live from the 1975 Rolling Thunder Review. The title of the mix comes from the lines of this song: "The wintertime is coming / the windows are filled with frost / I went to tell everybody but I could not get across..." Are these appropriate words for Advent? Perhaps that's a stretch, but they're winter-appropriate.
2) "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" Sufjan Stevens from his great Christmas album Hark! comes one of my favorite Advent hymns.
3)"River" Joni Mitchell, from Blue, of course. Painfully honest and beautiful.
4) "Skating" Vince Guaraldi, from A Charlie Brown Christmas. Kind of cheesy & nostalgic, but I love the piano part in this song. And, thematically, it follows Joni's song quite well.
5) "Who May Abide The Day of His Coming," from Paul McCreesh's version of The Messiah. One of my favorite Advent lectionary readings, from Micah. Can't read it without hearing this in the background.
6) "And He Shall Purify," again, this chorus follows the solo from Micah in The Messiah.
7) "Someday at Christmas" Stevie Wonder. Some social commentary here, appropriate to our own times.
8) "It Won't Be Very Long" Sam Cooke & The Soul-Stirrers. Is there a more appropriate gospel tune for Advent? Also a nice answer to Stevie-- our hope for social reality is to "gather with the angels round the throne."
9) "White Christmas" Otis Redding. I think that Otis could sing any ditty or jingle and make me stand up and cheer about it. This one is no exception.
10) "Santa Claus, Go Straight to the Ghetto" James Brown. This one is as in-your-face as any James Brown tune. Is this merely holiday cheese, or aggressive social protest? As with much of Brown's work, the line is blurred by his over-the-top machismo. A good number to liven things up.
11) "Greensleeves" John Coltrane. A classic.
12) "Blue Christmas" Low. A very traditional rendition, and quite beautiful in Low's characteristically understated way.
13) "Peace on Earth / Little Drummer Boy" Bing Crosby & David Bowie. Yes, Bing Crosby & David Bowie. It's not what you'd expect...
14) "Every Grain of Sand" Emmylou Harris (written by Bob Dylan). An answer to post-x-mas downers. "I am hanging in the balance of the reality of man / Like every sparrow falling, like every grain of sand." Remember, the incarnation is all about salvation.
15) "Lo, How A Rose e'er Blooming," Robert Shaw & Atlanta Symphony Chorus. Another favorite of mine.
16) "Corpus Christi Carol" Jeff Buckley. Whew, he's got some pipes. The lyrics to this song are strange, but reminiscent of medieval art that depicts harbingers of the crucifixion in paintings of the Madonna & Child. Lots of flesh & blood imagery, which we ought to bear in mind as we commune on Christmas eve-- this is the Christ child's flesh we're feeding on!
17) "Happy Christmas / War is Over" John Lennon. Nostalgia: I remember this being a staple growing up.
18) "Souvenirs" John Prine. Another painful yet honest song: "All the snow has turned to water / Christmas days have come and gone."
19) "New Year's Day" U2, live at Red Rocks 1983. Such yearning and intensity here.
20) "Cives Celestias Patrie" Anonymous 4, a rendition of a medieval hymn based on the twenty-first chapter of Revelation, describing the bejeweled walls of the New Jerusalem. Stunning and simple; this is the substance of our hope.
21) "Beautiful Vision" Van Morrison, from the album of the same name. "Beautiful Vision / Stay with me all the time... In the darkest night /You are shining bright / You are my guiding light /You show me wrong from right."
posted by Vicar Lisa at 12/23/2006 10:22:00 AM
3 Comments:
THAT sounds like a GREAT CD!! It sounds like you might enjoy some of the indie artist streaming music on www.wholewheatradio.org
Thanks.
I will have to check into whole wheat radio. It looks interesting. Are most of the folks on there from the Alaska / West Coast indie scene?
Peace,
Nate
The artist are from all over the country. It's operated from Alaska with listeners all over the country as well. It's a community of individuals who like indie music. There are listeners from GA, NC, TX, KS, NM, FL, CA, WA, KY, IL, WI of course AK and well literally from all over the world too. I like it because it is very interactive and users can request single songs or sets of music to be played based on tags that listeners give to the songs. Listeners can also rate the songs that they like and the wiki system keeps track of your favorite artist. This is my user page: http://www.wholewheatradio.org/wiki/index.php/User:BlueRidge
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