I am one of those people who would prefers to skip right by Thanksgiving and just get on with the holiday music at the end of November. All that food and football is a bit much. Plus pumpkin pie is the one food that gives me heartburn. But now that we’ve eaten all the turkey sandwiches, it’s time to focus on lights, cookies, and Christmas music.
This is Christmas, Song by Song: The Stories Behind 100 Holiday Hits by Annie Zaleski. Full disclosure! I bought this book in October, but I haven’t read through it yet. I’ve only skimmed it. But I’m sharing in case you like music trivia and “All I Want for Christmas Is You” as much as I do. And it’s illustrated.
The Diplomat on Netflix. I finally got through this series after a couple of false starts. I love Keri Russell, and she’s great in this political thriller. But the plot is complex and the dialogue is quick, so you have to stay awake and pay close attention, two things that aren’t always my strong suit after the dinner hour.
Just trust me.
I was so looking forward to Bernie Taupin’s new memoir Scattershot. I have loved listening to all of his interviews promoting the book. Unfortunately, his memoir reads a bit like an Elton John tune. A little obtuse, lots of five dollar words, and rambling story telling. Maybe I’m coming off the high of Barbra’s memoir, but I was very disappointed in this effort. He’s funny and engaging at times, but this book needed some serious editing. I hate to turn people away from books, so I almost didn’t want to mention it. Plus this is supposed to be about stuff I liked! But I hyped up his book ahead of time so much, that I had to share. Sorry Bernie.
Here’s yet another installment in my effort to revisit songs or bands from the ‘80s that I ignored, didn’t know existed, or forgot about until just recently. I was listening to Paul Young’s “Come Back and Stay” this week, and I was thinking about how it’s one of my favorite underrated ‘80’s tunes, but when I watched the video I realized I didn’t remember it at all. And then I went down a rabbit hole, and discovered that this is a cover of a song written and recorded in 1981 by Jack Lee of The Nerves. Lee also wrote Blondie’s “Hangin’ on the Telephone.” I found both of those original tunes Lee recorded, and they are quite good. The addition of the scary/creepy women voices in “Come Back and Stay” really made Paul Young’s version better, however. The video is another story. Paul does a lot of climbing and jumping and stilted acting. It’s so bad it’s good.