Tag: rudolph the red-nosed reindeer

Advent activity #2

On By Laura MorganIn Christmas, Music

Today’s task is to SING CHRISTMAS SONGS, which since there are no carol services or singalongs this year we will all have to do at home, by ourselves, so I have chosen a song which everybody knows in order to give you no excuse not to join in. Yes, even you. I encourage you to consider this a mere jumping-off point, to be followed up immediately with your fullest and finest Christmas repertoire. You definitely know more Christmas songs than you think you do.

(You also definitely know fewer Christmas songs than I do, but that is because I have spent around <maths> thirty hours a year since 2008 on my musical advent calendar, which by my calculations gets me 3.9% of the way to Malcom Gladwell’s ten thousand hours and hence somewhere between “expert” and “Michael Gove” on the expert scale.)

December 10: Twin Rudolphs

On By Laura MorganIn Christmas, Music

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer isn’t anyone’s favourite Christmas song, is it? Or is it? If it isn’t your favourite Christmas song neither of these versions is likely to change your mind, but it’s the only Christmas classic that has been recorded by multiple Beatles and so it gets a starring Saturday spot here.

Version 1 is the 1979 b-side to Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime and is optimistically entitled Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reggae, which makes it sound quite good, doesn’t it? It’s really not, although the very last note is quite nice. Version 2 is (of course) from Ringo’s Christmas album, and as well as being definitely better than Paul’s, features a voiceover, a mistake which they just left in, and (of course) a key change. And the backing vocals are really good! The lead vocals still sound like Ringo. Do keep listening to the end, which is everything you are hoping it will be.

Advent song for December 18

On By Laura MorganIn Christmas, Music1 Comment

I was going to use an older version of this song, but actually I really like the Destiny’s Child version (it is a hundred times better than their horrid reworking of The Twelve Days of Christmas), and the video is very cute.

(I’m out of the country for a few days after today, and I’m going to try scheduling the next four posts in advance, so if they appear at odd times or not at all, that’s why.)