Christmas With The Rat Pack

Merry Christmas! Whatcha doing this weekend, music wise?

Christmas In the Heart
	Artist: Bob Dylan

It's the season of bad sweaters, lame office Christmas parties, and drunk uncles in Santa caps. This Bob Dylan song will get you in the mood.

A hit for Elvis Costello, but this slow acoustic version by the dude who wrote the song? Magic. Merry Christmas.

From his 1995 album "James Brown's Funky Christmas".

Judith Owen and Harry Shearer "jazz up" the classic Spinal Tap holiday ballad, "Christmas with the Devil".

Christmas sure has a lot of songs, but 4th of July not so many. This one by Soundgarden is a fantastic slab of total sludge that's buried toward the end of their classic album Superunknown, and I always skip ahead to it.

"Fourth of July" by X is another great one.

What will you be spinning at your BBQs this weekend?

Happy holidays! h/t Case.

What a Wonderful Christmas
	Artist: Louis Armstrong

I'll admit that there aren't a lot of Christmas songs that I like much. But this one? I could listen to it all year long.

What are your favorite versions of your favorite holiday songs?

So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table

Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able

And where does magic come from? I think magic's in the learning

Cause now when Christians sit with Pagans

Only pumpkin pies are burning.

The delightful Dar Williams wrote this instant holiday classic for her 1996 album, "Mortal City." How can you not love the story of lesbian pagans having Christmas dinner with Christian relatives? (There's an implied subtext that Amber is estranged from her family, which is why she's visiting her uncle instead of her father.)

Dar was raised in Chappaqua, NY, and spent 10 years living in Northampton, MA, where she began to make the rounds of the coffeehouse circuit. Joan Baez was an early fan. She took Dar on tour with her and recorded several of her songs.

Grew up with two sisters, no brothers. At this time of year when White Christmas would come on the tee vee, we'd belt this one out loud and proud.

Lord help the mister, who comes between me and my man.

*The YouTube notes indicate Vera Ellen, a dancer, is not actually singing here, and it's Trudy Stevens's voice you're hearing with Rosemary Clooney's.

Favorite showtunes sharing appreciated tonight...