"and have yourself a merry little christmas now"
1. I think this pretty much says it all, guys:
♥ Whatever (or even whether!) you celebrate, have a WONDERFUL holiday season! ♥
2. And I DID promise music, didn't I? So here's some Christmas cheer for everybody - some of my favourite songs for the season:
a. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - The Carpenters
b. I Wonder As I Wander - Julie Andrews
c. O Holy Night - Julia Murney & Max von Essen
d. 平安夜 (Christmas Eve) - Emil Chau
a. This is my favourite Christmas carol, I think - the lyrics are beautiful (through the years / we all will be together / if the Fates allow). I have so many favourite versions: Judy Garland's, of course, and Frankie's, are pretty much incomparable. Julia also sang a pretty rocking version. We know this. I chose to share Karen Carpenter's: her voice is made for Christmas.
b. Julie Andrews has... two proper Christmas albums. The one that she recorded in the 1970s is some of the loveliest music ever put on record by ANYBODY. This is one of my favourite songs of all time: just listen to her duet... with herself. Who, out of anyone, can sing accompaniment to Julie Andrews' voice and expect to match her? Julie herself - much as only Gene Kelly could hope to match his OWN awesome.
c. I am properly OBSESSED with this duet. Until I heard this, I'd always imagined O Holy Night to be a ridiculously difficult song to sing because of just how high it is and can go. This version proves to me that it's entirely possible for a female alto to sing the crap out of this song, while also harmonising like CRAZY. There's this point in the song when neither Julia nor Max is singing the melody - and yet that somehow comes through in the blending of their voices. Bloody amazing.
d. Emil singing a gentle, ballady song about Christmas Eve - honestly I don't know WHAT he's singing, as he's singing in Cantonese (which is like the French of European languages for Chinese dialects: elegant and just lovely to listen to). But it's a lovely song.
3. In other news: I... totes overslept for work. And missed most to all of the Christmas Eve party. F A I L. I like how I don't oversleep, however much I abuse my body and have strange sleeping patterns, on a normal work day. On a day when NO ONE WORKS, however, I just... can't seem to get up. I even slept before 2.30, wtf. Sigh.
4. I drove down anyway, for the last part of the party, and picked my cousin up for dessert and to watch Bedtime Stories. Which is... SUCH a random movie. Funny, sure, and fun to watch. But raaandoom.
5. And then I came home, stuffed myself to the gills with leftover ham (soaked in brandy and raisin sauce) and pasta from the Christmas party, while watching 7-8 episodes of 30 Rock. OMG OMG. So obsessed with this show. I actually liked Alec Baldwin BEFORE I saw him play all of Tracy's relatives in a mock therapy session. AFTER THAT I WAS DONE. OMIGOD EPIC. EP. IC. *cries* I did take a break to watch a shit-ton of Emil interviews (I don't think I'll ever be done, he's been on the entertainment circuit for 22 years!) and fetch my aunt and uncle from the airport. But, back to 30 Rock tomorrow, YEEEES.
6. Also! Meryl gave a rather legendary press conference for Doubt which was translated into a million articles and soundbites across the web. Finally, some bright spark found a full audio of this interview, together with transcript. WAHEY. Because there's nothing I like more than listening to Meryl speak, unfiltered and just... unguarded. Laughing and being snarky and awesome. Also, it gives MUCH needed context to her apparent good cheer vis-a-vis a purported Mamma Mia sequel, thank god.
7. Now I'm off to bed. Have a lovely lovely day, everybody. Much turkey and presents and good wishes to y'all. :)
♥ Whatever (or even whether!) you celebrate, have a WONDERFUL holiday season! ♥
2. And I DID promise music, didn't I? So here's some Christmas cheer for everybody - some of my favourite songs for the season:
a. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - The Carpenters
b. I Wonder As I Wander - Julie Andrews
c. O Holy Night - Julia Murney & Max von Essen
d. 平安夜 (Christmas Eve) - Emil Chau
a. This is my favourite Christmas carol, I think - the lyrics are beautiful (through the years / we all will be together / if the Fates allow). I have so many favourite versions: Judy Garland's, of course, and Frankie's, are pretty much incomparable. Julia also sang a pretty rocking version. We know this. I chose to share Karen Carpenter's: her voice is made for Christmas.
b. Julie Andrews has... two proper Christmas albums. The one that she recorded in the 1970s is some of the loveliest music ever put on record by ANYBODY. This is one of my favourite songs of all time: just listen to her duet... with herself. Who, out of anyone, can sing accompaniment to Julie Andrews' voice and expect to match her? Julie herself - much as only Gene Kelly could hope to match his OWN awesome.
c. I am properly OBSESSED with this duet. Until I heard this, I'd always imagined O Holy Night to be a ridiculously difficult song to sing because of just how high it is and can go. This version proves to me that it's entirely possible for a female alto to sing the crap out of this song, while also harmonising like CRAZY. There's this point in the song when neither Julia nor Max is singing the melody - and yet that somehow comes through in the blending of their voices. Bloody amazing.
d. Emil singing a gentle, ballady song about Christmas Eve - honestly I don't know WHAT he's singing, as he's singing in Cantonese (which is like the French of European languages for Chinese dialects: elegant and just lovely to listen to). But it's a lovely song.
3. In other news: I... totes overslept for work. And missed most to all of the Christmas Eve party. F A I L. I like how I don't oversleep, however much I abuse my body and have strange sleeping patterns, on a normal work day. On a day when NO ONE WORKS, however, I just... can't seem to get up. I even slept before 2.30, wtf. Sigh.
4. I drove down anyway, for the last part of the party, and picked my cousin up for dessert and to watch Bedtime Stories. Which is... SUCH a random movie. Funny, sure, and fun to watch. But raaandoom.
5. And then I came home, stuffed myself to the gills with leftover ham (soaked in brandy and raisin sauce) and pasta from the Christmas party, while watching 7-8 episodes of 30 Rock. OMG OMG. So obsessed with this show. I actually liked Alec Baldwin BEFORE I saw him play all of Tracy's relatives in a mock therapy session. AFTER THAT I WAS DONE. OMIGOD EPIC. EP. IC. *cries* I did take a break to watch a shit-ton of Emil interviews (I don't think I'll ever be done, he's been on the entertainment circuit for 22 years!) and fetch my aunt and uncle from the airport. But, back to 30 Rock tomorrow, YEEEES.
6. Also! Meryl gave a rather legendary press conference for Doubt which was translated into a million articles and soundbites across the web. Finally, some bright spark found a full audio of this interview, together with transcript. WAHEY. Because there's nothing I like more than listening to Meryl speak, unfiltered and just... unguarded. Laughing and being snarky and awesome. Also, it gives MUCH needed context to her apparent good cheer vis-a-vis a purported Mamma Mia sequel, thank god.
7. Now I'm off to bed. Have a lovely lovely day, everybody. Much turkey and presents and good wishes to y'all. :)