The Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York” is one of my favorite songs. It is the perfect Christmas song. I love that it is slightly irreverent, and funny. And sad. It makes me cry every time I listen to it (and I listen to it a lot this time of year.) I love that it is a song for everyone, not just the churchgoing folk. I love its structure and its lyrics. Like I said, it is one of my favorite Christmas songs.
I just discovered this a cappella version of it from an Irish group called The Ramparts. It is quite lovely, and now I’m sharing it with you.
I meant to write a full review of the Jeff Tweedy concert me and my daughter attended last week, but instead I just wrote about it for Five Cool Things.
It was a great show, even if I didn’t know all the songs (he played most of his new album and a few songs from previous solo albums, but nothing from Wilco).
On this tour for the encore he’s been playing one or two cover songs from artists who came to fame somewhere near the town he’s playing at. For the Tulsa show he covered “Wish I Had Not Said That” by JJ Cale and then (of course) “Do Re Mi” by Woody Guthrie. Both versions were excellent.
Truth be told I’m not a huge fan of Guillermo del Toro’s films. He’s pretty hit or miss for me. But I love a good Frankenstein movie and this seems well suited for the things I do love about his work.
When Stranger Things first came out (back in 2016!) I was an immediate fan. It was such a wonderful amalgamation of all the things I loved growing up in the 1980s: Stephen King (or more importantly, movies based on Stephen King books), John Carpenter, Steven Spielberg, and a million other things. But it wasn’t just nostalgia-baiting either, the Duffer Brothers had created a wonderful story, one that was clearly influenced by all those things, but was also its own, new thing.
I’ve enjoyed the subsequent seasons, especially the addition of several new cast members, but I also have to admit that none of them have quite had the magic of the first one. If I’m being honest, I am ready for it to be over. This is especially true since it has taken them so long to make each season. Those kids aren’t kids anymore. Millie Bobby Brown is married, for Pete’s sake!
When I learned that Season 5, the final season, consisted of several movie-length episodes, I was a little irritated. I don’t need that much more Stranger Things. I hate it when TV shows act like movies.
But apparently, there are only going to be three episodes, so I can dig that. This teaser trailer is basically just an announcement of that fact. It mostly consists of clips from previous episodes and announces the dates of these three episodes/movies. There are a few new bits and I have to admit that it did get me excited.
Sorry, I’ve been a bit absent these last couple of weeks. I’ve been taking a bit of a break, I guess, and maybe having a little existential crisis.
I’ll have more to say about that in a day or two, but I’m gonna try to do better at posting, and what better way to start that than Bruce singing one of my all-time favorite songs?
As you may have heard, Bruce has been having a bit of a battle of words with the current President of the USA. He’s got a few things to say at the start of this video. I usually don’t get political on this blog, but I’ll proudly stand up and say I’m on Team Springsteen here.
And my god, he sure proves he’s still got it with this performance.
themidnightcafe.org 