Friday Five : |ˈfrÄ«dÄ – fÄ«v| : On the sixth day of every week, I hit the shuffle button in iTunes and share the first five tracks and thought for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, occasionally we’ll have a guest, but most of the time it’s just me. The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up the media player of your choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments.
The Five:
“Fairytale of New York (feat. Kirsty MacColl)” by The Pouges (from The Best Christmas Album in the World… Ever! (disc 1), 1997)
I had good money down on a hunch that this tune would come in at number one on Popdose’s 50 favorite holiday songs. While life got in the way of my participation in said list, I can quite firmly state that this was number two in my top 10. It’s the rarefied mix of wistful hope and utter melancholy; oh, and it’s a Christmas song! There is a moment, in the final verse, that is so tender and earnest that it’s hard to believe that it’s put on for the song.
“The Birth of Christ” by Boyz II Men (from A Very Special Christmas 2, 1992)
A Very Special Christmas 2 had enormous shoes to fill, and while it did have a few shining moments—Tom Petty’s brilliant “Christmas All Over Again”—there were more than a few clunkers. This in the “clunker” pile.
“How Great Thou Art” by Tommy Emmanuel (from All I Want for Christmas, 2011)
I love, love, love this record.
“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by U2 (from A Very Special Christmas, 1990)
This is, hands down, my favorite Christmas song. Not this version, per se, but the song itself. I would actually place this version just behind the original Darlene Love version. Miss Love, by the way, will be on the Late Show with David Letterman tonight for her yearly performance of said tune. I’ll be staying up late to watch, will you?
“Silent Night” by Bing Crosby (from Merry Christmas, 2004)
This song has a different meaning for me today.
While I don’t reveal much in the way of personal information here in the safe confines of my weekly column, I might have to make an allowance today. See, I’m a resident of a little town in Fairfield county, Connecticut that one week ago became burned into the world’s collective conscious. My wife and I moved to Newtown, Connecticut just about 14 months ago. Upon our arrival we immediately were struck by just how close knit the community was when dealing with the days on end without power due to the Hurricane and freak Halloween Nor’Easter of last year. We’ve grown to love this town that we call home, and look forward to raising our children in this community that so clearly puts family first. While we were not directly effected by the tragic events of a week ago, it still resonates strongly that this happened in our town, and we grieve alongside our neighbors. “Silent Night” stirs the thoughts of those 20 innocent little souls, lost to unspeakable evil.
Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright.
Proud young virgin mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild.
Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace.
Merry Christmas, to you all.
What’s on your shuffle today?
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