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Fireworks in the Colonial style = 10x better than fireworks in whatever the heck style people use these days.
Of course, they were probably also 10x more expensive, and 10x more dangerous, considering how low to the ground and close to buildings they were, and also harder for large crowds to see. But oh, they were brilliant! Totally worth freezing my butt off for two hours for.
The thing about most fireworks shows - you know that the most spectacular display comes at the end, so whenever there's a particularly good display, the enjoyment is spoiled by the fear that it's the finale. This show was *all* finale. It started wild and just *never let up* and then ended on the same note it began on.
...in a minor segue, today was Pearl Harbor Day, so enjoy a special mix of songs for Christmas at war.
Carl Vasta - I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day.mp3
This is probably my very favorite Christmas song, set to a poem that Longfellow wrote during the midst of the American Civil War. It's been set to a bunch of different tunes - I originally learned it out of our hymnal - but this is the tune that everybody seems to record. I've sung it to myself a *lot* over the past eight years or so.
Royal Guardsmen - Snoopy's Christmas.mp3
I always imagine that this song took place on a night of the Christmas Truce, which is one of those stories which always gives me back my faith in my fellow man (even if my faith in men, in aggregate, is gone.)
Judy Garland - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.mp3
This song became the de facto Christmas song of World War Two, with its theme of hope among hardships and taking happiness whenever you can. Of course, it got cheered up a couple times from the original, which disappoints me, because if you haven't noticed by now I like my Christmas with a good dollop of melancholy. But this is the original Judy Garland version from "Meet Me In St. Louis" and keeps at least some of the melancholy that was later excised.
Masters of Harmony - Christmas Eve In My Home Town.mp3
What "Merry Little Christmas" was to WWII, this song was to Korea. Written by a soldier who served in Korea, it quickly became the most-requested song among overseas military, and has been nicknamed "The GI's Christmas Carol". (I like it for being *so much* less annoying than "I'll Be Home For Christmas", too.)
Johnny & Jon - Christmas in Vietnam.mp3
This is another song off the hobo-themed Christmas album. I don't know why it was on there, except as a symptom of massive stereotyping of Vietnam vets. (I've always loved the stories of the 1960s, but that was one thing I never understood - how the peace movement thought it was a good idea to demonize soldiers and veterans. And I am so, so glad the current anti-war movement has, mostly, avoided going there.)
Andy Williams - O Little Town Of Bethlehem.mp3
Go read this article in National Geographic. And then weep for humanity.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve In Sarajevo.mp3
TSO does rock-opera type things with stories, so I have heard, but I have only got my hands on their CDs, so the story is always a bit elusive. They apparently have a multimedia video for this song up on their website, though, which my computer refuses to stream properly.
[rx - happy rxmas and a whole lotta love.mp3]
Yeah, I'm totally duplicating songs already, but this mix is over twice as long as the others anyway, so suck it. And I couldn't think of anything better to stand in for our current mess, anyway.
Weird Al Yankovic - Christmas At Ground Zero.mp3
Ah, yes. A carol for the *next* big war.
John Lennon - Happy Christmas (War Is Over).mp3
It's hard to fight wars when you're rebuilding a world devastated by nuclear (and chemical, radiological, biological, and explosive) contamination. But I have faith that we could still manage it, if we wanted to badly enough.
Of course, they were probably also 10x more expensive, and 10x more dangerous, considering how low to the ground and close to buildings they were, and also harder for large crowds to see. But oh, they were brilliant! Totally worth freezing my butt off for two hours for.
The thing about most fireworks shows - you know that the most spectacular display comes at the end, so whenever there's a particularly good display, the enjoyment is spoiled by the fear that it's the finale. This show was *all* finale. It started wild and just *never let up* and then ended on the same note it began on.
...in a minor segue, today was Pearl Harbor Day, so enjoy a special mix of songs for Christmas at war.
Carl Vasta - I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day.mp3
This is probably my very favorite Christmas song, set to a poem that Longfellow wrote during the midst of the American Civil War. It's been set to a bunch of different tunes - I originally learned it out of our hymnal - but this is the tune that everybody seems to record. I've sung it to myself a *lot* over the past eight years or so.
Royal Guardsmen - Snoopy's Christmas.mp3
I always imagine that this song took place on a night of the Christmas Truce, which is one of those stories which always gives me back my faith in my fellow man (even if my faith in men, in aggregate, is gone.)
Judy Garland - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.mp3
This song became the de facto Christmas song of World War Two, with its theme of hope among hardships and taking happiness whenever you can. Of course, it got cheered up a couple times from the original, which disappoints me, because if you haven't noticed by now I like my Christmas with a good dollop of melancholy. But this is the original Judy Garland version from "Meet Me In St. Louis" and keeps at least some of the melancholy that was later excised.
Masters of Harmony - Christmas Eve In My Home Town.mp3
What "Merry Little Christmas" was to WWII, this song was to Korea. Written by a soldier who served in Korea, it quickly became the most-requested song among overseas military, and has been nicknamed "The GI's Christmas Carol". (I like it for being *so much* less annoying than "I'll Be Home For Christmas", too.)
Johnny & Jon - Christmas in Vietnam.mp3
This is another song off the hobo-themed Christmas album. I don't know why it was on there, except as a symptom of massive stereotyping of Vietnam vets. (I've always loved the stories of the 1960s, but that was one thing I never understood - how the peace movement thought it was a good idea to demonize soldiers and veterans. And I am so, so glad the current anti-war movement has, mostly, avoided going there.)
Andy Williams - O Little Town Of Bethlehem.mp3
Go read this article in National Geographic. And then weep for humanity.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve In Sarajevo.mp3
TSO does rock-opera type things with stories, so I have heard, but I have only got my hands on their CDs, so the story is always a bit elusive. They apparently have a multimedia video for this song up on their website, though, which my computer refuses to stream properly.
[rx - happy rxmas and a whole lotta love.mp3]
Yeah, I'm totally duplicating songs already, but this mix is over twice as long as the others anyway, so suck it. And I couldn't think of anything better to stand in for our current mess, anyway.
Weird Al Yankovic - Christmas At Ground Zero.mp3
Ah, yes. A carol for the *next* big war.
John Lennon - Happy Christmas (War Is Over).mp3
It's hard to fight wars when you're rebuilding a world devastated by nuclear (and chemical, radiological, biological, and explosive) contamination. But I have faith that we could still manage it, if we wanted to badly enough.
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So now whenever a poppy version of it is playing, I say, "You know, the original version is kind of sad. I wish they played that version more often," and people look at me like I'm CRAZY and say "But why would they write a sad Christmas song? Why would you be sad at Christmas?"
...oh, and I have always loved Christmas At Ground Zero. I read way too much scary nuclear holocaust SF as a kid and, well, it's just so cheerful.
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Have you encountered Tom Lehrer's We'll All Go Together (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frAEmhqdLFs) and So Long, Mom (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pklr0UD9eSo&feature=related)? They're my favorite cheery nuclear death songs ever!
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And oh yes, I have. Tom Lehrer was another childhood favorite, especially once my parents stopped being able to help me with math homework.