A Christmas Yuleblog

Here's a telling quote from my yuleblog entry two days ago: "It's hard to find newer obscurer new releases in a town of 225,000 (like Fort Wayne). You don't find many stores stocking their shelves the way they do like in New York, Indianapolis, or Chicago." Case in point: Billy Idol released a Christmas album last year. On our family trip to Chicago a month ago, I found this title in nearly every store I visited (with the hefty $25 price tag attached). Every music store in Fort Wayne didn't carry the album. One clerk awoke from his slacker haze long enough to look shocked and state dismissively "Billy Idol didn't record a Christmas album, man!" For a collector, living in a medium-to-small town can be rough. For a Christmas music collector whose time window is three months out of the year, it's disastrous. However the Borders store in Fort Wayne really stepped up this year. Their well organized Christmas section was the first goo...

Sherlock Holmes used to say "when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable , must be the truth." This Christmas CD was given to me by Santa Claus. Serious. It was found inside my stocking hung by the chimney with care on Christmas morning. I had stuffed all the stockings the night before (including mine) and knew what was in each before heading to bed. This was the only CD not found under the tree. It wasn't on any of my lists, no one in my family (wife / kids / in-laws / friends) has stepped up to claim responsibility, and I cannot offer any rational explanation on how it got into my stocking. Applying Sherlock's theory, Santa delivered this to me when he made his rounds on Christmas Eve. I'm sticking by this story. Christian rock music is barely a generation old. Starting in the early 1970s, it has evolved many times. From pioneers like Larry Norman and Randy Stonehill and their folk/rock sounds of the 1970s to th...

This dazzling CD was a gift from my son Alex for Christmas. It was the first time he ever ordered anything from Amazon ! It's hard to find newer obscurer new releases in a town of 225,000 (like Fort Wayne). You don't find many stores stocking their shelves the way they do like in New York, Indianapolis, or Chicago. Try explaining that to a seven year old with a list. I'm not sure why Alex picked this particular CD but my hunch is that since his oldest sister picked a "snow princess" like Peggy Lee , he had to pick something masculine and went with the only male artist on my list. When he saw a cowboy on the cover, it was a done deal. A few clicks of the mouse, the order was in, and Alex was exhausted from shopping. On Christmas morning, I opened this CD and thanked my son for his gift. I asked him if he knew who Gene Autry was. "Dad, he's a COWBOY!!!" was all I got and he went back to playing with his gifts. Not just a cowboy, son. Gene...

One morning last month over breakfast, my wife asked our kids what they wanted to give me for Christmas. In between bites of their cereal, my two oldest responded "Christmas CDs". I could hear my wife rolling her eyes in the next room. There was a time when my family actively tried to buy Christmas CDs for me. It reached a point several years back when almost every CD they put into my stocking I already owned or bought. Out of frustration they began handing me gift cards and that was that. Not wanting to disappoint the kids, my wife asked me for a list of CDs that I would want - bless my wife's heart! I quickly typed out a list of CDs that I knew I wanted then headed over to Randy's Rodeo where I saw a list of new releases for the 2006 Christmas season. One of those titles on the list was this Peggy Lee CD you see before you. I already own Peggy's classic 1990 Christmas CD entitled " Christmas Carousel " and figured most of the tracks on tha...

We were quite lucky with our haul of Christmas CDs here at the yuleblog. Twenty two (22) brand new CDs - the most ever by gift or purchase in one Christmas season - are sitting on my desk, ready to be studied, reviewed, and presented over the next few weeks. Joel's going to be so happy with my first selection. Several years ago, I met Joel at my first audition for the local theater group I'm involved with here in Fort Wayne. He was my first stage director, got all my jokes, and quickly became a fast friend. Over the past two years, I've helped Joel in many different ways - building / painting sets, operating the sound or light board, hanging lights (very low on my ladder of things I like), and assembling sound designs for several shows. If you were to ask Joel about how I've helped him, he'll probably tell you about the time he was lunching at an Italian restaurant with a friend. A certain song sung in Italian was playing as they lunched and quickly got s...

This is the last of four Christmas CDs that I received at our P.O. Box by someone in the music industry. When this arrived in early December, my first thought was "Wow! That's some impressive homemade compilation!" It came attached with a handwritten note that read: "Hey Capt - Thanks for giving " Snowflake " props! I love that record! DBryk" During the mad rush of the 2006 downloading season, this CD regrettably got lost in the shuffle and I didn't give it the full attention it deserves until now. Dan Bryk is an "indie-rock" singer slash songwriter originally from Toronto, Canada, and currently based in the sprawling Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill (“Triangle”) North Carolina music scene. Growing up, Dan's musical influences were Elvis Costello, Burt Bacharach, and Randy Newman (I thought I sensed a Newman connection). He's been recording for nearly 12 years since his first album "Dan Bryk - Asshole" was release...

This was the third Christmas CD sent to our P.O. Box by someone in the music industry. Sean of Double Crown Records contacted us here at the yuleblog on November 3rd in a comment page: "My label, Double Crown Records, has just reissued a Christmas CD that I put out 6 years ago. Do you ever do CD reviews? If so, I'd love to send a copy to you." He left a long description of the album and where to buy it at which I felt was using my site to help sell his album. I removed the comment from the yuleblog, e-mailed my reasons for doing so stating "that I would give a fair, objective review" upon receiving the CD. Sean agreed and sent the CD to us... It arrived and I promptly reviewed it at FaLaLaLaLa last year: "Back in 2000, Double Crown Records released this CD that featured sixteen Christmas songs done by various surf n’ garage bands. The CD proved so popular that it sold out its entire first pressing. Six years later, it’s back! The folks at Doub...

This was the second Christmas CD sent to our P.O. Box by someone in the music industry. The Jingle Punx started out as a joke between friends that quickly became a under the radar band that has released FIVE full Christmas punk albums. This led to a cult following on the web via their own website and their MySpace site , having their music played on MTV's "Laguna Beach", FX's "Nip/Tuck", and a recent blast over the German TV airwaves ! I reviewed this CD over at FaLaLaLaLa last year and to quote: "From the first notes of their bodyslamming version of "Joy To The World" to the gritty voice of Ana Isabel (of the band Goodbye Gadget ) singing "Santa Baby" to a remarkable cover of Run DMC’s classic "Christmas In Hollis", the Punx never forget rule number one: have fun while rocking it out. "That rule comes blaring across your speakers in full throttle! "Every Christmas music collection should have at le...

For the remainder of this holiday week, I will be featuring CDs that I received at my P.O. Box from professionals in the music industry. This was the very first to arrive - back in early November of last year. A staff member (whose name I shall protect like Bob Woodward did for Deep Throat) for Filter Magazine decided to send me a promo copy of this CD - thank you for your generosity! I had already purchased this CD when it arrived on shelves last October (my wife willingly gave me money to buy this one - WOW!). Upon seeing the second CD arrive in the mail, my wife claimed her very own copy. This was also one of the CDs I had a chance to review over at FaLaLaLaLa a few weeks ago. To quote: "She waited three years to record a new album. Thankfully for all of us, it was a Christmas album! "The twelve Christmas songs get the full McLachlan / Pierre Marchand treatment - ambient echoes, soft distortion, folk & tribal elements, the piano and astounding voice of ...

Hello! Welcome to our second year here at the yuleblog! We hope you had a great holiday season! To first time visitors - thanks for stopping by! To long time readers who'll admit to that - welcome back! Capt

Remember, if you do this: Don't do this: Otherwise, you're going to look like this: Or this: Maybe even this: Or even worse: Have a better 2007 everyone! Look for new reviews starting tomorrow! Capt

My home at Christmas, 2003 I expect today will be the quietest day here at the yuleblog. So if you're reading this on Christmas Day, thanks for looking in and we wish you a very Merry Christmas! We hope Santa brought you everything on your list this year! We won't be open tomorrow for exchanges or returns. Nope. Not even open for business. We're taking the rest of the year off. It's going to take more than a week to sort through the massive amount of downloaded material we've compiled here at the yuleblog. At last count, we have over 160 complete albums we've downloaded through the sharity network. Add in the 50 odd Christmas comps sent to the yuleblog via our PO Box or downloaded on the net, and all of the Christmas CDs I purchased during this month and the ones I'll receive as Christmas gifts... There's only so many days on the calendar! Adding this to the pile doesn't count: This is my Christmas gift to you. Not exactly a "best of"...

Early this Christmas morning, we lost a true pioneer in music. James Brown passed away at the age of 73 after a battle with prolonged pnuemonia. To honor his memory, I offer this classic Christmas song: James Brown - Merry Christmas, I Love You We loved you James... Dazzle them angels with your moves! Capt

It's Christmas Eve... the whole world is settling down for tomorrow - one day of "peace on earth" (subject to change). There are a lot of thoughts running through my mind - most of which will be covered in tomorrow's post. I want to share with you a story I wrote several years ago. Some have read this, many have not. This includes several members of my family who are looking in for the first time. I hope you'll enjoy it. Originally published at FaLaLaLaLa.com on November 29, 2004: December, 1982 wasn't starting very well for many people. It had been a rough year with the economy and recession the way it was. No one knew that better than a middle aged woman standing in line at the gas company, ready to plead for leniency so she could continue to heat her home. Paying bills was all brand new to her since the divorce and she was barely staying afloat. Her 4th oldest son sat quietly in the waiting area, reading a book and secretly wishing the ga...

This is it - the second of three posts on Christmas Eve and the last shared LP of the year! Boy, have I saved the worst for last! Err... that's best for worst! Wait... I meant to say best for least! No... it should be least for worst! Darn it... I've saved the least for last... ARGH! THE BEST FOR LAST!!! Don't count on it. Can you believe that this is the photo shopped clean version of the album cover? Someone must have used this in their garage under their engine when they changed the oil - it was that bad. The album was in great shape though. And regardless of what you might be thinking about this album, fear not. Tammy Faye Bakker (now Messner) only has ONE song on the whole album and the only contribution Jim Bakker made to this album was the back cover notes and an executive producer credit to his name. The rest of the album is performed by one time members of the PTL family in its heyday. To some, it's your standard 1980s teleevangelist type of album - u...

I wasn't going to share this album out because who needs another Christmas organ music LP? This album and I have a long history. I found it earlier this year when I located just the record alone at a local Goodwill store. The album cover turned up much later. The front cover was in great shape. The back was hideous. Watermarks, coffee mug rings, a small food stain... was it food? It took me forever to clean it up in Photoshop. Why all this for a Christmas organ album? When you see the name "Sy Mann" on the back cover, you tend to overlook little details like coffee and food stains! For those who don't know who Sy Mann is, let me quote from a review I did back in August of an album I got last Christmas from our friend Ernie at his incredible blog Ernie (not Bert) (which he just upgraded to STEREO ! WOW!): "But organ music in the hands of Sy Mann, then it becomes something that deserves special attention. If the name Sy Mann sounds familiar, that's ...

Who's Pat O'Brien? (For those who know, please feel free to skip ahead). Pat O'Brien was an actor whose work for Warner Brothers back in the 1930s and 1940s is legendary. He appeared eight times together with Jimmy Cagney; most notably in " Angels With Dirty Faces " in 1938. Two years later, he was forever immortalized in " Knute Rockne All-American " playing the lead role. Remember Ronald Reagan saying "win one for the Gipper?" This is it! My personal favorite role of O'Brien's came many years later in 1959. He played the Chicago cop who tracked down George Raft (and Tony Curtis & Jack Lemmon to a degree) in " Some Like It Hot ". By the late 1950s, movie roles for O'Brien were scarce. He began appearing on television quite regularly in westerns, drama anthologies, and the like. In 1964, O'Brien scored a television special entitled "Here Pat O'Brien" which featured him singing and recit...