In our last post of 2020, the most miserably misbegotten of years, the gang at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog wishes a Merry Christmas to all. Batting leadoff: the great Chicago tenor saxophonist Gene Ammons. Sounds like Gene is teamed with frequent collaborator Dexter Gordon for double holiday cheer on this super swingin' rendition of "Jingle Bells."
Another great of 20th century pop culture, Christopher Lee, loved Christmas songs and heavy metal - and combined the genres quite well.
As my family traditions at this point have evolved into a hybrid Christmashanukkah, Chanukahchristmas, Christmaschanukah or Hannukahchristmas, the following two songs are most apropo. Always enjoy hearing them. Thanks, Tom! Thanks, Adam!
When it comes to holiday traditions, polka rockstars Yosh & Stan Schmenge of The Happy Wanderers show us how to do Christmas right.
The following Capitol Records compilation of great songs for the holidays will always be a personal favorite, even given that nowadays hearing this gets me a bit choked up, as I think of family members who are no longer with us. . . Boy, do I miss them!
As always, we're suckers for holiday-related cartoons here at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog. Here's a terrific one from Great Britain's John Halas and Joy Batchelor studio.
Indeed, we love Christmas cartoons. The following 1933 Popeye the Sailor opus is about as Christmasy as getting hit hard with a shovel in the face from Bluto, but remains enjoyable just the same. It even includes Oliye Oyl stranded on the ice floes a la Lillian Gish in D.W. Griffith's epic Way Down East. The inimitable William "Red Pepper Sam" Costello version of Popeye saying "this is a day for peace on oyth" always cracks me up, every time.
At least Popeye in Seasin's Greetinks is a lot more Christmasy than the following Famous Studios opus starring Herman & Katnip, key predecessors of The Itchy & Scratchy Show, in which the unfortunate, unkempt, un-graceful and ungainly Katnip ends up strung up with lights like a Christmas tree and plugged into the wall socket while Herman's irritating mousey pals sing "Merry Christmas To You" irritatingly. One sincerely hopes Fred Rogers never saw this cartoon.
Thrilled to still be drawing breath almost a year into a raging global pandemic. Sincerely hope that there is an end in sight, commencing at the point when the grownups (we hope) officially take over from the toddlers next year.
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