Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

Bet you thought I forgot about my Beatles-related Christmas song series, didn't you? Well I didn't.

Today's installment is going to feature and assortment of goodies (since the holindaze got a bit busy and I am behind).

First, an obvious one "Happy Christmas (War Is Over" by John Lennon and Yoko Ono



The song was released as a single by John and Yoko and the Plastic Ono Band in 1971. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at #2 on the UK charts.

The lyric is based on a campaign in late 1969 by Lennon and Ono, who rented billboards and posters in eleven cities around the world that read: "WAR IS OVER! (If You Want It) Happy Christmas from John and Yoko". The cities included New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Rome, Athens, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Helsinki. At the time of the song's release, the US was deeply entrenched in the unpopular Vietnam War. The line "War is over, if you want it, war is over, now!", as sung by the background vocals, was taken directly from the billboards.

The childrens choir in the background consisted of kids from the Harlem Community Choir and they are credited on the single.

This song has (rightly) become a holiday standard and has been covered by everyone from Celine Dion and Sarah McLachlan to Maroon 5, 'N Sync and Andy Williams (!) We even heard it as part of one of the Christmas shows at Busch Gardens Williamsburg's Christmas Town this year. That being said, it always bothers me a bit when people cover the song and leave the "War Is Over" portion of the lyrics out and replace them either with "ahhs" or instrumentals. Especially in times (as now) when the U.S. is engaged in 2 wars overseas. Still this is probably the best of the Beatles' solo Christmas songs and I am glad that others recognize that (even if they try to de-politicize it). I stand before you an unabashed peace-nik and think the song is better with its message intact.

On a much lighter note, here are 2 audio rarities. They feature tracks by Paul McCartney that only appeared as snippets on the Beatles Fan Club Christmas Records. They were originally released as flexi discs to members of the Beatles' UK fan club. Each year from 1963 to 1969, the Beatles had recorded a short Christmas message for their fans, composed of carols, skits, jokes, and thanks to the loyal "Beatle People".

Herewith, McCartney's contribution to the 1968 edition in its entirety:


It's basically an improvisation with guitar and for all that it is pretty catchy. Certainly not deep or anything or on a level with Lennon's 1971 Happy Xmas release but fun.

And here is McCartney's contribution to the 1969 edition (also the last Beatles Christmas Record made):


This is even MORE slight and improvisatory, but Paul's melodic talents make it worthwhile, I think.

More later this week ... !

It's Not Christmas Without...David Letterman's Christmas Episode!

There are a few Holiday movies, specials, episodes, etc, that RigbyMel and I simply must watch every year.

One of our favorite ongoing TV Christmas traditions is the annual Christmas episode of The Late Show With David Letterman.

One recurring Holiday bit is band leader Paul Shaffer’s hilarious impersonation of Cher singing "O Holy Night," which he began performing in 1983 on Letterman’s old NBC show.  For many years, I had only heard the Shaffer version.  But a clip of the song from The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour recently showed up on dvd and youtube.  It originally aired on December 19, 1973, the special guest that week was actor William Conrad, who sings "The First Noel" in the same scene (and don't miss Terri Garr in this scene, she was a regular back-up singer & dancer on Sonny And Cher). 

I always enjoyed Cher's work in comedy sketches with Sonny, but this is not her finest moment.  Here it is, if you find the “Holiday medley” unbearable, go to the 3:55 mark in the video to hear "O Holy Night":

And here’s Shaffer imitating Cher singing "O Holy Night," from 1998:

Another Letterman show tradition is Darlene Love’s performance of her classic song "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)". The song was first released in 1963, Letterman calls it his favorite Christmas song of the Rock Era, and it’s one of my favorites as well.

Love began performing the song on Late Night  in 1986 and in recent year's she's become a permanent fixture on Letterman's last show before Christmas.  Here’s Love's 2008 Late Show appearance:

Darlene Love returns to ‘The Late Show’ on Thursday, December 23, don’t miss it!

Two Rarely Seen 'Simpsons' Christmas short toons

As I mentioned in an earlier review, ‘The Simpsons’ has given us quite a few Christmas-related episodes over the past 20 years. Our review of last night’s episode is forthcoming, but I’ve recently discovered two ‘Simpsons’ Christmas rarities.

The first clip comes from a 1988 episode of ‘Tracy Ullman Show’, where the Simpsons got their start in short interstitial cartoons. Thanks to Joanna @ the Christmas TV Companion blog for finding this one!

The second clip is simply titled ‘The Simpsons Christmas Message’. This aired in the UK back in 2004. Gotta love the “British-centric” jokes and Homer’s Father Christmas suit.

Eight Crazy Nights

Eight Crazy Nights

Originally released November 27, 2002

Directed by Seth Kearsley

And now we have our first Hanukkah review.

In the town of Dukesberry, New Hampshire, local drunk Davey Stone (Adam Sandler), described by the narrator as a “33 year-old crazy Jewish guy", leaves a restaurant without paying his tab, goes on a drunken rampage and ends up in a high-speed chase that results in the destruction of Dukesberry’s Christmas and Hanukkah displays. Davey is about to be sent to prison when his old basketball coach Whitey Duvall(also voiced by Sandler) comes forward and begs the judge to give Davey one more chance and sentence him to community service. The judge agrees and Davey becomes Whitey’s assistant youth basketball coach.

Later, Davey’s trailer burns down, so he’s forced to move in with Whitey and his sister Eleanore (voiced by, you guessed it, Sandler).

Davey spends most of the rest of the movie belittling and abusing Whitey & Eleanore…blah blah blah…(SPOILER ALERT!) he gets redeemed at the end, reforms himself and lives happily ever after with his childhood sweetheart Jennifer Friedman. That’s all that needs to be said about it.

JA Morris says:

Let me begin by saying Adam Sandler's ‘The Hanukkah Song’ is one of my favorite “modern” Holiday songs. I’ve bought two versions of the song and played it at every office Holiday party I’ve organized. I even have a “karaoke” version of the song. So I was excited when I first heard that an animated feature length movie was being made based on the song. I also don’t mind “gross-out” humor when it’s done right.

This was not only one of the worst holiday-themed movies I’ve ever seen, it’s one of the worst I’ve ever seen full stop. The movie opens with Davey committing multiple felonies. After he avoids prison time and gets a second chance, he makes fun of an obese child, knocks down a port-a-john while an old man is inside (yes, he winds up covered in excrement, which is eaten off him by some reindeer) and breaks into a mall before he has a moment of clarity, admits he's an alcoholic and shows he’s really not so bad after all. Actually, Davey IS bad, the filmmakers just want us to think he’s not so bad. But Davey is one of the most unsympathetic “protagonists” you’ll ever see in a movie.

In the middle of the story, we learn that Davey is such a repulsive human being because his parents died in a car accident when he was a kid, which led to his drinking problem and life of crime. But by this time in the story, Davey has been presented as irredeemably bad, so giving him dead parents doesn’t build any sympathy for him.

Lots of Holiday films & specials end with a villain coming to their senses, seeing the error of their ways and reforming (The Grinch and The Bumble from ‘Rudolph’ being obvious examples). I believe in rehabilitation, but Davey Stone is a walking obscenity, utterly without redeeming social value, his “change of heart” can’t be taken seriously. He doesn’t deserve a “happy ending” with Jennifer, he should have gone to prison.

‘Eight Crazy Nights’ also has some of the most annoying usage of Product Placements I’ve ever seen. Corporate logos in the backgrounds (in some cases the foregrounds too!) of just about every scene. During one of the musical numbers, logos even come to life and sing!

Speaking of musical numbers, there are several forgettable new songs in this film, sung by the likes of Allison Krauss and Ann Wilson (singer for the band Heart), who deserve better material. 'The Hanukkah Song' does not show up at all during the movie, only plays over the closing credits.

Avoid this at all costs. Listen to ‘The Hanukkah Song’ again instead of watching this.

We have our first ever lump of coal.

RigbyMel says:This movie is a steaming pile of reindeer poop! ‘Nuff said.