Asleep on a Sunbeam

[vovat]

Here's a music meme that I got from annamatic:

Put your music player on shuffle and answer the questions with the titles of the songs that come up in order.


IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Devil's Airship (They get REALLY annoyed when I do that.)

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
The Wheel and the Maypole

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Backstabbin' (Wow, I must be a glutton for punishment in relationships.)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Father (for Pierre Trudeau)

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Pancake (That's a pretty strange motto, isn't it? Tasty, though!)

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
It Falls Apart (What, our friendships?)

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
They Might Be Giants (Okay, that's actually true.)

WHAT IS 2+2?
Honest Woman

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Rat Patrol

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LOVE?
Bust Out

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Philosophy

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Saints (Don't you have to perform miracles to be eligible for that position?)

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU ARE IN LOVE WITH?
John Lee Supertaster

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Aurora Bridge

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Ten Feet Tall (Actually, I've already had my wedding, and didn't dance at all.)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
She's So (Even though I'm not a girl?)

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
June Gloom

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
I'm the Guy (So my gender is a secret?)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Looking for the Good Times

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Happy Phantom (No, I think being a SAD phantom would be worse.)

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Randy Scouse Git (So I'm going to be killed by a horny Liverpudlian? What a way to go!)

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Sorry I Fucked Up the Show (Well, yeah, I guess I WOULD regret that.)

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Threshold Apprehension

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
My Son, the Vampire (Hey, wouldn't YOU cry if your offspring were one of the undead?)

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Evolution Time

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
The Check's in the Mail

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Purple People (Hey, thanks for liking me, purple people!)

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Sunny Afternoon (So what? I'd make it rain?)

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Sunday Under Glass (Maybe if it's BROKEN glass.)

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Asleep on a Sunbeam


While I'm on the topic of music, I was thinking today of something that usually comes to my mind at this time of year, which is how many songs have come to fall under the umbrella of "Christmas music" even when they don't mention Christmas. Some of them are really just winter songs, like "Winter Wonderland," "Jingle Bells," "Sleigh Ride"...heck, even "Frosty the Snowman," although the cartoon worked Santa and Christmas into the narrative. I was thinking "O Tannenbaum" might be a song that only has Christmas content in English translation ("Tannenbaum" just means "fir tree," after all), but I looked up the German lyrics and they mention Christmas in one of the later verses. Even odder is how "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music gets played at Christmastime, when its original context has nothing to do with the winter holidays. Yeah, a few of Maria's favorite things include sleigh bells, snowflakes, and brown paper packages tied up with strings, but there are also a lot of un-winterish ones. And while I haven't confirmed this, my mom told me that "We Need a Little Christmas" (which is from Mame, I believe) was actually sung in the summer. So even though it IS about Christmas, it's kind of odd to play it in December.

Comments

[slfcllednowhere.livejournal.com]

While I'm on the topic of music, I was thinking today of something that usually comes to my mind at this time of year, which is how many songs have come to fall under the umbrella of "Christmas music" even when they don't mention Christmas.

I know right? I've thought about that too (especially since I have to listen to Christmas music EIGHT HOURS A DAY now). Also, did you know that the original lyrics of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is actually way darker and sadder? It's all about how they can't be together with the people they love and they hope maybe they will next year, but the version they play is all sanitized.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think I remember hearing the more depressing lyrics in 2001. That's the version with "until then we'll try to muddle through somehow" instead of the line about the shining star, right?

[slfcllednowhere.livejournal.com]

Yep. And instead of all the "from now on our troubles will be out of sight" stuff it's all "next year."

[suegypt.livejournal.com]

Judy Garland sings it in Meet Me in St. Louis, to Margaret O'Brien, and they're both practically sobbing through the whole thing. I prefer a couple of instrumental versions of this, cause it's such a beautiful tune. Makes me think of my father. In fact, it's one of the few wistful Christmas songs (I'll Be Home For Christmas, from WWII).

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I've always kind of thought the title of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" implied being by yourself during the holiday, even though the song also mentions "faithful friends who are dear to us."

[suegypt.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the title itself can almost sound like "HYAMLC, go ahead, I don't give a f@ck!" too!

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Not to mention that "yourself" is right there in the title.

By the way, you know what other Christmas song is depressing? The one they play at the beginning of A Charlie Brown Christmas.

[suegypt.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know, "Christmastime is Here" *sniff* The lyrics are kinda wistful. To me, that's not depressing, since feeling a pang that makes me cry can actually be appreciated as depression relief.

The Charlie Brown tune that kinda gets my boo-hoo going is on that album (Vince Guaraldi), but not in the TV special, called "My Little Drum," kind of a take off on the Little Drummer Boy, but not nearly so sappy. The kids' vocals get me every time.

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

I don't KNOW if this is true, but I THINK the "My Favorite Things" being played at Christmas time traces itself to the (I think its) Sam Cooke Christmas Album from the 60s which my parents have and was apparently quite popular, and I guess because it was on the Christmas Album people played it at Christmas, and then as other people associated it with that album they ALSO started covering it as a Christmas song. Or another theory could be that some network always used to broadcast The Sound of Music at Christmas (even though NONE of it takes place in winter) and people made the association, but then I don't know why they wouldn't have picked up "The Lonely Goatherd" or something instead. So the first explanation seems the more likely one.

When I was in elementary school we had "clubs" that met once a week for a nine-week grading period each, and in the 2nd quarter of 3rd grade I was in Christmas Caroling club. But since there were about 3 weeks left of the second quarter AFTER Christmas vacation, we spent those weeks singing all the Winter-but-not-necessarily-Christmas songs. That was the first I ever actually heard the song "Suzy Snowflake" actually.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I seem to recall seeing The Sound of Music on TV around Easter at one point. Doesn't mean they don't also show it around Christmas, though.

I don't think I've ever heard "Suzy Snowflake," actually.

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

That's okay, it's a dumb song anyway.

I think I've also seen Sound of Music on TV around Thanksgiving. And it takes place primarily in the summertime. Anyway.

[yosef.livejournal.com]

Yep, "We Need a Little Christmas" is from Mame. In its lyrics, Mame's nephew, Patrick, says it's "one week till Thanksgiving Day now." I guess these days that might actually be considered Christmastime, but I think that part of the musical takes place in 1929. The reason they (Mame, Patrick, Patrick's caretaker and the butler) sing the song is because they're all feeling so depressed about losing everything from their New York mansion. If only that actually solved people's problems, maybe we wouldn't be having all this bailout controversy.