Leta Blake's Blog, page 101
December 11, 2012
Check out who made Melanie’s Best Of 2012 list at Joyfully Jay!
Whoooooot!!! Go Amelia! So pleased and proud of you! 
Check out who made Melanie’s Best Of 2012 list at Joyfully Jay!.
December 10, 2012
28 Days of Holiday Music: Day 9: Zombie Mrs. Christmas
by Stephen67
More upbeat songs from Tim Wheeler and Emmy the Great.
This one cracks me up. A divorce song from Mrs. Claus.
Source ZombieCider
And, yeah, this fits in with the zeitgeist, doesn’t it? A zombie Christmas. Ha!
28 Days of Holiday Music: Day 8: Marshmallow World & Snowflakes
Lord, I don’t know about y’all, but after the slow, sad songs of the last few days, I’m in need of some pep. Emmy the Great and Tim Wheeler deliver with the below! Enjoy!
December 9, 2012
Sufjan Stevens, The Christmas Unicorn
On Tuesday evening I went to Chattanooga to see one of my favorite artists, Sufjan Stevens. He just released a new Christmas album, Silver & Gold, and played a Christmas show for us! I had no idea he was even touring, but thankfully while I was out of town my friend, Ryne, texted me about it and picked up a ticket for me.
A Chattanooga show! Who knew?
28 Days of Holiday Music: Day 7: Lullay Lullay (Coventry Carol)
From Wikipedia:
The “Coventry Carol” is a Christmas carol dating from the 16th century. The carol was performed in Coventry in England as part of a mystery play called The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors. The play depicts the Christmas story from chapter two in the Gospel of Matthew. The carol refers to the Massacre of the Innocents, in which Herod ordered all male infants under the age of two in Bethlehem to be killed. The lyrics of this haunting carol represent a mother’s lament for her doomed child. It is the only carol that has survived from this play.
There are many versions out there, including one by Tori Amos, but this is my preferred version. Because it is creepy like it should be–especially near the end. Singing about the slaughter of innocents should be creepy.
December 8, 2012
28 Days of Holiday Music: Day 6: In the Bleak Midwinter
This version by Shawn Colvin has long been my favorite. I was considering posting other versions like I did yesterday with Fairytale of New York, but, no. This is my favorite version and I really don’t even enjoy most of the others I’ve heard because I keep thinking, “But Shawn Colvin’s is perfect.”
According to Wikipedia:
“In the Bleak Midwinter” is a Christmas carol based on a poem by the English poet Christina Rossetti written before 1872 in response to a request from the magazine Scribner’s Monthly for a Christmas poem. It was published posthumously in Rossetti’s Poetic Works in 1904 and became a Christmas carol after it appeared in The English Hymnal in 1906 with a setting by Holst.
Also, some people take their carols very seriously, my friends:
Hymnologist and theologian Ian Bradley has questioned the poem’s theology: “Is it right to say that heaven cannot hold God, nor the earth sustain, and what about heaven and earth fleeing away when he comes to reign?”
But have no fear!
However I Kings 8.27, in Solomon’s prayer of dedication of the Temple, says: “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you.” Regarding “heaven and earth fleeing away”, many New Testament apocalyptic passages use such language, such as II Peter 3. 10-11: “The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire… That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” So Rosetti is wholly biblical except, perhaps, for the description of snow and frost at the birth of Christ, which owes more to Dickensian tradition than to the New Testament!
Also, I had no idea this poem/song was by Christina Rosetti. I’m rather fond of the Rosetti siblings, if I do say so myself. Learn something new every day!
December 7, 2012
28 Days of Holiday Music: Day 5: A Winter’s Carol & Fanwork Friday
For the month of December, I’m going to combine Fanwork Friday and my Holiday Music fest. The first example is this wonderful video by Hikaru77 featuring the song “A Winter’s Carol” from Midwinter Graces combined with footage from the 2002 film Snow Queen to make this really gorgeous fanvid.
Day Five
As a bonus, PS 22 Chorus performed this back in 2009. Those kids are always inspiring! Check them out!
December 6, 2012
28 Days of Holiday Music: Day 4: Fairytale of New York (Variations)
Everyone knows the Pogues song, but here are some (more or less) great covers from a variety of folks.
Yes, this is The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend because this song is awesome! But more importantly–how did I not know thtat this existed? All of these Venture Bros Christmas songs!
You can buy the next one by Stars HERE.
And more versions of Fairytale of New York are here at this YouTube playlist. Tons of them!
December 5, 2012
28 Days of Holiday Music: Day 3: Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Back in 1998, you couldn’t find this recording very easily. It was on a UK single called Spark Pt 1 to promote the album From the Choirgirl Hotel. Back then, you had to scour CD stores for it. Now you can buy it used on Amazon for $80 or listen to it for free on YouTube, or buy the tracks for a dollar apiece as .mp3s. Oh, the life of the pre-internet music fan! I remember finding it and being so incredibly thrilled. Ah, good memories. [Edit: Further investigation shows that Amazon prices might be a bit high, since Ebay has most of these singles listed between $2.00 and $19.00 depending on various particulars of the item.]
There were two Christmas-themed b-sides on that single Purple People (Christmas in Space) and this one that I’m featuring today.
Day Three
Some music trivia for you–this recording was featured in a Roswell episode back in the day. The coolness factor of that depends on how you feel about Roswell, I suppose.
