Andy Cirzan Joins Sound Opinions for Its Annual Holiday Spectacular

One of my annual holiday traditions is to piggyback on the longstanding holiday tradition of the fabulous Sound Opinions show and celebrate the holiday tradition of concert promoter Andy Cirzan (a/k/a DJ LoFi), who's been putting together one of the most widely-anticipated holiday compilations for more than 20 years. Sound Opinions is a weekly Chicago-based rock talk show broadcast for years on public radio station WBZE. Hosted by Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot, it is now independently produced. Cirzan is the program's special guest each December for its annual holiday spectacular, featuring a wild mix of offbeat and largely overlooked holiday tunes from a wide variety of genres.

While it seems difficult to believe, I didn't know anything about Andy Cirzan or his incredible holiday compilations until several years after I started making my own. I say that not because mine offer anything close to the levels of quality and originality Andy achieves but rather because we seem to favor some of the same unusual qualities in our holiday music fare. I freely admit that I've cribbed off Andy's mixes rather generously over the years, and I'm grateful to him and so many other enthusiasts for introducing me to some of the terrific material out there.

This year's Sound Opinions Holiday Spectacular is another great one, featuring tracks from Cirzan's latest holiday compilation as well as a number of lesser known holiday hits, a batch of unbelievable vintage Korean psychedelic tunes, and a brief clip from an orchestral holiday piece created in the 1960s by Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. You can enjoy the show by way of the link below.

Listen to the 2021 Sound Opinions Holiday Spectacular

British Newsreel Highlights Boston's Enchanted Village

A few days ago I happened to ask my brother if he remembers visiting the Enchanted Village holiday display at Jordan Marsh's department store in Boston when we were kids. We lived about 20 miles west of Boston during the 1960s and '70s, and I have vivid memories of standing in line for what seemed like hours to see the Enchanted Village and meet Santa. Unfortunately, my brother, who's a few years younger than me, has no memories of this holiday tradition. But this morning I woke up in California to an email from him in Maine with a link to a British newsreel story about the Enchanted Village:

The Enchanted Village was created in a small German town and purchased by Jordan Marsh shortly after World War II. It took up an entire floor of Jordan Marsh's flagship store in Boston and was wildly popular for many years. Of course, good things rarely last forever, and this attraction eventually came to be seen as too old-fashioned for the times, so it was put into storage in 1972. 

Following Macy's acquisition of Jordan Marsh in 1992, the Enchanted Village was sold to the City of Boston and  displayed for several years in City Hall Plaza and the Hynes Convention Center. Unable to maintain the display, the City put it up for auction in 2009, when it was purchased by Jordan's Furniture, a regional chain whose tagline used to be "Not to be confused with Jordan Marsh."  The display is now set up for all to see each holiday season in Jordan's store in Avon, Massachusetts. Admission is free, and guests can purchase Jordan Marsh's old-fashioned blueberry muffins while they wait.

My brother and his family are thinking of visiting Jordan's later this month. Good to see that some holiday traditions continue. 

Watch a tribute to the Enchanted Village and Its history

Tag along on a 2021 visit to the Enchanted Village with Lylah Gomes

SNL Cancels Planned Christmas Special Due to Alarming Spike in NYC COVID Cases

Plans for the annual Saturday Night Live Christmas show were scrapped just hours before air time last night due to concerns about exploding COVID infection rates in New York City over the past several days. All but two of the show's regular cast were sent home along with musical guest Charli XCX, many of the crew and the entire studio audience. In its place, the show's producers cobbled together a replacement show featuring Tom Hanks, Tina Fey, scheduled host Paul Rudd and regular cast members Kenan Thompson and Michael Che. 

In place of the sketches the cast had been working on all week, the show ran videos of the dress rehearsals of several sketches, an improvised "Weekend Update" featuring Tina Fey and Michael Che, and clips from previous shows selected by special guest hosts Fey and Hanks. The two guests were on hand to recognize Rudd for joining SNL's Five-Timers Club, which consists of those who have hosted the program five times or more. Rudd was scheduled to host the show for the fifth time last night. Fey has hosted SNL six times and Hanks, who founded the Five-Timers Club in 1990, has hosted ten times.

As his selected sketch, Tom Hanks selected a clip from a show he hosted in 1990 — that's 31 years ago, folks. It was the Global Warming Holiday Special, in which Hanks played the favorite artist from my latest holiday mix, Dean Martin. Unfortunately, the grinches at SNL have taken the sketch down, so I've posted a sketch a fan subsequently posted that describes the sketch as best they can. The truth is, I didn't think it was all that funny anyway.

 

Chance the Rapper Joins Kenan Thompson to Mark the Last Christmas Under Obama

Each Saturday during the Christmas season we try to post a vintage Saturday Night Live holiday sketch to delight and entertain. Today's sketch is from December 17, 2016, and it features musical guest Chance the Rapper and veteran cast member Kenan Thompson marking the last Christmas of the Obama presidency.

Be a Santa, Part 7

Track 23
Here Comes Santa Claus, Mrs. Miller (2020) 

A lot of strange things took place in the 1960s, and among the strangest bits of pop cultural history was the discovery and modest success of musical artist Elva Ruby Miller, a Missouri native known to millions simply as "Mrs. Miller." Her popularity, such as it was, came not from any innate talents or musical knowledge, but rather for her shrill and off-tempo renditions of numerous pop classics. She was, in other words, so bad she was good — something we routinely celebrate in these parts, to which our 15+ years of holiday mixes will attest.

Mrs. Miller was discovered in the early 1960s by radio DJ Gary Owens, who later became semi-famous himself as the announcer for Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Her first album, playfully titled "Mrs. Miller's Greatest Hits," was released in 1966 on Capitol Records, selling over 250,000 copies within its first three weeks on the shelves. Her first single, "Downtown," actually made the Billboard singles chart. Subsequent albums included "Will Success Spoil Mrs. Miller," "The Country Soul of Mrs. Miller," and "Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing." Somehow along the way, however, this musical juggernaut ran out of gas and Mrs. Miller officially retired in 1973. She died at Garden Terrace Retirement Center, in Vista, California, in 1997, at the age of 89.

You might think that would have been the end of the Mrs. Miller story, but no. In fact, right in the middle of 2020, among the most challenging years in recent memory, the folks at Ship to Shore Records discovered a collection of holiday tunes recorded by Mrs. Miller but never released. Well, before you could say "Capitol Records," those same folks pulled together and released a "new" album of Mrs. Miller tunes called "A Christmas Gift from Mrs. Miller" — just when we needed them most.

This release includes eight holiday classics and eleven "stocking stuffers" — non-Christmas tunes that can brighten your days all year long. The whole album is a delight, but of the stocking stuffers I like the naughtiest ones the best:  "The Weekend of a Private Secretary," "I Said No," and "She Had to Go and Lose It at the Astor." Of course, I've got the holiday tunes on my frequently played list.

Listen to "Here Comes Santa Claus," by Mrs. Miller

Watch Mrs. Miller perform "Downtown" on the Merv Griffin Show 

Listen to Mrs. Miller's Great Nephew Introducing "A Christmas Gift from Mrs. Miller" on WFMU's The World's Worst Records Radio Show

Track 22

Merry Christmas, Baby, Mae West (1966)

Mae West was big a little before my time (believe it or not), so she's not someone I think about very often. Moreover, she was born around the same time as my grandmother so listening to her bawdy comments feels a little too twisted, even for me. Of course, I'm certainly familiar with her album of holiday renditions, which was released in 1966 as "Wild Christmas" and subsequently repackaged in several versions, each with different covers. I have to say I don't enjoy her songs very much. I always get the uncomfortable sense that some fast-talking grifter talked her into humiliating herself so he could score a couple of quick bucks. Also, I'm not so keen about her obvious trolling for expensive gifts, which is especially apparent in "Put the Loot in the Boot," another West classic that I used in my special "Hooray for Santa Claus" mix in 2007.

"Merry Christmas Baby," is one of Bruce Springsteen's go-to Christmas songs. For my money, the Boss kicks Mae West's ass on this tune.

Listen to Merry Christmas Baby, by Mae West

Watch Bruce Springsteen Perform Merry Christmas Baby on the Conan O'Brien Show

Track 21

Free Christmas Ornaments from Ivory Snow, Procter & Gamble (1956)

I'm not sure there's too much to say about this one over and above what's in the clip itself. You may notice that the version I included on this year's mix is a little shorter than the original, as I've trimmed a few lines for the sake of brevity. I'm not sure many modern consumers would have the patience to save and submit their detergent boxtops in exchange for a cheap plastic ornament. I doubt whether many of today's companies would want to mess with this sort of thing either.

Track 20

Santa's Little Helpers, Rotary Connection (1968)

Rotary Connection is a Chicago-based band that was formed in 1966, played back-up for bluesman Muddy Waters and released several albums in the late '60s and early '70s. They've been described as a psychedelic blues band, and their 1968 album "Peace" is made up primarily of Christmas-themed tunes, two of which are included on this year's mix. The first of these is Santa's Little Helpers, which is a beautiful little clip with just one flaw — it's entirely too short!

I'll have a little more to offer on Rotary Connection down the road when we reach the final song on this year's mix. In the meantime, this clip goes out to all of those good folks who are out shopping today or supporting the work of anyone dressed in a Santa suit.

Listen to "Santa's Little Helper," by Rotary Connection

That's it for now, but I'll be back soon with more.