Poparazzi

MERRY CHRISTMAS fellow Poparraziacs!

This will be my last post until my next one, because every Christmas, my family makes it a point to have a gathering where we eat, drink, make a lot of noise, eat, drink, make more noise, drink, drink and eat. At some point, my dad will whip out his guitar and start playing Christmas tunes. Admittedly, as a teen, I used to think I was too cool for this sort of thing. You know, Christmas songs like Feliz Navidad could be so tacky.

Then I grew up and knew better. So here then, is our list of Our Favourite Christmas Songs.

1. Silent Night by Simon and Garfunkel. Their sweet harmonies are brilliantly juxtaposed by a stark reading of the news. A grim reminder that “all is calm” is relative to where you live.
2. Happy X’mas (War Is Over)by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Back then, it was another of Lennon’s call for peace. These days, it’s a playlist staple.
3. Winter Winds by Mumford & Sons. Okay, the band has denied that this is a Christmas song, but it does have a mulled wine and mistletoe quality to it.
4. Do They Know It’s Christmas (12″ remix) by Band Aid. Okay, the suspect line “Thank God it’s them instead of you” when you’re talking about starving Africans may not live up to PC standards of today, but it’s way better than the 2004 version, and the messages in the middle add something to the song.
5. Wonderful Christmastimeby Paul McCartney. A great fluffy song to emphasise the “tis the season to be jolly” sentiment.
6. All I Want For Christmas Is Youby Mariah Carey. Another great fluffy, chirpy song.
7. 2000 Milesby The Pretenders. Something in the way Chrissie Hynde sings this song just sends shivers down the spine. Again, a great mix of despondency (loss of a loved one) amidst the happy holiday mood.
8. Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley. It may sound cheesy these days, but just listen to the man’s delivery, it pops.
9. Merry X’mas Everybody by Slade. One of the best rock tracks for the Yule season, if you ask me. A track that begs the question, who are those hot chicks in the Top Of The Pops video?
10. Wintersongby Sarah McLachlan. Okay, so maybe Christmas does sappy things to me.
11. Christmases When You Were Mine by Taylor Swift. And yes, another song about heartbreak for Christmas. Thanks, Taylor.
12. Last Christmas by Wham. A kooky campy song with an equally kooky campy video. Plus, it reminds me of Love Theme by Barry White.
13. I’ll Be Home For Christmas by Aimee Mann. Man, just listen to her voice on this. Shivers down your spine, man.
14. Little Town by Cliff Richard. True, people may be more familiar with the 1983 Amy Grant version, but Sir Cliff did it first in 1982. And yes, the lyrics are cribbed from O Little Town Of Bethlehem.
15. Sleigh Ride by The Ventures. First heard this when my dad played it. Can’t think of any other version when people mention this song.

 And who’ve been naughty and not nice, here are   Five We Don’t Want To Hear Again!

1. Wonderland by Heidi Klum. Great smile, great bod, but please Heidi, what possessed you to do this? Euro dance Christmas we can really do without.
2. Mistletoe And Wine by Cliff Richard. Yes, I know this was a No 1 back in the day, but how much more sappy can you be?
3. (Baby Please Come Home) Christmas by U2. I love the band, but there are just some things that you guys should never play again.
4. Christmas Congaby Cyndi Lauper. Apparently, this is one of the songs they play to torture inmates at Guantanamo Bay.
5. The entire 8 Days Of Christmas album by Destiny’s Child. Bad. Just bad.

Tags: Aimee Mann, Band Aid, Barry White, Christmas, Christmas songs, Cliff Richard, Cyndi Lauper, Destiny's Child, Elvis Presley, Feliz Navidad, Heidi Klum, John Lennon, Love Theme, Mariah Carey, Mumford & Sons, Paul McCartney, Sarah McLachlan, Simon & Garfunkel, Slade, Taylor Swift, The Pretenders, The Ventures, U2, Wham, Yule

DURING the recording of The Beatles 1968 double album, entitled The Beatles, aka The White Album, Paul McCartney recorded this jaunty pseudo-ska tune called Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da.

Apparently, only Paul liked it. John Lennon and George Harrison both hated that it took such a long time to record (because Paul wanted the vocals to be perfect), and George even made a barb at it in his White Album tune, Savoy Truffle, with the line, “we all know Ob-la-di la-da, but can you show me who you are”.

But even John and George would turn in their graves, and Paul would wish he was dead, if they knew that the tune would be the basis for a productivity song by the Food Drinks And Allied Workers’ Union of Singapore.

Watch the video:

Thanks a lot, guys. I’m just sorry about the people appearing in the video. Did they know what they were getting into? They should be compensated well.

I know, when the MDA released a rap video some time ago, they got flak for that too. But at least it RHYMED BETTER!

Really, sample this last verse:

“Happy ever after in the work place/ cheaper better faster is the way/We all work together to give quality/That only workers in Singapore can achieve…”

Sorry, that’s not going to win the award for Best Lyrics anytime soon. Heck, even I could do something like that. In fact, here it is, sung to the tune of Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da…

“FDA double-U U of Singapore/Got the thought to write this song/It started as an idea that could be all right/but at the end the song just came out sounding wrong…

Oh bloody, oh brother, hate this song, ah/La la how we hate this song (repeat again)”

See? That took six minutes, including corrections. I’m available for other songwriting services for Christmas, New Year and other major festivities. Thank you.

Tags: Abang of the Airwaves, Christmas, Christopher Toh, Food Drinks And Allied Workers' Union, George Harrison, John Lennon, MDA, New Year, Ob-la-di Ob-la-da, Paul McCartney, productivity songs, Savoy Truffle, Singapore, The Beatles, White Album

CURIOUSLY enough, while this album by The Beatles often ranks high on critics’ polls of top rock albums of all time, many still forgo this in favour Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band as the artistic height of The Beatles’ creativity.

Sorry – wrong!

Here’s why: Every musical aspect that the Beatles would be known for is encapsulated here (and to some extent, the predecessor, Rubber Soul).

There was tons of experimentation:

• John Lennon and George Harrison’s backwards lead guitar solos on I’m Only Sleeping;
• Tape loops for Tomorrow Never Knows, itself a musical exploration into atonal depths (Paul McCartney, for example, plays only one note throughout).
• The use of automatic double tracking or ADT (which John dubbed “the flange”),a process by which  you can automatically double up your voice so you didn’t have to sing the same parts again. This would lead to the development of the flanger and the artificial chorus effects of today.
• Even some of the curious sounds heard on Yellow Submarine were created in the studio and not taken off some special effects record.

The Beatles circa ‘65/’66: going from cutesy pop band to cultural icons

Aside from the experimentation, The Beatles were delving deeper into their musical journeys:

• For George, it was the influence of Indian music: Love You To is obvious enough, but even Paul has said he put some Indian styling on his solo in Taxman (yes, it’s Paul playing on that one) to suit George’s fascination with Indian music.
• Paul continued to master the art of melody with ballads like Eleanor Rigby, For No One and Here, There And Everywhere.
• John’s writing became more experiential (She Said She Said, Dr Robert) while still maintaining his ability to churn out some of the best pop melodies (And Your Bird Can Sing).
• Ringo Starr sang Yellow Submarine.

And through all that they still kept what made them famous: Nice melodies, , close harmony singing and catchy choruses – plenty of them. Don’t forget The Beatles hadn’t yet given up touring yet. The recording was sandwiched between April and June of 1966, they didn’t have the time and luxury they had on Sgt Pepper.

The sounds and scenes painted in Revolver reflected the sign of the times too: The world was changing, the swinging Sixties was all but over. Social commentary, cultural consciousness and disenchantment with the establishment were rife.

This has since been heralded as one of the first psychedelic albums, not least aided by cover art from their old friend Klaus Voorman, but also by the unconventional nature of the album.

Having had a chance to sample the remasters released last month, I have to say that if you wanted a Beatles album that could be definitive of what The Beatles were, this is it.

Tags: Abang of the Airwaves, ADT, album, And Your Bird Can Sing, Christopher Toh, Dr Robert, Eleanor Rigby, For No One, George Harrison, Here, I'm Only Sleeping, Indian music, John Lennon, Klaus Voorman, Paul McCartney, psychedelic, Revolver, Ringo Starr, Sgt Pepper, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, She Said She Said, Taxman, The Beatles, There And Everywhere, Yellow Submarine