thinglets: I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday

via youtube.com

While really good Christmas songs are few and far between, I really think this a valiant effort. These groovy cats in Wizzard are the last people you'd probably wanting popping into your house during the holidays. That being said, they're all a few decades older now... perhaps that makes the concept even creepier. I think this band may have their look inspired by Narnia characters.

And if you don't think these guys are creepy enough, check out Slade's take on Christmas. (This is the band that Quiet Riot ripped off for years.) Slade looks creepy without costumes. If one of these guys said: "How'd you like to find me in your stockings?" to anyone close to me, I'd probably bash them in the head with a bottle of rum and then pour egg nog on them just to make sure.

Podcast 115 - An Idiotic Ramble in Search of Inspiration

A long-winded impromptu ramble on topics including:

  • the impending holiday season, 
  • the music associated with the holiday season, 
  • being thankful for not having to awake for weekend work, 
  • the front yard attached to the holiday season, 
  • the good faith of neighbours, 
  • the proliferation of driveway garbage bin rentals, 
  • on the habit of collecting and purging, downloading via Bit Torrent, 
  • the ridiculous legal remedies being suggested by music publishers, 
  • the impact of big business and lobbyists on government and citizens, 
  • the obfuscation tool that is H1N1, 
  • the Harmonized Sales Tax in Ontario, 
  • the waste of taxpayer money on H1N1, 
  • the reflection on the process of this podcast.

thinglets: Ripping on a Gift Suggestion List

Beatcrave has put out a gift suggestion list for music lovers. As a music lover (and musician), I feel it is my duty to inform people of the efficacy of such a list in such a way as only lovehatethings can do. Remember, I'm not ripping the thing itself, but, instead, the suggestion that it would make a good gift. The list can be found in full here.

12) iTunes Gift Card - Yay! DRM-laden songs for the Holidays - HATE

11) iPods and Accessories - How creative! If you know the type of iPod the person wants, great. Otherwise don't guess... oh, and a $4 neoprene skin for a Shuffle is not a good gift - HATE

10) "I Listen to Bands that Don't Even Exist Yet" T-shirt - alright... a bit cliche but pretty good - LOVE

9) iRacer Surround Chair - at $399 in baby blue... LAAAAAME - HATE

8) Music Posters - cop out - HATE

7) Ticket Stub Diary - too close to scrapbooking - HATE

6) Beats by Dr. Dre In Ear Headphones by Monster - as anything made by Monster, EXPENSIVE... $150 for earbuds that will be left on the bus - HATE

5) Books on Music - you know what? There are some great books on music and musicians out there, but to assume you know someone enough to ask them to commit countless hours reading about someone they might not really like - HATE

4) Sufjan Steven's Xmas Songs Boxset - Is the recipient a fan? Then LOVE. Do they even know who Stevens is? Mostly... - HATE

3) Internet Radio Clock - Okay... pretty cool... I dig it! - LOVE

2) USB Turntable - I'll assume the recipient has a bunch of LPs - LOVE

1) 35 Year Collection of Top 40 Vinyl Singles - 18,400 records in total at $275,000. Wicked cool! - BILLIONAIRE LOVE!

18400 records

thinglets: The Sadder Songs of the Holidays

Christmas in the Trenches - John McCutcheon

River - Joni Mitchell

Brick - Ben Folds

Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen (Jeff Buckey's Version)

A Christmas Song - Jethro Tull

Someday At Christmas - Stevie Wonder

Christmas Sucks - Porn Orchard (impersonating Peter Murphy and Tom Waits)