Musical memories: Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song

Every year I am always afraid of loosing the Christmas spirit before I actually get to Christmas itself. I don't want to be so sick an tired of Christmas that when it finally comes I won't feel a thing and just think that I hope it's over soon. I had a golden Christmas moment a few weeks ago when it was snowing, I listened to the first Christmas music of the year. I was on my way home from work on a bus and all the beautiful Christmas decorations and lights of Oslo was up. Somewhere between there and now, I lost it again. I thought it would help to come home to my mother's where I always celebrate Christmas and me and my boyfriend went home by train through a fantastic winter wonderland. But still nothing. A few hours after I came home I got a terrible cold and for the last 4 days I have had no Christmas feeling at all. But today my friends.. Today I have changed from being a sick little gal myself and into a nurse for my darling, who not surprisingly has the same bug as me. We are hopeing my mother doesn't get it too.

The three of us had a lovely Christmas lunch and after that I opened the chest and started to dig into the Christmas decorations. And then slowly, as I put every little ornament in it's place, half of it stuff I made in school over the years, it started to sneak up on me. Me and my mother laughed at the funny Santa we have that plays blues when you move him and a new Nisse got a new spot at the piano. Now I am really looking forward to going to go into the cold beautiful forest tomorrow and and getting the tree, and then, as I am decorating the tree, I am gonna listen to the greatest Christmas songs of all, in my mind: Nat King Cole's version of The Christmas Song.

You can listen to it here, and as you might notice, I have written about that experience before.

Merry Christmas Everyone. Let's home they know it's Christmas.

As this years Christmas treat and because it's still important to remember the message, even though it's also of course fun to spot the celebrities, here are no less than 3 versions of "Do They Know It's Christmas". For me it's hard to decide if I like the original or the 20 version best. The 2 version is a bit weird though ;)

Original version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jEnTSQStGE



Very cool live version of the original more or less: But with Bowie, Mercury, Paul McCartney and Bob Geldof among others!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dvnBruaVRg





Version 2 (1989)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_oz1-2mq14



Version 20 (2006?)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzlQD_aqgnc

Must be the best band that has played together ever, and also spot mr. Albarn, the tea man :)

Great Covers: Chirstmas with Weezer

Yes, I know it's as far as Christmas as it can be right now, but I found this thing today and it was just to good to don't show you. It's the Weezer Christmas album where Weezer does Christmas songs. Very very good. I Especially love O,Holy Night.

These are a few of my favorite Christmas-things II

About 5 minutes ago I finally felt the Christmas spirit. I have been waiting for this a bit and I always knew that Nat King Cole's - The Christmas Song would put my in a Christmas mood, but I was quite surprised of the impact the song had on me. I literary felt the the Christmas spirit float into me and actually ran over to my mother's chest of ornaments and put up a few more. Finally I feel ready for some Christmas. Great :)

So here is the song that makes me feel like Christmas :)

These are a few of my favorite Christmas-things

This is a series of my favorite Christmas-things, since it's Christmas :) This is a commercial for NSB (Norwegian train company) and it has a lot of details that are connected to Norwegian Christmas traditions, songs etc. It's kind of hard to explain to foreigners I suspect, but at least you will see Bambi on the ice, the girl with the cell phone that symbolize that crazy bird that Donald Duck tries to take a photograph of and Chip and Dale in a tree. Clips from Christmas classics are always shown on Norwegian TV on the 24th of December. Also you will probably see Cinderella in there. This is also another TV tradition. Every year Norwegian TV shows a Czech version of Cinderella that has for some strange reason become a tradition: Cinderella and the three nuts. And also.. It really captures that feeling of siting on the train and going home to Christmas that I love. I wish we could have some snow, so I really could get that Christmas feeling :) Enjoy!

Musical Memories & Great Musicians: Last Christmas (Wham) - Graham Choo

As Christmas is fast approaching, I think one of the most classic Christmas songs of my childhood is "Last Christmas" by Wham. (Yes, kids. That used to be the band of George Michael and some guy that everyone forgot-)

I was looking for an alternate cover of the song and I found tons of them. One of the greatest was this one by Graham Choo . He does a classic guitar version of it. Really well done and makes me think that I have to practice guitar more like that too ;)

Enjoy :)

Great collaborations: Do They Know it's Christmas? - Band Aid

Ladies and gents, it's time for some 80's Christmas-spirit. And also for another great collaboration... I mean, this must really be THE collaboration, right? Outside my windows the snow are falling so I just suddenly had a little christmassy feeling, even though I really thing it's a bit to early. I have felt other years that I have to be careful not to use up all my Christmas feeling long before Christmas so I try to wait until there is just a week or two left.

Do They Know it's Christmas? is a milestone in musical history. It was the first song like that where artists teamed up to support a charity together. This time it was a famine in Africa. I think it's a lovely song and actually almost gets a few tears in my eyes by listening to it.

The video of course has a lot of great 80's heroes in it.. Can you spot them? I know almost all of them, but I'll give you the chance to guess. Leave your guesses in the comment field under this blogpost. (Link if you are reading this in facebook). Here is the song and the amazing video ;)



And for you crazy kids, like me, that want even more about this event in musical history, you can find the documentary on this link :D Search for Band Aid at the right.