Driving back from Athens yesterday morning I was flipping through the radio stations of middle Georgia and discovered two things.
First, almost all of the stations were either country music or church service broadcasts. I therefore assume that people who listen to country music do not attend church. They must be home listening to country music (or in their trucks, at Wallmart or perhaps in a dear stand). Radio stations spend lots of money to determine their markets so it has to be true with so many country music stations playing country music during church.
Second, listening to several of the church services I can completely understand why people would prefer to stay home and listen to country music. I mean these were services with bad music, worse preaching and a generally bad feeling about the shape of things. I could envision two things happening listening to these "Worship Experiences" ... people in the pews were silting their wrists and Jesus was rolling the stone back in front of the tomb.
Thank God there was several alternatives to these two choices! Every other radio station in middle Georgia was playing Christmas music.
Not the good Christmas music but repetitive versions of a six year old Michael Jackson belting "I Saw Mommie kissing Santa Claus", Brenda Lee's "Rockin' around the Christmas Tree" and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir .... come to think of it, middle Georgia Christmas radio stations seem to prefer voices that haven't changed with puberty.
Hmmm .... what does that say about the state of modern radio?
So it got me to thinking about my favorite Christmas songs so here they are.
10. Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmas Time" is just a happy thing and I really like the video back when there were videos.
9. Detroit December by Jon Hart is a sad melancholy thing about being broke and alone.
8. Hard Candy Christmas by Dolly Parton makes being broke and alone sound better if you're in the mountains.
7. Have yourself a merry little Christmas by THE MUPPETS and John Denver though Rowlf steals the show.
6. George Winston's Variation on the Kanon by Pachelbel is a religious experience.
5. James Taylor's Home by Another Way which has some of the greatest lines ever ... "Those magic men the magi, some people call them wise, or Oriental even kings, well anyway those guys." Great stuff!
4. Jimmy Buffett's version of Up on the House Top is a rocking beach song about surfing. It's "TUBULAR DUDE!"
3. Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem's version of Little St. Nick. It's just the best!
2. Darlene Love and the E Street Band's Nobody Ought to be alone on Christmas from Home Alone II. It really is Christmas.
1. Of course, John Lennon's Happy Christmas (War is Over) which is why we're supposed to have Christmas in the first place.
So those are mine. Now I'm on to work with visions of sugar plumbs ... or something like that.
