Toaster Does Santa, Day 22: McCartney, McRae and Orbison
i'm pretty sure i've been counting the days wrong. but it's okay! and on we go a' adventing...
ah, sundays. the perfect day for catching up with the advent calendar. i always forget on the weekends, anyway - the anticipation of what's beneath the flap on Fridays and Saturdays just isn't as cool as on weekdays, when you're procrastinating by every means possible. so, to make up for it, i'm going to give you three whole mp3s today.

the first is one you'll hear twenty-five hundred times this season on oldies radio and college stations alike. here you are with Paul McCartney's bright-'n-cheery-to-the-point-of-maybe-cringing 1979 hit, "Wonderful Christmastime." there's a very convenient little write-up of it here (yes, i linked you to bbc, who called him Macca. oh, my god).

::::Paul "Macca" McCartney - Wonderful Christmastime

just in case that song makes you want to kick something (i know a few people who have that knee-jerk reaction), here's an alternative version that i think you'll quite enjoy. it's a cover by Tom McRae, and my god, he takes the song and makes it this eery, melancholy, and simply gorgeous song, dark and with strings. this is the literal antithesis of McCartney's original song.

::::Tom McRae - Wonderful Christmastime

a little like sunday drivers, we're going to take it down a notch and throw you this holiday curveball. can you believe me? it's Roy Orbison's "Pretty Paper," written and also sung by Willie Nelson. very slow, but pretty great, and the lyrics make it for me.

::::Roy Orbison - Pretty Paper

edit: this link no longer leads to McCartney's song, but rather to the intended treat from Roy Orbison. thanks to the anonymous commenter for pointing it out.

ah, the advent overwhelm! don't worry, more tomorrow, back to one-a-day. sheesh, now the advent is like a vitamin... how many themes can we come up with, here...

Labels: series, Toaster Does Santa

  shan  9:34 AM  |  view comments (4)