In The Holiday Mood Now

So with 2 weeks left before Christmas, I am finally in the Holiday Spirit. "Why?" you ask....

This past weekend was the bi-annual performance of the Grand Avenue Baptist Church Symphonic Orchestra (or GABCSC for anyone wondering) in Ames under the baton of Maestro Johnson. It's a great time to be with friends from college, play with little ones, and perform a holiday service. So after a weekend's worth of holiday music, I now have a week's worth of rehearsals for our Holiday Concert this weekend in La Crosse.... so I've been surrounded by holiday music. The performance went well and I look forward to our next gathering at Easter!

So what type of Christmas Music does someone with such awesome musical tastes (as I do) listen to???? I actually do not have a ton of Holiday CDs, but I do enjoy the following on a yearly basis:

• Luciano Pavarotti and Boys Choir - this is a wonderful classical Christmas including his well known rendition of "O Holy Night". For those that enjoy opera, you'll like this one. Back when Luciano was in his prime.
• John Denver and the Muppets - a favorite of mine when I was a kid. I have the CD now but it is missing some of the best songs off of the LP. Yes, I do know what an LP is but I didn't enjoy it. With the CD, I can no longer hear Animal yell "RUN RUN REINDEER".
• Take 6 - Acapella Christmas by one of the more talented acapella groups ever. They actually have 2 Holiday CDs (at least) but the first one is much better in my opinion.
• Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops - Another Classical Christmas, but Arthur Fiedler was responsible for bringing Symphonic Pop music to its popularity. This Christmas CD has a lot of songs you will hear on the Christmas Radio stations in your area this time of year. Fun stuff to play every now and then as well.
• South Park Christmas - Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo.... plus a couple of songs paying tribute to Kyle and his Jewish celebrations this time of year!
• Wynton Marsalis Christmas - This is for the folks that enjoy good jazz. But that's about it. It's a very modern Jazz CD that happens to be performed using Christmas Themes, but not something you would throw in for a sing-along.
• And my newest acquisition... A Charlie Brown Christmas. Straight from the movie we've all seen as kids and as adults. You can picture the kids faces looking straight in the sky and singing "Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooh"!

Note the lack of Insane Clown Posse (ICP) and their rendition of "Santa's a Fat B***h", there is no Harry Connick Jr, Wham missed the list, Kenny G, or Yanni. Only good stuff on my list!

Even though there was no ISU victory Friday night (nor was the game on TV in Rochester.... stupid Rudolph that is on EVERY YEAR), it didn't ruin my weekend. Christmas came early with the announcement that Prince will be performing at halftime of the Super Bowl this year. Sweeeeet! Vikings victory yesterday giving up a measly -3 yards rushing. Wow.... not sure how that ranks, but that's pretty darn impressive in the NFL.

Song of the Day - I am in need of the Elvis Christmas CD. A purchase for later today I believe.

Video of the Day - another great Christmas song (and this time you can enjoy the great video) is from Run DMC - Christmas in Hollis.

Webpage of the Day - in a non-Holiday related link.... this is a pretty cool stop motion video (meaning they take picture after picture after picture, then link them all together). Must have taken a very long time. Cute and creative!