Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Worst Christmas Songs

It's the holiday season, and while generally, I enjoy a large majority of Christmas music, there are a handful of songs -- as I'm sure is the case with everyone -- that are absolute torture to listen to this time of year.

There are Christmas Classics, and then there are Christmas Trash-ics.

This small list is mainly focused on songs you'll likely hear on the radio quite a bit this season, not some of the more obscure bad Christmas songs, which would require a much, much more comprehensive list.

In no particular order, here are a few of the songs that make me want to stab a reindeer.

Vince Vance and The Valiants - "All I Want For Christmas Is You"


I cannot comprehend what the appeal of this song is. Yes, I get the sentiment with the lyrics, but I'm strictly talking about the actual performance. There's something about the singer's twangy delivery that makes me want to shove a candy cane through both of my eyes, and stick a pair of burning chestnuts in my ears.



Elvis Presley - "Blue Christmas"

Sorry, Elvis fans. I've never been a fan of him, or his music, and this song doesn't help.




Bruce Springsteen - "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town"


For some reason, this song gets a ton of airplay at Christmas. It's brutal. Even Bruce is laughing at how bad it is toward the end. Another live Christmas song from Bruce, "Merry Christmas, Baby", is 100 times better, but you rarely hear it.




Barbra Streisand - "Jingle Bells"

Was this some kind of joke?




Celine Dion - "Christmas Eve"

I can tolerate this song for about 98% of it. The problem is every time I hear it, I can't get past the ridiculous sounds coming from Celine when she's trying to riff, vamp, whatever you call it near the end of the song. Humans aren't supposed to make those noises. I can't get over it.



Feel free to add yours...

Saturday, December 03, 2011

Ganz!

Holy crap. It took this to wake me from my blogging slumber!! After all of these years of having been a 48 Hrs. and Dexter fan, I just now realized that the actor that played Ganz is the same actor currently playing Dexter Morgan's dad, Harry.

Last night, thanks to some rare alone time at the house, I watched the last half of 48 Hrs., a movie I love immensely. As the credits started to roll, and I was doing my traditional head shaking at how silly it was that Ganz decided to charge Jack, rather than just shoot him, I noticed the name of the actor that played Ganz: James Remar.

It didn't hit me at first, but then I recognized the name Remar from seeing the opening credits to Dexter over the years.

Then I started to think about it, considering the ages of the actors in each project, plus the similarity in appearance of Ganz and Harry Morgan, then a quick trip to the information superhighway, and there it was. Bam! James frikkin' Remar.

Just had to share my moment of recognition, albeit about five years too late.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Un-Bear-Able


Only a few hours remain until the showdown that has the country ablaze, between two of the top teams in the league, as Chicago gets set to host a matchup for the ages.

Of course, I'm talking about the Blackhawks and the Flyers. Yep, the Stanley Cup rematch begins at 11:30am on Sunday -- a time that was moved up by NBC so they don't conflict with the other big game in Chicago -- and I'll be there.

My brother and I have a pair of tickets for the game, with the intention of leaving early so we can stake out a spot at a nearby tavern to watch the Bears-Packers tilt.

Unbelievably, the Flyers are the top team in the Eastern Conference this season, proving that maybe their unexpected run to the Cup Finals last year wasn't a fluke, and I'd love to see them come out and stomp all over the Hawks.

It's been strange...since the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup -- which in any other year would have made me very happy, but since it was against my favorite team, it's left me still a little bitter -- I've taken no joy in any of the Hawks' limited success this season. The Blackhawks have always been my 2nd favorite team, and I've explained before my feelings about the two franchises (which became very clear to me last June), so I'm still a little bummed out by the result of that series, to the point that news of any Blackhawks wins this year barely registers a reaction at all from me.

So, go Flyers.

And, for the love of Paul Hornung, GO PACKERS!!!