Still Figurin' Out Who I Think I Am

This one's about Christmas records.

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What's up everybody? It's my day off, it's crappy outside (rainy, gloomy, and it's possibly gonna snow later), but I've got some old (and new) music so I'm gonna kick back and reminisce a little.

There are three albums I distinctly remember from my youth that came out of my mom's vinyl collection every year at Christmastime (there might've been more, but these are the three that I can recall with no effort). The first one is by far the gold standard of classic Christmas music, and he's shown up a lot already on the "12 Days of "Christmas""  playlist...Bing Crosby's "Merry Christmas"  .

The second one might only be familiar to an older crowd (and to kids like me who spent every holiday season bumpin' this)...Mitch Miller & The Gang's "Holiday Sing Along With Mitch"  . It's basically just standards presented in a fun, upbeat way. I have no idea who he or his gang is, but I remember this album being pretty neat.

The last of the three though might've been my favorite, mainly because it was the most modern of the bunch at the time..."The Beach Boys' Christmas Album"  . It's a solid mix of your garden variety Christmas tunes and originals, done in the Beach Boys' signature surfin' sound...almost too much, because a couple of the songs sound like beefed-up rewrites of some of their other hits. But who cares? I was, like, this guy...

The six-year-old me didn't care; yay presents!

...and I didn't know any better because at that age every Christmas song is fun and joyful and represents all of the holiday season.

It's hard to pick just one song from this album, because all of the originals are pretty solid. I'll just go with the first one that popped up in my head when I thought of The Beach Boys, "The Man With All The Toys".

"A big man in a chair, and little tiny men everywhere."
Lyrics.  

Merry Christmas to me! The present I ordered for myself this year came in yesterday, and I'm excited...Pearl Jam's Moline, IL 2014 Bootleg  . It features a live performance of the "No Code"   album front to back, plus a new song written just before the show (appropriately titled "Moline") and a cover of John Lennon's "Imagine". So yeah, I'm stoked to see what this is all about.

So I hate to cut you short, but obviously my afternoon is already booked. Peace, how thrilled, and GOODNIGHT NOW!!

Pearl Jam, "Let Me Sleep (It's Christmas Time)"
"Oh when I was a kid oh how magic it seemed."
Lyrics.