Althouse: "And for Christmas, buy her a drum."

December 10, 2009

"And for Christmas, buy her a drum."

That's a line from one of the great old Bob Dylan songs. Right now, we've got another kind of Bob Dylan Christmas drum... in video:

26 comments:

LonewackoDotCom said...: For those who prefer those who can actually sing, here's Joan Baez with a Christmas carol.; 12/10/09, 11:23 PM
Palladian said...: Yes, yes, Bob "can't sing". Whatever.

Seriously, get some new material people.; 12/10/09, 11:30 PM
Penny said...: Loved that video. If it weren't so late, I'd paint.; 12/10/09, 11:58 PM
Synova said...: My daughter's Christmas concert (middleschool, ack!) was tonight and they played very little Christmas music (they had a community Christmas event on the weekend where they played lots of holiday songs.)

My point isn't that they didn't play holiday music tonight but that when the director explained that they wouldn't be focusing on holiday music but would be playing what they'd been practicing for three months it made me think of how little Christmas music I seem to hear. And when I do it's mostly "have yourself a merry little Christmas" or "Jingle Bell rock."

Maybe I heard more carols when I was growing up because we sang the old songs at church (not all churches do that) but it really seems like we're giving up the good old traditional ones. I'm not even talking about hymns... the *carols*.; 12/11/09, 12:39 AM
blake said...: Syn,

Yeah, what's up with that?

My daughter had a show in her dance troop, and there was a choir. And the choir did virtually no Christmas songs.; 12/11/09, 1:40 AM
Amexpat said...: IMO, this is one a the few songs that works on the album.

Nice video, though the artist is looking back.; 12/11/09, 2:16 AM
Penny said...: "Nice video, though the artist is looking back."

I suspect that's because they always put the little drummer boy in the back.; 12/11/09, 2:38 AM
chickelit said...: Yeah, what's up with that?

My daughter had a show in her dance troop, and there was a choir. And the choir did virtually no Christmas songs.

Yeah, that's why it's important to home school this stuff.

And you know what I'm talking about blake.; 12/11/09, 2:55 AM
Penny said...: You sound almost wistful, Synova.

Actually, I had quite the opposite reaction today. Since the day after Thanksgiving, every store I stepped in has been playing Christmas music. When I finally got to my favorite "go-to" little store, where I am always able to find something unique for almost anyone on my list, they were playing Chubby Checker's "The Twist"! I had a good laugh to myself, AND finished my Christmas shopping.

Color me pleased.; 12/11/09, 3:08 AM
TMink said...: Palladian, I used to really like Bob's voice, but it is difficult to listen to the Christmas album. His pipes are shot.

Trey; 12/11/09, 4:34 AM
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Unknown said...: Syn and blake,

This is the disciples of William Ayers and the Columbia University School of Education (sometimes referred by its location in NYC, Morningside Heights), doing their bit for the World Socialist Revolution. Religion, not Karl Marx, is the opiate of the masses, after all, and anything even smacking of Christmas is, of course, offensive and exclusionary.

Yeah, we all get a little battle fatigue from the generic "holiday" music in the malls, but, no, Syn, you're absolutely right. We did hear carols a lot more when we were kids.

And we should expose younger kids to them as much as we can to keep them alive (up until a few years ago, did you ever think an idea like that was possible?). If not, a few years down the roads, all we may hear is Festivus music.; 12/11/09, 7:54 AM
Synova said...: edutcher, The kids played a whole lot of Christmas songs at a different community event. I don't know if the *school* event was lacking Christmas spirit on purpose or not. I think that last year they did far more (but not exclusively) holiday songs at their school concert.

Penny, I haven't been shopping that much. The grocery store doesn't play music that I notice, at least not lately. Where I have noticed music it's *crappy* music.

I will say that Hobby Lobby, with it's overt Christian policies, has the best in-store sound track of instrumentals. The songs are religious all year round, but if you don't *know* them, all it is is music.; 12/11/09, 8:46 AM
Amexpat said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/11/09, 8:47 AM
Amexpat said...: Yes, yes, Bob "can't sing". Whatever. Seriously, get some new material people.

Yes, that and referring to him as "Zimmerman". If the Dylan denigrators were half as original as he is, they could produce some great material.; 12/11/09, 8:51 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Bob Dylan never could really sing.

The point is that the arrangement,cadences,rhythm of the words and overall coordination of the music with voice work well together. Something that Dylan does very well.

This was a very good arrangment of The Little Drummer Boy and the wonderful watercolors were perfect. They gave the emotional content of what Christmas and family this time of year means to many people. It was like a retrospective of Christmases past and present.; 12/11/09, 9:40 AM
TMink said...: DBQ, I cannot argue with what you say, but I cannot abide his current raspy, phlegm filled croak.

Trey; 12/11/09, 10:08 AM
Fritz said...: Now I know why people took LSD while listening to Dylan.; 12/11/09, 10:12 AM
Salamandyr said...: I've watched/listened to this twice now. It's surprisingly moving. The colorful representations of people enjoying fellowship with each other is very sweet. And the music is heartfelt.; 12/11/09, 10:33 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: I cannot abide his current raspy, phlegm filled croak.

I can't argue with that either. I don't like his voice. Never did. But I do like his songs.; 12/11/09, 10:52 AM
blake said...: Syn, The songs are religious all year round, but if you don't *know* them, all it is is music.

Like Bach!

edutcher,

I don't doubt there's been de-Christmas-ification in schools, but in this case, I think it was the way the choir teacher had set things up.

She was more of a singing coach than a choir teacher, and she engaged the girls by saying "what would you like to sing?" (I had old school music teachers when I was that age, and they told me what I was going to sing and/or play.)

Well, apparently if you ask a group of 5-12 year old girls what they want to sing, they'll all sing torch songs.

Heh.

CL,

I actually never thought of it in those terms, and it's not even so much a positive education as the lack of a negative one.

But this was well under way when I was in school. I was in college (and specifically taking courses in Christianity) before history made any sense to me at all.; 12/11/09, 10:53 AM
Penny said...: To my mind, the reason the song and the video work so well together is the differences in pace. One achingly slow, the other, don't-blink fast.; 12/11/09, 10:53 AM
Mark said...: Thanks, Ann, for posting this. Merry Christmas.; 12/12/09, 9:53 PM
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Arsalan said...: Bob Dylan one of the best singer I have listened, highlighted the reality of the world in his songs. Best!

Custom made term papers; 11/25/11, 10:56 PM