A Very Special Sonic Sunday

I'd like to wish Eddie Vedder a very happy 43rd birthday. Age has mellowed him a bit, but he'll still be working that sexy brooding thing well into his 60s, I'm sure.

In honor of Eddie, and my undying love for him, here are a couple of very appropriate tunes.

"U," Pearl Jam - A rare "cute" and simple love song from Eddie. This is the Lost Dogs version, although I prefer the original, which was originally released on the B-side to "Wishlist." I had the song on my computer long ago and ripped it to a homemade B-sides compilation, which plays in my CD player but, for some unknown reason, will not import into iTunes now. Every time I stick the disc in my computer it just makes those annoying whirring and clicking sounds. So, I'm left with the re-recorded version. It really isn't that different, but there was an energy and sweetness about the original that isn't quite the same on this version. I can't really explain it. And a few of his "you's" sound like "yo's." But those are minor complaints, I suppose.

"My Baby's in Love With Eddie Vedder," Weird Al Yankovic - Even though Weird Al kind of rips on Eddie in this one, it's still a really funny song that I completely relate to. In fact, Eddie looks kind of cold in that picture, so I think I'll start knitting him a sweater right now.

And now on to Volume II of My Chris-Mixx!


(Click any link to download the song. Mp3s are available for a limited time, so get 'em while they're hot!)

1. "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," Bruce Springsteen - The Boss made it cool for rockers to cover Christmas classics, and his is still the best one of all.

2. "Christmas Bop," T.Rex - Sadly, I didn't discover this song until fairly recently. I can't believe that I've been celebrating regular Christmas all these years, when I could've been celebrating T.Rexmas. It's wonderful that Marc Bolan didn't let being Jewish get in the way of writing a totally glam Christmas song. It may be the only holiday tune that references silk jeans and space shoes. It reminds me of something though that I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe it could be a lost Rocky Horror Picture Show number?

3. "Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth," David Bowie & Bing Crosby - I've never particularly liked this song, but this is the one version that is really well done.

4. "A Fairytale of New York," The Pogues - It's a Christmas song. It's a St. Patrick's Day song. It's both! What could be better??

5. "(Everybody's Waitin' For) The Man with the Bag," The Brian Setzer Orchestra - Now that Brian Setzer/Swingers/Gap commercial furor has died down, I can appreciate this kind of music again. I think this is one of the most underappreciated Christmas songs, which is a shame because it's a lot of fun to sing.

6. "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," Andy Williams - Like I said before, Andy is Mr. Christmas. That's why he's the only artist who made it to both volumes of my mix.

7. "Jingle Bell Rock," Bobby Helms - Much like Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," this song has been covered a million times, but no one will ever beat Helms's version.

8. "The Christmas Letter," Mad Larry - Friends o' mine that I've probably mentioned before. The two founding members of the band are ex-Bogmen. This song was recorded for the Yule Dogs album last year, which helped raise money for Kristy's Smile, and it's now being featured on a national Radio Shack ad. Since the commercial started airing, I've noticed a lot of people coming to the Mad Larry MySpace page looking for it. It's a really simple, catchy song that will get buried in your brain if you let it.

9. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," Knockout Drops - More friends! Also recorded for the Yule Dogs album, I think this was meant to be an outtake because the lead singer, Chris, is kind of goofing off. But, I guess everyone decided to keep it on the record because it turned out to be kind of funny. I especially love the end, where Chris tries to hold that last note but can't quite do it and ends up cracking up. Maybe if he didn't smoke 2 packs of P-funks a day...

10. "Father Christmas," The Kinks - I guess this is really an anti-Christmas song, but just the highly commercialized parts!

11. "Do They Know It's Christmas," Band Aid - From poor kids shaking down Santa for some cash to rich celebs shaking down middle-class record buyers for money to feed poor African kids. How's that for a mix-tape transition?

12. "Christmas in Hollis," Run-D.M.C. - The greatest (and one of the very few) Christmas rap songs. Since I can't really sing, maybe I'll make up my own Christmas rap. "Christmas in Sunset Park" doesn't really have a good ring to it, though. "Up Above the Porn Shop" might work. (Yes, kids, that's really where I live.)

13. "Up on the House Top," Jackson 5 - This was one of my favorite holiday songs when I was a kid. Every time I hear it, I feel like I should be wearing a construction paper red nose. I must have performed it in a school play way back when.

14. "Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me)," Elvis Presley - If Elvis were still alive today, he would probably change this to "Santa Bring My Baby Back Baby Back Baby Back Ribs."

15. "Snoopy's Christmas," The Royal Guardsmen - I'm not sure what Snoopy fighting the Red Baron ever had to do with Christmas, but the song works. I think we had this album when I was a kid.

16. "Baby It's Cold Outside," Zooey Deschanel & Leon Redbone - From Elf, a relatively new movie that I've probably already seen more than It's a Wonderful Life.

17. "I'll Be Home For Christmas," Aimee Mann - Hush, hush. Keep it down, now. She'll be home for Christmas.