Christmas soundtrack

There had to be a Christmas edition of this. I wonder if we ever really realize the depth of the words we're singing at Christmas....

1. "O Holy Night"

This is by far my favorite Christmas song because of lines like these:
* "A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn."
* "Fall on your knees, O hear the angels voices"
* "Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother, and in His name all oppression shall cease..."

2. "Arbolito de Navidad"

"Arbolito, arbolito, campanitas te pondré. Quiero que seas bonito, que al recién nacido te voy a ofrecer. Iremos por el camino, caminito de Belén, iremos porque esta noche, ha nacido el niño rey." And it's catchy. I end up singing it all the time.

3. "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen/We Three Kings" by BNL featuring Sarah MacLachlan

And it's true: I love their version above all other ones. Sample lyrics: "Let nothing you dismay, for Jesus Christ our Saviour was born upon this day, to save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray" and "Born a king on Bethlehem's plain, gold I bring to crown Him again, king forever, ceasing never over us all to reign"

4. "Burrito sabanero"

Nothing too deep here, but it's so stinkin' catchy and I love it. "Con mi burrito sabanero voy camino de Belén, si me ven, si me ven, voy camino de Belén"

5. "Angels We Have Heard On High"

"Angels we have heard on high, singing sweetly o'er the plains, and the mountains in reply echoing their joyous strains..."

6. "What Child Is This?"

"This, this is Christ the King whom shepherds guard and angels sing. Haste, haste to bring Him praise..."

7. "Las Posadas"

So the story behind this song is that Joseph and Mary are looking for an inn.... I don't know why I love it as much as I do, but I do love it.

8. "Villancico Yaucano"

This is one of those uniquely Puerto Rican Christmas songs. The story is similar to "Little Drummer Boy" in that it's about poor folks coming to visit the Christ child without a whole lot to offer materially, but I like it just a little more than "Little Drummer Boy" - "Al Niño recién nacido todos le ofrecen un don yo como no tengo nada le ofrezco mi corazón."

9. "Little Drummer Boy"

I guess it's the story that I really like - bringing what you've got, and I kinda like what David Bowie does with it. I really don't think we think about the things we're singing at Christmas....

10. "No Hay Cama Pa' Tanta Gente" by El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico

Trust a Puerto Rican to make a song about kicking people out of your house after a rowdy Christmas party a holiday classic. Seriously. This song is hilarious! "¡Pa'fuera! ¡Pa' la calle!" Jajaja...

sister

So I switched my email yesterday and sent out one of those obligatory "I have a new email address" mass emails that ended with "Change is good, right?"
To which my sister, that priceless little gem, replied:

"Change is wonderful! like getting married, joining the gym, and eating morningstar sausage patties..."

Whaaaaaaat?! Man, I miss that crazy kid....

The project beckons

but in the meantime:
Lovelovelovelovelove!

More pics

More pics from M's wedding, shamelessly stolen from S.

With B.

Giving the toast

With S. So cute!

Again, with B.


And now for the ugly sweater party pics:

Can't stop listening to it....

"The Great Conductor"
by Steven Delopoulos

So you dived beneath the tide
And you radio the sky
As you leave your desert land
And your fortune all behind

It’s a sequel never told
As you build it you can tell it
As the waves flush out the notes,
you built that temple just to sell it
The moon is sitting, speechless
As our castles slowly burning

Well, I bought a cup of coffee
when I asked her for her hand
She was checking me for Egypt,
she was shaking me for sand
But I've been resurrected years ago

So you listen to the sign
And you can’t believe the sound
Feels like blood is in the air like that lion’s close around
I can’t do it on my own you must be sober to reject him
Like a soldier with a Bible but no armor to protect him

If you listen to the saints
They’ll give you juice enough to fly
Now they found him in the catwalk
when he was knighted for the throne
And the crowd was throwing harmonies
To claim him as their own
As I close my eyes and vanished in the blessing

And oh, there’s a fire in the sky
Sit beside me on that last train
There’s a pinch before we’re through it
Close your eyes we’re almost to it

To the punch, the pain that popped our famous egos
out the window as we grew
And she opened up her eyes to see that
mansion full of glory
She was brand new….brand new, brand new, brand new

So you start with kicking pebbles
as you learn to fight in silence
And you orchestrate His presence
as you crucify the man
There’s a wand in your command,
as you became
The Great Conductor

So it’s fire turned to gold, you can catch it in the steam
As you slowly disappear in that crucifixion dream
You’re hanging in the balance of that heavenly perfection
While you’re having a conversation
Nonchalantly in suspension

And you notice something’s different
as you’re hanging in the sky
Well I got up from my knees
but I was dizzy from the trance
I was speaking like the angels,
I was raptured in the dance
Moving mountains with a glance

We must leave our earthly beds
And pray for those who strike us
In His house there are no weapons
Heal the sick and raise the dead

Raise the ballroom where we danced
until the broken sun surprised us from our doom
And we promised on our knees
to return the devil’s keys
We were in bloom
I do, I do, I do

So you start with kicking pebbles
as you learn to fight in silence
And you orchestrate his presence
as you crucify the man
There’s a wand in your command
As you expand

This is the song I've got on repeat these days. I won't say that I totally understand it, but there are pieces of it, lines that have made me really take notice as I listen to it again and again. For example:

1. "She was checking me for Egypt, she was shaking me for sand But I've been resurrected years ago"
2. "And you notice something’s different as you’re hanging in the sky Well I got up from my knees but I was dizzy from the trance I was speaking like the angels, I was raptured in the dance Moving mountains with a glance"
3. "Raise the ballroom where we danced until the broken sun surprised us from our doom"

And of course, that chorus is pretty stinkin' amazing.

There's a lot there about resurrection, about being made new right here and now while we're still on earth, about the perfection of God in acting in ways that make no sense.... There's more to it that I'm sure I haven't even begun to touch on, but, man, do I love this song!