Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas....

Back in my oxygen-starved internet café amongst the whey-faced festive youths. I really just wanted to say thank you to all of you for lots of fun this year and thanks for a storming musical selection box ably coordinated by Shoey. I loved all of it and think that Sir John of Peel would indeed be proud of us.

By way of a Christmas card, here are some photos of the Christmas market in Europe's "capital of Christmas".... I'll not 'do a Gremlin' - you've all guessed where it is by now.



And here's a link to 'my' alternative Christmas music playlist. Hand on heart, I think you might like this lot. It's always debatable as to whether 'Fairytale of New York' or indeed that 'Hooker's Christmas Card' may be considered alternative as they even get played in supermarkets nowadays. But they're in...

Découvrez Kate Bush!


And if, after three glasses of Harvey's Bristol Cream (which anyone in their right mind would only drink at Christmas...) you really really feel the need to hear some honest to goodness Christmas cheese, well... who am I to stop you?

Découvrez Wham!!


A last Christmas question to go: (Jack Black voice): "Top Three Christmas Films!!" I'm buying them up on Ebay and have ground to a bit of a halt. I've got the essential:


  • It's a wonderful Life - Capra. Clarence gets his wings and George Bailey gets his life back.
  • Bad Santa - Billy Bob morphs from an alcoholic no-hoper to another kind of guardian angel.
  • Love Actually - just for Hugh Grant dancing to 'Jump' by the Pointer Sisters. You know it makes sense....
Merry Christmas everybody and... What's Your favourite???? Bisous FP.


18 comments:

Abahachi said...

Okay, so it took about six years' worth of annual exposure - Mrs Abahachi is a great believer in The Christmas Film - to bring me round to this way of thinking, but White Christmas has to be on the list. Good old-fashioned Hollywood fun, with the schmaltz held back for the final scene; some good songs (particularly Rosemary Clooney singing the fantastic Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me), a few gratuitous dance numbers including a hilarious piss-take of modern dance, very well-paced direction (Michael Curtiz of Casablanca fame, and a quick comparison with Irving Berlin's previous attempt at driving White Christmas into everyone's subconscious, Holiday Inn, reveals what a giood, unflashy job Curtiz did in keeping everything zipping along).

Sorry, can't bear Love Actually, even though it's another of Mrs Abahachi's annual rituals: how could anyone - this means you, Richard Curtis, not the actors you forced to co-operate with your sadistic games - do that to Emma Thompson?

TracyK said...

I've shown It's A Wonderful Life to my Media Studies year 10s this year and was astonished by their whole-hearted embrace of it. It's quite subtle and nuanced compared to today's big flashing moments of schmaltz, yet one boy in particular has got every tiny bit of magic out of it. I was trepidatious after one of my year 11s ruined it for my last year by saying "Black and white films are rubbish", which made me explode, poor kid. Always makes me and hubby snuffle too.

We've watched Groundhog Day (I know, not Christmas, but all that snow!) and Muppet Christmas Carol, which provoked the first tears of Crimble this years. I always like to watch a version of A Christmas Carol while peeling the veg on Christmas Eve, Alastair Sim for preference.

treefrogdemon said...

Happy Christmas, fp - It's a Wonderful Life is my very favourite film, and I've already had my Christmas showing of it. The only time I've watched it and NOT cried is once when I took my ungrateful children to see it in an actual cinema and they got the giggles at the 'Mary the stereotypical old-maid librarian' bit and I was so busy shushing them that I couldn't get back in the mood. Kids, eh?

I'm just getting everything packed ready to set out VERY early tomorrow in the direction of my new grandson Ellis! (Thanks everyone for your good wishes.)

steenbeck said...

Big big donds for Alistair Sim. Golly how I love that version. And it's a Wonderful Life, too. Funnily I was just going on about Capra over on Clip Joint last week. And I love Desk Set. Wonderful costumes, set design, Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, and Soooo well written. Also, of course, Charlie Brown's sad little Christmas tree and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.

People were asking for you over at Clip Joint, FP, have you stopped by there?

ToffeeBoy said...

@ fp! Great to hear from you. Here's the ToffeeBoy all time top 3 Christmas films:

1) It's A Wonderful Life
2) It's A Wonderful Life
3) It's A Wonderful Life

Can't wait to listen to your Christmas playlists - some great names on the lists so that's tomorrow morning sewn up for me...

Blimpy said...

Trad. Arr. McFlah House:

1. When Harry Met Sally
2. Withnail and I
3. You've Got Mail
4. Bad Santa
5. It's A Wonderful Life

ToffeeBoy said...

@ festivefrogprincess - I've just spent the last two hours dressing the Christmas Tree (my god, it was naked!!!!) while listening to your wonderful playlists and I don't know when I've ever enjoyed putting up Christmas decorations so much.

I'll include both lists in this (although my Cheeseometer was going into meltdown at times during part 2) and say that there has not been a better selection of music posted on the 'Spill all year. There, I've said it!

So many highlights I can't name them all but I'll just mention:

Aaron Neville's Let It Snow
Cyrus Chestnut's (really??) Christmas Song
Eels' Christmas Is Going To The Dogs
James Taylor's magnificent River
Sufjan Stevens' O Holy Night - do you have the box set of his Christmas CDs? The track I Made You Cry At Christmas (Well You Deserved It) is pure genius.
Donna Summer's Winter Melody
Love Unlimited's Winter Outside
Mariah Carey's All I Want...
...and best of all, Chris Rea's Driving Home For Christmas which just gets better every year. It's been the one song that I've stopped and listened to in the shops this year. Simply gorgeous...

So thank you for this and thank you for all your lists this year. It's great to have someone else around here brave (or foolish?) enough to post a Wham song.

Oh, and by the way not even ToffeeGirl would lower herself to the Harvey's Bristol Cream...

Abahachi said...

Here, why is everyone knocking Harvey's Bristol Cream? Try it over ice; a whole different class of drink.

saneshane said...

Have a fine time over there FP..

it will just be me watching the mental Flaming Lips' 'Christmas on Mars' then.. 'tis true my mind is not in a normal place!

and Toffeeboy ain't nowt wrong with a Wham blowout once in a while...

ejaydee said...

Merry Christmas FrogP, I was in Dresden yesterday, where they're supposed to have a good market too, but it was closed. Frohe Weinachten!

Brian Speng said...

Merry Christmas all! "I'll go even further than that" as old Henry F famously sneered..."It's a Wonderful Life" is much more than the greatest Christmas film! Its also the most perfect cinematic metaphor for the times that you and I have grown up in...oh yes Except in our version it seems, the George Baileys of this world must have gone off to University and built all those buildings 100 stories high, while Potter got control of the Building and Loan and the main street of Bedford Falls became the Strip in a neon-lit free-for-all...(sniff)...dont mind me....(sob)...

(sings) Oh, take me back to dear old Blighty...

Anonymous said...

Thanks for all your kind words. Toffee - I'm delighted you liked the playlists - it's my favourite music at Christmas especially Kate Bush. Hope your Christmases are all going splendidly!!!

Blimpy said...

The playlists are going on, FP!

Hope everyone's having a good one, even you Speng...

Blimpy said...

"a wham blowout" - didn't george get arrested for that?

Blimpy said...

(oh, and I've got my coat......)

Anonymous said...

Hope you're all having a 'mid festivity' lull in the alcohol and rich foods before we all hail in the New Year. I'm oop North and have Bad Santa in my suitcase to thrill the family. They already know the Capra and Love Actually backwards. I also have "A Night in the Museum" (is that what it's called?) and "Sideways" which, for some reason, we always watch at Christmas so that we can make "great fruit and mature oak" comments at table. Enjoy your New Years/Hogmanay celebrations!! [Lower lip trembling - anyone liking the photos btw???] FP.

Abahachi said...

The photos are fantastic - offers an interesting contrast with the Christmas markets I've been to in Munich, Berlin and the depths of the Bayerischer Wald (much shinier, fewer pork products). But you shouldn't ask such good questions if you want people to comment on what you actually posted...

Anonymous said...

Vielen dank Herr 'Hachi. Got my new netbook up and running. First site I turned to?? You've guessed it.....