Music Monday

-

 And we are requested to play holiday tunes this month.

A week ago Becca, my daughter-who-lives-in-Manhattan, tweeted that she wished people would stop romanticizing Christmas in NYC. She works on West 49th, right near Rockefeller Center, and has three weeks of horrific crowds to deal with.  According to her, Christmas in NYC isn’t magical …

The other day her tone changed.  Covid is surging, shows are shutting down, and New Yorkers are valiantly trying to maintain the magic of Christmas. She wished for normalcy to return, crowds and all.

I am trying to keep my spirits up.

So today I play songs about Christmas in NYC.







 
"Silver Bells" was introduced in a movie called The Lemon Drop Kid, based on a Damon Runyan story.  It's a comedy, a tale about the gamblers who inhabited NYC.  (Yes, Runyon is also responsible for the characters who inhabit Guys and Dolls.) And Bob Hope was the person chosen to sing the song.





You have to include the Rockettes, of course. NYC without the Rockettes is unthinkable.

Though I dare say the unthinkable happened …as of Saturday the Rockettes have canceled the rest of their season due to COVID …


 

Lea Michelle has a great take on the city in normal times.


  


And of course there's Rob Thomas.  A song that he first recorded almost 20 years ago, when the city was recovering from 9/11, but now addresses a different kind of pain.


  

And let’s not forget Darlene Love.  She does a Christmas concert in NYC every year.  Her appearances on Letterman were legendary.  

Given that we’ve lost so many of our stars from the 60’s recently,  Drew and I are determined to see our favorites whenever we can.  So of course we bought tickets for Darlene Love’s concert at Town Hall December 18.  Though after she canceled her performance on The View earlier in the week due to COVID, we were concerned the concert would be shut down, too.

Fortunately it was not canceled.

  

 We were among the fortunate ones who got to do the (socially distanced) meet and greet before the show.
She looks great for an 80 year old, and can still put on a great show.


  



So let’s play a few of her hits.





  






  

And bonus hit, fan video from Town Hall…




  



Comments

  1. bookwormDecember 20, 2021 at 6:55 AM

    Darlene Love? THE Darlene Love? (Wow. And yes, she looks 20 years younger than she is.) The Darlene Love who also sang Christmastime for the Jews? I was so thrilled (as much as I was saddened by Saturday's Saturday Night Live) that they rebroadcast that classic video. You've given us an all-star set for a suddenly sad holiday season in NYC. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. songbird's crazy worldDecember 20, 2021 at 10:38 AM

      Yes, that Darlene Love. In good voice and stiletto heels.

      Delete
  2. pilch92December 20, 2021 at 12:42 PM

    Yes, I do romanticize Christmas in NYC- the tree, ice skating, Dyker Heights in Brooklyn's lights , the decorated windows. I love it all. And I love the Rob Thomas song too. :) Have a Merry Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mandy Has CoffeeDecember 20, 2021 at 3:51 PM

    A lot of fun watching the Rockettes! Thanks for sharing some great videos.

    ReplyDelete
  4. peppylady (Dora)December 20, 2021 at 10:29 PM

    I forgot about Silver Bells.
    Coffee is on and stay safe

    ReplyDelete
  5. Athena Cat Goddess Wise KittyDecember 21, 2021 at 5:53 AM

    Nice tunes, especially the first one and the Rob Thomas!

    ReplyDelete
  6. csuhpat1December 21, 2021 at 3:23 PM

    Looks like a wonderful time. Very cool songs. Merry Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  7. CAACDecember 21, 2021 at 9:24 PM

    Robin,

    We don't know how good we have things until it's taken from us. It takes a turn of events to force our eyes wide open to see how wonderful life in our world truly is even with its imperfections. I pray for normalcy in our routines return soon.

    I don't have time to listen to your music tonight but I'll come over tomorrow to enjoy your selections. Thanks for being apart of the 4M dance party this week, darlin'.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Peachy, Stippie, Angel Binky and GrannyDecember 22, 2021 at 1:39 PM

    Great mewsic, Songbirdie, we especially loved Rob Thomas😸Pawkisses for a Joyful Christmastime🎅🎄✨🐾😽💞

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It’s all coming back to me now

-
 So you should know that I am not a “shopper”.  I live in shopping mall heaven — I’m ten minutes from the Broadway Mall,  15 from Roosevelt Field and 25 from Whitman Shoppes — but I seldom go to the mall.  I prefer to shop on line.  And when I do venture into a store, I usually know what I want and buy it as quickly as possible.  I’m not one to browse through stores just to see what’s for sale. There’s a local chain,  Baked By Melissa , that specializes in mini cupcakes.  They’re primarily in Manhattan.  A few years ago Becca introduced me to their product - delicate little cakes, exquisitely decorated, very tasty.  I walk past their shop on 7th Avenue whenever we go to the theater. Well, last week I remembered that they used to have a second shop on 7th, right next to the original shop, but selling gluten-free versions of all their cupcakes. The gluten-free shop closed, but the company continues to make a gluten-free version of their product. So I thought that gluten-free cupcakes wou
Read more

Music Monday

-
Image
Another “your choice” week. How about new music from icons of the 60’s and 70’s? Let’s start with Jimmy Buffett’s posthumous hit, “Bubbles Up”. The Rolling Stones released a new song in 2023, it’s called “Angry”. The surviving Beatles (with some  help from AI) released “Now and Then”. And then Billy Joel …    The AI effects in the video blew me away… A note about the AI effects … the Beatles used it to isolate John’s vocals on an old demo.  Billy Joel had a young man play the piano then superimposed his own face onto the image of the younger man.   
Read more

Ultimate Blog Party!!!!

-
Image
thanks to suzanne , I decided to join the party. I got into blogging last year because of Suzanne. I've known her on message boards for awhile, but I've gotten to know her much better since entering the blogosphere. I've also met several others whose blogs I am starting to love, and look forward to meeting even more bloggers now that I've joined the party. So I guess that means I have to introduce myself. I am a single mom from Long Island. My older daughter, Jen, is a college freshman, going to school in New England. Younger daughter, Becca, is a high school junior. I am also an attorney with an insurance company, with offices in Jersey City, NJ, a really "wonderful" commute. I sit on the board of trustees at my synagogue (which means I do a lot of volunteer work there!), and I am active in various fundraisers for the American Cancer Society, currently planning for this year's Relay for Life. I like ot take photos, so you'll see many of them in
Read more