The Playlist of Life --- Trollheart's resurrected Journal

GD · 12-07-2014, 03:28 AM

Glad you liked it, and merry Christmas to you too!

Isbjørn · 12-08-2014, 12:57 PM

This is fun. Looking forward to your take on Ujubasajuba..!

Zhanteimi · 12-11-2014, 07:47 PM

I think he asked because you seemed to have missed the 11th. Maybe he's just impatient to see your next update.

Plankton · 12-12-2014, 10:55 AM

Outstanding review TH. I actually got chills reading that.

Trollheart · 12-12-2014, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plankton

Outstanding review TH. I actually got chills reading that.

Woah! Thanks man! That means a lot!

Zhanteimi · 12-12-2014, 04:35 PM

Absolutely brilliant review! I've now added Born to Run to my queue.

Trollheart · 12-12-2014, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mordwyr

Absolutely brilliant review! I've now added Born to Run to my queue.

Hey, thanks! I did work a little on that one, it means so much to me. Your praise is probably not that deserved, but sure I'll take it anyway. Cheers!

Trollheart · 12-13-2014, 11:20 AM

Greg Lake: The man who would be Grinch?

I've never had much time for ELP as you probably know (hold those gasps of surprise!) but one thing that has always annoyed me is the success, and therefore constant rotation every Christmas, of Greg Lake's “I believe in Father Christmas”. I've read the backstory and yes, I can see how it was written as a protest song, but for me it just seems the most bitter and pessimistic Christmas song ever. In it, Lake talks about “being sold a dream of Christmas” and waiting to see Santa on Christmas Eve, then realising it was his father all along. Sure, we all went through that, but the heavy sarcasm and contempt that drips from this song like drops of poisoned punch makes me wonder how it was ever a hit. Though Lake himself professes that it was a backlash against the commercialisation of the holiday season, with a dash of anti-war rhetoric thrown in for good measure, it always seems to me to be totally anachronistic to have it follow something like “Merry Xmas everybody” on one of those Christmas albums we all moan about but which we all have one of (mine are “Santa's Greatest Hits” and “The Phil Spector Christmas Album”); a happy, upbeat song that celebrates Christmas (as does just about every other Christmas song) succeeded by a moany, downbeat, sarcastic swipe at the festive season.

I know he says all that stuff at the end about “wishing you a joyful Christmas”, but to be honest, after what he's written prior all of that rings a little hollow to me, and the end impression I've always been left with is the ambiguous ending, which can really be interpreted however you want, but for me is always something of a parting shot: “The Christmas you get you deserve?” Apart from being a badly-constructed phrase (should be “You get the Christmas you deserve”, and it would still have scanned with the rest of the lyric) it always sounds negative to me.

And he also had the gall to base much of the melody on Prokofiev's “Troika” from Lieutenant Kije. Every time I hear this at Christmas it depresses and annoys me, and to be honest, I think I'd rather listen to Carey's vacuous bleating on “All I want for Christmas is you” than this. At least that's cheerful, even if it makes you want to smash your head against the wall till your brains leak out. Lake's effort just makes me want to go find the nearest gunshop.

Lucky I live in Ireland, where there are no such things.

Merry Christmas Greg, you contemptuous old fart! To quote an old Blackadder curse, May your skin turn orange in hue, and your head drop off at an awkward moment. Perhaps you need a visit from a certain three ghosts...

”They said there'll be snow at Christmas;
They said there'll be peace on Earth.
But instead it just kept on raining,
A veil of tears for the Virgin's birth.
I remember one Christmas morning,
A winters light and a distant choir
And the peal of a bell and that Christmas tree smell
And their eyes full of tinsel and fire.

They sold me a dream of Christmas;
They sold me a silent night
And they told me a fairy story
'till I believed in the Israelite.
And I believed in Father Christmas
And I looked at the sky with excited eyes
'till I woke with a yawn in the first light of dawn
And I saw him and through his disguise.
I wish you a hopeful Christmas
I wish you a brave new year.
All anguish pain and sadness
Leave your heart and let your road be clear.
They said there'll be snow at Christmas
They said there'll be peace on Earth.
Hallelujah Noel be it Heaven or Hell
The Christmas you get you deserve.”

Trollheart · 12-13-2014, 01:37 PM

Coming for 2015...

Urban Hat€monger ? · 12-14-2014, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Coming for 2015...

Beat you...

Decadent Subversion

12-08-2014, 12:57 PM	#2 (permalink)
Isbjørn cooler commie than elph Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: In a hole, help Posts: 2,811	This is fun. Looking forward to your take on Ujubasajuba..! __________________ fast(ml) Hear me play the guitar Look, mom! I got a journal

12-12-2014, 10:55 AM	#4 (permalink)
Plankton Just Keep Swimming... Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: See signature... Posts: 7,765	Outstanding review TH. I actually got chills reading that. __________________ See location...

12-13-2014, 11:20 AM	#8 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,996	Greg Lake: The man who would be Grinch? I've never had much time for ELP as you probably know (hold those gasps of surprise!) but one thing that has always annoyed me is the success, and therefore constant rotation every Christmas, of Greg Lake's “I believe in Father Christmas”. I've read the backstory and yes, I can see how it was written as a protest song, but for me it just seems the most bitter and pessimistic Christmas song ever. In it, Lake talks about “being sold a dream of Christmas” and waiting to see Santa on Christmas Eve, then realising it was his father all along. Sure, we all went through that, but the heavy sarcasm and contempt that drips from this song like drops of poisoned punch makes me wonder how it was ever a hit. Though Lake himself professes that it was a backlash against the commercialisation of the holiday season, with a dash of anti-war rhetoric thrown in for good measure, it always seems to me to be totally anachronistic to have it follow something like “Merry Xmas everybody” on one of those Christmas albums we all moan about but which we all have one of (mine are “Santa's Greatest Hits” and “The Phil Spector Christmas Album”); a happy, upbeat song that celebrates Christmas (as does just about every other Christmas song) succeeded by a moany, downbeat, sarcastic swipe at the festive season. I know he says all that stuff at the end about “wishing you a joyful Christmas”, but to be honest, after what he's written prior all of that rings a little hollow to me, and the end impression I've always been left with is the ambiguous ending, which can really be interpreted however you want, but for me is always something of a parting shot: “The Christmas you get you deserve?” Apart from being a badly-constructed phrase (should be “You get the Christmas you deserve”, and it would still have scanned with the rest of the lyric) it always sounds negative to me. And he also had the gall to base much of the melody on Prokofiev's “Troika” from Lieutenant Kije. Every time I hear this at Christmas it depresses and annoys me, and to be honest, I think I'd rather listen to Carey's vacuous bleating on “All I want for Christmas is you” than this. At least that's cheerful, even if it makes you want to smash your head against the wall till your brains leak out. Lake's effort just makes me want to go find the nearest gunshop. Lucky I live in Ireland, where there are no such things. Merry Christmas Greg, you contemptuous old fart! To quote an old Blackadder curse, May your skin turn orange in hue, and your head drop off at an awkward moment. Perhaps you need a visit from a certain three ghosts... ”They said there'll be snow at Christmas; They said there'll be peace on Earth. But instead it just kept on raining, A veil of tears for the Virgin's birth. I remember one Christmas morning, A winters light and a distant choir And the peal of a bell and that Christmas tree smell And their eyes full of tinsel and fire. They sold me a dream of Christmas; They sold me a silent night And they told me a fairy story 'till I believed in the Israelite. And I believed in Father Christmas And I looked at the sky with excited eyes 'till I woke with a yawn in the first light of dawn And I saw him and through his disguise. I wish you a hopeful Christmas I wish you a brave new year. All anguish pain and sadness Leave your heart and let your road be clear. They said there'll be snow at Christmas They said there'll be peace on Earth. Hallelujah Noel be it Heaven or Hell The Christmas you get you deserve.” __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

12-13-2014, 01:37 PM	#9 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,996	Coming for 2015... __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

12-07-2014, 03:28 AM	#1 (permalink)
GD ???pp? ??snW Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: NO Posts: 686	Glad you liked it, and merry Christmas to you too!

12-11-2014, 07:47 PM	#3 (permalink)
Zhanteimi Mord Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Tokyo Posts: 4,873	I think he asked because you seemed to have missed the 11th. Maybe he's just impatient to see your next update.

12-12-2014, 04:35 PM	#6 (permalink)
Zhanteimi Mord Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Tokyo Posts: 4,873	Absolutely brilliant review! I've now added Born to Run to my queue.