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

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!

Josef K · 12-12-2014, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mordwyr

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

You should add Darkness on the Edge of Town, Nebraska, and maybe The River as well.

I'll second (third?) what the others have said - great review, of an album I love.

Trollheart · 12-12-2014, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Josef K

You should add Darkness on the Edge of Town, Nebraska, and maybe The River as well.

I'll second (third?) what the others have said - great review, of an album I love.

Thanks man! Have to get this door widened so I can get my head through!
If anyone's interested I also reviewed Darkness and Nebraska in this journal. Just hit "search this thread" and pop the names in.

Key · 12-12-2014, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Since we're now less than two weeks from the big day, I think it might be appropriate to review some Christmas albums. First up, an album I did not even realise exist (though I'm tickled to discover it does) and was only alerted to thanks to Ki...

Death Metal Christmas --- J.J. Hrubovcak --- 2013 (Independent)

Very happy to see this become a part of your journal as well. I have to agree that it would have been a bit cooler for them to choose more well known songs, but it's still perfect for those people who are just not into Christmas, like myself.

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...

Zhanteimi · 12-13-2014, 05:38 PM

Wow! Good luck. I perused that list sometime this year and got all the albums that interested me. It's a great list!

Trollheart · 12-13-2014, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mordwyr

Wow! Good luck. I perused that list sometime this year and got all the albums that interested me. It's a great list!

Yeah. I'm gonna attempt to listen to them all. I figure if I manage one a day I'll be through in three years...

I hope not to die before then.

WWWP · 12-13-2014, 06:04 PM

Awesome, that will certainly keep you busy. I'm interested to see what turns up!

Thelonious Monkey · 12-13-2014, 06:12 PM

That's quite an undertaking. That blows Metal Mania out of the water. I'm going to go bigge...No no no Justin, calm your tits.

Anyway, can't wait to see what pops up. Brilliant idea dude.

12-13-2014, 11:20 AM	#2575 (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	#2576 (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

12-13-2014, 05:38 PM	#2577 (permalink)
Zhanteimi Mord Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Tokyo Posts: 4,873	Wow! Good luck. I perused that list sometime this year and got all the albums that interested me. It's a great list!

12-13-2014, 06:12 PM	#2580 (permalink)
Thelonious Monkey Caesar is home. Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 876	That's quite an undertaking. That blows Metal Mania out of the water. I'm going to go bigge...No no no Justin, calm your tits. Anyway, can't wait to see what pops up. Brilliant idea dude.