this post is about my interest in the tradition and practice of sending holiday cards. i look forward to receiving cards, especially those with family photographs - watching each person age another year every december. i do not send photos myself, however, the idea seems ridiculous.
in place of a photograph this year i mailed an audio cd with a hand picked blend of holiday music. music of others seems better than a photograph of me. so hopefully people enjoy it.
similar to a portrait, though, this collection of music may contain personal data - obvious or thinly veiled. it may also provide a stronger personal link. i expect to listen to the cd ~100x this winter. if a person listens a couple times then we have something in common. i attempted a collection that is short (~40 mins), unique, and good.
what does 'personal data' mean? a family photograph may be glanced at briefly and tossed aside. however i study it intently, devouring the 'data' within. strain in a man's face, a jubilant smile, a nicely furnished backdrop, newly attained sexual maturity - all important, all complex, all potentially visible in a holiday-card-photograph.
study of these photos may be enhanced with an accompanying holiday-card-letter/narrative. again, i relish receiving these, but the thought of sending one is making me feel ill. why? it is an imposition - the receiver is obliged to read based on the effort/thought extended by sender.
how does this winter-holiday-card-blog fit in? the world has gone digital - check the internet. this blog completes the coup de grace of my 2009-2010-digital-holiday-card-strategy. there is no need for physical cards anymore, of course, digits may fully replace these. my strategy this year is to use digital holiday card endpoints with luscious physical innards.
i used the internet to research, purchase, and organize the collection of music for this year's disc. ink, stamp and my laptop cd burner brought physical presence to virtual origins. while the cd makes a reasonable proxy (i think) for a missing photograph, there was no attempt at narrative until this post. rather than leave interpretation to the listener, i will interpret directly here.
how does this represent progress? two ways. first, my approach is fundamentally digital/online. second, the idea of imposing a narrative is unpalatable. however, posting a narrative-blog is different. if you are reading this it is because you came here (digitally/online). i will not be to blame if you have a bad time.
liner notes:
listenability is first concern for the collection - i want something brief/unique/good. multiple rotations mean that i am hitting two objectives: utility (people like the music); and establishing common experience (i am currently on ~40 of my ~100 expected rotations).
in deference to tradition, my second concern is that the collection employs a winter holiday theme. i will likely drop this constraint in future iterations. no explicit religious affinities are contained in the collection - my third concern, complicated somewhat by the second...
act i
1. baby it's cold outside. dean martin / martina mcbride. 1959 / 2007
a classic tale that is close to my heart - a man tries to convince female counterpart to stay at his place using inclement weather as the foil. modern techniques are less charming but perhaps more persuasive. the dub with martina mcbride two years after the death of dean martin adds a bit of irony.
2. winter wonderland. harry connick jr. 1989
from when harry met sally - a favorite film & cliche. this track begins a theme of instrumental music to escape limitations of language.
3. let it snow. ella fitzgerald. 1960
an obvious member of the non-religious-winter-holiday-song category; i also want ella somewhere in the collection...badda bing badda boom. this song delivers two additional themes: first, cold as a metaphor for the condition of human misery; second, the ability of love to combat the cold.
4. sound of silence. paul simon. 1987
this is my favorite track on the cd and easily the most didactic. it stretches the winter holiday constraint - the only reference to season occurs when paul turns his collar to the cold and damp.
the song provides a voice for me, ironically and paradoxically as it deconstructs the ability of language/sound to provide useful human guidance. this live version with urubamba and the jessy dixon singers adds variety and provides a hymn-like quality. yes, ironic, yes - hear my words that i might teach you...
act ii
5. sleigh ride. bela fleck. 2007
the second act is purely instrumental. this song is another traditional but non religious classic, here with a funky bluegrass tint (the song was originally conceived for orchestral arrangement). it hits all the main themes - the presence of cold/winter, salvation through love, the incompleteness of language.
two small shifts are introduced in addition:
first, the song as conceived embraces existence overwhelmingly - the cold merely supplies backdrop for a joyous sleigh ride (with friends waving). the fact that love is involved only enhances the pleasure.
second, in this particular version some abstract anxiety underlies the frantic notes.
here comes the paradox: we replace the confined anxiety of cold weather with the abstract anxiety of nothing at all.
6. linus and lucy. vince guaraldi. 1965
any reader of this blog may know my regard for vince guaraldi. this song appears in the charlie brown christmas tv special, but there is nothing religious contained in the title or lyrics. linus and lucy are siblings, suggesting love without the connotations of lust.
7. winter moon. stan getz / laurindo almeida. 1963
takes a relaxed attitude toward anxiety. have a good time...
act iii
8. ive got my love to keep me warm. billie holiday. 1937
early recording - billie is 22 here. this song returns to the earlier construct of cold as the embodiment of existential suffering with love as vehicle for salvation.
9. chilly winds dont blow. nina simone. 1965
10. la vie in rose. louis armstrong. 1960
the dual themes of cold vs love are resolved here. this song abandons any reference to the issue of cold. it is a euphoric endorsement of life, experienced from a condition of love.
rose is a warm color though - the final theme. reddish hues and overwhelming euphoria replace the early anxieties connected to cold weather and nihilism. this live version was recorded during a gig with the us state department in africa in 1960.
11. pink and glitter. tori amos. 2009
we end in the present, picking up the themes of reddish hue, love, and exhilaration.
a family friend introduced this song through a cd given to my grandmother - a modern collection of christmas music beginning with this track. immediately i seized this song and her idea of a holiday music blend.
so only fitting to end with these notes. it has been a tough year - have some champagne. enjoy life & red hot love! the blog is ended, go in peace...
Posts
Double grazie, sb, for the mix and ersatz liner notes. Your summary of the intended narrative arc provides an engaging counterpoint to prior interpretations. In this sense, the gap between provision of music and metadata was beneficial. I don't usually enjoy pop musical exploration of the themes addressed in your collection. Nevertheless, I savored your thoughtful selections and nearly seamless flow. Thanks, sugbear; I hadn’t expected that.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite track was the Dean Martin overdub. This sets aside the nearly incomparable Linus and Lucy. L&L, IMO, is worthy of its own discussion. For reasons that range from childhood familiarity to cultural ubiquity to VG’s astoundingly original composition, this is something like my Platonic ideal of holiday music.
Your account of the mindset and motivations behind your assembly and distribution of a holiday mix was nearly as entertaining as the tunes, though perhaps not as durable. It was also a bit confusing. After reading this account, I am unclear as to why you perceive holiday photographs and letters as an imposition upon their recipients, given the compelling description of your enjoyment of them.
This seems to require a belief that your holiday card counterparties are categorically different than you, in terms of their interest in the “complex, important” data that you “study intently, devouring.” Even if you regard your interest as exceptional in the general population, it seems you might allow for it to be highly correlated (as with other of your traits) with the interests your friends, due to selection biases. In any event, I believe the sort of interest you describe tends towards universal. Perhaps some enterprising Ivy student working on a PhD in Holiday Studies could do some research and clear this up.
The belief that such missives might represent an involuntary imposition is also confusing. When I receive a letter describing things that do not interest me, I don’t read it. Most people I know take a similar approach. I don’t think you need to worry about somehow forcing all the kids to wear glasses, so to speak. Still, there are other notable advantages to the blog format; e.g. - the critical feedback mechanism is more robust. ;)
Prosit.
yep there is a clear disconnect between my appreciation for photographs/narratives and my unwillingness to send them. the post exposes this without attempting to resolve it. the blog and cd are my attempt to participate in spite of my quirk.
ReplyDeleteYour blog surely added another layer of enjoyment to the whole experience. I'm flattered that you put so much thought into your gift. I can't say that I put no thought into my Christmas cards, as I do try to create an experience of sort, but you've got me beat in that department. Also, wanted to clarify something in my email - it is track #9, not #10, that is my least favorite. I love Louis!!
ReplyDelete