SOUNDTRACK: SHE & HIM-Christmas Party (2016).
The first She & Him Christmas album was a little flat, a little dull. So I wasn’t that excited to get a new one. But this one is so much more fun than the first.
Zooey Deschanel feels much looser and freer and the music is more lush and not so restrained. It’s still not anything like the craziness that Zooey Deschanel is capable of. In fact, there’s a lot of restraint. But some fun is certainly have, mostly as little asides.
“All I Want for Christmas Is You” starts the album and you can hear the big change. There’s a choir singing behind her which sounds huge (in comparison) and Zooey puts a nice vibrato on her voice. There’s drums and a bouncy beat. This album feels very much alive compared to the first one.
“Let It Snow” slows things down. But it’s and jazzy very appropriate to the song.
“Must Be Santa” is a silly fun track. This one has accordion and a bouncy backing chorus. Like in the Dylan version, they list the presidents along with the reindeer. But it hurts a lot that after the first batch of presidents, they tack on Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton, which hurts a lot.
“Happy Holiday” has a pretty, echoey guitar and Zooey really shows off her voice nicely.
“Mele Kalikimaka” is a favorite Christmas song. This version is a little delicate compared to the more rocking version, but it does capture a Hawaiian spirit.
“Christmas Memories” is a bit too slow for my liking but it is a pretty song.
“Run Run Rudolph” M sings lead. This song is kinda dumb when you actually hear the words. I’m surprised they didn’t upend gender stereotypes on this one like they did on “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”
“Winter Wonderland” a duet with Jenny Lewis. It’s fun to hear another voice with hers. There’s a goofy moment where Jenny sings, “we can pretend he is Jerry Brown.”
“The Coldest Night of the Year” is a nice sweet duet. When the chorus comes in with Ward in the backing vocals it sounds really great.
“A Marshmallow World” is perfect for her. Fun and bouncey and surprisingly restrained for what it could have been.
“The Man with the Bag” is pretty and old-fashioned-sounding. Zooey does this style very well.
“Christmas Don’t Be Late” This normally hyperactive song is almost like a dirge. I don’t know why the excitement has been removed from it. It’s a bummer way to end the record.
[READ: December 1, 2017] “Eva”
Once again, I have ordered The Short Story Advent Calendar. This year, there are brief interviews with each author posted on the date of their story.
Hello. Welcome. It’s finally here: Short Story Advent Calendar time.
If you’re reading along at home, now’s the time to start cracking those seals, one by one, and discover some truly brilliant writing inside. Then check back here each morning for an exclusive interview with the author of that day’s story.
(Want to join in? It’s not too late. Order your copy here.)
This year I’m pairing each story with a holiday disc from our personal collection.
This story is really wonderful. It’s sad and strange and powerful.
It opens with a man visiting “the hairy child” in Quetzalenango. The girl is Eva. Her mother hopes this man is a doctor. But he is not. He is a representative of Doña Teresa de Miraflor, a Cuban heiress who was setting up the Society of Scientific Knowledge in Havana.
Soon Eva is brought to Havana (she will never see her home again). Unlike many people who cannot look at Eva, Doña Teresa is not afraid of her. She is there to help her. And to study her.
She gives Eva a very nice life–much better than she would have were she to have stayed at home. But She also takes a lot away from her. Like her name. Eva is now known as Josephina. And, Eva will have her every move–eating, defecating, bodily growth–monitored by doctors.
She is also more or less forbidden from leaving the house. The only outsider she will speak with is the gardener, Daniel. He was very kind to her. And one time, when her teeth were coming in and hurt terribly, he brought her home to get herbal medicine from his wife–a healer. And for that he was fired and she was punished.
Those teeth, by the way, were her second row of teeth–her first did not fall out. The doctors were fascinating
Josephina grew older and less interesting to Doña Teresa. She grew breasts (too large for Doña Teresa’s tastes) and began to menstruate (just like a normal girl).
They travelled to New York so Josephina could have the second ro w of teeth removed. The dentists informed them that the roof of her mouth would need to be broken for this to happen.
While in the hotel it began to snow. Josephina had never seen snow before and she dared to go outside–in her veil, of course.
When she lifted her veil to let the snow fall on her face, a passing man was amazed at her. He considered himself very lucky to have walked by at the time. For he runs the Cavalcade of Wonders. And he wanted Josephina to be a star of the show.
Should she go with this man? Would she have her own agency or just be an abuses “freak” like Doña Teresa warned her about? What can she do?
This story raised so many interesting issues about agency and human rights. And it’s compelling as well.
I Just Read About That... 
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