I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964).

Back in the early days of CDs (1996), it was exciting when things that you never expected to see available were right there for the asking.

Who knew anybody wanted a CD of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?

Unlike the Grinch CD, this CD contains only the songs from the TV special.  It’s all about Burl Ives.

The first half of the disc contains songs from the movie as sung by Burl Ives (and others).  None of the songs are longer than two and a half minutes (except for a medley that’s over three minutes).  Anyone who loves the music (even if you are irritated by how mean everyone is to Rudolph) will love having these songs in rotation:

Jingle Jingle Jingle (Stan Francis);  We Are Santa’s Elves Vocals (Videocraft Chorus); There’s Always Tomorrow (Janet Orenstein); We’re A Couple Of Misfits (Billie Richards, Paul Soles); Silver And Gold (Burl Ives); The Most Wonderful Day Of The Year (Videocraft Chorus); A Holly Jolly Christmas (Burl Ives, Videocraft Chorus).

And a special shout out to the singers listed above who aren’t Burl Ives and who apparently never got acknowledged for their work (including the mysterious Videocraft Chorus),

The second half of the disc contains the instrumental versions of the above songs, whether interstitial or just stripped of vocals, I’m not sure.  There’s not as interesting, honestly, but you know the disc couldn’t be only fifteen minutes, right?.

[READ: December 2, 2018] “Slower”

Once again, I have ordered The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my third time reading the Calendar (thanks S.).  I never knew about the first one until it was long out of print (sigh).  Here’s what they say this year

Fourth time’s the charm.

After a restful spring, rowdy summer, and pretty reasonable fall, we are officially back at it again with another deluxe box set of 24 individually bound short stories to get you into the yuletide spirit.

The fourth annual Short Story Advent Calendar might be our most ambitious yet, with a range of stories hailing from eight different countries and three different originating languages (don’t worry, we got the English versions). This year’s edition features a special diecut lid and textured case. We also set a new personal best for material that has never before appeared in print.

Want a copy?  Order one here.

Like last year I’m pairing each story with a holiday disc from our personal collection.

This second story in the advent calendar is quite a downer.  It starts dark and gets even darker as it moves along.  Except that the main character (whether protagonist or antagonist is not always clear) has a positive outlook that never seems to fade.

The narrator, David and Andrea have a baby and are living in a house which is, frankly, a hellpit.  But they are living there for free (as long as they collect the rent) because Andrea’s uncle owns the property.

They are one of the few white families living there (the real estate agent used the code word “noisy” to indicate this to them).  But Andrea was 8 months pregnant and they had little money so they didn’t have a lot of choices.

The baby, Sylvie, was born and the narrator is head over heels about her.  He stays at home while Andrea goes to work.  He smothers the baby with affection and kisses and takes her everywhere–even on the rent-gathering missions.  Dave also sells a little weed on the side.

When they were dating, Andrea loved that he wasn’t a Type A character like her dad, but ever since the baby was born she has been much harsher to him.  “She’s pissy when I let things around the apartment slide–if I forget to empty the bucket by the toilet (which drips)…and it makes her crazy the way the baby slows me down.”

So is he a slacker loser? Yes, maybe.  But apparently he became the primary caregiver “about five minutes after she was born when Andrea thrust her to me and said ‘Find some fuckin’ formula, I have had it.'”

Weekends are tough for them as they just fight with each other the whole time  She criticizes him for everything and by the weekends close she says “its terrible, you’re getting nicer and I’m getting meaner.”

But when he suggest that she would be happier is she did more with Sylvie, she criticizes him and says she can’t because he needs to loosen his grip on her.

He collects the rent on Rent Day and most of the tenants are polite to him.  They love that he brings the baby with him because she is adorable.  But there is one tenant, the nicest of the bunch who is three months late.  Andrea’s uncle has told him in no uncertain terms that he will get their money or kick them out, which he just cannot do.  The tenants all complain about the landlord (and obviously their own house is no prize), but the uncle never comes around to do anything.

Finally, one of tenants says that he heard the owner is going to tear down the place to put up condos.  David has heard nothing, but the tenants aren’t convinced–they know how it works.

As the story comes to its end, Andrea’s parents come to visit. They immediately declare the place a slum and Andrea’s uncle a slum lord.  But they also blame David for not taking better care of the place (he’s obviously not handy). When David defends himself, Andrea yells not to talk to her mother that way (meanwhile “Andrea’s contempt for her mother is geologically layered.  She’s been persona non grata for years except for the fact that she buys us stuff.”

Andrea’s parents have a conference with her and then send David out for some supplies.

When he comes back they have a change in mind for him.  And he’s not going to like it.

Not such a Merry Christmas for this story.

But here’s an interview with Sara Levine.