SOUNDTRACK: PEARL JAM-“Santa Cruz” (1993).
On December 2, Pearl Jam announced that their fan club holiday singles will be released to streaming services. Their first holiday single was released back in 1991. It was “Let Me Sleep (Christmas Time).” They are rolling out the songs one at a time under the banner 12 Days of Pearl Jam.
These releases are coming out as a daily surprise.
Pearl Jam released a song called “Santa God” the other day. This song also has Santa in the title, but it is not about Santa Claus. It is indeed about Santa Cruz.
This song appeared on the b side of the band’s terrific take on the John Doe song “Golden State” (co-sung with Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney).
This song also has a folkie feel–acoustic guitars and multi-tracked vocals from Eddie. It even opens with a harmonica!
It’s a delightful road song abut travelling to Santa Cruz:
Heading South a compass reads
Look at our speed, we’re going sixty-three
Look out the window as the trees go green
I look at them and they look at me
Got Neil Young on the stereo
He comes along whenever i go
It’s a really pretty song and deserves to get more airplay. Frankly if Santa Cruz hasn’t used it their official anthem, the town leaders are fools.
[READ: December 9, 2019] “The Snow Man”
This year, S. ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar. This is my fourth time reading the Calendar. I didn’t know about the first one until it was long out of print (sigh), but each year since has been very enjoyable. Here’s what they say this year
The Short Story Advent Calendar is back! And to celebrate its fifth anniversary, we’ve decided to make the festivities even more festive, with five different coloured editions to help you ring in the holiday season.
No matter which colour you choose, the insides are the same: it’s another collection of expertly curated, individually bound short stories from some of the best writers in North America and beyond.
(This is a collection of literary, non-religious short stories for adults. For more information, visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.)
As always, each story is a surprise, so you won’t know what you’re getting until you crack the seal every morning starting December 1. Once you’ve read that day’s story, check back here to read an exclusive interview with the author.
Want a copy? Order one here.
I’m pairing music this year with some Christmas songs that I have come across this year.
This story, written over a hundred years ago, felt rather timeless. Aside from a few word choices and spelling, this story could have been written this year.
It’s also amusing that it is a Christmas story but is actually about a thief doing a job on Christmas Eve.
He starts the remembrance saying that he has both good and bad reasons for remembering Christmas of 189-. He’d had his eye on Wharton manor “as a crib worth the cracking” (being ahead of MTV Cribs by over 100 years). This particular job ended his thieving career and set him on the path to good.
The narrator assures us he was never the mere midnight marauder who is supposed to “lurk under the bed until the family is asleep.” He fancied himself better than that. He never carried a weapon and trusted fortune to be his guide:
if i were dolt enough to walk into a trap or let another man’s wits outwit mine…I ought to yield him the palm like a gentleman.
The manor was well protected–a large wall and a winding drive kept it hidden from sight. The wall was there more as a protection from the precipitous drop on the other side of it than to keep people out. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 