SOUNDTRACK: SUFJAN STEVENS–Peace! Songs for Christmas Vol. V (2006).
This EP comes very close to being my favorite; it may even beat vol 3. In part because the disc is 35 minutes long (still short for Sufjan Stevens but longer than some bands’ full lengths).
Four songs are sort of repeated from other discs. “Once in Royal David’s City,” “Lo! How a Rose E’er Blooming,” (a pretty piano version) “Jingle Bells” (a bouncy piano version) and “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” (a slow piano version) are short instrumental reprises and act as nice segues between the more meaty songs.
“Get Behind Me, Santa!” is something of a Santa bashing song, but it’s still pretty fun (with some great prog rock synth sounds). But it is nowhere near as delightful as “Christmas in July,” another original that is totally Sufjan, from start to finish. It’s a great song regardless of the season. The pair of “Jupiter Winter” and “Sister Winter” are two originals: one mellow, the other less so. While I don’t love “Jupiter,” “Sister” is fantastic.
“Star of Wonder” is not the part from “We three Kings” but an original song full of Sufjan’s orchestration. It is mesmerizing. “Holy, Holy, Holy” is another beautiful rendition of a classic Christmas song (the delicate harmonies are really affecting). And finally, “The Winter Solstice” sounds just like its title: chilly and spare.
And that completes the box set, one of my favorite Christmas collections.
[READ: January 4, 2009] “Dead Man Laughing”
I have only read On Beauty (and a piece in The Believer to be reviewed later) by Zadie Smith and yet I feel that she has rapidly eclipsed many of my favorite writers. There is something about her style that is just beautiful to me. She writes deliberately and powerfully without overembellishing or resorting to anything beneath her. People often say that they could listen to so and so sing or recite the phone book, their voice is so good (I feel that way about Patrick Stewart). Well whatever the equivalent for a writer is, that hows I feel about Zadie Smith. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 