SOUNDTRACK: THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS-Holidayland (2001).
This was one of the first Christmas albums I bought, and i would have bought it regardless because it is They Might Be Giants. As far as Christmas records goes, it’s pretty short: 5 songs in 11 minutes.
“Santa Claus” has a funky bass line and a snotty attitude. There’s loud guitars, a honking horn and plenty of NOTHING! “Santa’s Beard” is an old super fun song, classic TMBG.
“Feast of Lights” is a simple song on toy piano and real piano, a Hanukkah-based kinda sad song with a bit of hope in the end. “Careless Santa” is an upbeat song about Santa spoiling Christmas for him (cops are involved!). It has some loopy synth sounds and wild drumming at the end.
“O Tannenbaum” The only traditional song, this is a slow version. It opens with horns in the vocal melody for the first minute and then John F’ sings in German for the final minute.
I’ve always enjoyed this admittedly slight holiday record.
[READ: December 18, 2014] Anya’s Ghost
Sarah was surprised to see that I’d brought this home because she read it for her YA contest this year. She also liked it quite a lot.
Brosgol wrote and drew the book and I love her illustration style. It is simple but very effective. She draws a normal looking girl quite effectively (and the embarrassing underwear shot is quite funny). But she also knows how to draw the skinny, “hot” girl and make her look sweet as well. And lets not forget how well she conveys the ghost in the story, too.
Anya is in a private high school (which her mother can barely afford). Anya’s family moved to America (from Russia) when she was little. She learned to speak English and does not have an accent. But she is nervous about being seen as a FOB (fresh off the boat). And as such she avoids Dima, a new to America Russian boy who studies hard and is a real dork (and suffers accordingly).
As the book opens, Anya’s mother is making Сырники (Syrniki–fried quark (a dairy product) pancakes, garnished with sour cream, jam, honey, or apple sauce–YUM!). But Anya is upset that she’s making yet another fattening food. Now that she’s in America she’s not interested in her mother’s claims that “in Russia being fat meant you were a rich man.”
She takes a bag but throws it out on her way to school (travesty). Then she meets her (only) friend Siobhan. Siobhan is kind of bitter and a little nasty (but funny). She is drawn very angrily though–she’s the one character I don’t like the look of. When Anya doesn’t let Siobhan bum a cigarette, Siobhan gets mad and stomps off. Anya goes off in the other direction and…falls into a hole. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 