SOUNDTRACK: BEST COAST-“Little Saint Nick” (2019).
It was only a few years ago that I realized that this song is about a car. For years you can sing words to a song and not realize what you’re actually saying.
The song is a fun upbeat Christmas song that I rather like.
Best Coast is a rock duo: Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno. They sing California indie pop with a rocking edge.
This version of “Little Saint Nick” is not radically different from the original. The biggest musical difference is how fuzzy and distorted the main guitar is. But her deliver of the lyrics is pretty clean (with some very nice backing vocals).
I appreciate this version because it finally taught me what the deep-voiced part is in the song “he don’t miss no one.” I could never tell form the Beach Boys version.
This is a delightful poppy version that with just enough edge to get you moving for the holiday.
[READ: December 23, 2019] “The Adventists”
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.
Ian Williams has my favorite answer to one of the Q&A questions:
When did you write it, and how did the writing process compare to your other work?
IW: I wrote “The Adventists” because Michael Hingston asked me for a story for the Short Story Advent Calendar project. I pretty much already had a title from the invitation. He said that the story didn’t have to be religious or about Christmas, so, good lawkeeper that I am, I wrote a story that was religious and about Christmas.
Indeed, this story is about Adventists. Seventh-Day Adventists. The narrator is the father of a family of Adventists and his daughter has just come back from college in Leeds for Christmas.
The story begins, “Our daughter is trying to persuade us that the world is more than 6,000 years old.” She’s also got quite the posh British accent (after being away for a semester).
She doesn’t dismiss the Bible out of hand–it gives comfort to many people. But not you? her father wonders. She says you can’t deny science. He retorts, “You’re going to trust some rocks above the Word of God?”
Soon enough, his daughter took out her phone and started “texting or tweeting or whatever she does when she has no retort for the real world.”
The Monday before Christmas [that’s today!] they went to Walmart.
I love this aside:
For a significant period our family refused to celebrate Christmas in protest against its pagan origins. Made no dent on the economy. Now we were back, somewhat grudgingly to being standard Protestants.
I Just Read About That... 