It's February...do you know where your lawn ornaments are?

It's February...do you know where your lawn ornaments are? Well, if they are still out on the lawn, doncha think it's time to bring them on in??? (I mean, come on...what happened to poor Santa there???)

And while it may only be February for a few more hours, it is a special day in February that I couldn't resist making a post on...it's a LEAP YEAR DAY! So what better way to celebrate one more day in February than with some new Christmas songs for you to enjoy?

Today I have an obvious choice of a song, but perhaps not the most common version of it. It is a live performance of Lou Reed's seasonal favorite, "Xmas In February," which he performs with Bruce Cockburn. And, honestly, I am not sure of the source. I can only surmise it's from one of the legendary Bruce Cockburn Christmas concerts. But I managed to come across the MP3 somewhere and I am pleased to share it nonetheless.

Lou Reed, Bruce Cockburn-Xmas in February

Finally, I'd like to share with you another reminder that Christmas is all year long. This is a nice little track I acquired from a recent purchase of a old 45, circa the 1950's.

Voices of the Little Flower-Christmas All Year 'Round

Senator Bobby's Christmas Party

Records must have been very cheap to produce and put out. It astonishes me how many wonderful novelty records are out there, and not just Christmas records. But SOOOOO many different types of oddball records that one can uncover if one takes the time. It seems this has been lost in the CD age. Now, I suppose, much of the oddball stuff lands on You Tube or other websites, but it's a shame the physical product is being lost for future generations to uncover and enjoy.

Not that Senator Bobby's Christmas Party is a small potatoes release. It's put out by Columbia Records and features the talents of Chet Dowling and Bill Minkin. Ok, not exactly household names, but I am betting money those names sold records back in the 60's. There is good talent on this record, to be sure, but it seems you just don't see this kind of thing any more. Oh, what I would give to see Senator Obama's Christmas Party! Or Dennis Kucinich's Christmas Elfin Eve! The mind reels in thinking what we could be getting today if only things like this still were being made! And maybe they just don't want to put that out on CD. And that leads me to wonder exactly how cheap it was to put out a record back in the day, because it seems everybody was doing it.

This was recorded live on October 11th, 1967. It may not be presidential, but I felt it was a good thing to share today, on President's Day, in light of the two senators vying for the nomination of the Democratic Party. I will decline in taking sides here on my Christmas blog, but I will just say I think it's certainly a time for change in this country, and we have a great opportunity to get TRUE change if we want it! So go vote if you haven't already!

Senator Bobby's Christmas Party is written and produced by Chet Dowling and Bill Minkin. Bill Minkin portrays Bobby Kennedy, and other voices include Chuck McGann, Bryna Raeburn, Joan Shea, and Chet Dowling. I just may have to go and rent the movie Bobby after listening to this!

Senator Bobby's Christmas Party

GROUNDHOG DAY!

It's Groundhog Day, possibly one of the best post Christmas holidays made all the most special because of the seminal favorite movie of the same name starring Bill Murray. And it's certainly one of the best non-Christmas holiday movies ever, if not arguably the best.

Which is why it's no surprise people would take this concept from Groundhog Day and try to merge it with movies of a similar theme. Movies that are arguably much, much worse than the standard holiday movies out there.

We had Christmas Every Day, which--judging from the You Tube clips I found--would make me wish Christmas was no days if having it everyday meant everyday this movie was on TV. And more recently we had Christmas Do-Over, which is the same concept only executed in a more painful way. And execution is what you will want to endure after watching either of these movies.

I thought about trying to see if there was a soundtrack to either of these movies to share with you today, but I thought there is no way in heck fire that either of those movies are yielding any kind of memorable unique Christmas songs. (They might...Santa Vs. The Martians gave us "Hooray For Santa Clause," so I guess it can happen...but I am not looking to find out.)

Instead I have a couple tracks from my personal collection about celebrating Christmas everyday. So pop Groundhog Day into the DVD player, get it on demand, watch it on TV, download it or however you get your movies and listen to these tracks. Think of your worst Christmas ever and what would you do if you could relive that day over and over again. Yeah, I said worst. It was a crappy day for Bill Murray and he made it into a wonderful day. What would you do differently on your worst Christmas to make it better?

So now I give you the tracks:

First up comes from a record I picked up a couple weeks ago called An Austin Rhythm and Blues Christmas, dating back to 1983. It's a great collection, and I don't know if it's been issued on CD.

Paul Ray-Let's Make Every Day Christmas Day

And the final track today is from a favorite, but not oft listened to band, called Giant Sand. This is from their best of collection, Giant Songs, Vol. 2: The Best of Giant Sand

Giant Sand-Christmas Everyday (Maybe It'll Help)