moonlight and brandy, sweet talk and candy

In August 1981, network known as MTV aired its very first broadcast.  That December, MTV hosted it's first Christmas special.  Enter Billy Squier, who had recorded a new Christmas tune in the studio and was ready to perform it live with the "MTV Chorus."  In a truly great television moment, Billy and the MTV-ers performed Christmas Is The Time To Say I Love You for viewers all across the country.  As everyone knows, this is one of my most favorite Christmas songs of EVER.  And this live performance is without a doubt the most stellar version of the song that exists.  

And now, I give you a historic moment in music television:

andrea's top five

TOP FIVE HOLIDAY SONGS FOR ALL YOU ALT-BROS WHO CLAIM TO HATE HOLIDAY SONGS:

5. The Weepies, All That I Want

Holiday cheer +  The Weepies + Enough said.

4. The Hives and Cyndi Lauper, A Christmas Duel

There has been a lot of buzz surrounding this recent collaboration, and it's obvious why.  Sounding as much like a great rock song as a Christmas song (disregarding the percussive jingle bells), this definitely deserves a listen.

3. Weezer, We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Rivers Cuomo rocking out Blue-Album-style to a song that even your grandma likes.  The best part is the guitar solo reminiscent of Say It Ain't So around 0:54.  (Side note: The Christmas with Weezer EP was just released TODAY, and it's already on heavy rotation here in my apt.  It's killer.  Get a copy post-haste).

2. Beck, Little Drum Machine Boy

I'll admit that I'm not a huge fan of the Little Drummer Boy, but leave it to Beck to take this humdrum tune and kick it up about 62 notches.

1. Fountains of Wayne, Valley Winter Song

This song describes my dream life.  Hearing Chris Collingwood sing "The snow is coming down/on our New England town/and it's been falling all day long" is a really, really fantastic thing.  The lyrics and melody perfectly match the overall feeling of the song.  Also, I want to be this lady when i grow up.

photo credit: 1

a present from sufjan!

my sufjan elf that i dressed up here.

Asthmatic Kitty, the record label home of several indie darlings such as Sufjan Stevens, has put up an adorable Christmas-themed website.  Activities include playing dress-up with Sufjan, printing Christmas ornaments and listening (free) to select tunes from Songs for Christmas.  Oh, and the best part - an amazing 8-bit Christmas video game, which makes Sufjan look like he's trapped inside a floppy disk on your Commodore 64.  Brillz!