I love the strength of her sustains and the powerful clarity of Lennox's phrasing. I love the steady progression of the music and its breaks. I love the corresponding power of her walk, and the progression of the parade of people in the video. I adore the oddness of costuming. The charm of Lennox's multiple characters. The humility of kneeling to angels that appear in the sky, the silliness of the angels halo, the theatrical-medieval sepia, the antique haze, the overlapping fades, dissolves, double, triple, quadruple montage of the whole pastiche, the children throwing snowballs, and the ridiculous wickerwork Father Christmas, the fire and stereoscope flip book. I love it all through and through. This is so ace. I play it all year. It totally gets me.
Mad as a brush. Lennox is a true professional musician and I love her. I do. I think she's even atheist I'm not sure. She said on the radio she was raised with carols that she loved. I think it is just music to her, and that makes me love the song, the video and her even more. There is no maudlin piety. It is just music and theater. That's all. And what music! There is a live version introduced by George Stephanopoulos that is every bit as good even without the video that so arrests my attention, and with stronger instruments and choir. On stage she is wearing a black t-shirt with text that reads oddly: "hiv positive" under her black jacket pinned with a looped red ribbon. Did I mention she is quite mad? I hope you like this as much as I do, both the song and the video.
The whole album is great, A Christmas Cornucopia.
8 comments:
I respect Annie Lennox a lot because she is a talent and a professional.
I too am a big fan of Annie Lenox. Her voice and songs are quite powerful and she still looks phenomenal.
I listened to her. Then I doubleclicked Utube and listened again. Then I clicked "Into the West" and listened to that twice.
Then I called my son and asked if he'd like to have a LOTR evening at our house tonight. He said yes. We haven't done that in about 6 years. I'll let him pick, I, II, or III.
What a great solstice evening activity. With the family.
Thanks Chip!
A couple years ago I gave my brother and his Ukrainian wife an Aerogarden and a plastic greenhouse for starting plants and an assortment of seed packets when they got married.
He told me his wife was deeply moved. Moved to tears. Apparently exchanging seeds is a common custom in Ukraine. I did not know that. She did not expect any such thing from an unknown and remote new relative. America was all new to her.
Then nothing.
I imagined all that gone idle.
A few days ago I asked if their new house has a garden. James followed with a lengthy email answering, yes, she loves gardening and spends a lot of time outside tending. At least one hour every day. She uses the Aerogarden to start plants and still uses the greenhouse. (I threw mine out after a couple uses. it became chipped, dirty and ugly. Now i have a new different one. Two, actually) All that cheered me.
James tells me she's a bit picky about organic food. Suspicious of gmo and chemical fertilizer.
I found organic heirloom type seeds I hope she accepts. Victory Garden themed seed kits. Packaged somewhat attractively. Addressed to her specifically, with no mention of Christmas.
What the heck.
I also found polyanthus that approximate the blue propeller that I like. Close but no cigar. I want to give them a go. Along with other cartoonish plants:
primrose, crescendo, mix
primrose victorian laced this is closest to propeller, except maroon.
English daisy, habanera
Globe thistle, blue glow those blue balls that stick up on spikes.
Ice plant stardust silly little low-level flowers. Don't know what color they'll be, probably mixed. I hope purple.
Vinca- Periwinkle- Bright Eyes White overlapping propeller petals with red centers, cartoonish.
vinca cooler mixed same thing different bright colors
Plus two types of flowering hearty climbing clematis vines, one cartoonishly blue, the other cartoonishly white.
Most of these I must bring inside for winter. I'll need more planters, interesting ones, that can be stacked to create height and spaces between them. I also have several interesting antique stands. I'll fill them all.
I intend to kill hundreds of plants. It's how I learn. Thousands before it's all over.
All vegetables I want and all herbs seeds I can buy easily enough locally.
Very nice, mostly. But the "fert" instead of "fort" in "comfort" really grates on my ears.
Oops.
primrose victoria laced
I really like the music and performance of this, but the words of "comfort and joy" don't seem reflected in the feeling of the music nor the video. It's almost militaristic, as if they are going off to war rather than spreading comfort and joy.
Faith is "maudlin piety?" Okay.
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