The top 5 most depressing Christmas songs

I'm a real upper, aren't I? But really, I'm just giving the people what they want (in a sense). According to my site stats, the number one way people find this blog is by Googling "how to survive depression." And really, there are so many uplifting Christmas songs. Why not focus on the soul-wrenching, overwrought ones that focus on the flip side of my favorite holiday: That it can be a damn lonely, depressing time of year? So in no particular order, here we go:

Merry Christmas, Darling by the Carpenters: Setting aside what happened to Karen, her voice has always haunted me. It's beautiful but full of longing and sadness. When you throw in lyrics like, "I've just one wish on this Christmas Eve/I wish I were with you," it adds a whole new dimension. A melancholy classic.

Miss You Most (at Christmas Time) by Mariah Carey: Mariah's now-iconic holiday album, Merry Christmas, came out when I was in college, and I quickly wore it out. She wrote three of the songs on the album -- the ubiquitous neo-holiday classic All I Want for Christmas Is You, Jesus Born on This Day (eh) and this one. This is prototypical Mariah, with sparse orchestration and that gorgeous voice. Take a listen and hearken back to the days when she could sing to make you cry and hadn't gone crazy yet.

I'll Be Home for Christmas (traditional): Like many of us, I have family in different parts of the country. But it wasn't always that way. This song, written originally for WWII vets, always chokes me up a little, remembering those sweeping Christmases of the past when we all were together. And it's especially poignant when you think of all the Iraq soldiers who won't be able to be home for Christmas this year.

Do They Know It's Christmas? by Band Aid: M and I have a grand old time pointing out the different voices in this song every year. But have you really listened to the lyrics?

There's a world outside your window
And it's a world of dread and fear
Where the only water flowing
Is the bitter sting of tears
And the Christmas bells that ring
There are the clanging chimes of doom
Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you

It's an important point, of course, but yikes. What always struck me about this song (along with Bono's screeching) was, yeah, they probably do know it's Christmas, but they probably don't care. I know when it's Ramadan or Hanukkah, but I don't celebrate those holidays, so they go right on by with very little notice. Weird logic, depressing song, but a cornucopia of '80s talent.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (traditional): This song always made me sad, both because of the tempo and the lyrics . But then I watched the movie The Family Stone, and there's a heartbreaking scene where the family is watching Judy Garland sing it in Meet Me in Saint Louis against the backdrop of a bunch of family drama, and I got it. Just an achingly beautiful song.

Hope your holiday prep is going well. And that you're listening to some good music while you get everything done.

Singin' about the rain

With all this rain, M and I were thinking about the songs that mention it. Here are the 20 we came up with:

• Singin' in the Rain -- Gene Kelley
• Blame It on the Rain -- Milli Vanilli (sort of)
• Rain -- Madonna
• Let It Rain -- Amanda Marshall (one of my favorite songs)
• I'm Only Happy When It Rains -- Garbage
• The Rain Song -- Led Zeppelin
• I Wish It Would Rain Down -- Phil Collins
• Rain -- The Beatles
• Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head -- BJ Thomas
• Red Rain -- Peter Gabriel
• Purple Rain -- Prince
• Fool in the Rain -- Led Zeppelin
• Rainy Days and Mondays -- The Carpenters
• The Rain -- Missy Elliot
• Rainy Day Woman -- Bob Dylan
• It's Raining Men -- The Weather Girls
• Don't Rain on My Parade -- Various, largely attributed to Barbra Streisand
• November Rain -- Guns N Roses
• It Never Rains in Southern California -- Albert Hammond
• Rain, Rain Go Away -- Traditional

Here are more songs.

Any more to add?

Richard Marx says it all

Now, I realize that Richard Marx is about as uncool as you can get. But I love him. And the song Now and Forever is one of the most amazing love songs I've ever heard. Just consider the lyrics:

Whenever I'm weary
From the battles that rage in my head
You make sense of madness
When my sanity hangs by a thread
I lose my way
But still you seem to understand
Now and forever
I will be your man

When Boo was a little guy -- I'm talking still getting up in the night to eat -- and I was still shaking off postpartum depression, I would sing this to him to get him back to sleep. It seemed to calm him. And it calmed me.

I heard the song on the radio the other day, and I got teary. My little guy is getting bigger all the time. He's getting ready to walk, people. I love him so much that it's painful. I wish I could have enjoyed him more when he was little and I didn't have that sadness to work through. But it did make me stronger and appreciate him more, so everything happens for a reason.

As Richard said:

Now I can rest my worries
And always be sure
That I won't be alone anymore
If I'd only known you were there all the time
All this time

What would you do with $50 at Target?

My mom gave me a Target gift certificate for Christmas. I was dying to use it, so Boo and I headed over there yesterday on my day off. Here's what I got for my money, baby:

• Two V-neck shirts, one in green and one in purple
• 70s Roller Disco, a Target exclusive compilation (LOVE IT)
• A compilation of 40 number-one hits from the 80s (LOVE THAT TOO -- I am so old that I remember when a lot of the songs hit number one)

I'm rocking one of the shirts and the compilation in the car. Boo is digging both too. Oh, Target: Is there anything you can't do?

A Fool-ish New Year's Eve

M and I went back and forth about what to do for New Year's Eve. After all, last year we stayed home out of necessity -- I was six days away from giving birth and big as a house. My OB had put the kibosh on unnecessary trips, so that meant a December 31 with a bottle of sparkling grape juice, a fire in the fireplace and me falling asleep at 10 p.m. So this year, I put our New Year's plans in M's capable hands. He decided we should go out and that Boo would go to his grandparents'.

Since we had a snowstorm, and I am essentially a homebody, at first I argued. But then I decided to go along with it. We had tickets to see the Fools at the Bull Run in Shirley, and after all, they were nonrefundable. So we braved the crappy roads (after all, we had Bruce, M's SUV) and freezing cold and went.

I'm glad I went out last night.

In case you're not familiar with them, and I wasn't, the Fools are a comedy band. As M put it, they are like Weird Al but R-rated. They are awesomely funny, a great, tight band and a lot of raunchy fun. We had a ball. And now my son has horns and noisemakers to play with.

So as U2 said, all is quiet on New Year's Day. Happy 2009, all, and hope you had fun last night.

Why I love Mariah Carey

Just found this old-school clip on YouTube of Mariah Carey singing Hero. It's a schmaltzy song, but she hits it out of the park, and the song has a lot of personal meaning for me. I remember watching this when it was on her Thanksgiving special and just getting goosebumps. Fifteen years later, I still do. She is just pure vocal talent.

Have a great weekend, everyone. We have a family obligation and some chillout time scheduled. And now, a message from Boo : Dadadadadadadada.

Oh, Madonna

Have fun screwing A-Rod. Can anyone be married to Madonna?

Despite my criticism, I did want to see her show last night (or tonight). But I just couldn't justify paying her prices. I did see her in '01, and it was a rocking show. I promised myself if I ever saw her again, I would get great seats. Wasn't gonna happen at her prices. Oh well.

PS A word of advice

That Katy Perry album, One of the Boys, sucks. You know Katy Perry -- she kissed a girl and she liked it. I also liked another song on the album and so I picked it up for cheap money at Target. There is nothing remarkable about it. I sold it to Newbury Comics for $2.50, and honestly, they overpaid me. Just keeping it real.

Now nothing seems as strange as when the leaves began to change

Love you, Kid Rock.

Lupus Walk was good, if wet -- yes, they had the walk anyway, despite the rain, and I was soaked to the bone at the end of it. Hey, if my husband can go through chemo, I can walk three miles in the rain. We raised more than $700 for lupus research. That's all that really matters.

This weather is glorious. Absolutely glorious. I have long sleeves, long pants and boots on. I love it. No air conditioning at night, no sweating. You cannot beat fall in New England.

George Michael still rocks

The first concert I ever went to was George Michael's Faith tour 20 years ago at what was then called Great Woods. (Damn, I'm old.) This is one of my favorite songs from Faith. It still rocks, and although I know he's not into girls, he's still hawt. Listen Without Prejudice is a very underrated album and one of my favorites. Listen to Cowboys and Angels and tell me it's not an amazing song. And check out the recent video for Freek -- great stuff. I've been thinking I might want to see him on tour, a sort of then and now experience.

UPDATED TO ADD: Looks like I missed the tour. Balls.

I cracked a tooth and I hate it

Sorry, got that damn I Kissed a Girl song in my head. Damn you Katy Perry. Although I did pick up One of the Boys yesterday, and I'm enjoying the mindless pop of it all.

So as for the title of this post: At the dentist yesterday, I discovered I cracked one of my molars. So I need another crown. This follows the Great Insurance-Eating Root Canal and Crown of 2007. Even with insurance, we're looking at half a grand. Bleh. I need to get it fixed before I need a root canal. Sore teeth suck.

There is only ONE Steve Perry

Being from Melrose, I worship at the altar of Journey. But only the Steve Perry Journey. Not this Steve Augeri crap. I heard through the grapevine that since Augeri blew out his vocal chords a few years ago, they had a new lead singer, Arnel Pineda, who'd they'd discovered on YouTube and was a dead ringer for Steve vocally. I had to hear for myself and found this. Holy crap, my mouth was hanging open. Arnel is not Steve, but he is damn close. Still, I won't buy the album.

Amy Winehouse, the train wreck

Read this Rolling Stone article, and tell me you don't want to go to London and smack Amy upside the head and tell her to get her shit together. Such a talent, and such a waste. At this rate, she'll be dead by the end of the year.

One of the seminal moments of the '80s

M and I were watching VH1's list of the top 100 songs of the '80s last night. Billie Jean was up there, and they mentioned Michael Jackson's performance complete with moonwalk. Found it on YouTube. Amazing, even now.

One of my all-time favorite songs

Since we're all thinking about song craftsmanship and voice versus presence (Archie versus Cookie in American Idol -- the better man won, IMHO), I thought I'd post the video to one of my all-time favorite jams. Yes, I am a dork, but Barbra Streisand...can anyone touch her voice? And the Bee Gees -- it's a winning combination.

Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock

As I've done for all of her albums, I went out to buy the new Madonna album, Hard Candy, on the day of release. I haven't had a chance to listen to the whole thing yet, but I have to say: Other than leadoff single 4 Minutes, which I can't seem to get out of the ol' OCD head, none of the songs really stick with me. And Madonna's voice sounds particularly paper thin. I'm a huge fan, but I'm not crazy about the new direction this almost 50-year-old icon has taken for the last two albums. American Life was a piece of crap, but at least she attempted to get deep and took a chance. Madonna, I'm afraid your four minutes may be coming to an end.

Battle of the M's winner for April album goodness? Mariah. By a mile. E=MC² has not left my car CD player since it came out. Well, except for me to put in Hard Candy, but I'll be putting Mariah back in shortly.

Mariah's that chick I like

Been digging on Mariah's new album, E=MC². Yeah, it's a stupid title, and some of the songs are outright dumb -- Mariah isn't exactly out there redefining the theory of relativity, if you know what I mean. But her voice is still amazing, and some of the songs are a whole lot of fun. Like this one. She still looks damn good.

Yes, I am a dork for liking Mariah. Sorry, Dan. But I do. Always have. No one can touch her voice, and I give her mad props for writing her own stuff. Beautiful girl, too.

Baby shower and hangout time this weekend. And you?

So bad it's good, '80s style

I am a shameless lover of everything '80s. Especially the music. M, who's a classic rock man, likes to say he wishes that era never happened musically. But even he, closet Duran Duran lover that he is (sorry to out you, honey) would find something to like on this list from Yahoo! Music of '80s songs you're embarrassed to admit you like. Says the author:

When I was in grade school during the late 1970's classic rock bands like The Rolling Stones, AC/DC and Led Zeppelin ruled the hallways. Tough guys wore black concert t-shirts looking to pick a fight with anyone who had the slightest propensity toward disco -- another major pop genre of the time.

Disco was eventually slayed by rock & roll and no one dared admit owning a Village People or Gloria Gaynor album, although almost everyone did.

Then the 80's came and with them came "new wave", a genre that was neither outright ridiculed by the rock & roll set, nor embraced. But a new invention called cable television gave MTV an opportunity to bypass previous methods of getting music out to the masses and new wave took off.

However, many of us who were raised on the classic rock or first wave punk of the 1970's had trouble admitting that we were attracted to the music of Culture Club, Kajagoogoo or Wham!

But we were...

Check it out -- not a (really) bad one in the bunch. But I'm not embarrassed. Hell, I'll say it loud and proud: My favorite band is still INXS. And I love me some Pet Shop Boys. So there.

Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto

This entry is for M, who loves Styx.

Just found this entry for Mr. Roboto on Wikipedia. Man, was that a roller-skating anthem or what? Reading about the concept album, you can feel the pot being smoked.

One of my many guilty pleasures

Just watched the greatest songs of the '90s on VH1. Full of my guilty musical pleasures, but I sincerely need to admit to the Internet at large that I love the Backstreet Boys' song "I Want It That Way." Just pulls at me somehow.

Anyway, check out the list. I'm listening to Alice in Chains now thanks to the musical memory.