25 December 2020 - Run DMC - Christmas In Hollis

Admit it.  You're already smiling.   

Run DMC certainly had a lot of bravado, but this song was nothing but positive and honest.  Recorded for the benefit album A Very Special Christmas, the song heavily samples Clarence Carter's "Back Door Santa" as well as other popular Christmas carols.  How many can you spot?  

As a little bonus, here's the group performing the song on Nickelodeon, several years after its release.  Needless to say, the crowd still loves the song.

24 December 2020 - Amy Grant - Emmanuel

I felt that, for Christmas, a song celebrating the holiday was in order.  

In 1985, the world changed.  Christian pop superstar Amy Grant released an album - Unguarded - that had some secular success - and it made the sales of ALL her albums go up.  That INCLUDED her 1983 A Christmas Album, which finally broke through in 1985.  In fact, I believe I brought the album myself in 1985.  

This song - written by Michael W. Smith - was the single from that Christmas album, and ended up being something of a holiday hit as well.  It is clearly a song about, well, the son of God (Matthew 1:23). It is quite celebratory, and joyous, without getting overtly preachy or melancholic.   It remains one of my favorite religious songs to this day.  

23 December 2020 - Cake - The Distance

This is the most active we've been on this blog in seven years.  And our dedication has shown - you are reading the stuff that we're crapping out on the page.   Some days, we do a better job than others, but we always persevere.  We keep going, and we will keep going for a few more years.  

(Spoiler: we have some posts scheduled for the next two and a half years, at least)

We take special motivation from this song, about a protagonist who doesn't quit, and... well, goes the distance.  We hope you do as well.

22 December 2020 - Matthew Wilder - Break My Stride

Matthew Wilder released this song in 1983..... his debut single ended up being his only hit.  

Even when I was 11, I recognized that this song was great and happy and brought me more joy than a Marie Kondo book.  The message of the song is positive and uplifting, and that's probably why it was such a huge hit that endures to this day.  

And by the way, this is absolutely the performance of this song from Solid Gold.  Ah, Solid Gold.  Ah, Marilyn McCoo.  

21 December 2020 - Cranes - Everywhere

I need to open this with the fact that I have had this video sitting in my drafts for five years.  

Five.  Years.

It is one of my favorite songs of all time - a simple love song.  Alison Shaw's voice makes this very simple song all the more appealing.  It's even sweeter when hearing her light voice that brings comparison to a small child singing lullabies at the bottom of the well with a background of grinding guitars.  This is actually something a reviewer said.  

Anyway, I like the combination of her ethereal voice and the driving guitar, and I think you will, too.

18 December 2020 - Three Dog Night - Joy To The World

The song isn't called "Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog", despite how you know the song.

It is a drinking song, and a happy one at that.  Is it a serious song?  No, of course not.  It's just a lot of fun.  It's a song specifically written to elicit a smile, and it succeeds tremendously.

As I write this, I have learned that it is featured in a current JCPenney holiday commercial.  It's fitting, but I am rarely this accidentally timely.  

17 December 2020 - The B-52's - Channel Z

This.  This song is why I was excited about Cosmic Thing.  

By the way, it's just as upbeat and happy as "Love Shack".  Why wasn't this the big hit?  

No worries.  Just enjoy this bonus post today, too.