The blogger in 1988
On this week’s Throwback Thursday playlist, we listen to some of the biggest hits from 1988.
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Make The Yuletide Gay
Today is December 24. It’s the date when people around the world celebrate Ricky Martin’s birthday. What’s the first thing you think of when someone says Ricky Martin? Gay? I thought so. Hold that thought.
Christmas Eve is tonight. Many people around the world celebrate that as well, possibly almost as many people as the number that celebrate Ricky Martin’s birthday. He’s turning 43, by the way.
Anyhoosle, I decided to combine the two celebrations. Tunes du Jour hereby presents the gayest Christmas playlist ever. Fifty songs that will bring you cheer and fabulousity and get you arrested if you listen to them in Russia.
Have a festive day!
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I Love NYC And Joan Jett
I had a great time in New York City last weekend. I was in town for a few days for my nephew’s bar mitzvah. I stayed in Manhattan, where I lived for fifteen years before resettling in Los Angeles in 2003.
My first few years in LA I pined for NYC daily. I missed my friends. I missed Manhattan’s energy. I missed having everything I want just outside my door, around the clock.
I’ve visited Manhattan at least once per year since I moved. I have a great time each trip, though I find myself missing it less and less. Part of the reason is I’ve adjusted to LA. I like the weather and found people who share my interests with whom to hang. Also, many of my favorite NYC hot spots are no longer. Tower Records on East 4th Street, where I was every weekend, is no more. The alternative bookshops I frequented are now a hardware store and a Starbucks.
Happily, The Strand bookstore is still there. I stop by every time I’m in the city. Also still there is my favorite bar in Chelsea, Barracuda. I haven’t stopped in there my last few trips, but I’m glad it’s around, as I have memories of good times spent there, despite my not being a bar person.
One night Joan Jett popped in to do a short performance promoting a new album, either Fit to be Tied or Fetish. It’s cool to see an artist you love perform in such a small space in your own neighborhood. She was great as always. Afterwards, she signed my copy of her Bad Reputation album.
New York is not the same as it was when I lived there, but it’s still awesome. I’m not the same as I was when I live there; I’m more awesome.
Joan Jett turns 56 today. She’s awesome. A lot of her classics are not on Spotify, so today Tunes du Jour presents a Joan Jett YouTube playlist. Rock on!
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An Atheist Jew’s Guide To Christmas Music, Part 3
You may have heard that last week on Fox Megyn Kelly said the real title of the song “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” is “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town and He’s White and Just Because It Makes You Feel Uncomfortable Doesn’t Mean It Has To Change.” She also said “Here Comes Santa Claus” is actually “Here Comes Santa Claus and He’s White and Just Because It Makes You Feel Uncomfortable Doesn’t Mean It Has To Change.” She was fine with “White Christmas.”
Kelly, who is white and just because that makes you feel uncomfortable doesn’t mean it has to change, will enjoy today’s playlist. It’s part 3 of An Atheist Jew’s Guide to Christmas Music. (Click to listen to parts 1 and 2.) She may take issue with an atheist Jew selecting Christmas songs, but she’ll be happy I’m white, just like Santa and Jesus and Frosty and Rudolph. Artists on today’s playlist include such great white folks as Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, James Brown, The Jackson 5, The Beach Boys, Stevie Wonder, Rufus Wainwright, The Supremes, Eagles, Whitney Houston, The Temptations, Paul Simon, Pearl Jam, Boy George, Elvis Presley and Joan Jett, among others. There are classic songs and some you may not have heard before. I doubt Kelly is familiar with Pansy Division’s “Homo Christmas” and she may not like what the band suggests one does with a candy cane, but just because that makes her feel uncomfortable doesn’t mean it has to change. Besides, Pansy Division is white, just like everyone is at Christmas time.
Enjoy! May your days be merry and bright and may all your Christmases be white with a capital W.