Merry BINGmas

Bing Crosby first performed “White Christmas” on Christmas Day in 1941.  It was an important song, significant for the time—a few weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II.  Soldiers overseas were requesting the song left and right.  Mostly because at the time, many were “dreaming of a White Christmas, just like the one’s [they] used to know.”  This song’s meaningful sentiment touched many who were away from their families at Christmas that year.

The song was not made famous for the first time in film in the movie White Christmas, but in another movie Holiday Inn released in 1942.  This black and white film was the first film to feature the song and with Bing Crosby singing it.  Over ten years later, this song was the main theme to the better-known Christmas film, White Christmas.

Bing Crosby is Christmas.  No matter how many Mariah Carey, Dean Martin, or even *NSYNC Christmas songs I listen to, Bing Crosby is really the only Christmas music one needs to have a holly and jolly Christmas.  I cannot have Christmas without Bing.

Bing Crosby is classic Christmas.  I can defend this, not just with my own love for it, but by the fact that his music is everywhere during the holidays.  In A Christmas Story, the music that is playing in Ralphie’s house Christmas morning is . . .Bing Crosby.  In Polar Express, the version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” played when Santa first appears is Bing Crosby’s version.  The scene where the sales girl takes off her bathing suit in Clark’s fantasy in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is Bing Crosby’s “Mele Kalikimaka.” 

I grew up listening to Bing at Christmas.  Christmas morning, my dad always put on Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” album.  It was a staple.  Couldn’t open presents without it.  In 2013 I traveled to Ireland and made a stop in Killarney.  Want to know why?  One of my favorite Bing Crosby Christmas songs is “Christmas in Killarney.”  Inspired by the tune, I made sure to make a stop there and it was just as lovely as depicted in Bing’s song.  

Bing’s Christmas songs have an old-timey, cozy, figgy pudding feel to them.  They are comfort food for your ears.  I watch White Christmas and Holiday Inn every year, just to get that same soothing feeling that I get when listening to his jolly voice.  I know all the words to every song (and I am not even ashamed to admit that). 

I hope as you gather with family and friends this Christmas, you find some time to enjoy some Bing at the best time of the year to enjoy him.  Just like he warmed so many hearts during such a raucous time in 1941, his faithful tunes can bring you comfort at the end of this not-so-comforting year.

And if you don’t know where to start in the Bing Crosby Christmas discoreography, here are my top 10 Bing Crosby Christmas songs, in order!

10. “God Rest You Merry, Gentleman”

09. “White Christmas”

08.  “Happy Holidays”

07. “Count Your Blessings”

06. “The First Noel”

05. “Snow”

04. “Good King Wenceslas”

03. “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town”

02.  “I Wish You a Merry Christmas”

and the top song . . . .

01.  “Christmas in Killarney”

Enjoy the tunes in a playlist below that includes these tunes, as well as some other choice favorites.  Merry Christmas!

Namast'ay Metal

Well, I mentioned that I have been recently encouraged by a doctor to do more yoga.  And doctor's orders, I have been doing it, or as they say, practicing.  With the weather getting brisker and it getting darker earlier, it remains harder and harder for me to get myself together and motivated to get my ass to a yoga class.  However, with an old yoga mat I took out of storage, I have been able to practice yoga in my apartment. 

Yoga, ugh, not very metal, right?

WRONG!

Metal yoga.  It is a thing.  A thing that I cannot seem to book or schedule before classes sell out or in a location that I don’t have to rent an alpaca to ride to, (aka Williamsburg).

I bet in Williamsburg you can totally rent an alpaca. 

But with the right metal attire . . . .

Thank you, Rob Zombie.

 . . . and proper soundtrack, yoga can be as metal as you want.  

Monday night, when I did yoga at home, I was inspired to do my own Metal Yoga.  Does that seem counterintuitive?  Yoga is supposed to be relaxing and meditative.  That is true.  It is said to help relieve stress and tension in the body.  However, doing yoga properly, from what I have gathered from a few experienced yogis I have encountered over the past few months, is meant to be challenging.  In order to advance in your yoga practice, you must push yourself through all the positions, go deeper into the stretches, and hold your poses for longer periods of time.  You are meant to push to the extreme.  And what better music to get yourself to that extreme than METAL!

The below Metal Yoga playlist includes songs that have a mystic, mellow vibe to them while still having some real rock 'n' roll elements.  My own Metal Yoga ended up being an amazing experience and an opportunity to do two things at once: listen to my favorite songs and get a workout in.

If you are not interested in trying this at home but would rather find a metal yoga class you can attend outside of your studio apartment, you can search online for classes OR wear a Meshuggah t-shirt to a regular yoga class—they will come to you—trust me. 

But, I realize that metal is not for everyone (and by the way, neither is yoga).  I have also made a much more yogacentric playlist that is a little more relaxed, zen, and what you would think of when practicing yoga.  It is great to have both options.  However, it does have a kick to it.

Both playlists are a little over an hour to ensure that if you are in fact using these playlists for yoga, the playlist will not repeat.  And if you do not like yoga or want anything to do with it, BOTH these playlists are great background music for cooking, cleaning, reading, or a nice walk through the snow.

Please enjoy these mellow tunes amidst this crazy holiday season.

Be Gone, 2016

2016 is almost over and I feel pretty apathetic about it.  If this year were a song, it would be “Dark Necessities” by Red Hot Chili Peppers.  It’s an okay song; it’s fine but you don’t really need to listen to it that much or feel compelled to buy the album.  This year was very “Dark Necessities,” very meh.

There were some highlights.  I started the year with a job that I hated and ended it with one that I love.  I saw my relationship hit two years.  I voted for a female presidential candidate. 

But overall, 2016 felt like the appetizers you have at Thanksgiving—you just eat them to get to the meal.  I see 2017, for me at least, to be a real MEAL year.  I expect great things to happen. 

Music is such a huge part of my life that I can recall, for the most part, what songs were major players at certain times of my life.  I do remember some highlights from this year.  Below I have listed the highlights from my year.  Below that, I am including a playlist of what I deem to be the best music of 2016.

So, getting back to “Dark Necessities” being the most representative song of this year, if I were to pick a 2017 anthem, what would it be?

So I did.  I opened my iTunes collection and hit "Shuffle All" and went with the first song played.

Next year’s anthem is “Sunspots” by Nine Inch Nails.  Ok, I can work with that (after all, we are ending the year with new NIN music, finally). “My life it seems has taken a turn, why, in the name of God, would I ever want to return.”  Great things will happen in 2017.  2016 was the appetizer, the set up, the precursor, the Phantom Menace, of a really epic year.  No need to turn back, we can only move forward.

“I think I have to be someone, now I just stare into the sun.”

My Year in Music

January:

“Know Yourself” by Drake

“Big Rings” by Drake & Future

“Jumpman” by Drake & Future

February:

“The Vengeful One” by Disturbed”

“The Sound of Silence” by Disturbed

“Foolish” by Superchunk

March:

“Third Day of a Seven Day Binge” by Marilyn Manson

“All or Nothing” by Elliphant

“Too Original” by Major Lazer

April:

“Lazy Eye” by Silversun Pickups

“When I’m Small” by Phantogram

“Anti-Summersong” by The Decemberists

May:

“Sorry” by Beyoncé

“Freedom” by Beyoncé

“All Night” by Beyoncé

June:

“The Light” by Disturbed

“Wrong Side of Heaven” by Five Finger Death Punch

“Asking for It” by Shinedown

July:

“November Rain” by Guns N’ Roses

“Estranged” by Guns N’ Roses

“The Loa’s Crossroad” by Volbeat

August:

“16 Dollars” by Volbeat

“Heaven Nor Hell” by Volbeat

“For Evigt” by Volbeat

September:

“Bloody Creature Poster Girl” by In This Moment

“We’re An American Band” by Rob Zombie

“Closer” by Kings of Leon

October:

“The Blacker the Berry” by Kendrick Lamar

“Banana Brain” by Die Antwoord

“Beleiver” by Major Lazer

November:

“Angel Down” by Lady Gaga

“I Can Only Stare” by Sleigh Bells

“I Just Wanna Know” by NF

December:

“Intro 2” by NF

“Leave a Trace” by CHURCHES
“Truffle Butter” by Nicki Minaj

RBF

Resting Bitch Face.  You either have it or you don’t.  And if you have it, you know it.  How do you know it?  I can give you 3 questions to ask yourself:

1) Are people constantly asking you to smile?

2) Do you ever get asked for directions on the street?

3) Has a friend, coworker, or family member asked you “are you ok?” when you were totally fine?

If your answers were:

1) Yes

2) No

3) Yes

Then you have an RBF.  Congratulations! 

People are always asking me to smile.  And by always, I mean the most recent time was yesterday. People I know and people I don’t know.  I have had someone shout out from their car as I walked down the sidewalk , I have had people walk by me and stop me, coworkers, friends, the list goes on. 

I first realized I had resting bitch face when a boyfriend in high school told me that his ex-girlfriend was telling him that I was giving her dirty looks.  I was so confused.  I barely saw this girl in the confines of our high school hallways and certainly did not waste my energy on giving her a dirty look (after all, I got the man!)

He told me this more than once and I was really confused.  I actually had no recollection of seeing her one of these supposed instances, let alone giving her a specific stare or grimace.  I soon realized, I have a resting bitch face on at all times, even when I don’t know it.

When I started living in New York, I began perfecting my RBF.  The cat calling was enough to solidify in my head that resting bitch face was not such a horrible thing.  When I was studying in Paris for a semester, fellow female students were experiencing sexual assault and I knew I needed to avoid interactions with suspicious strangers at all costs.  RBF kept many odd characters at bay. 

But, times have changed.  Now, living in New York City and feeling more comfortable in my surroundings, I don’t need RBF as much but the problem is, it is there to stay.  As wonderful as it is that I hardly ever get asked for directions or drawn into spontaneous conversation on the subway, it is frustrating when I don’t realize I have an RBF and then I am reminded when I am encouraged to smile. . .BY A STRANGER.  Was I frowning?

I go back and forth on my feelings about my resting bitch face.  However, I think I embrace it more than I find it an inconvenience.  I also realize that many don’t have the luxury of an RBF but may want to have one. 

Please see below some recommended tunes that will most definitely inspire a resting bitch face.  And, if you naturally have an RBF and don’t need anything to motivate you, congratulations and keep NOT smiling.

01. “Sick of Life” by Godsmack

02. “Blow Ya Mind” Nicki Minaj
03. “Gods Gonna Cut You Down” by Johnny Cash

04. “Big Bad Wolf” by In This Moment

05. “Kyoto” by Skrillex

06. “The Vengeful One” by Disturbed

07. “Sabotage” by Beastie Boys

08. “Rockstar” Rihanna

09. “He Ain’t Wit Me Now (Tho)” by Richgirl

10. “You Know What You Are” by Nine Inch Nails

11. “Let’s Go” by Trick Daddy

12. “Big Truck” by Coal Chamber

13. “Stem” by Static-X

14. “Flawless” by Beyoncé (remix with Nicki Minaj works too)

15. “Clique” by Kanye West, Jay-Z & Big Sean

16. “Sleazy” by Ke$ha

17. “A/B Machines” by Sleigh Bells

18. “Somebody Someone” by Korn

19. “Sound of Madness” by Shinedown

20. “Fight Night” by Migos