FFFriday #9 ("Turn Me On Dead Man Edition")


1. Vince Guaraldi A Charlie Brown Christmas
At a recent Thanksgiving gathering, one of my friends said this was THE Christmas album and i heartily agree. One of the few Christmas-themed albums i can listen to from front to back and not want to pound my fists on the ground in Christmas angst (yeah, i have issues). Christmasy, yes, but in a round-about way, plus it reminds me of the Charlie Brown Christmas special, which i always thought was cool.


2. The San Francisco Mayoral Runoff Election
Being an unapologetic political junkie, i haven't been this excited about an election since Clinton in 1992. The whole city seems electrified about it, especially Matt Gonzalez supporters. For the first time, someone's running for public office that I can relate to, at least in theory -- he has a roommate, for christ's sake.
Never mind the fact that i can't actually vote in the damn election, being an Oaktown resident and all. Go Matt! It's your birthday.


3. War (If It Feels Good, Do It!) Various (Hip Hop Slam)
A new anti-war compilation from San Francisco label Hip Hop Slam serves up some deliciously harsh critiques of the Bushies, including some clever cut-and-paste speeches of Dubya. Some tracks are better than others, but it's refreshing to hear the hip-hop community coming together with such a unified voice. Especially solid are Tino Corp's "Dubya (Commander In Chief)," Guerrilla News Network's "Good vs. Evil," DJs of Mass Destruction's "War Is What They Got" and lots more.
For more info, click here.

4. American Song-Poem Christmas Various (Bar/None)
Basically, these songs were made by would-be songwriters in the 60s and 70s who would pay to have their song recorded "professionally" by random session musicians (the first one was "The American Song-Poem Anthology"). Now, Bar/None has released a Christmas album, and my god, there is some really wacko stuff on here: "Santa Came On a Nuclear Missile" (duel meanings aside), "Rocking Disco Santa Claus," "Daddy, Is Santa Really Six Foot Four?," and family favorite "Merry Christmas Polka."


5. Lord of The Rings fever
People are genuinely excited about the final chapter. My boss at work turns into a big pile of gleeful geekness when we talk about it. It's nuts, maybe eclipsing (gasp!) Star Wars fever in the late '70s & early '80s.
SPECIAL BONUS FOR LOTR GEEKS: My brother is the manager of a movie theatre in Detroit area and called me the moment he saw an advance screening of Return Of The King earlier this week, raving it was better than the first two installments combined. "People expecting a lot won't be disappointed," sayeth DavePratt.
Opening Dec. 17 (hee).


THE NEGATIVES

-1. Republicans (yes again)
Just because. They're such big meanies. Weanies too.

-2. Finding out that the dude behind Mannheim Steamroller is not only a mega-mega millionaire but he was the person behind "C.W. McCall" who wrote the seminal '70s classic "Convoy."
I weep.