Little Drama Boy: Unsettling Christmas Music

Now that we're in the midst of the holiday season, just as sure as you'll hear the ringing of the Salvation Army's red kettle Santas, you'll also be bombarded with Christmas tunes and, correspondingly, the complaints of those who despise them. As for myself, I generally love Christmas music. Just as most of us have a special fondness for the music we listened to in high school and college, holiday music for me conjures up fond memories of childhood holidays. The dilemma seems to be that as media consumers, we are always seeking out something new, but we still crave the familiarity of the music we grew up with. So, as a compromise, we settle for yet another rehash of White Christmas, even though nothing beats ol' Bing's version. Even so, as a kid, there were a few Christmas songs that I found a bit unsettling for one reason or another:

Topping my list would be the following:

1. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus No mystery why this would be disturbing to young believers: Here you have a child eavesdropping on their own mother carrying out an illicit relationship with the icon of all that is good in this world, unbeknownst to the child's father. Is the implicit twist to the song that Santa is in fact the father in disguise? If so, for whose benefit is he going incognito when the child is supposed to be in bed. And is the mother in on the ruse, if that's what it is, or is she fooling around behind dad's back? Meanwhile, the child speculates on "how funny" it will be when father discovers the affair. Funny?? More like very confusing and potentially a Shakespearian tragedy in the making.

2. Blue Christmas This belongs to a sub genre of depressing holiday songs. Others in the category include Miles Davis' REALLY depressing Blue Xmas and the Pogues REALLY REALLY depressing and hilarious Fairytale of New York. Compared to those, Blue Christmas is a fairly mild lament about being separated from a loved one during the holidays. What made this one especially unsettling to me as a child was the dirge-like, minor key background vocals coursing through the song like a ghostly, mournful wind.

3. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer It should come as no surprise that this shallow morality tale ostensibly dealing with bullying started as a commercial enterprise. Montgomery Ward came up with the character and story as part of a Christmas promotion in 1939. It was adapted into the popular song and recorded by Gene Autry a decade later in 1949. Rudolph, one of Santa's reindeer, is subjected to merciless teasing and ostracism because of his physical abnormality, a glowing red nose. In what's supposed to be the redemptive final act, the other reindeer exhibit a fickle and implausible turnaround once Rudolph proves his worth to their master. Is this what true friendship is all about?

4. Nuttin' for Christmas My parents had a couple of 45 records that we nearly wore the grooves off of during the holidays. One was the first and most iconic version of All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth by Spike Jones and his City Slickers recorded in 1947. The other was another novelty record by voiceover actor and comic Stan Freberg called Nuttin' for Christmas in which a bratty voiced kid recites a list of his transgressions as a reason why Santa won't be paying him a visit that year. The most unsettling part of the song comes near the end, when the boy hears what he thinks to be Santa Claus entering his home. Instead the intruder turns out to be a burglar intent on robbing the owners of their silverware and jewelry. Though the kid doesn't seem all that upset and may even be in cahoots, the idea of someone violating the sanctity of house and home was a bit troubling to my younger self.

5. Misunderstood lyrics These are the songs that include archaic phrases or odd line breaks that led to misinterpretation. One of these was Winter Wonderland, namely the line "In the meadow we can build a snowman, and pretend that he is Parson Brown". As a young Catholic boy, I was unfamiliar with the term "parson" so naturally assumed that "parson brown" was some sort of tawny shade which I thought to be a very unusual color for a snowman. Another misunderstanding occurs in the first line of the plodding We Three Kings, "We Three Kings of Orient are." Due to the awkward line break, I believed they were from the land of "Orentar", which I imagined to be a sub-region of the far East.

Have a joyful holiday season and may the peace and good will of the season continue long after the radio stations and malls have resumed their regular programming.

Conexpo-Con/AGG ads

Here's a 3D job that kept me busy for most of the past month. From what I gather, they're promoting a construction equipment convention that's going to be held in Las Vegas in March 2014. (Note: I DIDN'T do the video on their home page.) The images needed to be rendered big enough to output them for trade show booth displays, so the final file sizes were pretty much a bear to work with. I started with prebuilt 3D models which were purchased from Turbosquid , a 3D model site. I then used a cloth simulator in a 3D program which is a good start, but requires a lot of post rendering Photoshop work. The "cloth" is in fact a 3D plane that is dropped over the model (actually an invisible low-polygon-count "proxy" version, to get geeky for a moment) and frozen when it looks about right. Getting a proper feel to the fabric takes a good bit of fiddling with the cloth/gravity settings and trial-and-error.

Oh, and in the process, I also learned what "stanchions" are (those velvet rope barrier thingies).

Thanks to Joshua Schober for the excellent art direction.

Abe Lincoln's back!

Lately, Abe Lincoln seems to be getting the kind of front page periodical coverage once reserved for pop stars and celebrities. Besides being featured recently on the covers of Newsweek and Time , he soon-to-be-released biopic "Lincoln" will examine his final year as President. And of course, who can forget his heroic deeds as fearless vampire hunter? Besides the fact that this year marks the 147th anniversary of Lincoln's assassination, our own troubled times seem to have sparked a renewed interest in a time of even greater divisiveness and strife, when the future of the U.S. was truly in doubt. At no time since the civil war has there been such a sharp ideological division in the U.S. And we all know what Lincoln said about a house divided. Make your voice heard in tomorrow's election if you haven't already voted. And though it's a tall order, let's hope the outcome is decisive, fair, and undisputed.

GO VOTE!

Tavi Gevinson at Unity Temple in Oak Park

Last evening, Oak Park was treated to a double dose of style when the Frank Lloyd Wright designed landmark Unity Temple played host to wünderkind fashion blogger/online magazine maven Tavi Gevinson.

Being about as far removed from from her demographic as is humanly possible, I was unfamiliar with Ms. Gevinson and her popularity until recently. But the story of her rise to prominence in her field is intriguing.

Four years ago, as a 11 year old Oak Park student, she took it upon herself to start a blog called Style Rookie, mainly commenting on fashion and style from a pre-teen's perspective but also touching on topics of feminism, relationships, and high school drama. Before long, Tevi's blog not only amassed a following of like-minded teen and pre-teen girls, but also caught the attention of some prominent fashion designers and editors who invited her to some of the world's most exclusive runway shows. Tevi's parents first became aware of her growing popularity when she asked their permission to appear in a New York Times magazine story.

Now 16, Tavi has started a new and wildly successful online magazine aimed primarily at teen girls, Rookie, which is edited by Anaheed Alani, wife of NPR radio personality and host of "This American Life", Ira Glass. In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Tavi and Ira, who has served as one of her mentors, trade tales of mutual admiration. This month alone, besides the Wall Street Journal article, Tavi appears in the current issue of Newsweek and on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

At Thursday's gathering, Tevi and three other writers from the magazine took turns reading selections from the just released Rookie Yearbook covering topics as diverse as a friend's death, kindergardeners caught discovering each other's bodies told from the teacher's viewpoint, and a hilarious overview of Burl Ives' acting career. Tavi possesses a poise and self assuredness that's rare in someone who's still a high school sophomore. She was dressed fairly conservatively compared to some of her pre-teen outfits, in an subdued orange shirt with hair pulled back and wearing glasses.

It will be interesting to see where her path heads next. After appearances in a Wilco video and rumors of an upcoming feature film role, it's clear that road may take her well beyond the teen fashion world, though in answer to an audience question regarding her "2-year plan", Tavi expressed her great satisfaction with what she's doing with Rookie magazine and didn't have a vision beyond that.

As a side note, my daughter was originally supposed to join me at the event, but was unable to attend because of last minute work duties. I ran into graphic novelist Chris Ware before the reading and was happy to find that I wasn't the only male in attendance. Chris, whose latest work, "Building Stories" comes out soon, is giving a presentation next month at Unity Temple.

David Byrne and "How Music Works" at the Music Box Theater

The "big suit" may be gone, and the hair has turned white since his days as front man for the Talking Heads, but David Byrne still possesses the same creative energy that fueled one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the 80's, and lead to his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Coming from an art school background background, it not surprising that Byrne's creative work includes books, photography, and film in addition to his music. Since 1986, he's written or contributed to nine books, including the Tabloid inspired "True Stories" and 2009's "Bicycle Diaries", which chronicles his experiences pedaling through the streets of New York City and other cities around the globe.

David Byrne's latest book, "How Music Works", explores the business and the process of making and experiencing music . Last night, I attended a talk by Byrne and Bettina Richards of Thrill Jockey Records at Chicago's beautiful Music Box Theater. Music critic Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune MCed the proceedings and he did a terrific job of coaxing some thoughtful answers out of his sometimes bemused subject. Byrne, looking fit and more youthful than his 60 years, still has some of his trademark quirky mannerisms,and his occasional spontaneous chuckle makes you think there's more going on his head than he sometimes lets on.

Some topics that came up in the discussion:

•On mp3s: Though he knows many musicians who despise the artificial sound quality, Byrne doesn't see it as a big issue and thinks it's remarkable how up to 80% of redundant sound information can be tossed out and still retain an enjoyable listening experience.

•Licensing music out for advertising: Given the declining revenue generated for record sales, Byrne sees the need for modern bands to sell music rights to advertisers, though he's steadfastly declined commercial offers himself, saying simply "I don't need to".

•Visual aspects of performing: Byrne believes that every music act, even those bands that opt for street wear and no frills,  makes a conscious decision regarding what the audience will see as well as hear. He related a couple of anecdotes regarding his own "performance art" including a pre-Talking Heads' performance which involved shaving his Amish-style beard onstage to the accompaniment of an accordion player, and more recently, emerging onstage in a tutu.

In all, Byrne came across as analytic but amiable, like a seasoned Sheldon Cooper.

David Byrne will perform this evening with St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) at the Chicago Theater, which he will presumably commute to via bicycle.