Season 96 - Have yourself a rockin' Christmas

Tootler

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This week's theme is holiday songs but sorry, you can't just do any holiday song, you get a choice from five.

a) Three classic Christmas Rock songs:

Merry Xmas Everybody - Slade

I Wish it Could be Xmas Everyday - Wizzard

Rocking Around the Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee

b) for those who like something a little more contemplative, a traditional carol:

The Boar's Head Carol - Sung here by Magpie Lane

Although not strictly a Christmas carol, it is associated with a ceremony performed during the Christmas period at Queens College Oxford and several other academic institutions both in the UK and North America.

and for those who like to do their own thing;

c) Write and record an original Christmas/Yuletide/winter holiday song.

The (fairly) usual seasons rules apply:

1. You can post up to three entries.

2. Your video must be new and made for the season.

3. Your ukulele must feature for at least 30 secs of your video. Otherwise, feel free to have fun and help create a holiday spirit by making holiday type videos. A regular talking head video is equally fine.

4. No bonuses, it's hard enough keeping track of the entries these days. For bonuses, go to Misfit Island. (Mysterious maps supplied on application.)

5. Overdubbing, multitracking etc. is fine by me - whatever takes your fancy really

6. No entries to be posted before 00.00.01 Hawaii time, Sunday 15th December. All entries to be in by 23.59.59 Hawaii time, Sunday 22nd December or when I declare time just after 09.59.59 GMT on Monday 23 December. (Which is the same as the above Hawaii time)

Judging and prizes. Judging will be by me and the doll in the background of the video and based on the videos I liked best. Prizes; I'm not sure yet but I'll think of something. They will just be tokens, though.

Let the fun begin

Season 96 Playlist
 
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lovely intro vid, Tootler - i sat down with a cup of tea to watch it, and there you were with a coffee, so that was especially nice and cosy!

great adapting of the theme to make it fresh for this year, and to get us to don our (festive) thinking caps

way to go

rock on

and merry christmas

oh... and i liked the antlers!
 
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[snip]
This week's theme is holiday songs but sorry, you can't just do any holiday song, you get a choice from five.

a) Three classic Christmas Rock songs:

Merry Xmas Everybody - Slade [snip]


Hahaha! As I have remarked elsewhere, Merry Xmas Everybody is a surprisingly sophisticated little number.

The key signature is given as one sharp (#) but nearly every line in the melody begins and ends on either the note of D or with a D chord. You'll notice also the use of the A minor rather than the A major chord - all indications that the majority of of the time, the song's written in the mode of D Mixolydian, rather than the mode of G Ionian (G major) - as indeed is another Christmas classic: 'The Holly & The Ivy'.

The interlude, with its chord progression of Dm-Bb-Dm-Bb, clearly modulates into the key of D minor (D Aeolian mode); and those Bb chords that pop up in the chorus should also be thought of as having been 'borrowed' from the key of D minor, D Mixolydian's parallel Aeolian mode.

Oh, and one final point. Despite what Scorpex et al. imagine, Santa doesn't boringly 'turn up' on his sleigh. He does a 'ton-up' on it (i.e., he's zooming around at over 100 mph)!

Merry Xmas Everybody 1_4.jpgMerry Xmas Everybody 2_4.jpg
Merry Xmas Everybody 3_4.jpgMerry Xmas Everybody 4_4.jpg
 
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redpaul, you must have forgotten more music theory than i will ever ever know!

:bowdown:


ok

i'm sure i should be doing something useful for the last gasps of season 95

but you know - i'm not - i'm here

in contrast to pa's very beautiful christmas song with a message, here is my vid, a homemade song-type thing, the only message of which is that i'm just as much of an old grump at christmas as i am the rest of the year

"christmas is coming - yule know when it gets here"

 
I guess there are going to be a lot of originals this week? Here is an original I wrote for this season called Colours, I multi tracked some bass, shaker and tambourine in with garageband. The tambourine is my foot tambourine which I just used with my hand ;). Lyrics/chords are here: http://www.vanommen.net/Colours.pdf. I have put baritone strings on my Tenor and tuned it that way so that is why you will see me do D and G as that is A and D on a Bari. I'm not 100% sure about the lyrical content of this song, I think it started out as and anti racisme song, but I'm not sure where it ended up.
 
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Special Offer Time

Two offers

I have asked if someone does the Boar's Head Carol as an entry for the Christmas on 34th Street contest, they can use it as an entry for this season too. That's fine by me but please can you indicate somewhere on the video or on the You Tube information that it is also a season 96 entry.

Tuesday 17th is my Birthday. Bonus points to anyone who posts a video on Tuesday suitable as a Birthday song. This can be any song as long as it's appropriate to a Birthday but will count as one of your entries and must be posted on Tuesday. I will treat Tuesday as being your local time but please indicate your local time of posting in your thread message as the timestamp on the thread message is always for the readers local time.

I see three original songs already. That's good. Not listened yet but will do so soon and post comments.
 
Hahaha! As I have remarked elsewhere, Merry Xmas Everybody is a surprisingly sophisticated little number.

The key signature is given as one sharp (#) but nearly every line in the melody begins and ends on either the note of D or with a D chord. You'll notice also the use of the A minor rather than the A major chord - all indications that the majority of of the time, the song's written in the mode of D Mixolydian, rather than the mode of G Ionian (G major) - as indeed is another Christmas classic: 'The Holly & The Ivy'.

The interlude, with its chord progression of Dm-Bb-Dm-Bb, clearly modulates into the key of D minor (D Aeolian mode); and those Bb chords that pop up in the chorus should also be thought of as having been 'borrowed' from the key of D minor, D Mixolydian's parallel Aeolian mode.

Oh, and one final point. Despite what Scorpex et al. imagine, Santa doesn't boringly 'turn up' on his sleigh. He does a 'ton-up' on it (i.e., he's zooming around at over 100 mph)!

View attachment 61925View attachment 61926
View attachment 61927View attachment 61928

Huh?

Is he speaking english?

How about we just use our ears as I always do...I just did that song a had no idea I was being sophisticated!
:smileybounce:
 
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Three original songs as an opener, what a good start.

Pabrizzer: Well that was a super opener. Lovely simple melody and straightforward lyrics.

BEVOMU: You had me laughing through that. My daughter didn't like it. She's not into bah-humbug, I'm always getting told off by her for my bah-humbug attitudes :rulez: - and yes I liked it. Nice sound on your baritone. This really would benefit from a rocking treatment. I was hearing a Risa on this with suitable effects plus screaming guitars and all the rest.

Xommen: I liked this, it suited your style. It's clearly a work in progress, but it has real potential. Good basic arrangement with the bass and tambourine to give some percussion. It has the makings of a really good song. I'm glad you posted it.
 
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Thanks for the Christmas challenge Tootler!
I actually practiced picking the melody for the middle of this song but it ended early as my fingers were so frozen I could barely chord. Merry Christmas!
 
Well, after Myrna's beautiful video I thought I better remind you that it is not winter everywhere.
There's also a pretty important cricket series going on between Australia and England. A game is currently being played in Perth with daily temperatures above 40 degrees C. Results have been pleasing!
December is Hot!
The first part should have just been Steffen or Michael or DaveWave with some funky ubass and the vocal.
 
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Thanks for the Christmas challenge Tootler!
I actually practiced picking the melody for the middle of this song but it ended early as my fingers were so frozen I could barely chord. Merry Christmas!
http://youtu.be/-zFxNI35Gx8

What do you expect if you go an play outside in December in Alaska :nana: Seriously, that was great. Your enthusiasm was infectious and the backdrop was spot on. Great Entry

Well, after Myrna's beautiful video I thought I better remind you that it is not winter everywhere.
There's also a pretty important cricket series going on between Australia and England. A game is currently being played in Perth with daily temperatures above 40 degrees C. Results have been pleasing!
December is Hot!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3dYON805yc

I loved that one, great response to Myrna. It had me chuckling all the way through. Liked the banjo uke too, especially when you were strumming.

The less said about the cricket, the better as far as I'm concerned. My opinion of England's performance this series is pretty much unprintable. What is worse is the obvious bad feeling between the players on both sides and, from what I have read, the England players must take the major share of the blame for that. Geoff Boycott has been pretty forthright in his condemnation of England's performances.
 
This is my entry...a collaboration with a San Diego singer-songwriter I love to work with online.

 
This is my entry...a collaboration with a San Diego singer-songwriter I love to work with online.

Here's a bad poetic response in agreement with your beaut collab Casey.
Only thing I don't concur with is hiding the ammo.
An empty gun is no good at reducing the population.

Guns beneath the trees on Christmas day
Not quite a hundred shot each day
Gotta love the message from the NRA
Too many people in the USA

And you know more folks die by car each day
And no one wants to take them away
Good guys with guns make the bad guys pay
Give both cars and guns I say

Too many people in the USA
 
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Thanks, Brian.

I'm debating whether it's too controversial to play on a borrowed uke at an open mic on Thursday.

Any thoughts?
 
I am in England. :) It's not my intention to offend anybody, so I'll see how things go on the night.
 
I have no presents wrapped! I'm not done shopping! What Am I doing with a Uke in my hands? I just have so much to do!!! So I spent today having fun with this song and laying in two other tracks of harmony and a third with jingle bell and then a forth with a kazoo because I know how much Tooter loves the kazoo :) Why??? Because I
"Wish It Could Be Christmas" everyday!!!:biglaugh: and tomorrow is your birthday!

 
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