December 5, 2012
Miracler
Mark Ulriksen
Location
San Francisco
Oh goodie—a new holiday mix from a tasteful holiday mixmaker!
I know—that's what I said, too, upon opening the sweet mint-chocolate-smelling package and checking out the formidably wonderful tracklist.
Folks, whatever you think about this season, you're in it, regardless. So relax. Enjoy it. It can actually be fun, especially when you got good people escorting you through it, like Count Basie and his 'Was this recorded yesterday?' good-times track, and a fellow I like to call Jimmy Smith laying down some hot holiday Hammond B3, and a power sander running through the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, and don't worry, we even got a choir of Oaklanders bringin' some soulful soul to the proceedings.
And if you're still not sure Mark Ulriksen can teach you to love Christmas, listen to your SELF, and what you said in March about Mark's Get Outta Town:
Diggin' it, diggin' it, diggin' it. Love this mix. Particularly Cumbia, Medicine Man, and Kinna Sohna. Thank you, Mr. Ulriksen! / Thanks for expanding my Manu Chao Pandora station. If only Zumba used this music, I'd be a swim suit model (instead of just a lowly hand model). / That Tuvan Kongar-ol Ondar guy sure is a sweetheart. He played at the premiere of Genghis Blues at The Castro Theater, back in 1999. Afterwards he hung out in the lobby, chattin' it up with everyone. Thanks for the worldly mix, Mark! / Hey Mark, I took your advice and got outta town. We just pulled into Mammoth after a six hour drive from L.A. and "Get Outta Town" was the only stimulant we used. It was the perfect soundtrack as we drove through the wide open spaces of the Eastern Sierras. / Tu Vuo Fa' L'Americano delights and amuses me, but my current fave is "Thokozile." Over and over and over again. Did I mention over and over? Good thing we have a windshield, my teeth would be full of bugs from all the smiling. / A breath of fresh air (or should I say a scirocco?) here at The Project. Thanks, Mark, and welcome. At this point in my comments I'd usually list my favorites tracks, but I can't spell any of 'em. And let me take this opportunity to tell you that I have long admired your work. / For 3 days now "Get outta town" has been the music motivator during the homework hour! They groove to it the whole time! / I saw Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan in Toronto a year or two before he died. Amazing voice. Men of all ages would go up on stage and dance and throw money at the musicians. Some of the young men danced very non-traditionally. Great global mix. / So many things to like about this mix. i love the tour the world vibe. I love bumping up against music streams other people live in and love. thanks for the rich rich fishing / Finally an Easter break, and this is the soundtrack! Medicine Man is the current pick of the crop for me, but it keeps changing every listen which is always a good sign. / I dig this without reservation. Particularly enjoying the De-Phazz, Blanquito Man, and Gaudi. Definitely got me out of town to somewhere where the drinks are potent and the women pulchritudinous. Sorry for taking so long to comment - I was outta town! Thanks Mark! / Welcome Mark! And thanks for a refreshing addition to our "Easter Weekend Gettaway - The OST." / A little trip within a trip, don't we all just love that.I'm still mouth-aghast at the discovery of this fun piece of Beatles history; thank you so much for that too. Get Back, it doesn't quite sound the same, does it. And what to say about the artwork, really? Awesome. As it is to have you with us! Only now our artwork will look crap ;-) / Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan always give me chills. / Thanks for the musical trip outside my comfort zone. Dig the Latin rhymes and the nutty Deutch Beatles. On a side-note, I have to be a fan geek and say your illustration work is top-notch! Groovy cover art, of course, and super-groovy tunes too.
And on and on. So let's get to it then, shall we?
Liner Notes by MU
1 Jingle Blues / John Hicks-There must be a million great versions of Jingle Bells. Seriously. But this Jingle Blues is just different enough and bluesy enough that I never grow tired of it.
2. Winter Wonderland / Ramsey Lewis Trio-Ramsey Lewis' Sound of Christmas is a must for any Xmas collection.
3. My Favorite Things / Tony Bennett-I love Tony Bennett more in theory than in practice. I don't love everything he does like I do with Sinatra. But he nails this chestnut.
4. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer / The Temptations-The Temps in '68, the same year they recorded Cloud Nine.
5. Merry Christmas Baby / Otis Redding- From 1967, the year he died at 26. What a tragic loss.
6. White Christmas / The Drifters -A total gem from 1954. That's Clyde McPhatter on lead.
7. Good Morning Blues / Count Basie-It may be sacrilegious but I love this Verve remix shtick stuff.
8. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy / Woody Phillips-Power tools, power chords. Hand drill, hammer, mandolin, anvil, t-square, framing square, level, pipes, bottles, 2 x 4s, table saw, power hand drill, drill press.
9. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town / Joseph Spence- A tune from Miracler TimCarroll. As interesting and idiosyncratic as Tim is.
10. Silent Night / Marcus Roberts- Roberts piano has the leisurely pace of a Sinatra ballad.
11. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen / Jimmy Smith- A 1700s masterpiece. It was hard to choose which of two versions of this rocker to include from Smith's own classic LP, Christmas '64. This is the more sedate one.
12. Troika from Lt. Kijé Suite / Prokofiev- I probably first heard this in Woody Allen's Love and Death.
13. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas / The hampton String Quartet- I love this 1986 LP of standard Christmas fare done as chamber music. But I'm a sap.
14. Away in the Manger / Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir- Great CD, great live act. Saw them the winter of 2001 at the Paramount in Oakland, shortly after the war in Afghanistan began. I remmebr this odd feeling I had, thinking of the anxiety concert goers in Europe during WWII must have felt, enjoying the holiday music while realizing sinister things were happening elsewhere.
15. Deck the Halls / The Roches-I sound like a broken record, but this is another great CD, chock-a-block with 24 jaunty tunes.
16. We Wish You a Merry Christmas / David Grisman- The sentiments of Scrooge McDuck, David Grisman and yours truly.
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XOK
21 comments:
Somehow I've stumbled into the regrettable situation where my brother expects a Christmas CD every year. Mark, you have not only saved me (as the 3mpm gang has done before) but you have made a totes awesome thing here: great variety, nice surprises, and genuinely good music. That Woody Phillips tune is pure genius, I love The Drifters,and I'm pretty sure the weirdness of Joseph Spence is going to grow on me.
Anyone looking for more holiday goodness will find it here:
http://www.amazon.com/Carlas-Christmas-Carols/dp/B002TYNNJA/ref=sr_shvl_album_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354751372&sr=301-1
Fabulous holiday mix! Loving every minute. Thanks for brightening my day.
This is a perfect holiday mix. That Tony Bennett cut is amazing. It makes me happy every time it plays. The stand out for me though is the Joseph Spence song. What a great and delightfully odd version. Thanks Mark.
Wes, couldn't agree more about Tony Bennett.
This mix won't stop playing over here! I don't have the power to press the space bar. Every song is a delight, and how you made it flow so smoothly across like 9 different genres is a Christmas miracle. Even songs I don't usually love—My Favorite Things and the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy—find a whole new life in the hands of these artists (totally agree with above Tony Bennett comments—he's magical here). And everything you say about Sinatra is true.
As for the Roches, I have to thank you for the reminder to dust off my old vinyl AND buy Maggie and Terre and Suzzy's Christmas album. Can't wait for the download to download.
And the track that makes me smile the broadest is the Count Basie, so let that erase any remix reluctance there.
And as for others here, this mix is definitely going into some family stockings later this month. Thanks, Mark!
PS: You totally need to hang with Doug Patterson. Your tastes, like, OVERLAP ENTIRELY.
(Except that I'm a big Monkees fan.)
No problem Doug, I'm a believer too.
Now, about meeting over a drink...
'Tis the season of "Festive furniture" -- right, Mark?
Joseph Spence! For anybody unfamiliar with Mr. Spence, Ry Cooder says Spence is a big influence on his guitar style. As for Spence's "singing"? Maybe, possibly, he was just a tad nutsoid as well as being a musical genius. Love that guy.
I share your take on Tony, Mark. Tony Bennet more in theory more than in practice. Tony is a sweetheart with a voice of silky perfection. Bennet's only fault as an artist is faultlessness. I'd rather have Tony Bennet for a friend than Frank Sinatra. But when it comes to Art, it's the dude who drove a golf cart through a plate glass windows TWICE whose singing is unparalleled.
I really dig Otis Redding's contribution to the Christmassy Canon.
The other day, before downloading this mix, I was substitute-teaching a music class at the blind school here in Austin and someone asked what my favorite Christmas song was. Charles Brown's "Merry Christmas Baby" got the spontaneous vote. Different from Otis Redding's version here, Brown's "Merry Christmas Baby" verges on being sad. It isn't exactly a bummer -- Brown hasn't had a drink all day but he's lit up like a Christmas tree -- but it's definitely bluesy. Christmas is the Seasonal Affected Disorder holiday.
Love Jimmy Smith's inclusion. The horns at the beginning remind me of the Tuba Christmas album I once bought for the cover alone. Ever a sucker for Tschaikovsky. The Roches, too. Donald Duck singing with Grisman? Love the send-off.
That Joseph Spence tune has been on my xmas short list from the day I heard it. Thanks for spreading the gospel.
And at first I thought the Marcus Roberts track was an alternate take of Benny Green's version (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Sk11JFhrEA). Love it.
Thumbs up on the rest, especially Ramsey Lewis, Woody Phillips, Jimmy Smith, and the forgotten Roches track. And Grisman with duck, WTF. Pretty much all the mood music I need for the season. Now I need some snow.
Having a small xmas gathering tonight and can't wait to put this on repeat, pour myself a rumtopf cocktail and get into the spirit. Thanks!
This is just so...impossibly perfect.
Merry Christmas, Mark!
Wha Hey! Glad you like it Doug.
And thanks y'all.
Hey Mark,
We've been listening to your glad tiddings mix over and over again! I am not one to shy away from Christmas music, as folks know, and yet, it is all new me. I really love the Tony Bennett, John Hicks, The Drifters, Count Basie, and the Hampton String Quartet - which happens to be the only version of this song that I can stomach!
I have to also tell you that the Joseph Spence doing "Santie Clause" got a lot of attention here. My kids were completely put off by "that guy who must have drank like 5 beers before he sang that". And then they did their own renditions of Joseph Spence for hours afterwards. In short is a new classic in our home.
Merry Christmas to you Mark, and thanks so much for the Holiday Cheer!!
Jean-Marie, as one who loves to turn people on to music (and be a recipient as well) it's music to my ears (sorry) to hear how much your family likes the mix. I only play Xmas music in Dec. and occasionally in July, because it's been a while.
Way back in the 80's, when I lived in Boston, Mark was the first person I knew who, as an adult, collected Christmas music, non-ironically. I believe he was the inspiration for me buying a Boston Rock Christmas featuring such happening Boston bands as Robin Lane and the Chartbusters and the Lyres. I now have a collection of well over 400 holiday songs. It's my daughter's favorite playlist. Thank you Mark for all the new gems. Happy Holidays to all you Miraclers.
You guys lived in Boston? Where? I lived in Somerville briefly in '89 - 90.
Christmas songs by Robin Lane, and the Lyres?? Do I have to wait a whole year for that Christmas mix?
Can I send you an address?
Oh boy!
Always nice to have holiday music that doesn't blow - thanks for winning the war on Christmas!
Jeanne-Marie, Just missed you!
Back in '83-84 Jeff and I were both graphic designers working for Northeastern University. I lived in Back Bay and Jeff lived in Cambridge. Now he's a TV show runner in LA and I'm an illustrator in SF. I guess that's called evolution.
Hey, I did a design internship in Boston in 1988! At the New England Aquarium. Fun. Used to eat my sandwiches on the lunchtime harbor cruise there. I love that town. Need to visit again soon.
What Kelly and Karl said ... Also: Excellent curation of Christmas classics!
This is a really terrific mix of music! An unfortunately chaotic departure for the family Yule gathering meant that it didn't get brought along and it was greatly missed! Maybe next year... Thanks!!
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