Well, its started again.

[RoddyRuddy]

http://www.richmond.com/music/output.as ... position=1



.Quote Article................"Some of the better songs include The Pogues's "Fairytale of New York." By far the best Christmas drinking song, it may also qualify as the best rock song ever written for the season. Singer Shane MacGowan, fallen angel that he is, still manages to find redemption in its exultant chorus: "And the boys from the NYPD choir were singing Galway Bay/And the bells were ringing out for Christmas Day." ..........."

[KathleenwithaK]

It's played all through the year in this household ...but now I know why a friend of mine from the US had never heard of it...I thought he was joking!

likewise, played year 'round in our house because , well, it is "our song" and we're such romantics...never hear it on the radio though despite our "independant" stations

[Eric V]

...the status quo has been restored, the black sheep all restored to the flock and American Values reaffirmed for another year.

You never let me down Philip!

[DaBanjo1]

How come I've never heard the song on American radio? Seems to get virtually no airplay over here. Or, am I just wrong?

Excepting specialist music stations and college radio (and sometimes not even excepting those) American radio is programmed by computers (no, really). Fairytale does not fit into any of the easily digestible categories the computers understand so it technically doesn't exist. College radio probably has no excuse not to play it except the understandable one that their brief is to give exposure to exciting NEW records from America and Europe.

In a broader sense, I'm not sure Fairytale carries the requisite feelgood message of redemption as American capitalism currently understands and demands it. In US culture from It's A Wonderful Life onwards, Christmas is a time of doubt, fear, loneliness, troubles, poverty............but by the final reel, the status quo has been restored, the black sheep all restored to the flock and American Values reaffirmed for another year. This has made for some qualifiedly terrific films and songs, but it has rather closed the door on the more truthful and dystopian message of a song like Fairytale Of New York.

There are some great "downer" Christmas songs, notably "White Christmas" and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" which get frequent radio play in America at this time of year, but both these songs, tragic in either their conception or context, became popular only when smuggled into more upbeat vehicles.

In other words, as DZM suggests, Clear Channel has no taste.

That's an interesting observation you make, Mr. Chevron, about songs like "White Christmas" and "Merry Little Christmas" being downer songs that became popular only because they successfully masqueraded as cheerier ones. I think you could really say the same thing about Fairytale of New York, though -- would it be so beloved if it didn't have such a lively arrangement behind it? By contrast, the desperate version of "Merry Little..." that Garland first recorded sounds like a suicide note.

While I accept everything you say about the American corporate radio system, I don't think you're right about why FoNY gets no airplay over here. It doesn't get played for one reason, and one reason alone: the word "faggot" in the lyrics. While there are unquestionably more offensive things on the air, that's one word that would have a hard time finding its way on to even the most open-minded American radio stations. I really do believe that if that word wasn't in there, Fairytale would be as big here as over there -- bigger, perhaps, since every city's got about 2-3 round-the-clock Christmas music stations now.

Having said that, I think I can trust you, Mr. Chevron, and the rest of the Pogues not to make a scrubbed version of the song just to catch in on some sweet Clear Channel money.

[philipchevron]

Point taken. There are no Faggots in America. Only closetted Representatives with a fondness for male teen flesh and fire and brimstone pastors who will travel 100 miles out of town for a....um......massage. But Faggots, no, that would be offensive. I don't suppose American radio would accept our explanation that Faggots are either a bunch of twigs or an offal delicacy? Thought not.

[philipchevron]

Actually, White Christmas was originally, if anything, more upbeat than it became. The now never-sung verse reveals it to be quite an ironic East Coast liberal thing, closer to what Rodgers and Hart might have written. It accumulated its poignancy when US troops stationed in Europe in WW2 adopted it as a sentimental remembrance of home and Irving Berlin promptly hid the introductory verse under his mattress forevermore. But what really makes it tragic, to my mind, is that Irving and Ellen Berlin's only son died on Christmas Eve, so every December 24 thereafter included a solemn pilgrimage to the dead boy's grave by the couple. To me, Berlin's immigrant Jewishness adds piquancy to his status of Bard of American Christianity and Patriotism ("Easter Parade", "God Bless America" etc).

[Christine]

Actually, White Christmas was originally, if anything, more upbeat than it became. The now never-sung verse reveals it to be quite an ironic East Coast liberal thing, closer to what Rodgers and Hart might have written.

Like probably most people I had no idea there ever was another first verse and had to google it. It is quite surprising:

The sun is shining
The grass is green
The orange and palm trees sway
I've never seen such a day
In Beverly Hills, L.A.
But it's December the twenty-fourth
And I am longing to be up north

It is just plain weird to imagine this sung now before the famous bits.

[Bud Byrne]

Like probably most people I had no idea there ever was another first verse and had to google it. It is quite surprising:

The sun is shining
The grass is green
The orange and <a style='text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 3px double;' href="http://www.serverlogic3.com/lm/rtl3.asp?si=22&k=palm%20trees" onmouseover="window.status='palm trees'; return true;" onmouseout="window.status=''; return true;">palm trees</a> sway
I've never seen such a day
In Beverly Hills, L.A.
But it's December the twenty-fourth
And I am longing to be up north

It is just plain weird to imagine this sung now before the famous bits.

Neil Diamond - The Christmas Album. In his version of white christmas he sings the missing first verse as well as singing the whole song to a more up-tempo beat. It is really rather good, if you are into that kind of thing

[philipchevron]

There is in fact a whole book available about the writing of White Christmas. Ordinarily, I would have the details to hand, but I took it down last year to write a newspaper article and forget to return it to my shelves so it's in A Pile Somewhere.

[Guest]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faggot_%28food%29

[Eric V]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faggot_%28food%29

I'm an open minded guy, but... eeeewwwwwwwww!

[Beisty]

Eric V - you have not lived until you have swallowed a faggot.

[Eric V]

I', not one for ...er, ....organ meat.

[Simon Maguire]

Er.. when did this topic stream away from Fairytale, (can't be arsed to read)

[Marc-NS]

As I was stuck in traffic heading home last night, I was shocked and very pleased that my local rock station here in Halifax, NS played Fairytale of New York...mind you it was during a request show and the caller asked to hear Christmas in New York by The Pogues. Anyhow it beats most all that is played on commercial radio these days.