The Guardian - Best Song to Capture the Spirit of Xmas

[soulfinger]

It just goes to show. You can be a professor of music at Bristol University and know fuck all.
The full article is here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/de ... stmas-song
Enjoy the bit where Prof Emma Hornby describes the writer of Mistletoe and Wine by St Cliff Richard as "a musical genius".

This is just the annoying bit.

The rough-and-ready classic
Fairytale of New York, by the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl

Batt: One of the best Christmas songs, because it sounds like a real person telling a real story, which is refreshing. There's a natural cynicism in Shane MacGowan's voice but it's gone here, which says a lot. The song's also stopped from being mawkish by the grittiness of the insults. Any song with "scumbag" in it isn't aiming for No 1 – and I think people appreciate that. Score: 9

Hornby: This is not a Christmas song at all. It's just a man with not a very nice voice singing a simple melody, going round and round, not quite in tune. When MacColl comes in, it's just folk modalities with fiddle and accordion. But at least she can sing! Score: 0

Fraser: This has no religious content but – crucially – it doesn't try to have any. I like that it takes Christmas away from an idea of materialism. There's an earthiness to it that's much more part of the message. MacColl singing "you're handsome" to Shane MacGowan, though? I can't believe that at all! Score: 7

Esack: A good song if you want a bit of anarchy – which is funny, because it's got such a sad lyric. People just hear the raucous celebratory shouting and join in. We did a party for Spearmint Rhino recently where all the guys were pole-dancing. This could have been the soundtrack, but we had a 7ft rapper instead. Score: 7

Total: 23/40

[firehazard]

Professors weren't called Emma in my day. [grumbles]
They also had more understanding of music, literature, Christmas and life in general than Professor Emma displays. [mutters]

[philipchevron]

Professors weren't called Emma in my day. [grumbles]
They also had more understanding of music, literature, Christmas and life in general than Professor Emma displays. [mutters]

"When MacColl comes in, it's just folk modalities with fiddle and accordion"

In my day, music professors were not sufficiently qualified that they could distinguish the sound of the fiddle where none exists.

But hey! who needs to be loved by everybody?

[Mike from Boston]

Couldn't resist commenting on the Guardian site.

It has always been interesting to me how some songs seem to be popular in both the UK and the US, but some UK favorites don't register over here at all -Slade, Cliff Richard, Wizzard.

[Shaz]

I'd broken my number one rule of not playing with the funny people over at the Guardian site/CiF and left a post yesterday pointing out there are no damn fiddles in FoNY!

[philipchevron]

I'd broken my number one rule of not playing with the funny people over at the Guardian site/CiF and left a post yesterday pointing out there are no damn fiddles in FoNY!

I think it's only fair to concede that, if you count the orchestra, there are lots of "fiddles" on FoNY, but it seems clear from the context that's not what Prof Hornby meant! Besides, they're violins. One or two of them were quite particular about the distinction as I recall.

[Shaz]

I'd broken my number one rule of not playing with the funny people over at the Guardian site/CiF and left a post yesterday pointing out there are no damn fiddles in FoNY!

I think it's only fair to concede that, if you count the orchestra, there are lots of "fiddles" on FoNY, but it seems clear from the context that's not what Prof Hornby meant! Besides, they're violins. One or two of them were quite particular about the distinction as I recall.

Heh! Wonder if Prof Emma knows the difference between fiddles and violins ...

[Low D]

"When MacColl comes in, it's just folk modalities with fiddle and accordion"

In my day, music professors were not sufficiently qualified that they could distinguish the sound of the fiddle where none exists.

But hey! who needs to be loved by everybody?

What's funny is that - while this guy essentializes MacColl as folk music - her dad thought she wasn't folk at all! And Ewan MacColl presumably knew a thing or two about folk... but wait! They're both wrong.