I am due for another music blog, how about y'all?

Here he goes again. It seems like every time the fat guy adds some new songs to his playlist we gotta listen to him ramble endlessly about the power of music, or adding a soundtrack to our lives, blah, blah, blah.... Yeah, well, ya know what???!!!! Bite me. This one, like ALL of the other blogs about music is very near and dear to me for a few reasons. First, because it is about music. Music being a major influence and force in my life. Second, because of the songs that I did add to my list tonight and why I added them. Finally, this blog is near and dear because I am going to talk about fishing poles, people, and Sha-Na-Na. What? Just relax, it will all tie together. Bear with me. Okay, music. Yes it's a driving force in my life etc.. etc.... Yes, you all know how important it is to me. Especially at this time of year. Many of you who know me, know that this time of year has always been a rough time for me. Not due to any tragedy or any Santa related creepiness..... Just have always been kind of a Grinch.... Until Vivian came along. Having kids will change your view of many things. Including those things you thought you would NEVER change your mind about. Like Christmas. Don't get me wrong. I have not been transformed into a fan of the times. Just softened up a bit. Around her. Still pretty much a Grinch whenever I get the chance. Especially when it comes to Christmas songs. Sure, I remember singing all the old versions of the songs growing up. Jimmy Boyd's version of "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." Gene Autry belting out "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Brenda Lee telling us about "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." I remember singing along with all of 'em. As I got older, though, they started to lose their charm. Over and over again. It was awful. They just kept playing them. On TV. On the radio. In the stores. At the restaurants. I got to the point where I was not only a Grinch because of the time of year but also because of the music of the time of the year. That was until I heard two different songs that forever warped me into a blubbering idiot whenever I heard them. Now, as you know, with me, I am not afraid to admit that a great deal of music stirs strong emotions in me. What you didn't know is that "The Little Drummer Boy" by Jars of Clay and "Do They Know It's Christmas" By Band-Aid and/or the Barenaked Ladies (either version is amazing) will reduce this Agnostic Christmas hater into a pile of teary blubber. Yep. A song about the birth of Jesus Christ and a song about a bunch of starving kids in Africa touch my soul in ways reserved only for Cyndi Lauper, Ben E. King, and the Monkees. Strange, huh? I think so. I have no idea why. I have heard many versions of "The Little Drummer Boy" and have enjoyed a few of them at one time or another. None of them do to me what the aforementioned version does. Cannot, will not, and don't want to try and explain. Deal with it. As far as the starving African kids? Don't know why that one does it either. It may be because of the one line sung by Bono in the original version... "...well tonight, Thank God it's them, instead of you..." There is such venom behind his voice that I think he put there on purpose. It worked on me. Got me thinking. Realizing no matter how rough things are on me this time of year, someone is suffering even more. Some don't even know what Christmas is or what it is all about. Not the religious aspect, the season in general. The giving. The receiving. The love. The family. The spirit. The stories. The laughter. The tears. The memories. All of these things make this time of year what it is. These two songs help me remember this. What are your songs? Finally... Fishing poles, people and Sha-Na-Na. There was quite a bit of controversy on my last blog when it posted on myspace. Seems like I led everyone to believe that there was some woman out there that I wanted real bad but couldn't, shouldn't and have not had. Well, I will stand here now and say that y'all are only partly right. Which part is right? I will never, EVER tell. Especially since y'all got so worked up. I have said that it could have been a fishing pole that I was talking about. It may have been a Light-Up Nativity Scene using the original cast of Sha-Na-Na (featuring Bowzer as the Christ Child). I am not telling if it was one of these things or a person. What I am going to say is relax.... Try not to think too hard about it.... It's Christmas time!