It’s Mardi Gras Time – Again!

Editor’s Note: This is a repost from last year, or the year before – whatever.

Mardi Gras is the final big blowout before the period of fasting and sacrifice called Lent.  Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, is the end of carnival season and the final day you can indulge in those earthly pleasures we all love so much. Ash Wednesday is next Wednesday.

Feel free to party as you please; here’s some music to help you on your way.  Play ‘em loud, play ‘em often and play ‘em all year – make every day a Mardi Gras Day.

Don’t forget: You can tune in to real-time live webcams for a ringside seat to the madness and Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans.  NOLA webcams

MP3: “Life Is A Carnival/Party” by the Wild Magnolias

MP3: “Mardi Gras Mambo” by the Hawketts

MP3: “Second Line, Part 1” by Bill Sinegal & the Skyliners

MP3: “Who Dat at Mardi Gras” by Luther Kent

MP3: “Carnival Time” by My Morning Jacket w/the Preservation Hall Jazz Band

MP3: “Brother John/Iko Iko” by the Neville Brothers

MP3: “My Indian Red” by Dr. John

MP3: “Shake That Thing” by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band

MP3: “Walking To New Orleans” by Fats Domino

MP3: “Tipitina” by Professor Longhair

MP3: “When The Saints Go Marchin’ In” by Louis Armstrong

MP3: “Mardi Gras Mambo”/”Hey Pocky-A-Way” (live) by the Meters

Runnin’ Out Of Christmas

Well, what I really should say is that we are running out of things to say about Christmas.  We already took our potshot at the right-wing TV pundits, and we already did our “tired of Christmas” thing and of course the good ol’ commercialization of Christmas thing.  We can still do the ol’ Peace on Earth thing …

But we’re not running out of Christmas tunes!

MP3: “A Jordan Xmas” by Tracy Morgan

MP3: “Christmas Time Is Here Again” by My Morning Jacket

MP3: “Monster’s Holiday” by Lon Chaney Jr.

MP3: “Santa Claus Blues” by Louis Armstrong

MP3: “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by Foghat

MP3: “Christmas On The Bayou” by Lonnie Brooks

MP3: “Santa Claus Done Brought Himself To Town” by Justin Wilson

MP3: “You Ain’t Getting S*** For Christmas” by Red Peters (Not Safe For Work!)

MP3: “I’ll Be Your Santa Baby” by Rufus Thomas

MP3: “I’ve Got A Great Big Christmas Tree” by the Werewandas

MP3: “Sleigh Ride” by the Ventures

MP3: “Perfect Gift” by Natalie Hemby

MP3: “Jingle Bells” by Wilson Pickett

MP3: “Santa’s Got A Brand New Bag” by Gary Walker & the Boogie Kings

MP3: “Trim Your Tree” by Jimmy Butler

MP3: “Italian Jingle Bells” by Lou Monte

MP3: “Santa’s Gone Surfin'” by the Malibooz

MP3: “A Visit From St. Nicholas” by Bob Dylan

Song of the Day: Louis Armstrong (Not!)

Last week we ran Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” done up smooth jazz style – today we give the metalheads equal time.  So here’s “What A Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong, the Death Metal version.

30 Days Out (From Christmas): Louisiana

Day 20 – Our Christmas journey today brings us to the great state of Louisiana – or more precisely, New Orleans.  The Crescent City is home to some of the greatest American musicians of past and modern eras, and being the nice Catholic boys and girls most of ’em are, they really know how to put on a good party at Christmas.  We also veer slightly into Cajun country for a couple of our selections but it’s all Louisiana, it’s all good.  Lassez les bon temps roulet.

MP3: “Christmas In New Orleans” by Louis Armstrong

MP3: “The Day It Snows On Christmas” by Allen Toussaint

MP3: “Christmas Gumbo” by Art Neville

MP3: “Zydeco Christmas” by C. J. Chenier

MP3: “Here Comes Santa Claus” by Joe Bonsall

MP3: “Christmas Fais Do Do” by Marcia Ball

MP3: “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town” by Al Hirt

MP3: “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” by Pete Fountain

MP3: “Peace Brother Peace” by Dr. John

MP3: “Let It Snow” by the Dixie Cups

MP3: “The Christmas Blues” by the Dukes of Dixieland w/Topsy Chapman & Lars Edegran

MP3: “Santa Don’t Let Me Down” by Earl King

MP3: “All I Want For Christmas (Is A Little Bit Of Music) by Huey Piano Smith & the Clowns

MP3: “Frosty The Snowman” by Fats Domino

MP3: “Such A Night” by Aaron Neville

30 Days Out (From Christmas): Rockin’ Stocking

Day Three – OK, confession time: I really hate Christmas songs.  But after you start plowing through them and you hear one that doesn’t pop up on the radio about every five minutes, it gets kinda fun listening to some of them.  I said SOME of them.  So, to keep this 30 days thing from growing too tedious, here’s a holiday stocking of some random tunes that caught my ear today.  Thanks to our L.A. correspondent Randy Fuller for compiling these on a mix CD about two or three years ago.

MP3: “Christmas Lullaby” by Shane MacGowan

MP3: “All I Wanna Do Is Shag This Christmas” by the Bellrays

MP3: “Counting The Days (A Christmas Polka)” by Marah

MP3: “Funky Christmas” by James Brown

MP3: “Jungle Bells” by the Blue Hawaiians

MP3: “We Three Kings” by Rev. Horton Heat

MP3: “Christmas Is For Mugs” by Graham Parker

MP3: “Christmas Blues” by Gatemouth Moore

MP3: “Cool Yule” by Louis Armstrong

MP3: “White Christmas” by Guns N’ Roses (Maybe it’s Guns N’ Roses!)

All Saints Day!!!

We hope you had a Happy Halloween, but today, Nov. 1, is All Saints Day in the Catholic church. So go to church, you heathens.  The feast honors all saints, known and unknown.  Since we spent most of the week putting up songs about devils and pictures of scantily clad women, we figured we better come correct and put up something that deals with the Divine.  Here are some tunes that feature the word “Saint,” although I’m not sure any of them really have anything to do with those who reached sainthood.

Happy All Saints Day!

MP3: “It’s Hard to be a Saint in the City” (live) by Bruce Springsteen

MP3: “I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine” by Bob Dylan

MP3: “St. Teresa” by Joan Osborne

MP3: “St. Stephen” (live) by the Grateful Dead

MP3: “St. Dominic’s Preview” by Van Morrison

MP3: “St. Judy’s Comet” by Paul Simon

MP3: “East St. Louis Toodle-oo” by Steely Dan

MP3: “St. Louis Blues” by Louis Armstrong

MP3: “Saint Estephe” by the Last Hombres

MP3: “The Saints Are Coming” by U2 and Green Day