Shit, it's only December 3rd and I'm already reposting a Christmas thing. I was planning on going light on the holiday fare this year. The big reason is that I can't really, with a good conscience, continue to be a part of the rampant consumer gluttony. Granted posting holiday songs isn't quite like whispering "buy more useless crap" into someone's ear, but it sure doesn't discourage the practice. Think of it, starting with the most ridiculous: a fucking giant red bow on a brand new car. Really? To me that's just obscene. But what do you have at the other end? Stocking stuffers that might get a chuckle before they're added to the landfill. And even stocking stuffers are expensive. Then you have the actual food gluttony. I could go on and on and sound like a Scrooge but the reality is that everyone has been conditioned to think that all that is normal. We've been hoodwinked into thinking this behavior is acceptable. Of course all of this goes out the window if there are kids involved. Do you want your kid to be the first one at school to say that Santa is made up bullshit?
So why a Christmas song? I was at the grocery store yesterday and it was the first appearance of the Salvation Army's red kettle. The person manning it has been the same for the past three or four years, an elderly guy with reddened eyes that appears almost animatronic. Like years past, he was repeating "Thank you very much god bless you thank you very much god bless you..." over and over, in a gruff voice that out-Waits-ed Tom Waits. All the time ringing the bell. He even did it when there was no one near him, as if he was in a trance and couldn't break it. Then he would stop for a minute, as if to re-charge, and then start up again for four or five minutes. (All this culled from several observations over the years.) Yesterday it finally hit me. The guy's voice sounded just like Joseph Spence (seen above), a Bahamian folksinger that, well, sounded like he was drunk. Come to think of it, I wonder if the Salvation Army dude carries a bottle?
Joseph Spence - Santa Claus is Coming to Town mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Oddball bonus:
Jayran Acharya - Santa Clause Is Coming to Town mp3 at Radiodiffusion International India
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