Merry Christmas Eve, y'all. I hope you're spending the day however you want, whether that's with friends and family, somewhere beautiful on vacation, or something completely different, it's the second most festive day of the year, and that's important. Y'all know how I feel about Christmas music (it's not my favorite), but there is one song in particular that puts me in the Christmas mood every time, and that would be Alabama's classic "Christmas In Dixie." It was first released as a single in December of 1982 from the RCA Nashville compilation album A Country Christmas, and later included on Alabama's first Christmas album released in 1985, Alabama Christmas. In 2017, they by re-recorded an unplugged version their third Christmas album, American Christmas, which celebrated its 35th anniversary when they first released the song in 1982. It's the only song credited solely to the four band members, and the one of only two songs to feature a songwriting credit for drummer Mark Herndon. I really only listen to it on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, because if I listen to it too much, I honestly get too sad and kind of emo... it hits home for me as someone with very special holiday memories in the South, which they celebrate and describe absolutely perfectly. Of course, I'm biased, but there's just something so special about Christmas down here that I can't quite put into words, though I'll be honest, the thought of being somewhere actually cold, with snow on the ground, sounds pretty enchanting too... so if you're lucky enough to always have a white Christmas where you celebrate, consider yourself lucky. I don't even think I'll have to wear a jacket outside today. Alabama names several states and cities across the country in the verses, from up North and throughout the Southeast, including New York City, California, Chicago and Detroit, which are followed by two references to Memphis, Tennessee, Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi and Charlotte, North Carolina (referred as "Caroline" in this song) and a final reference to Fort Payne, Alabama, which is the group's hometown. I grew up not too far from Charlotte, so it definitely holds a special place in my heart for that reason, and has this certain feeling of nostalgia woven throughout that I think everyone can relate to, even if you're not from the South: "It's windy in Chicago, the kids are out of school There's magic in Motown, the city's on the move In Jackson, Mississippi to Charlotte, Caroline And all across the nation, it's a peaceful Christmas time Christmas in Dixie, it's snowing in the pines Merry Christmas from Dixie to everyone tonight" And their live performance of "Christmas In Dixie," from the group's 1995 TNN Special, will have you in the spirit in no time... this country Christmas classic is a cut above the rest, and I don't think there's anything else that compares. There's certainly no other Christmas song that makes me feel the way this one does, and I will be listening to it all day long (and trying not to cry). Wherever you're spending this Christmas Eve, I hope it finds you blessed, warm and surrounded by people who love you. Merry Christmas, y'all. Turn it up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJYpnHCeMcU "Christmas In Dixie" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjGbi5nz-8A

The 70s was really a golden age for Rock and Roll music, many different bands and music genres were evolving. The Beatles were over but their influence was still extremely present and John Lennon, for example was building a successful solo career. He was always interested in new artists and different sounds, and he even praised once a song of an Australian band that he believed was one of the greatest ones released in the 70s. He was not the only one who praised that song, even Frank Sinatra said it was the greatest one released in the 70s. The late 70s song that John Lennon and Frank Sinatra loved The track is “Reminiscing”, the biggest hit of the Australian group Little River Band, released in 1978 on their fourth studio album "Sleeper Catcher". In an interview with Guitar Player magazine in 2023, the band's guitarist Graeham Goble and writer of the song recalled that Lennon's former girlfriend and assistant May Pag revealed in her book that it was one of his favorite songs when they were together in the late 70s. “She (May Pang) wrote in her book, Loving John, that they would lay in bed listening to ‘Reminiscing. He was asking her to play it again and again and again. That was pretty amazing. (...) "(It's) our pinnacle song. It’s double any other song we’ve ever had in terms of listens. It’s been in a lot of movies, and a lot of soundtracks. Sinatra said he thought it was the best ’70s song in the world, though he never recorded it. But when John Lennon calls your song one of his favorites, does that really matter?” Graeham Goble said. The track was their most succesful song in the United States, peaking at number 3 on the Billboard 200 and Cash Box charts. It was a number 1 hit in Canada but in Australia it peak at number 35 on th Kent Music Report. It also was honored by Broadcast Music International (BMI) for being played on American Radio more than five million times. Main inspiration behind the song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE6sme7SHj8&pp=ygUdcmVtaW5pc2NpbmcgbGl0dGxlIHJpdmVyIGJhbmQ%3D Graeham Goble revealed over the years that his main inspiration for the song were old black and white movies. He also praised the music made by Glenn Miller and Cole Porter, saying the song was his attempt to "depict the romantic era". In an interview with Rova in 2022, he recalled they recorded the song in only 25 minutes. "We cross all genres with this one. When we recorded it the first time, we weren't happy with the bandtrack." "And then we did a second time. And then we did a third time. The words and the music just came into my mind or into my soul, I guess," Graeham Goble said. "Reminiscing" is by far their most famous song but they also had other hits. Some of them are"Lonesome Loser", "Cool Change", "Lady" and "The Other Guy". Both musicians who loved the track sadly already passed away. John Lennon was tragically murdered on December 8, 1980 at the age of 40. Frank Sinatra passed away in 1998 at the age of 56, a victim of a heart attack.The post The late 70s song that John Lennon and Frank Sinatra loved appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.

Merry Christmas from the Health Ranger Store! Merry Christmas from the Health Ranger Store! The new song is, "We Can't Love Our Christmas Without You," in a jazzy big band style. I wrote all the lyrics and produced the song structure, prompt engineering of instruments, etc. AI-generated vocals are great. AI-generated visuals are not perfect. Santa is missing a finger... lol... but overall pretty impressive. This is my "thank you" message to you all for Christmas!

When it comes to meticulous world-building, nobody does it quite like J.R.R. Tolkien. But not many know that before Tolkien had brought the elves, orcs and hobbits of Middle Earth to life, he delighted his four children with epic tales of “Father Christmas” the North Pole, and they were every bit as sprawling and in-depth as his famous works. According to Letters of Note, in December of 1920, shortly after he returned home from WWI, Tolkien secretly hand wrote a letter—as Father Christmas, of course—to his 3-year-old son, John, and placed it in his bedroom along with an illustration of Father Christmas’ home in the North Pole. It would become a recurring tradition in the Tolkien household for the next 23 years. Each year the letters—usually written in Father Christmas’s spidery handwriting—would grow more complex as they recounted the adventures of Father Christmas and his temperamental sidekick North Polar Bear, whose rascally antics were regularly the cause of mayhem. And always, there would be a vivid illustration as well as a North Pole stamp and postage marks, designed by Tolkien. www.theparisreview.org In the letter below, written in 1925, we find out that North Polar Bear accidentally broke the North Pole while climbing on top of it to retrieve Father Christmas’s runaway hood. Poor fella crashed through the roof of Father Christmas’s home, broke his leg and spoiled that year’s gift haul with the snow that crashed down with him. Thanks to the folks at Letters of Note, we have an easily readable transcription: Cliff HouseTop of the WorldNear the North PoleXmas 1925My dear boys,I am dreadfully busy this year — it makes my hand more shaky than ever when I think of it — and not very rich. In fact, awful things have been happening, and some of the presents have got spoilt and I haven’t got the North Polar Bear to help me and I have had to move house just before Christmas, so you can imagine what a state everything is in, and you will see why I have a new address, and why I can only write one letter between you both. It all happened like this: one very windy day last November my hood blew off and went and stuck on the top of the North Pole. I told him not to, but the N.P.Bear climbed up to the thin top to get it down — and he did. The pole broke in the middle and fell on the roof of my house, and the N.P.Bear fell through the hole it made into the dining room with my hood over his nose, and all the snow fell off the roof into the house and melted and put out all the fires and ran down into the cellars where I was collecting this year’s presents, and the N.P.Bear’s leg got broken. He is well again now, but I was so cross with him that he says he won’t try to help me again. I expect his temper is hurt, and will be mended by next Christmas. I send you a picture of the accident, and of my new house on the cliffs above the N.P. (with beautiful cellars in the cliffs). If John can’t read my old shaky writing (1925 years old) he must get his father to. When is Michael going to learn to read, and write his own letters to me? Lots of love to you both and Christopher, whose name is rather like mine.That’s all. Goodbye.Father ChristmasSo many parallels to Middle Earth are interwoven throughout these stories that there’s been much debate as to whether or not the Father Christmas letters were an influence to Lord of the Rings, or merely showcased concepts Tolkien was already contemplating for the series. There’s invented languages, nods to real-world folklore and historical events, and even elf clans and goblin battles. May have argued that Father Christmas himself was a precursor to Gandalf. Tolkien would continue writing his Father Christmas letters until 1943, when the gift-giving hero dubbed Tolkien’s children “too old” to hang their stocking anymore. And these stories remained a secret to all but the Tolkien family until 1973, when they were published posthumously. Tolkien might have been the father of modern fantasy, but as we can see from these enchanting letters, he was also just a dad trying to make Christmas magical for his family. It just so happened that he was very well equipped to do so. You can also listen to a reading of the Tolkien’s 1925 Father Christmas letter below: - YouTube www.youtube.com

A tumultuous story. The post ‘A Fool No More’: Robert Plant on a “superlative” forgotten epic first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

Even by the standards set by the grunge explosion of the early 1990s, Alice In Chains were the scene’s dark-hearted outsiders. If Nirvana were the... The post Who is on the cover of Alice in Chain album ‘Dirt’? first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

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You can still visit many of the sets used in this holiday classic.

You can still visit many of the sets used in this holiday classic.