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Alan Parsons In A Winter Wonderland
''It's a Cool, Cool Christmas'' is a Christmas charity compilation album released in 2000 by Xfm on Jeepster Records in aid of The Big Issue. The album includes a mixture of traditional Christmas songs and original songs with a Christmas theme. Reception Allmusic writer Tim DiGravina described the album as "inspired good fun", calling it "without a doubt, one of the better alternative, holiday collections." According to DiGravina, Grandaddy's "Alan Parsons in a Winter Wonderland," with its lyric about building a snowman and pretending that it is Alan Parsons, "might be the funniest song from 2000".DiGravina, Tim''It's a Cool Cool Christmas'' Review, Allmusic, retrieved 2011-07-10 The BBC's Richard Banks called "Alan Parsons" "a stroke of comedy genius".Banks, Richard (2009)Christmas Records, Day 23: It's a Cool, Cool Christmas, BBC, 23 December 2009, retrieved 2011-07-10 Scott Miller (pop musician), Scott Miller, in his book ''Music: What Happened?'', suggested that Grandaddy "pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Katherine Kennicott Davis
Katherine Kennicott Davis (June 25, 1892 – April 20, 1980) was an American composer, pianist, arranger, and teacher, whose most well-known composition is the Christmas song "Carol of the Drum," later known as " The Little Drummer Boy". Life and career Davis was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, on June 25, 1892. She composed her first piece of music, "Shadow March," at the age of 15. She graduated from St. Joseph High School in 1910, and studied music at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. In 1914 she won the college's Billings Prize. After graduation she continued at Wellesley as an assistant in the Music Department, teaching music theory and piano. At the same time she studied at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Davis also studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. She taught music at the Concord Academy in Concord, Massachusetts, and at the Shady Hill School for Girls in Philadelphia. She became a member of ASCAP in 1941. and was granted an honorary doctorate fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russia, Berlin arrived in the United States at the age of five. He published his first song, "Marie from Sunny Italy", in 1907, receiving 33 cents for the publishing rights,Starr, Larry and Waterman, Christopher, American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MP3, Oxford University Press, 2009, pg. 64 and had his first major international hit, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", in 1911. He also was an owner of the Music Box Theatre on Broadway. For much of his career Berlin could not read sheet music, and was such a limited piano player that he could only play in the key of F-sharp; he used his custom piano equipped with a transposing lever when he needed to play in keys other than F-sharp. "Alexander's Ragtime Band" sparked an international dance craze ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals), Derek Brown (keyboards, guitars, percussion), Matt Duckworth Kirksey (drums, percussion, keyboards) and Nicholas Ley (percussion, drums). Following the departure of long-time bassist Michael Ivins in 2021, Coyne has remained the band's solo consistent member. The group recorded several albums and EPs on an indie label, Restless, in the 1980s and early 1990s. After signing to Warner Brothers, they released their first record with Warner, ''Hit to Death in the Future Head'' (1992). Their 1993 album ''Transmissions from the Satellite Heart'' included the hit single "She Don't Use Jelly" which broke the band into the mainstream. They later released ''The Soft Bulletin'' (1999), which was ''NME'' magazine's Album of the Year, followed by the critically accla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White Christmas (song)
"White Christmas" is an Irving Berlin song reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. The song was written by Berlin for the 1942 musical film ''Holiday Inn''. The composition won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 15th Academy Awards. Since its release, "White Christmas" has been covered by many artists, the version sung by Bing Crosby being the world's best-selling single (in terms of sales of physical media) with estimated sales in excess of 50 million copies worldwide. When the figures for other versions of the song are added to Crosby's, sales of the song exceed 100 million. History Origin Accounts vary as to when and where Berlin wrote the song. One story is that he wrote it in 1940, in warm La Quinta, California, while staying at the La Quinta Hotel, a frequent Hollywood retreat also favored by writer-director-producer Frank Capra, although the Arizona Biltmore also claims the song was written there. He often stayed up all night writing. One ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giant Sand
Giant Sand is an American musical group from Tucson, Arizona, United States. Its most constant member is singer-songwriter Howe Gelb. The group started as Giant Sandworms in the late 1970s post-punk and paisley underground scenes. They later shortened their name and developed an idiosyncratic sound rooted in alternative country, but touching on a wide range of other styles and featuring Gelb's beatnik-influenced vocals and songwriting. Since about 2012, they have also performed as Giant Giant Sand when featuring a larger ensemble than their traditional four to six musicians. Members have included keyboardist Chris Cacavas (of Green on Red), bassist Paula Jean Brown (who was briefly a member of The Go-Go's and was married to Gelb at the time), Mark Walton (of The Dream Syndicate and Continental Drifters), drummer Tom Larkins (later to become a Jonathan Richman sideman), and Iain Shedden, drummer with Australian band The Saints. For a long while the band's rhythm section consis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belle & Sebastian
Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released eleven albums. They are often compared with acts such as The Smiths and Nick Drake. The name "Belle and Sebastian" comes from '' Belle et Sébastien'', a 1965 children's book by French writer Cécile Aubry later adapted for television. Though consistently lauded by critics, Belle & Sebastian's "wistful pop" has enjoyed only limited commercial success. History Formation, early years and ''Tigermilk'' (1994–1996) In 1994, Stuart Murdoch and Stuart David both enrolled at Stow College's Beatbox programme for unemployed musicians in Glasgow. Together, with music professor Alan Rankine (formerly of The Associates), they recorded some demos, which in 1996 were picked up by the college's Music Business course that produces and releases one single each year on the college's label, Electric Honey. As Murdoch had a number of songs already and the label was extr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drugstore (band)
Drugstore are a London-based alternative and dream pop band, led by Brazilian singer-songwriter and bassist Isabel Monteiro (born 9 September 1965, São Paulo, Brazil), formed with Dave Hunter (later replaced by Daron Robinson) on guitar and Mike Chylinski on drums. The band's name is taken from the 1989 Gus Van Sant film ''Drugstore Cowboy''. Career Formation and ''Drugstore'' (1993–1995) The band was formed via a flat-share in East London, when Monteiro and American drummer Mike Chylinski met. They were joined by guitarist Dave Hunter and soon released their debut single, "Alive", on their own label Honey Records in 1993. The following year Hunter was replaced by Daron Robinson, and after only a handful of gigs, the band signed a major record deal with Go! Discs. Their debut album ''Drugstore'' was released on 27 March 1995 and it reached number 31 in the UK Albums Chart. The following three years were spent touring with Radiohead, Tindersticks, Jeff Buckley and The Jesus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morgan Nicholls
Morgan Daniel Nicholls (born 18 March 1971) is an English musician, member of English pop band Senseless Things and best known for performing with Muse, Gorillaz, The Streets and Lily Allen. He has released one solo album under the mononym Morgan. Career Nicholls began his career with Senseless Things, with whom he released four studio albums between 1989 and 1995. He was subsequently involved with Vent 414 until 1997. In 2002, Morgan was involved as a producer on QueenAdreena's '' Drink Me''. In August 2004, he temporarily joined the alternative rock band Muse at the V Festival, filling in for bassist Christopher Wolstenholme who had broken his wrist playing football. In 2004, Morgan Nicholls joined Damon Albarn to play bass on the 2005 Gorillaz album Demon Days. Morgan knew the band from his friendship with Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett. In 2005 and 2006 he joined the Gorillaz live band for a live set of show for Demon Days, playing two 5 night residencies at the Manche ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
El Vez
Robert Alan Lopez (born 1960),"El Vez", ''St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture'', Thomson Gale 2005–2006reproduced online at BookRags.comand accessed online 28 April 2007. better known by his stage name El Vez, is an American singer-songwriter and musician, short film review on the site of the ''New York Times''. Accessed online 31 October 2006 who performs and records original material and covers classic rock songs. Mixing the styles of and many other American rock artists with his own heritage and music, he is known for expressing revolutionary views through the satire an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feliz Navidad (song)
"Feliz Navidad" () () is a Christmas song written and first recorded in 1970 by Puerto Rican singer-songwriter José Feliciano. With its simple, heartfelt lyrics - the traditional Spanish Christmas/New Year greeting "Feliz Navidad, próspero año y felicidad" ("Merry Christmas, a prosperous year and happiness"), followed by text in English words "I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas from the bottom of my heart" - it has become a Christmas classic and has gained popularity around the world. Background and composition Feliciano says he recorded the song while feeling homesick at Christmas, missing his family in New York City and his extended family further afield as he sat in a studio in Los Angeles. He remembered celebrating Christmas Eve with his brothers, eating traditional Puerto Rican foods, drinking rum, and going caroling. "It was expressing the joy that I felt on Christmas and the fact that I felt very lonely," he told NPR in December 2020. "I missed my family, I missed Chri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
