December Daily: commuting

mific asks, "Sounds like you commute to and fro still. How do you pass the time traveling? Music? Audiobooks? Something else? Any reccs? :)"

Yes, I'm driving that hour nearly every weekend. I haven't really found any way to fill the time except for music. These days I'm getting most of my music from Freegal, which is a service I get through my library: I can download five free songs a week out of an incredibly eccentric collection (probably based on label ownership). So here's a really random collection of stuff I'm liking -- stupid stuff from when I was young, old reliable artists who happen to be available on Freegal, new discoveries.

Superfly, Curtis Mayfield.

I Didn't Know I Loved You Till I Saw You Rock and Roll, Gary Glitter

FM Radio, Dar Williams

The Naked Highwayman, Freeport Convention

Like or Like Like, Miniature Tigers

Dig U Better Dead, Prince (I wasn't really familiar with his stuff after his big '80s popularity, but I am concluding that he was criminally underrated)

One Man's Ceiling Is Another Man's Floor, 2018 remake, Paul Simon



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December Daily: Advent music

torch asks, "favorite advent songs!"

My current favorite Advent hymn is "Comfort, Comfort Ye My People." I have two recordings of it, and I'm not 100% satisfied with either of them.

Comfort, Comfort Ye My People by Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church Choir is an anthem like you'd hear from a very good church choir. It changes the rhythm in places, which bugs me.

Comfort, Comfort Ye My People by the Choirs of the Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta is more of a production, with winds and percussion.

I would love just a straightforward, minimally fancied-up version of the hymn, if anyone would like to share.

Savior of the Nations, Come by the Valparaiso University Chorale

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus by the Scottish Festival Singers

People, Look East by the Mount Holyoke College Glee Club --- when was the last time you heard a female glee club? I really like this.

Maria Walks Amid the Thorn by the Benedictines of Mary is a pregnant-Mary song with the lovely pagan touch of a long-dormant tree bursting into flower.

Prepare the Way, O Zion/Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus by the Miserable Offenders (!) is an interesting combination of two hymns with entirely different tempos.

Come, Love, Caroling by Shusha is another pregnant-Mary hymn that I particularly like, though I'm not 100% happy with this performance. But I love the text. "All the while, wherever I may be, I carry the maker of the world in me."

Seeking Christmas music: In addition to the version of "Comfort, Comfort Ye My People" mentioned above, I'm also looking for a version of "What Child Is This" that has Dix's different text with each chorus ("Nails, spears shall pierce him through," etc.), instead of always defaulting to "This, this is Christ the king."



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Go read this

I get a text that says, "I just posted The Thing. I got carried away. There's a sonnet at the end of it."

How To Do My Job, by terminally_underwhelmed, a.k.a. the kidlet.