Kevin Recommends: “O Tannenbaum” performed by the Vince Guaraldi Trio
Today is Christmas for those in the Christian world/not-Christian-but-observe-anyway-to-get-food-and-presents world.
For lots of us this means elevated levels of every kind of emotion. Maybe you got that present you were hoping for and now you’re jumping around like the Nintendo 64 kid. It could be that you’re stressing about the family dinner you’re responsible for because the turkey should have gone in the oven an hour ago and now dinner is going to be late. Or perhaps you have no one to share the day with because you’re on your own for the first time this year and you’re anxious and lonely. Whatever it is you’re feeling, chances are it’s amplified tenfold today.
If you’re here reading the last of this year’s holiday recommendations on Memoir Mixtapes, chances are you’re looking for a quick break from all that. You’re hoping for a little something to ease the pressure of so much feeling.
Please, allow us to help in our own way.
A big part of today is the giving and receiving of presents, so how’s about you give yourself a little present? Take five, ten minutes for yourself. Let all those intense feelings go and be still for a moment. Let the Vince Guaraldi Trio bring your vibe down to something a bit more manageable.
This rendition of “O Tannenbaum” (or “O Christmas Tree,” if for some reason you hate the original German title) from the Charlie Brown Christmas special really is remarkable. It manages to accomplish so very much while being deceptively simple. It’s jazzy and cool and it makes you want to get up and dance, but it’s smooth and soft and compels you to relax and sip a cocktail, yet it’s also quiet and reflective and sends your mind wandering far back into the halls of memory through years long gone. For this reason it’s one of my very favorite Christmas songs, and it should be one of yours too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fh133ZO1AE
From us here at Memoir Mixtapes I’d like to wish you all a Merry Christmas/Feliz Navidad/Joyeux Noël/happy Sir Isaac Newton’s birthday/happy holidays/glorious-regular-day-that-isn’t-a-holiday/fantastic-whatever-else-you-got-going-on. Thank you guys very much for reading.(Song recommendation by Kevin D. Woodall)