Hope your week is going well. Well, I guess "well" might be a stretch, "okay"? These days we take what we can get I suppose.
It's a bit scary to listen to or read the news. I force myself to check it a couple of times a day but I've grown weary of hearing the news about climbing COVID-19 case numbers, more people dying, even more getting sick. I don't ever ignore the masking / social distancing / hand washing stuff. By now, the protocols we follow feel a bit like second nature (sadly) but I find it exhausting to hear the news sometimes.
So, for Way Back Wednesday, I'm sharing a song which should help you forget about all of the troubles in the world for at least a few minutes. Kirsty MacColl's great song "Terry" was released as a single in 1983 ("Quietly Aloud" was the b-side). It got to No. 82 in the UK charts. It's Kirsty's take on a "Teen Ballad" and the video is super fun.
Hang in there kids, we're half-way to the weekend. Stay safe, wear a mask xo
As it's Tuesday, I'm sharing a cover with you today. Today's cover is a song I've shared before. Back in 2017 I shared a version of today's song which was performed by The Sweptaways.
Today, I'm sharing a much better known version of the Kirsty MacColl classic, "They Don't Know." Kirsty originally released the song in 1979.
Tracey Ullman had a reasonably sized hit with it when she recordedit back in 1983. Of course, the video for it is brilliant and it was released during the height of Much Music / MTV Craziness. I remember it being in high rotation on the Nation's Music Station at the time. Having Paul McCartney show up in a cute cameo made folks notice it I'm sure. I hope you enjoy this as much I do. It's a super song, it's catchy as hell and is so much fun.
The older I get, the less caught up I am in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.
In fact, I get more annoyed (and earlier every year) when the flyers appear in my inbox from Black Friday to Boxing Day.
I'm not religious at all but I like the holiday season for a couple of reasons. First of all, cookies. Second, it's so great to have a reason to get together with friends and family when the days are dark and cold. Seriously though, it's so easy to want to just hide away and hibernate and some folks will do just that. Third, mini lights.
I'm wishing you all a very Merry Christmas from beautiful British Columbia. This is the first time I'll be celebrating Christmas outside of Ontario, away from my family. I'm sure the day is going to be a little bit different from other Christmas days but I'm excited about spending time with some very special people and experiencing the holiday in a different place. This year, I did almost no holiday shopping and have focused my attentions on spending my time with some wonderful people.
As is now my custom, on December 25, I share with you my favourite holiday song. Here is what I posted last year about it.
The final song in my holiday top 3 is no surprise to folks who have been reading my blog for years. Of course, in my opinion, the very best Christmas song ever written and recorded is, was and forever shall be "Fairytale of New York" by the Pogues with the namesake of this blog, Kirsty MacColl. Originally released in 1987 (can you see a theme here, I'm such a child of the 80's), this song, with it's accompanying video (beautifully shot in black and white) instantly appealed to me. I wasn't the only one, in the UK, it is apparently the MOST played Christmas song of the 21st Century. Some folks find the lyrics offensive. Those folks can just fuck off. It's art, it's a song, it's a story about a messed up couple, trying to drag each other through the holidays when they are down on their luck and not too sure what the future will hold. I think it's a lot more honest portrayal of what some families go through at Christmas than any Norman Rockwell picture might. Don't get me wrong, I like Christmas just as much as the next person (although I really just like the acts of charity, the spending of time with loved ones, the lights, music, food and fun stuff, as you know, the religious elements are lost on me) but it's a really tough time for some people and we shouldn't forget about that.
Are you excited that the long weekend is almost here?? Do you have something super fun planned to celebrate the last holiday weekend of the summer of 2019?
I'm a bit more excited than I normally would be because it's not just a regular long weekend for me. I'm heading back to BC tomorrow. A couple of months ago, I spent the first long weekend of the summer there so it's nice that I'll be spending the last one there too. Lucky me, I am going to get to reconnect with some very special people and enjoy a week in the beautiful Okanagan!
So, because it's Friday, I'm sharing a song I love with y
ou, just because. Since the first time I heard him, I have been a fan of Billy Bragg. I'm guessing that goes back about 35 years or so. Today, I'm going to ask you to listen and enjoy a super fun poppy Billy Bragg song, Sexuality. It is from his 1991 album, "Don't Try This At Home" and it features the vocals of my favourite female singer of all time, Kirsty MacColl.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend and enjoy some dancing around the room to Billy & Kirsty. Stay safe kiddos xo
Sexuality - Strong and warm and wild and free Sexuality - Your laws do not apply to me Sexuality - Don't threaten me with misery Sexuality - I demand equality
I had no intentions of this becoming Morrissey / Smiths week on ye olde blog but that's just what happened. Funny isn't it??
Today's Not Guilty Just Pleasure song could have been posted on a Tuesday (cuz cover) or Wednesday (cuz old) but instead I'm posting it today. I thought it would be a nice way to end this Morrissey week thing.
For those of you who aren't paying attention, this name of my blog ("What Do Pretty Girls Do?") was taken from a song by the late, great Kirsty MacColl. It's been a while since I have shared a song of hers and thought that today was just as good as any to do just that.
As much as I love the original recording of today's song, Kirsty's version was always my favourite. She recorded it for her 1989 album "Kite" (The song "What Do Pretty Girls Do" is also on "Kite") and the lead guitar (obvs) was played by Johnny Marr. For those of you who may be too young to have been a fan of Kirsty's, I really encourage you to check out her music. She was a brilliant artist, had the voice of an angel and just the best sense of humour. Kirsty was taken from us tragically in 2000 but her music still sounds fresh and new today.
I hope you enjoy Kirsty MacColl's cover of "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet Baby." If it doesn't make you dance around the house nothing will.
As the wise philosopher Bart Simpson once said, "Hey, since when is Christmas just about the presents? Aren’t we forgetting the true meaning of this day? The birth of Santa."
He's not wrong folks, this time of the year should not be about presents or who has the fanciest cookies or biggest group of folks sitting around the table with them, it's about Santa. Poor old guy, we take him for granted and we shouldn't.
Over the past couple of weeks, you have indulged my small-ish obsession with "Last Christmas." Each day I mentioned that it was one of my top 3 favourite Christmas songs of all time. This is a true fact. My Christmas gift to you (although again, today should not be about gifts) today is the other two songs which round out my top 3.
The first one is by Chris Rea, Driving Home For Christmas. The song was originally released 30 years ago, in December of 1988. Apparently, he wrote the song about 10 years before recording it. The inspiration for the song came from being stuck in gridlock traffic, it was snowing lightly and he noticed that the drivers around him looked pretty unhappy. He started singing "we're driving home for Christmas" to his wife in the car, the rest, as they say, is history.
The final song in my holiday top 3 is no surprise to folks who have been reading my blog for years. Of course, in my opinion, the very best Christmas song ever written and recorded is, was and forever shall be "Fairytale of New York" by the Pogues with the namesake of this blog, Kirsty MacColl. Originally released in 1987 (can you see a theme here, I'm such a child of the 80's), this song, with it's accompanying video (beautifully shot in black and white) instantly appealed to me. I wasn't the only one, in the UK, it is apparently the MOST played Christmas song of the 21st Century.
Some folks find the lyrics offensive. Those folks can just fuck off. It's art, it's a song, it's a story about a messed up couple, trying to drag each other through the holidays when they are down on their luck and not too sure what the future will hold. I think it's a lot more honest portrayal of what some families go through at Christmas than any Norman Rockwell picture might. Don't get me wrong, I like Christmas just as much as the next person (although I really just like the acts of charity, the spending of time with loved ones, the lights, music, food and fun stuff, as you know, the religious elements are lost on me) but it's a really tough time for some people and we shouldn't forget about that.
I hope you have enjoyed my little holiday music detour the past couple of weeks. I will be sharing some of my favourite stuff from 2018 over the next week.
If you've been reading these pages for any length of time, you will have by now learned that I am a massive fan of the late and wonderful, Kirsty MacColl.
Her tragic death in December of 2000 inspired me to start this blog in the first place (I had web sites prior to that but really didn't update them with any regularity). I wanted to share information about the Justice for Kirsty campaign and named the site after one of her songs.
Many people know her voice because of her involvement with the Pogues (now classic) Christmas song (and my favourite Christmas song of ALL TIME), Fairytale of New York. What folks may not know is that she was a brilliant song writer and pretty early on in her career, Tracey Ullman covered one of her tunes. "They Don't Know" became a hit, partly because it's awesome and partly because of Ms Ullman's hilarious video - with cameo by Sir Paul McCartney and all.
A few months ago, I was listening to a complication album of Swedish pop songs and stumbled upon the Sweptaways and their version of "They Don't Know."
I quite enjoyed it, check it out, it should make you smile xo
