If I were filthy rich, there are many things that I've said I would do: buy my grandparents' cabin and live like a hermit; visit all 50 states, stopping at every national park; build a lavish home theater and organize a film festival; fund a community skate park; curate an antique music box museum. That last one's not actually true. I've never said it before but now that I have, why not? A library of golden age comic books would only be of interest to English speakers but music is universal, especially instrumental music. In the case of an unlikely but possible post-apocalyptic future without electricity, music boxes would be invaluable to music lovers without any natural musical talent. I love music boxes. The Porter Co. (surprisingly available on iTunes) Music Box Christmas, as revealed in my 12/25/08 post, was the album my parents played first thing on Christmas mornings while we opened presents. Not that I think opening presents is the essence of Christmas, but this album IS the essence of Christmas for me. It evokes a baby being born in a manger. It twinkles like starlight and almost brings me to tears. All music boxes have a somewhat melancholy sound, no matter how joyous the songs they play. Considering that my absolute favorite musical instrument is the steel drum and one of my top five things in this world is listening to church bells in the distance, it should come as no surprise that I love the sweet, simple, haunting sound of music boxes. This album straddles the line between reinterpreting Christmas classics in a new and different format and remaining faithful to the original melodies (check out the unique intro on "Greensleeves"). It also has a nice, even balance between contemporary, pop standards and traditional, religious carols. For more on the man behind this, my absolute favorite Christmas CD, click to enlarge the liner notes below:
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