Christmas for Kate

Click image for playlist ...

Every year, for quite some time now, I've prepared a "Xmas for Kate" CD of tunes to remind us of the year that has past, events we've been to and places we've been. You can find these playlists on my iTunes and YouTube channels (click on the image for the 2023 YouTube playlist). 

This past year we didn't travel as much — covid is still an issue and, more importantly, Kate had surgery to replace an ankle she had broken back in 2025. Between waiting for and recovery from the surgery we've missed a lot of events. E.g., there were a couple of KBS events in South Africa and a Bar Room Health conference in Liverpool we had to miss. Nevertheless, we have some tunes and events to remember. Sadly, many of these tunes are tinged with loss as our favorite singers age and pass away.

Here's an annotation for the 2023 Christmas playlist. Kate has remarked that this year it seems to be dominated by women singers. Well, there's a reason: I know what boys like.

1. "I Know What Boys Like", The Waitresses (1982). Kate and Sam are doing a bar room research project around male attitudes and behaviours towards women (butt grabbing, that sort of thing). It's pretty clear what boys like, it's not clear they know how to get it. We saw the Waitresses in 1984 in Washington, DC. Patty Donahue, the singer, died back in 1996. 
2. "Friday Night, Saturday Morning", The Specials (1981). A sad reflection on the dance hall scene, very much like the scene Kate and Sam are looking at. Clearly, the boys don't have much luck with the girls. Perhaps their strategies (bum grabbing for example) don't endear them? Terry Hall, the singer, died in 2022.
3. "Strong Enough", Molly Tuttle and Madison Cunningham (2021). This is a great cover of Cheryl Crow's 1993 tune. "Are you strong enough to be my man?" Yup!
4. "The Story", Brandi Carlile (2007). This song is overwrought but the lyrics are quite moving. "I was made for you". Yup again. Brandi Carlile was named one of "The 10 Greatest Female Songwriters of All Time, Period!" by the American Songwriter in 2024.
5. "Been to the Mountain", Margo Price (2022). This is a bit of a drug induced psychedelic rocker from a Nashville singer I have followed for a while now. I like that it tells a story of someone who has been there and done a lot. "Used to be your waitress... I've been on food stamps, I've been outta my mind... stood in the welfare line". Reminds me of a Go-Go Dancer from Montreal.
6. "That River", Margo Cilker (2021). I like the rhythm of this song and the melancholy of looking back but I really can't fathom what it's about. Sample lyric: "That river in the winter, It could fuck me up". Not as romantic as Joni Mitchell's song "River" but I'm sure there's a connection.
7. "Not Ready Yet", Jamie McDell (2022). A new artist for me. And a song about not settling down. When you're our age you start to wonder if we'll ever settle down.
8. "Great Confession", Amanda Platt and the Honeycutters (2021). Another woman singer, one that we did see several years ago in Austin. It's a song about looking back — "Ain't it a crime the way the years go rolling by?" As we get older it certainly seems that way.
9. "Growing Up", Lori McKenna (2023). I've been following Lori McKenna for several years now. Many of her songs are about looking back and tinged with melancholy. This one too.
10. "Lonely Tonight", Jobi Roccio (2023). Winner this year of John Prine Songwriter Fellowship from Newport Folk — what more creds do you need?
11. "The Painkillers Ain't Workin'", Buddy & Julie Miller (2023). This tune, a reference to Kate's recovery, is dominated by Julie Miller's voice. It's a bit of rocker.
12. "The Coo Coo", Townes Van Zandt (1994). This is an acoustic cover of a traditional folk song. I first heard it this year and was impressed by the lyrics. I can't find a full copy of the lyrics Townes sings and on the two versions I've heard he sings different lyrics. I like the idea that he was too lazy for working, and robbing trains was too dangerous, so he ends up a gambler. Some of the lyrics are found in "The Moonshiner". It's a lovely odd tune by another singer who died far too young (January 1, 1997).
13. "Jerusalem", Steve Earle (2002). With a war raging in Gaza it's hard to stay hopeful and believe that "One fine day, all the children of Abraham will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem". We can only hope. We've seen Steve Earle a few times, once in Austin at Waterloo Records.
14. "She Left Me for Jesus", Hayes Carll (2007). A bit of humor on religion. "If I ever find Jesus, I'm kickin' his ass". We've seen Hayes Carll in Austin performing at Waterloo Records. Hayes is married to Allison Moorer who was Steve Earle's 7th wife! He appears on several of our Xmas playlists.
15. "Monk's Chant/He's Not Dead Yet", Spamalot (2005). Kate got us tickets to see Spamalot in Stratford for our anniversary in August. We liked it so much we went back again and I went a third time for the closing night with our friends Erich and Lisa. Erich, the "Half a Bee", was a house mate when I was at university — a time when we were both big fans of Monty Python.
16. "Goo Goo Muck", Geek Music (2022). This song, originally by the Cramps, who I did follow many years ago, was redone for the dance scene in the movie "Wednesday" which built on the Adams Family story. We streamed the movie at home, it was fun. Dark and comedic; I'll recommend the movie.
17. "Barbie Girl", Aqua (1997). This was a pop hit back in the day and, to my surprise, never appears in the Barbie movie, which was a big hit this year. We streamed the movie with Gord and Leslie while in Ottawa. I would recommend the movie and would watch it again.
18. "Push", Ryan Gosling (2023). This did appear in the Barbie movie. It's a retake of a 1996 song by Matchbox Twenty. This bit of misogyny has Ken promising to push Barbie around. See above, Kate and Sam's research on men's attitudes and bar room violence towards women. 
19. "Go Go Round", Gordon Lightfoot (1967). Gordon Lightfoot passed away in the spring of 2023. There are many songs I could have picked but this one is for the Go-Go Dancer from Montreal who I married. In the song the Go-Go dancer is mistreated by a guy who doesn't care — more for Kate and Sam to research.
20. "Fairytale of New York", Glen Hansard & Lisa O'Neill (2023). This song, which has been a Christmas favorite for many years, was performed at the St. Mary of the Rosary church in Nenagh during Shane MacGowan's funeral. It's not a surprise that he died; more a surprise that he lived this long. Nevertheless, he is another singer/songwriter who will be sadly missed.

Anyways, there's usually a reason behind these picks and now you know.