Advent Calendar Day 5

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The first weekend of my Advent Calendar is here. My usual practice is to choose something a bit more chilled for Saturday, so that’s what I’m doing today. Plus there’s a bonus video too, as well as the (now) regular two.

I’m starting with one which isn’t jolly, but it carries an important message. I’m not a particularly religious person, but I can appreciate that the meaning of this time of year may have become a little lost. Here’s a reminder:

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: in my view, Jackson Browne is one of the top singer-songwriters of my time, and this song is absolutely beautiful. The message that it carries is perhaps even more relevant than ever in these times of division.

My second song today isn’t, I think, generally regarded as a Christmas song, but as a modern day retelling of the story it takes some beating:

This is also an incredibly beautiful song, and that live performance from 1975 gets right to its heart. Just Cat and his guitar, with long time sidekick Alun Davies on guitar and backing vocals. Magical stuff. Their musical partnership persists: I saw Cat – now Yusuf, of course – play live in 2009: Alun was still with him, and they were as good as ever.

I promised you a bonus, and I’m as good as my word. You may already have seen this, as it has been doing the rounds in the past few days: I saw it in three different places yesterday. If not, prepare yourself. It looks like an advert, but somehow I think not:

Brilliant, and just what we all need right now, I think. Apologies to non-UK readers if you don’t get all of the references, but I can assure you that they are spot on!

I leave you with a thought for the day:

See you tomorrow for the first Sunday of my Advent Calendar. Specially themed – its almost as if I think about this, isn’t it?

17 thoughts on “Advent Calendar Day 5”

    • Thanks, Pete. Jackson is still making great music. He has never had the success he deserves here – several minor hit singles and albums but I think he’s only made the top twenty once or twice. To put it into perspective: I’ve seen him, The (Dixie) Chicks and Bellowhead at the Royal Albert Hall, probably the most prestigious concert venue in the country. The other two packed the place out, it was somewhere between half and three-quarters full for Jackson. It doesn’t seem right, somehow…

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    • I’ve loved his music since he brought out Mona Bone Jakon! I met him very briefly some years ago but it was only a handshake and hello kind of thing – when he converted to Islam he used his wealth to support education, and the NHS Trust I worked for had links with his school. A very gentle man, as you might imagine.

      Glad you enjoyed the cartoon, and my sympathy for your suffering 😉

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  4. Jackson Browne and Cat Stevens are also two of my favorite singer songwriters but I was not familiar with these two songs. They are beautiful and as you know quite timely. And thanks for the laughs with the third video. Baby, it’s COVID outside…

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    • Glad you liked the choices. Neither is amongst their most well-known songs, so it’s not a surprise you didn’t know them. They are beautiful, aren’t they?

      I don’t know if you get them over there (I think they’re very much a British thing) but we have a long-running series of compilation albums, originally called Now That’s What I Call Music, but now abbreviated. The most recent is Now 107, I think! They also do themed ones and have several Christmas versions. This is a perfect parody of their ads.

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