Daddy's Gonna Kill Ralphie

The Queen Mother Of All Christmas Blogs.

[daddysgonnakillralphie]

This one could be worth FIFTY THOUSAND BUCKS....

Here we are. One day away from Thanksgiving, and that means I do my yearly duty and give you another fine Christmas mix. Below are the 45 tracks that make up Daddy's Gonna Kill Ralphie Presents: Mikey's Christmas Mix 2012! This years mix is bigger and better with over one and a half hours of sonic Yuletide. This makes four years of Christmas Mixes, an they are all available to you! Choose your year, click on it, and ye shall have it!!!: 2009, 2010, 2011, and now 2012 Let's take a look at what we have: 1. Now Sound of Christmas///US Air Force Dance Orchestra 2. Thanks for Christmas///XTC 3. Midnight Sleigh Ride///The Sauter-Finegan Orchestra 4. Thirty Two Feet & Eight Little Tails///Dale Evens 5. Winter Weather///Joe Williams & Harry "Sweets" Edison 6. Holiday Greeting///The Bee Gees 7. Six Tons of Toys///Dave Dudley 8. The Reindeer Boogie///Hank Snow 9. Cowboy Santa Claus///The Prairie Ramblers 10. Pretty Paper///Glen Campbell 11. Holiday Message///Randy Travis 12. A Holiday Song///Starflyer 59 13. Frosty The Snowman///Cocteau Twins 14. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday///Roy Wood & Wizzard 15. Christmas Rappin'///Kurtis Blow 16. Don't Drive Drunk!!!///Madonna 17. Sleigh Ride///Herb Geller 18. Winter Wonderland///Chet Baker & Russ Freeman 19. Holiday On Skis///Al Caiola & Riz Ortolani 20. Christmas Swing///Django Reinhardt 21. Free Design///The Free Design 22. Close Your Mouth (It's Christmas)///The Free Design 23. Ding-a-Ling Ding-a-Ling///Don Cornell 24. Hurry Home for Christmas///Robert Goulet 25. Snow Bunny///Magnus T. Cook & The Oath of Sound 26. I Just Want You For Christmas///The Golddiggers 27. Deck Five///Saturday's Children 28. Norelco Christmas Commercial///Norelco 29. Snowflake///JJ Barnes 30. What Christmas Means to Me///Al Green 31. Doo Wop Christmas///Kenny Vance & The Planotones 32. S. Claus Files Unusual Flight Plan///North American Air Defense Command 33. We Wan't To See Santa Do The Mambo///Big John Greer 34. Let's Have A Party For Santa Claus///Lord Nelson 35. Jolly St. Nicholas///The Ames Brothers 36. You Don't Have To Be A Santa Claus///The Mills Brothers 37. December///Kay Starr 38. Old Timey Christmas///Ambrose Haley & His Ozark Ramblers 39. Jungle Bells (Dingo-Dongo-Day)///Les Paul & Mary Ford 40. Snow///Looney Tunes 41. First Snow Fall Of The Winter///Randy Van Horne Singers 42. Snowflakes & Frozen Lakes///PacMan 43. Let It Snow///Bit Shifter 44. Twas the night before Christmas///Liberace 45. Christmas Greeting///Orson Welles So, there you go. Listen as you cook your turducken, drink your mulled vino and as you drift off into dreamland for your early start to another horrendous black Friday! These tracks have come my way via record stores, old tapes, old friends and any other way that suited my fancy, so pops, hisses and other strange noises that may be there just add to the experience. Once you download the file and add it to your iTunes library (or your choice of mp3 program), the mix should be in the intended song order. Just to be safe, refer to the above order. Enjoy!!!

[daddysgonnakillralphie]

GO On! Have A Chew On Me, Fellows! It's My Gift!

Good News! I found my copy of Mikey's Christmas Mix 2009. Now you can enjoy mixes from all three years, and in a few weeks Mikey's Christmas Mix 2012 drops. That's 4 years worth of Christmas mixes! Remember, this is NOT in lieu of the 2012 mix! As always, remember that some of these songs have been collected from vinyl and tapes so you may hear some pops, hisses and other strange noises. I think it just adds to the experience. Once you download the file and add it to your iTunes library (or your choice of mp3 program), the mix should be in the intended song order. Just to be safe, below is the order. Let's take a look at what we have here... 1. Howdy Doody Christmas Party///Howdy Doody 2. Father Christmas///The Kinks 3. Jingle Bells///The Vel-Mars 4. Meet Me Under The Mistletoe///Dick Roberts & His Orchestra 5. Hello Mr. Kringle///Kay Kyser 6. Musical Interlude (We Wish You a Merry Christmas) 7. Rockin' ''J'' Bells///Little Bobby Rey & His Band 8. Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree///Bill Haley & His Comets 9. Winter Wonderland///Danny Janssen 10. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas///Starflyer 59 11. Ring Christmas Bells - We Wish You a Merry Christmas///Mike Sammes Singers 12. Christmas Memories///Frank Sinatra 13. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen///Chet Atkins 14. You Make It Feel Like Christmas///Neil Diamond 15. The Office Party///Jim Backus 16. Christmas Time All Over The World///Sammy Davis, Jr. 17. Here Comes Santa Claus///Esquivel 18. I Just Can't Wait 'Til Christmas///Lu Ann Simms 19. Winterblunderland///Artist Unknown 20. Winter Wonderland///Arthur Lyman 21. Kissin' By The Mistletoe///Aretha Franklin 22. Christmas All Over Again///Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers 23. I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas///Gayla Peevey 24. Give Love On Christmas Day///The Jackson 5 25. Snowbound///Ferrante & Teicher 26. The Christmas Guest///Johnny Cash 27. Little Drummer Boy///Bing Crosby & David Bowie I know it's still a little early for some people, but HERE it is ready to go whenever you are! Enjoy!

[daddysgonnakillralphie]

The line ENDS here. It begins THERE.

Well, here we are. November 1st. Some would say it's Thanksgiving season. Others would say that it's even to early for that, but as many readers of this blog would know that around here November 1st is the beginning of the Christmas season.  If you are new here, welcome. If you are a regular, welcome back! Posts will be here and there until we get a little closer to Thanksgiving, but we have good stuff in-store for you this year including a few new contributors and the 2012 Christmas Mix! New recipes, stories, movie and album reviews, downloads and Christmas in South Africa! Need a little help getting into the Christmas spirit? Browse around the blog. Check out our previous year's Christmas Mixes HERE/2010 & HERE/2011.  Like us on Facebook if you haven't already done so, and spred the word! Christmas is coming!!!!

[daddysgonnakillralphie]

First-nighters, packed earmuff-to-earmuff, jostled in wonderment before a golden, tinkling display of mechanized, electronic joy!

Yes, that is my family. I am more nostalgic at Christmas time more than any other time of the year. I'm guessing it's the same for many people (maybe not). Certain songs, smells or images will set off my favorite memories. As an adult I look forward to the Christmas season for some different reasons than when I was a kid, but even then I knew the real meaning of Christmas. Even when I didn't always get what I wanted I never had a bad Christmas because of all the love my family shared for each other. That being said, I did get some pretty kick butt gifts. Here are a few vivid memories of opening life changing material treasures. Keep in mind I was born in 1980, so this is a time capsule. Teddy Ruxpin

Mr. Ruxpin was something magical back in those days. He not only spoke, but if you put one of his cassette tapes in his back his lips would move as he told the story and he would blink his eyes. I remember playing non Ruxpin tapes in him, but he just gave be a zombi like dead stare. Unfortunately Mr. Ruxpin had an accident that rendered him some what useless. Sitting on the kitchen floor playing with him I saw a neon green centipede next to me. In terror I smashed the bear's face a top of my deadly attacker. I should mention that I had also received a bunch of neon green glow in the dark bugs for Christmas that year. I must have been so caught up in story time that I didn't have a clear head. Teddy Ruxpin's lower jaw lay there on the floor. Plastic broken and un-fixable. Sure I could still play tapes in him and he would blink at me, but his mouth would never moved again.

G.I. Joe and Transformers were my go to toys and TV shows. I wish to the Dear Lord that I had kept all my figures and toys, but many of them ended up being buried in the back yard or on the roof with a parachute tied to their backs. The following are a few favorites:

Cobra Night Raven was probably my favorite G.I. Joe vehicle with Mad Dog as a close second:

I'm not one who really approves of targeting kids as consumers, but how could I not want this...

One gift I wanted but never got was this ridiculously huge G.I. Joe Aircraft Carrier

I was also a huge Construx fan...

Another favorite Christmas memories from childhood will always be the morning I walked into my living room to find that an Optimus Prime tent had been set up as I slept. Inside was a Gilligan's Island toys set for the bath tub. I often wonder if I am making some of these memories up, but a quick Google search for a Gilligan's Island toys set for the bath tub yields results and Christmas memory validation.

Now for my final and greatest Christmas toy memory. MASK was another cartoon created to sell toys kind of show, and I really loved it. I wanted Rhino, the main vehicle of the show more than anything that year, but was not sure I would get it.

Knowing I may not find it under the tree Christmas morning, I gave my mother a list of other MASK characters and vehicles: I asked for buzzard:

T-Bob and Hurricane:

Well I got all of those, and I also got Rihno. I literally remember opening it and jumping up and down in crazy joy. My mother joined me. Here excitement for me having some stupid toy will always stick in my head. Not so much as a memory of her giving me anything I wanted, but the joy I saw in her because I was happy. This will probably be my final post till Christmas day due to tomorrow be a traveling day for me, but I will do a Christmas day post, and just maybe a few post-christmas-posts. Thank you for all the fun this season! It's always awesome to stroll down memory lane this time of year and remember the best times, but my hopes are always for men of good will live in peace again. That stupid political arguments or religious differences don't drive wedges of hate between families and friends. That we let go and forgive the wrongs done to us, and that we see the millions of people all over the world living in utter despair and we make some sort of step to make it better. I celebrate the birth of a Savior, but whatever you celebrate may it be filled with Love, Joy and Peace. Happy Holidays!!!

[daddysgonnakillralphie]

Don't worry. We'll make it though... somehow.

Here is another great vintage video. This one in about the history of the Christmas Carol, Silent Night.

[daddysgonnakillralphie]

Uh..Uh...Uh Santa Claus probably put it there.

We were all told that "it is more blessed to give than receive" but as a kid, that pretty much goes out the door at Christmas. How many times did my parents bestow upon me waaaaaay more awesome gifts than I could ever give back to them? Sorry, guys. It was a bit early in my career. They weren't left completely giftless though. Somewhere, in the recesses of a kid mind that still enjoyed recess, do I remember going through a holiday-themed school store that catered just to elementary school children. There were more tacky coffee mugs, keychains and wallets than one could shake a candy cane at, but it was a quick, cheap and easy way for a kid to spend their ten dollars of chore-earned cash on Christmas gifts for ones they loved. Luckily my parents never dipped into the same store that I shopped for our presents from about age five until eleven. I've got to say, as far as the "getting" goes, my sister and I really cleaned up. Looking back, we got some pretty awesome things. A few of my favorites were completely fitting for the time period. The first was a Holly Hobby kitchen set, complete with the pots, pans, plates and two wee-sized aprons for little four and five year old Beth and Jill.

There's home video of us looking, in absolute awe and excitement at a gift that we ended up playing the heck out of. Some people, whose name just happens to start with a "B" and ends with an "H", like it so much that she, I mean 'they', were caught on film pushing me out of the way. Fully, "You best move out of the way, beeotch" hip bumping a certain older sister.

A couple of years later, after my long flowing golden locks had been murdered and turned into a Dorothy Hamill (aka "mushroom cut") and I had suffered an earlier pre-Cabbage Patch Kid incident (it was a homemade fake CPK - my mom wanted to test it out to make sure I was ready for a 'real' one), Beth and I finally achieved true 80's kid stardom with our very own CPKs. Mine had blond hair and was named Nicolette Fay.

As I aged and moved into the teenage years, my taste in Christmas pressies matured…although my taste in clothing quite faltered. Hey, it was the 90s. Further awesome gifts ranged from a pink and grey 10-speed bicycle, a mammoth-sized Caboodle makeup case, leather brown bomber jacket and a full-fledged boombox (with my first CD player, mind you). My former squeals now turned to "Wow, like, totally cool!" but inside that giddiness was still there.

As a grown-up, it's hard for me to think of even a few things that I "want" anymore. The desire to "get" has changed and I've discovered that it really is more blessed to give than receive. But I will never forget the excitement and wonderful memories that were waiting at the bottom of the stairs for my childhood eyes on Christmas morn.

[daddysgonnakillralphie]

Starving people would be happy to have that...

Five days till Christmas, and you were probably wondering when I was going to be posting some A Christmas Story study materials, right? Well wonder no more: Click HERE for some awesomeness. I found this pdf on the internets and it's packed with goodies. Enjoy

[daddysgonnakillralphie]

The heavenly aroma still hung in the house...

Want your Kitchen/Apartment/Home to smell like Christmas? Don't have a real tree? Used that last Christmas candle? Well that was my issue. So here is what I did, and just maybe so should you... In a pot I put: Cranberries, Clove, Cinnamon sticks, Apple Cider, Orange Slices, Lemon Slices, Vanilla, Any Orange, Lemon or fruity loose leaf tea, Cranberries juice. Put it on simmer, and now I live in magic. It's true. If you don't have these exact ingredients, you can substitute. I just suggest you use some sort of cider, orange juice and Cinnamon. It is a delight!

[daddysgonnakillralphie]

Oh, for cripes sake, open up the damper will ya?

Let's just say things were a bit different back then...

[daddysgonnakillralphie]

Yeah, mind power, Swede, mind power.

[daddysgonnakillralphie]

My mother had not had a hot meal for herself in fifteen years...

I was visiting with some South African friends a couple of weeks ago, and as happens this time of year, the conversation turned to Christmas. They had asked me if I had seen something called Dinner for One. I had not, and they quickly gave me an education. Written for the theater in the 1920s, this 11 minute single take black-and-white 1963 TV recording featuring British comedians Freddie Frinton and May Warden has become a tradition every New Years Eve on many European television sets. It has also been preformed live and recorded in many other countries. Here is the British version from 1963.

[daddysgonnakillralphie]

Our hillbilly neighbors, the Bumpuses, had at least 785 smelly hound dogs...

I love finding strange, unique, and sometimes bizarre records at local shops, and when you add Christmas in the mix, it's just straight up holiday magic. Let's take a look at some wonderful Christmas kitsch.

[daddysgonnakillralphie]

I don't need all this jazz about smugglers and pirates...

The Christmas ep that I recorded with a few friends and my wife is still being mixed and will be shared as soon as it if finished. With the urge to work on something else while the ep is still in the microwave, Jill and I, armed only with a non-pro tools wielding laptop, a cheap Yamaha acoustic guitar, a bathroom, a closet and a bottle of cheap brandy, set sail to tell the tale of star-crossed lovers longing for each other on Christmas (maybe we enjoyed the brandy a bit much). Below is the song on youtube, and you can CLICK HERE to download the song for free if you so desire.

Enjoy

[daddysgonnakillralphie]

You know this wine ain't bad. You want a sip?

Many of us have our favorite Christmas albums, movies,television specials etc. Sounds and images that trigger nostalgia and reassure us the the season is in full swing. A Christmas Story, Ella Fitzgereld's Christmas album and A Charlie Brown Christmas Special are always at the top of the list for me, but the journey for undiscovered and sometimes forgotten Christmas adventures always calls to me. File this list of Christmas Television Specials under "not so popular/guilty pleasure/non classic" or maybe just horrible. Still, I remember watching them, and I'm a fan of them and I'm gonna share them with you. First up is The Neil Diamond Christmas Album and Television Special. I remember seeing this thing back in 1992 and being memorized by Mr. Diamond's tan. Still, I will never speak ill of "The Diamond".

Let's not forget the opening to the Pat Boone Family Christmas Special. Debbie was my favorite.

Andy Williams is a Christmas time staple, and he had many a Christmas special. Here are a few clips from him. I had to post a couple, because he is always rather fun and jolly.

Here is one with Andy, and his less successful Williams Brothers.

The Internets are full of these treasures, and I'll probably be posting more of them this season.

[daddysgonnakillralphie]

Ah, baloney. What would your old man know about anything?

'Tis the season for sharing, and I love to share what my fellow Christmas Brothers in arms are up to at this time of the year. Red Letter Agent are a Nashville based band who I have known for quite some time, and have just today released a Christmas EP called Rejoice. O Come,O Come Emmanuel & Rejoice are definitely the stand out tracks, and fill my head with visions of Luis Bacalov & Ennio Morricone sitting down and making a Christmas record. It's worth a listen, and at $3.96 it's worth a buy! Nice going boys! Check out and buy the EP HERE Grant's Advent Calendar is the longest running holiday video podcast on the web, and I don't mean they are long podcasts (each episode is actually quite short), I mean it is the only holiday video podcast still around since the dawn of the holiday video podcasts. I'm glad it has stuck around, because it's great fun! As with a real life advent calender, there is a surprise for you everyday. Check him out over at www.grantsadventcalendar.com Here is a promo for this year's season featuring Rowdy Roddy Piper. Yes I said Rowdy Roddy Piper.

[daddysgonnakillralphie]

I think I see Aunt Clara's gift to you right over there...

Well, here we are, December first. Twenty five days. Today is the day that all the Humbugs who tell me it's to early to listen to Christmas music bite their tongues. No more will I hear, It's not even December yet. Yes folks, welcome to full blown Christmas Bacchanalia! In celebration of such a glorious moment, I am sharing my annual Christmas mix with all of you! A few days before Halloween, I start pulling together all my resources, and any discovery that might be found in a vintage store or some deep dark corridor of the internets. This is why some of these songs may have some old school record pop and scratch noises. Think of it as culture! Click on the link below to download! I will guide you through the steps if you are not familiar with the process. Daddy's Gonna Kill Ralphie Presents Mikey's Christmas Mix 2011 Click on the above link to download directly to your computer. The download will be in a folder called Daddy's Gonna Kill Ralphie Presents Mikey's Christmas Mix 2011. Drag that folder into itunes or whatever music player you use on your computer. It's just that simple. I have listed the track order below just in case something funky happens with the order, but I have tested everything on two computers, and everything should be locked in! 1. Santa's Night Before Christmas///Santa 2. Christmas Wrapping///The Waitresses 3. What Will Santa Claus Say When He Finds Everybody Swinging?///Louis Prima 4. I Want To Spend Christmas With Elvis (Heartbreak Noel)///The Holly Twins 5. Dasher///Duke Ellington & His Orchestra 6. Christmas Shopping///The Shoppers 7. Christmas Wish///NRBQ 8. Merry Christmas, Baby///The Beach Boys 9. All I want For Christmas is a Go-Go Girl///Ben Hinds 10. Christmas Day///Detroit Junior 11. Merry, Merry Christmas Baby///Dodie Stevens 12. Christmas Greeting From Hawaii///The Islands 13. Mele Kalikimaka///Arthur Lyman 14. Christmas Island///Bob Atcher & the Dinning Sisters 15. Exotic Night///Martin Denny 16. Sleigh Ride///The Ventures 17. My Favorite Things///Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass 18. The Bell That Couldn't Jingle///Burt Bacharach 19. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town///Arthur Treacher 20. Here Comes Santa Claus///Bob Dylan 21. YULESVILLE///Edd Kookie Byrnes 22. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas///Ramsey Lewis 23. We Three Kings///Jack Brokensha Quartet 24. Christmas Time Is Here///Starflyer 59 25. Santa Claus On Mars///Voldar 26. Santa Done Got Hip///The Marques 27. Futuristic Christmas Tree///Dick Horner and The Camarada 28. Jingle Bells///The Three Suns 29. Sun Valley Ski Run///Esquivel 30. What Is A Santa Claus?///Stan Kenton 31. Santa Has To Go Now!///Santa I hope this collection brings you tidings of comfort and joy, and may just expand your Christmas collection pallet beyond Bing Crosby and Andy Williams (no disrespect to those fellas, I do love them as well). Enjoy! Oh! Don't forget, you can download last year's mix RIGHT HERE! Happy December first!

[daddysgonnakillralphie]

Randy? Wake up , Randy.

One more day till Mikey's Christmas Mix 2011 is released upon the earth! Every year I scour the deep dark corners of record stores and the Internet for the strange and unusual Christmas songs. We have all heard Bing Crosby's White Christmas and Wham's Last Christmas, but have you ever heard Christmas Day by Detroit Junior or All I want For Christmas is a Go-Go Girl by Ben Hinds? Well you will tomorrow! I am never a fan of just plain stupid songs, or song that are weird just to be weird. Trust me when I say you will think some of these are bazaar, but I know you will still enjoy. Today I am giving each and every last one of you a copy of Mikey's Christmas Mix 2010! I must say, last years was pretty great, and I was worried about how I could possibly out do myself, but I think when you hear 2011 you will think it the perfect companion piece! Click on the link below to download! Daddy's Gonna Kill Ralphie Presents: Mikey's Christmas Mix 2010 Let's go over a few favorite tracks from 2010: Space Age Santa Claus//Hal Bradley Orchestra w/Patty Marie Jay. (1961) The A-side of a single written by Ross Christman...hmmm, and performed by the Hal Bradley Orchestra with Patty Marie Jay on vocals. Height of the Space Age goodness! Love the echo on the guitars. Cool Yule//The J's with Jamie I'm sure you have all heard the Louis Armstrong version of this song, but I actually like this one best. The awesome harmonies and lounge white bread America spin on this one makes me quite happy. Snow Flake//Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm Yes this is supposed to be the same Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm from the Flintstones, and I believe this was from a kids Christmas record, but I love the dreamy guitars and vocals. Come On Ring Those Bells//Evie Torn The Norwegian invasion of Evie Torn makes me nostalgic for Christmas in a 1985 snowy Detroit Michigan. Christmas Journey//Wayne Newton Again, the dreamy sounds on this one put me in such a happy place. On a side note, I played this for my wife the other day and she asked if it was Judy Garland. Enjoy the tunes!!!