I love Sting’s rendition of “There is No Rose” - it is joyful and mysterious at one and the same time. I never thought such an old English Medieval hymn could lend itself to a modern sound. But then, Sting is English and has all that lovely And distinctive English Christmas in his very blood.
Amen, I love Sting's rendition of "There Is No Rose" too (I should admit that I've never heard any other version, but if I do I will still love Sting's version deeply). Sting has introduced me to a lot of incredible old music and literature over the past 12 years.
My personal list contains Pierce Pettit's "Mirium", Kathy Mattea's "Good News" album, especially her version of "Brightest and Best" and her "Emmanuel". I too queue up Sting's "If on a Winters Night..." album. "Gabriel's Message" gives me chills every time. And Brad Roberts' bass in Crash Test Dummies' version of "The First Noel" always makes me hear that old carol in a new way.
Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Conversion Anniversary, Katie!
My Christmas playlist will include John Denver's "Christmas Like a Lullaby" (an old favorite), Sia's "Everyday Is Christmas" (the only Christmas album I know that's all original songs), and Leah's Celtic metal Christmas album "Ancient Winter." (Please don't be scared of the metal part. Leah's Celtic/folk/symphonic metal music mixes rock/metal instruments with synths, orchestral instruments, and Celtic instruments to create a type of metal that's sweeping, grand, orchestral, and epic rather than hard, heavy, or angry.) Last but not least, my Christmas playlist will also include Sting's "If On A Winter's Night..." album and his renditions of "Gabriel's Message" and "I Saw Three Ships" ("I Saw Three Ships" sounds amazing with a reggae/ska arrangement).
And for even more off-beat or off-the-radar Christmas music, I'll be listening to the special Christmas songs that the band The Crüxshadows puts out every year.
The easiest way to describe The Crüxshadows is "happy goth." They make goth/darkwave/dance electronic music that combines electronic instruments with organic instruments like violins, and their songs have happier and more hopeful lyrics than your average goth track. Their Christmas songs are often original songs that capture the spirit of the season in a goth-tinged way.
"One of the hardest parts of parenthood for me has been having very little recovery time." Oh my friend...so, so true. I'm a creature who thrives best on recovery time, but changing naps and varying moods and all the other minutiae keep me on my toes!
Oh, I have to add a Christmas album I just discovered called "Winter Carols" by the band Blackmore's Night. Their rendition of "Emmanuel/O Come O Come Emmanuel" is heartbreakingly beautiful.
As a kid, “Holly Jolly Christmas” was my favorite Christmas song, because I thought ‘jolly’ was a fun word to say. That was the only reason 😆 I do still like that song, but my favorite (more traditional) carol is It Came Upon A Midnight Clear- I love the swinging melody, the sense of ‘midnight’, and the image of angels singing.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your sweet family, Katie. My all time favorite Christmas song is The Christmas Song sung by Nat King Cole. Also, Cool Yule by Louis Armstrong, White Christmas by Bing Crosby, anything from Celine Dion’s These Are Special Times Christmas album. One of my kids’ favorites: Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas song. Have a beautiful Advent!+
Is it just me or are there a lot of Catholic converts here on Substack?🥰 I made it official this past spring... I’ve also have been asked to share my conversion story and have been hesitant. It’s something that feels so personal and maybe hard to describe?
Yes there are! Or we're all finding each other via the algorithms, ha. No, really, I think we're a chatty bunch. Welcome home to the Church, Amber! And yes, I know exactly that feeling, very personal and sort of a fragile, vulnerable thing. Hard to describe, hard to share adequately.
“I feel a sense of frantic anticipation. There’s only so much time to relax! Do it, do it now! Relax, read, eat - GO!” This is a thought I have literally every time I have time to myself. Great newsletter. Cheers to cozy season.
As a fellow Catholic who favors the more traditional Advent season, we put an “Advent” tree up with specific religious themes decor & white lights. For one thing, it illuminates these darker, shorter days for me with that need for a joyful heart during such dark days. This is certainly a big help for those like me who suffer with Seasonal affective disorder. Bring on the candles & the cozy while meditating on the proper season I say. 😉
Haha, the North Pole/Italian restaurant description made me laugh 😆. Very much relate to your conversion “journey”, and love the closed fist to open hand idea. I guess most of us vacillate between the two, and stages in between, throughout our Christian lives.
Oh also, I did my undergraduate in history and my first Masters in religious studies - which was before my conversion but I wrote my thesis about Vatican II and SSPX, ha. So definitely had that anthropologist-turns-native vibe too 😅
I love Sting’s rendition of “There is No Rose” - it is joyful and mysterious at one and the same time. I never thought such an old English Medieval hymn could lend itself to a modern sound. But then, Sting is English and has all that lovely And distinctive English Christmas in his very blood.
Amen, I love Sting's rendition of "There Is No Rose" too (I should admit that I've never heard any other version, but if I do I will still love Sting's version deeply). Sting has introduced me to a lot of incredible old music and literature over the past 12 years.
My personal list contains Pierce Pettit's "Mirium", Kathy Mattea's "Good News" album, especially her version of "Brightest and Best" and her "Emmanuel". I too queue up Sting's "If on a Winters Night..." album. "Gabriel's Message" gives me chills every time. And Brad Roberts' bass in Crash Test Dummies' version of "The First Noel" always makes me hear that old carol in a new way.
I haven't heard of a lot of these! You've given me a lot to explore :) Thanks for sharing Maryann!
Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Conversion Anniversary, Katie!
My Christmas playlist will include John Denver's "Christmas Like a Lullaby" (an old favorite), Sia's "Everyday Is Christmas" (the only Christmas album I know that's all original songs), and Leah's Celtic metal Christmas album "Ancient Winter." (Please don't be scared of the metal part. Leah's Celtic/folk/symphonic metal music mixes rock/metal instruments with synths, orchestral instruments, and Celtic instruments to create a type of metal that's sweeping, grand, orchestral, and epic rather than hard, heavy, or angry.) Last but not least, my Christmas playlist will also include Sting's "If On A Winter's Night..." album and his renditions of "Gabriel's Message" and "I Saw Three Ships" ("I Saw Three Ships" sounds amazing with a reggae/ska arrangement).
Love these recommendations Penelope, lots for me to check out, thank you!!
Aw, you're welcome and thank you.
And for even more off-beat or off-the-radar Christmas music, I'll be listening to the special Christmas songs that the band The Crüxshadows puts out every year.
The easiest way to describe The Crüxshadows is "happy goth." They make goth/darkwave/dance electronic music that combines electronic instruments with organic instruments like violins, and their songs have happier and more hopeful lyrics than your average goth track. Their Christmas songs are often original songs that capture the spirit of the season in a goth-tinged way.
"One of the hardest parts of parenthood for me has been having very little recovery time." Oh my friend...so, so true. I'm a creature who thrives best on recovery time, but changing naps and varying moods and all the other minutiae keep me on my toes!
Amen to that Kristin!
Oh, I have to add a Christmas album I just discovered called "Winter Carols" by the band Blackmore's Night. Their rendition of "Emmanuel/O Come O Come Emmanuel" is heartbreakingly beautiful.
As a kid, “Holly Jolly Christmas” was my favorite Christmas song, because I thought ‘jolly’ was a fun word to say. That was the only reason 😆 I do still like that song, but my favorite (more traditional) carol is It Came Upon A Midnight Clear- I love the swinging melody, the sense of ‘midnight’, and the image of angels singing.
I mean, Jolly is a fun word! xD
Oh I love this: "I remember once a priest describing the journey of faith as the shift from a closed fist to an open hand." Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for reading Megan!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your sweet family, Katie. My all time favorite Christmas song is The Christmas Song sung by Nat King Cole. Also, Cool Yule by Louis Armstrong, White Christmas by Bing Crosby, anything from Celine Dion’s These Are Special Times Christmas album. One of my kids’ favorites: Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas song. Have a beautiful Advent!+
Is it just me or are there a lot of Catholic converts here on Substack?🥰 I made it official this past spring... I’ve also have been asked to share my conversion story and have been hesitant. It’s something that feels so personal and maybe hard to describe?
Yes there are! Or we're all finding each other via the algorithms, ha. No, really, I think we're a chatty bunch. Welcome home to the Church, Amber! And yes, I know exactly that feeling, very personal and sort of a fragile, vulnerable thing. Hard to describe, hard to share adequately.
“I feel a sense of frantic anticipation. There’s only so much time to relax! Do it, do it now! Relax, read, eat - GO!” This is a thought I have literally every time I have time to myself. Great newsletter. Cheers to cozy season.
Thanks Krista! And yes, it's so impossible to truly relax. Maybe in a couple decades.. xD
You can’t write a blog post about your conversion because it will have to be a full book, maybe 👀..... 😁
Now there's an intimidating thought!
As a fellow Catholic who favors the more traditional Advent season, we put an “Advent” tree up with specific religious themes decor & white lights. For one thing, it illuminates these darker, shorter days for me with that need for a joyful heart during such dark days. This is certainly a big help for those like me who suffer with Seasonal affective disorder. Bring on the candles & the cozy while meditating on the proper season I say. 😉
I love this compromise Tanya - maybe I'll restrain myself and do something similar next year :)
Haha, the North Pole/Italian restaurant description made me laugh 😆. Very much relate to your conversion “journey”, and love the closed fist to open hand idea. I guess most of us vacillate between the two, and stages in between, throughout our Christian lives.
Oh also, I did my undergraduate in history and my first Masters in religious studies - which was before my conversion but I wrote my thesis about Vatican II and SSPX, ha. So definitely had that anthropologist-turns-native vibe too 😅
I mean, you've seen the photos - you know that's an accurate description, xD
Cheers to the academic - atheist - agnostic - bookish - winding road that got us here.