YES, YOU’RE IN THE RIGHT PLACE – THE STORIES BEHIND THE SONGS,
FOR THE 2014 ‘JOHN YOUNGREN HAPPY CHRISTMAS DISC’
John Youngren’s Christmas Mix CD
2014 Release – “Bronx Bomber Edition”
Dropped Dec. 19, 2014
Editor’s Note: You’ve really gone deep if you’ve gone this
far, but thank you. This mostly dormant johnyoungren.com blog and website is in
the last few years little but a repository for the background on my annual
Christmas CD, which you can see if you scroll down a bit. I wish I had the
energy to do something more with this damn blog – maybe that’s a 2015
resolution. In the meantime, on with the stories behind the songs. If you have
no idea what I’m talking about and want a copy of the 22nd annual
Christmas Mix, send me an email at johnyoungren@mac.com
and describe, in 25 words or less, why you should be on the list. (Just kidding, sort of.)
By JOHN YOUNGREN
It was mid-November and I began struggling with what would
turn out to be a bulging disc in my lower back. I had no idea what was
happening at the time. I just knew it was a particularly unpleasant Monday morning and I had to
demand a chair to sit on at work to get through a weekly edition of staff meeting, which
I normally moderate standing up.
And I couldn’t stand up.
Frustrated and in a wee bit of pain, I made my way back to
my office and began sifting through emails on what was going to be a day of
discomfort and uncertainty. I made an appointment to get into my doctor within a day. Fortunately, I had been playing around with various versions of Christmas CD Mixes for
the previous 2-3 weeks, as my family was scheduled to be out of town for
Thanksgiving Weekend itself, and that was the traditional timeframe when I
would typically put together the first draft of the annual mix.
Wincing while I worked, I received an email from the
(normally) very dependable gentlemen who both masters and duplicates the copies
of my CD mix every year (or at least for the past decade or so). And he had news.
After doing it for more the a decade, he wanted to give me notice that he
wouldn’t be able to do CD duplication going forward, and wanted to give me time to find another source.
And that’s how I began that week. I had (back) disc
problems. And, then, I had (Christmas Mix) disc problems.
As it would all turn out, as I’ve told people since, I was
able to overcome those obstacles – mainly due to great friends and colleagues
like Joe Evans and Anthony Oliver and Jared McPherson and Kelli Fratto and
Aaron Evans. These were people around my office who stepped-up and said, “how
can we help?” and tried to make me think around the challenges that were
presenting themselves, even when I wasn’t at my best. Kelli was mostly
inspiration, as were old friends Laura Snow and Heli Nielson. Everyone had advice. Aaron helped me bat around ideas for
duplication and distribution. Anthony and Jared stepped-up and in less than an
afternoon presented me with a technically viable version of my iTunes mix,
mastered to a CD that could actually be duplicated. And Joe? As always, Joe. Patient and
supportive – and so willing to take on the less-than-sexy tasks of printing,
trimming, cutting and stuffing, under the radar and off the clock, year after
year.
This year’s CD doesn’t exist without those people. And no
Christmas CD of the last decade exists without Joe Evans. Thanks be to all.
Finally, on the list of “couldn’t do it without them…” My
cousin in Newburgh, Greg Roe, who largely put up with me and my various wants
and desires on a trip this summer at what we would later deem "Camp John." He took the pictures you see in the design
(especially the front cover, which he snapped on his phone) and back cover,
which he took while I was standing at Seven Seas Restaurant & Pub in
Milford, CT, with my hero, Dan Patrick (doesn’t really come through on the back but you can see if you hold it up to the light). Greg pretty much made
all of it happen.
Maybe I’ll write my version of the Dan Patrick story in the near
future on this blog, for it is a classic.
And, finally, to Adam Fox, who left Love Communications a couple of
years ago but somehow continues to be the primary creative force behind the design and
“look” of the last several Christmas CDs, despite the fact that he lives in St.
Louis these days and has no reason to help me other than he’s a nice, talented
guy. Because of my various back-related ailments, I had to kind of take some
shortcuts this year – thus I “locked” the mix sequence and songs just after that fateful Monday and kind of had to surrender my design ideas to Adam via Dropbox so we had plenty of time to spare. He took it and ran – creating, unbelievably, the
cover design I pretty much saw in my head long before I sent it off. He also
developed – on his own – the “John Youngren Bronx Bomber Edition” seal, or
stamp (the top-hat design) you see on the front cover and throughout the disc
materials (and above). That was pure gold, Jerry. Really great stuff – and the kind of
thing I’ll be using as an avatar on social media for the rest of my life.
Thanks, Mr. Fox.
(Doing my best David Caruso voice, there.)
So … on we go. A couple of more things: 1) Like I said, I locked the disc
and didn’t worry too much about previous rules, such as songs I’d used before on
other mixes, etc., etc. I had to NOT care about that. So I think there may be at least one
and as many as three songs on this year’s Christmas Mix that I have used before
– over 522 different tracks, or whatever. As Tom Carlson said upon hearing the
mix, “I don’t care. They’re YOUR rules.” And this year, for various reasons, I had
to break them. (But, mix buffs, let me know what I’m re-using if you hear something and I’ll send
you a Yankees T-shirt.)
2) As I established, I had to go to a new audio reproduction source this year.
Turned out great and all, but they weren’t able to cross-fade the tracks at the
end of each song, which was a party trick I’d gotten used to. Next year we’ll
fix that.
Finally (and I know I've been whiny so far, but it's a theme, so go with it), as I was having an MRI on the day before
Thanksgiving and an Epidural spinal shot on Dec. 12th, there were
plenty of times over the past month or so when I thought, “screw it. If this
doesn’t work out this time, I’ll just call off the disc.”
You know what? Everything
worked out in the end. (Including the part
where I didn’t put any actual Beatles songs on the mix for the first time in
what must be forever, but I’ll have to get an intern to do the research there. Get
ready, Jessica.)
Enjoy the 22nd annual edition. Hashtag:
Christmasmiracle
- “Run Run Rudloph” … Kelly Clarkson. The usual mix leadoff (and one and only actual Christmas) song shouldn't be too long, should be more contemporary and will be quickly forgotten once the holidays are over. No great mysteries here. So Ms. Original American Idol fit the bill.
- “Substitute” … The Who. This is one song I suspect I’ve used before, but my own research proved otherwise, at least on Christmas CD mixes in the past decade. No mysteries here. Good riff; fun start to a CD.
- “Basket Case” … Green Day. Maybe one of the few songs on this year’s disc that lives up to the old rules of having been inspired by a group moment of the year. This time was from this fall, when the reunited band Probable Cause did a benefit fundraiser for a friend. And the impressive Brad Brusa sang lead on this song. Brad, you’ve never been part of the Xmas CD tradition – but feel free to let me know!
- “Call Me Back Again” … Paul McCartney & Wings. Saw Macca on a crazy week for me; he and his current band were in SLC in early August. He did NOT sing this song that night, but he might as well have; it’s always been one of my favorite album cuts and was featured by iTunes this year. That’s it.
- “22” … Taylor Swift. Ms. Swift exploded this year. I was way ahead of this curve, and saw this song coming from her last CD. That was around the time I set aside “22,” which I always knew was going to be on my 22nd Christmas CD. (You see what I did there, right? Can’t make-up this stuff!)
- “We Can’t Stop” … Miley Cyrus. I had a lot of fun with Miley last year once I put “Wrecking Ball” on the 21st CD and opened some eyes. I still like Miley, and I particularly like the version of “We Can’t Stop” she did last year with Jimmy Fallon and The Roots (look it up).
- “Earthquake Driver” … Counting Crows. Sometimes, you just find new songs by artists you always have liked, which is what I did with Counting Crows, who have informed many a previous Christmas CD. They had a new CD this year. I liked this track. So here it is.
- “American Kids” … Kenny Chesney. See description for No. 7, above.
- “Point At You” … Justin Moore. He’s a midget country guy and, I suspect, a sort-of one-hit-wonder (see: Chris Cagle). Still, this song and video captivated my country flame and, I dare say, is the most “country” song on this year’s mix (the mix's country count is down from many previous years … only four of 23 this year. No, I don’t count Taylor and Miley. Take that, Rich).
- “Sweet Annie” … Zac Brown Band. I guess it could technically be called a country song but I just liked it, because in previous years it could have been sung by James Taylor … or Hootie & The Blowfish.
- “Fly Me To The Moon” … Grace Potter. Seemingly, a throwaway cover, but three reasons it’s here: 1-I’m always looking to include old songs I love with new variations, so I can break my own rules. 2-A visit to Dean Ferguson’s town of Seattle first inspired using the Sinatra version of this song, which ruled a Christmas Mix in like 1994, or whatever. 3-Friend and would-be lover Heli loves Grace Potter, who I know from her duets with Kenny Chesney. So that’s what makes this beautiful.
- “Best Day Of My Life” … American Authors. It took us about 12 hours, but this was the song we arrived at earlier this year when trying to score a convention video for Sheriff Jim Winder’s re-election announcement. Makes the list.
- “What Makes You Beautiful” … One Direction. I accidentally got into this song around my birthday this year (I think I heard it in a commercial) and somehow am actually part of two (yes, two) videos online singing along with it. Feel free to search. Start on Facebook.
- “Locked Out Of Heaven” … Bruno Mars. Great mix song. Great sound. I like Bruno. Not much more.
- “We Are Young” … Fun. Has been in the on-deck circle for a Christmas mix for the past couple of years. Just fit this year. Nothing more.
- “Girlfriend In A Coma” … The Smiths. No idea why, but this song from my teenage years re-rooted itself in my brain about three months ago, and I haven’t been able to let it go.
- “Train In Vain” … The Clash. Some of you have been around me since the “KOLY Morning Announcements” at Olympus High School in 1982-83. This was a quintessential “announcements song,” and, in fact, I used it on my very last announcements ever. Can’t believe I haven’t done a Christmas CD with it before.
- “Giving It Back” … Matthew Sweet. I think I’ve used this on a Christmas Mix CD before, but I couldn’t find a record of it, so I gave up because I have a bulging disc and it just sounded good right here, as the 18th song on the mix.
- “Rolling In The Deep” … Adele. Been on deck for a mix for the past 2-3 years. Was sliced off of last year’s at the last minute. As I said, I had to decide what I was doing earlier in the scheme of things this year, as described above. So here we go. A classic "credits" song.
- “7th Inning Stretch” … Gin Blossoms. Look at the cover of the CD and tell me why you still need some extra insight here. (Don't mean to sound snarky. Just having fun.)
- “My Car” … I know I violated everything here, because I have used this song before (and almost used it again in the last 2-3 mixes) but, still: Gin Blossoms designed “7th Inning Stretch” to be followed by “My Car” on their original album. So how could I violate THEIR rules?
- “A Thousand Miles From Nowhere” … Dwight Yoakam. This song’s been on deck every year for the past 10 years. Love the operatic sweep and sense of the song, plus the feeling of longing and searching. But I couldn’t get it on a Christmas Mix before. It’s always been a placeholder. This year, it stepped in, largely due to problems described above. I think it works.
- “Go Now!” … The Moody Blues. Can’t believe I haven’t pulled this song sooner in 22 years. Can’t believe I only had the original Moody Blues version to work with (Wings did it much better). Can’t believe it cuts off so soon (see above, as it applies to technical duplication and mastering issues!).
Happy Christmas! See you in 2015!
Follow
John on Twitter and Instagram @jtyoungren
Visit John Youngren’s Christmas CD Fan Club on Facebook. (Just search for it. If you want to be a member, Heli will let you in, for sure.)
Visit John Youngren’s Christmas CD Fan Club on Facebook. (Just search for it. If you want to be a member, Heli will let you in, for sure.)
And now, follow Twitter @JYXmasmix22 (This isn't going as well as I would like, by the way.)
# # #
ON THE DOT: I’ve got to recommit. I started this blog back around the 2002 Olympics. Other than Christmas CD entries, I haven’t updated in a thousand years from nowhere. But I’ll try to rectify that in 2015. To encourage or berate me, e-mail johnyoungren@mac.com
# # #
ON THE DOT: I’ve got to recommit. I started this blog back around the 2002 Olympics. Other than Christmas CD entries, I haven’t updated in a thousand years from nowhere. But I’ll try to rectify that in 2015. To encourage or berate me, e-mail johnyoungren@mac.com
