on the first day of christmas

Sometimes things are not what they seem. I sat down to watch “White Christmas” for the first time. I sighed as the movie began, expecting schmaltz big time. Yet the opening scene is of war. Weary soldiers gather. They duck for cover. A general bids his troops farewell. And “White Christmas” is sung. It’s opening line makes sense… I’m dreaming of a white Christmas Just like the ones I used to know For many years I thought this song was plain awful. But having seen it placed in the context of war, it took on another life. From that opening scene I fell in love with this song.   I've also fallen in love with oldies. But for a long time, I couldn’t stand them. Like Crosby’s tune. For many years, I had the pleasure of showing cinema classics to the oldies at church. And when I screened “White Christmas” the opening scene took on a deeper meaning still. Many, if not all, had served during the war. They would’ve understood the soldier's weariness...

Opposites attract. And you couldn’t get two greater artistic opposites than Bowie and Crosby. The former was a pioneer of rock. The other the ultimate crooner. One fused art with music and was gender fluid. The other sang and danced as a leading man. One was young, the other elderly. One was king of the kids, the other of the old guard. As Bing rues, “It’s been a long time since I was the new anything…” So the younger knocks on the door of the older and a relationship begins. The outsider comes in. Or is the insider the outsider? Their conversation is awkward. The jokes are bad. You wonder if one thinks they’re better than the other. But there seems to be genuine respect. As disparate as they are one thing brings them together. A song. And their version of “Little Drummer Boy” is spellbinding. It maintains the awkwardness of their conversation. Sometimes Bowie can’t get it. Crosby’s belted out tunes like these for decades. These two men sing...