New York DJ

Along with champagne, the countdown, and kisses at midnight, a staple of New Year’s Eve celebration is hearing or singing the song “Auld Lang Syne.” Over the years many singers, bands, and probably many a bad cover band playing a New Year’s Eve gig  have tried to update the sound of the song by grafting onto it a modern style like jazz, rock, hip-hop, and many more.

But in the past several years, two artists put a really unique and striking twist on this old holiday staple, and they did it by being old school about the style – really old school, in that they recorded the song much like it was performed when it was written in the late eighteenth century by Scottish poet Robert Burns.

Each of these recent versions have kept the original melody (the poem was originally set to one), most of the original lyrics, and have given the song minimal instrumentation. Both arrangements are quite elegant and beautiful, and each brings out the melancholy of the poem more than typical more modern renditions of “Auld Lang Syne.” But also, because of the unusual sounds of the old English words and the near-acapella of the vocals in these two versions, there’s a cozy, storytelling-around-a-campfire quality to them that’s hard to not to like – whether you’re at a small dinner party or at a huge New Year’s Eve bash and decide to suddenly cut the high-energy party anthems for a moment at midnight and play one of these songs.

The first version, by Mairi Cambpell and David Francis (together calling themselves The Cast), from their album The Winnowing, was originally recorded in 1993 and in 2008 gained some popularity by being featured in the movie version of Sex and the City. This version features the more authentic and imtimate feel, from using only a simple acoustic guitar over Campbell’s vocals to not altering any of the words for modern ears.

The second version, by popular (but sadly rather unheard of in the U.S.) Scottish singer Eddi Reader, and is from her 2004 album Eddi Reader Sings the Songs of Robert Burns. This version is a bit more user-friendly in that it alters a few words of the poem for easier understanding, and also gives the tune a more sweeping, cinematic touch, due to Reader’s lush voice and to the violins that build throughout.

Have a listen to both below, and, because this song often confuses the heck out of people, here’s the rough modern English translation (the chorus is sung after each verse, and the title basically means “for old time‘s sake”):

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old lang syne?

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely you’ll buy your pint cup
and surely I’ll buy mine
And we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.
                                                               
We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

And there’s a hand my trusty friend
And give us a hand o’ thine
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

Mairi Campbell & Dave Francis – Auld Lang Syne

Eddi Reader – Auld Lang Syne

When the usual stable of Christmas pop songs are dusted off and hauled back out to the world around early November, many people complain they’re sick of hearing these same tunes over and over on the radio, in stores and at holiday parties. But when it comes to making a playlist for a Christmas party, most of us will simply throw on the radio stations that play this (at times) mind-numbing mix of Christmas classics, or we’ll make a mix CD that may include a few lesser-played or quirky Christmas songs but overall mostly contains the familiar takes of singers from Sinatra to Diana Krall on “Silver Bells,” “Let it Snow,” “Silent Night” and the like.

It’s understandable – at a Christmas party it’s hard to be a music snob. As a host, it makes sense to give your guests a fun atmosphere that’s accessible and upbeat, and, unless it’s an announced “theme” Christmas party involving a more offbeat selection of music, too much sad acoustic indie-pop or experimental noise-rock covers of Christmas songs might not add to the festiveness much, or could take away from it. And new Christmas songs, of whatever genre or style, rarely tend to be memorable, at least in a good way.

An exception to this rule that can add a little freshness to your Christmas party music playlist is the album Snow Angels by the alt-countryish band Over the Rhine. (We’re a big fan of theirs, go here for a post I did about a great song from an older album of theirs that can be used for a first dance at a wedding, or just in general as a nice addition to a wedding dinner music playlist.)

On Snow Angels, first released in late 2006, Over the Rhine has created a sturdy, cozy collection of jazzy, acoustic, and slightly bluesy pop songs about Christmas and/or winter that feel impressively like covers of classic Christmas songs but are all (save for a few actual covers) their own. There’s striking melodies of all moods in their original songs, from the melancholy remembrances of “Snow Angel” to the playful sweetness of “Snowed in With You” to the sultry slow-burn of “North Pole Man.” All these tunes, too, have lyrics that take a cue from American Songbook pop standards in that they’re sentimental without being treacly. Also, the production is clean but always kept simple and not too polished – much like vintage mid-century holiday classics – and the versatility of singer Karin Bergquist’s warm voice is able to convincingly sell the feel of the songs, whether they’re concerned with longing, promise, sexiness, playfulness, or anything else.

Of all these great songs, though, the standout is “(Darlin’) Christmas is Coming.” With its old radio-like echo of the word “darlin’” throughout, its gently bouncing verses rising into a sweetly soaring chorus, and its inclusion of charming lyrical detail like the ringing of Salvation Army bells, or beautiful images like snow “falling like forgiveness from the sky,” this is a tune that does a most difficult thing – it connects with the spirit of those long-ago Christmas classics but doesn’t sound at all derivative of them. I think Irving Berlin and Bing Crosby would be impressed.

Unfortunately, because there only seems to be room for superstar artists’ covers these days when it comes to new Christmas music being heard by the general public, this song will probably never reach a wide audience and become the classic it should be. So if you like it, help it out a little and let the world know about it.

Over the Rhine – (Darlin’) Christmas is Coming

Many of the couples that hire us to DJ their weddings in the New York City area choose us because we see eye-to-eye with them in their insistence on lowering the cookie-cutter factor and a boosting the uniqueness of their celebration. Therefore, we know that a couple’s first dance does not always have to be a schmaltzy, obnoxiously positive, or familiar song. Many couples we’ve worked with over the years have chosen subtle and obscure songs that manage to capture the joy of the moment of a first dance, but in a more unexpected way.

A song subtle in its hopeful lyrics and melody but straightforwardly beautiful all the way is Nick Drake’s “Northern Sky” from his 1970 album Bryter Layter. Now, because Drake has an image as an artist whose songs are usually melancholy acoustic tunes with wispy vocals, some might think any song of his would be silly for a first dance, even if a couple is trying to choose a tune that’s a bit more offbeat. At least the song needs to be somewhat optimistic, right?

Well, “Northern Sky” is a definite exception to the moodiness that pervades many of Drake’s songs. While the song still has a haunting quality, it’s actually not hard at all to hear its positive feel. No, it’s not going to hit you over the head with life-affirmingness like a Celine Dion hit, and no, it’s not as cuddly and coffee-house ready as a song by a contemporary acoustic artist like Jack Johnson. That said, “Northern Sky” is a strikingly pretty-sounding acoustic guitar-and-piano tune, with insightful lyrics about a person becoming open to the small wonders of life (“I never saw moons knew the meaning of the sea / I never held emotion in the palm of my hand”) after meeting someone whose presence brings warmth to his bleak environment (“Now you’re here / bright in my northern sky”). While most wedding planning websites with first dance songs ideas rarely feature one offbeat song like “Northern Sky,” we’ve found, at least in the New York City area, there’s plenty of couples who crave a song like this – one that has more of a complex meaning to its happiness – for a first dance.

A memorable cover version of “Northern Sky” was released in 1991 by a little-known English band called Faith Over Reason, whose sound echoed that of female-fronted jangle-pop groups like The Sundays or Sixpence None the Richer. While still subtle, Faith Over Reason’s version of the song, from their collection Eyes Wide Smile, sounds a bit more more hopeful than Drake’s original, due to a touch of electric and slide guitars, but mostly to the innocent exuberance of singer Moira Lambert’s vocals. It almost sounds that by the end of the song she’s breaking into a smile.

Though Drake was likely referring to his cold northern skies of England in his lyrics, as a first dance this song gets an added dose of meaning for couples getting married in the New York City area (especially those those getting married in the fall and winter) because of the cold northern skies here. This might sound like a too-small detail, but we’ve found if a couple is having trouble deciding between first dance choices, sometimes it’s little sentimental things like this in a song that help them make up their minds.

Nick Drake – Northern Sky

Faith Over Reason – Northern Sky