Author: Stacy Horn

I’m listening to this CD right now. It contains carols you almost never hear (and some I’ve never heard) and two new carols composed by the conductor, Stephen Mager. The arrangements and singing sound like they from another time, I can’t explain it, but it’s just lovely. I don’t remember where I got this. I think someone sent it to me after my book about singing came out. I will be forever grateful, it is among my favorite Christmas music. (Today will be my last day of listening to holiday music, until next year. I try not to over-do listening too much so it remains special.)

You can buy the CD here (by contacting the producer and composer Stephen Mager).

Here is a choir singing Stille Nacht,/Silent Night, arranged by Mager It’s not from the cd, but it does have the sound I’m describing.

But I do appreciate when some of them are essentially works of art.

You can see me in the lower right, at 43:57, looking angry and with my face in the music. The singers behind me, a tenor and a soprano, were so great the evening was a non-stop pleasure for me. (Always very important who is behind you, that’s who you hear best. On that note, I apologize to the people in front of me.)

Seen when passing through a Christmas Tree stand (the Romp Family!). When you gotta go, you gotta go. The Romp family and friends are very musical. Friends of mine have a holiday party every year on Christmas Eve and the Romp Family and crew always come after they close up shop for the season to play guitar and sing with us. I can’t remember if there was a party last year (or if I decided not to chance it).

First, I want to say first I’m still in. I will see where they go with this. But:

Like everyone else is saying, I think they are trying way way way way too hard to be relevant. Miranda would never be that unsophisticated. I can understand the feeling of having to play catch-up on cultural changes (I’m 65 and I’m always catching up), but not being the blithering idiot Miranda was.

And like many others I also screamed “fucking call 911,” at Carrie when she discovered Big, even though it was too late. She didn’t know that.

My favorite of the first two episodes was Anthony, he had all the best lines, like calling one of the characters “Black Charlotte,” which actually points to a problem, but it was perfect in context, and we’ll see where that character goes.

I did love how they handled Samantha not being there and having Samantha send flowers for Big’s funeral. It almost seems like they are reaching out to Kim Cattrall, and leaving a door open for her to change her mind.

EXCEPT, I remember reading that Sarah Jessica Parker reached out to Cattrall after Cattrall’s brother died and Cattrall responded, “You are not my family. You are not my friend. So I’m writing to tell you one last time to stop exploiting our tragedy in order to restore your ‘nice girl’ persona.”

I immediately thought that the scenes about Samantha seen through Cattrall’s eyes are going to seem like Carrie/Sarah is still trying to be seen as the nice girl (and using a fictional tragedy this time). Maybe if they had the reason Samantha isn’t there be something bad that Carrie had done to Samantha? Something inexcusably bad and without making any attempt to lessen how bad it was? No, that’s worse.

Anyway, as I said, I’m still in. It can get past everything I didn’t like and get better. I hope it does.

From The Loser’s Lounge last week. It was so great to see everyone again. (The Loser’s Lounge is a musical tribute show I’ve been going to for decades.)