The Smiley Smile Message Board

I really like the song....Everytime I hear the "Here Comes Santa Claus" part, I want it to continue longer. Brian just has a way with sleigh bells and a keyboard. The lyrics are all over the place, and Brian's "Pied Piper" voice is a bit creepy. Was Al and/or Dennis present for the session? I have this mental picture of the guys in the studio, and Brian with long hair and protruding gut, pumping away on the organ. It would've made a great video...

According to the liner notes, Dennis played drums.

I actually get a bigger chuckle out of "Little Saint Nick"...everytime I hear the line "cruisin' every pad with a little surprise", I can't help but think of Brian, in the mid-'70s pre-Landy days, waiting for his own version of Santa Claus to drive by & leave a little "something" in his mail box...     >:D

Sorry if I forever ruined the innocence of this song for anyone!

Yeah, you did.

And Across the Universe is about John being annoyed by an argument with Yoko and Alice's Restaurant isn't true in the least because the real reason Arlo Guthrie didn't go to Vietnam was because he had a genetic disease, not because he littered.

John was mad at Cynthia he wasn't with Yoko yet. He said so in Playboy

Well, at least when "Little Saint Nick" was WRITTEN and RECORDED, the Boys were still young & innocent!

And as long as there are young and innocent listeners, the lyrics will be that too.

I was always curious who was responsible for attaching (A Chistmas Song) after A Child Of Winter. It could've been the record company trying to cash in on the "holiday records", even though the 45 was released way too late in the season.

But it's also SO Brian, as if we wouldn't know it was a Christmas song after listening to it. I wish the guys would've taken another day or two to record a Christmasey B-side.

COC is right up there with McCartney's "Simply having a wonderful Christmas time" on top of my popularity list of worst Pop Christmas songs ever. Sorry.

What?? Both are great!  :-D

Worst pop Christmas songs? Long fuckin' list, man...

But what is COC? (I guessed you meant Child of Winter, as it's the title of the thread.)

I can't stand Wonderful Christmastime. When a songwriter of the caliber of Paul (or Brian) writes a song like that, it's kind of like walking into Tiffany's and seeing a tin necklace for sale. You'd think, "They expect me to buy this?"

I don't mind "lowbrow" music from lowbrow musicians, just as I'll buy cheap jewelry from a flea market. But if you've got a reputation for being the best, don't insult my intelligence with a bunch of crap when I know you can do better.

If Brian Wilson would've written "Wonderful Christmastime", we'd be praising it as genius, a work of art. But, I'm biased, I love the song, and a lot of other Christmas tunes. :police:

so all the "Christmas/MIU" songs were also on this list?

just playin, i actually like 1/2 of the songs...


now santa's got an airplane with loop de loop or HELP is on the way backing can't help that clunker

Are you sure? I guess he wrote it alot earlier than it was released, then.

It was recorded 2-68, Yoko and John didn't hook up until 5-20-68

I'm glad I took a look at the board today, because this thread reminded me that I have this 45 and I took a listen to it...

I gotta say, in the context of it being Christmas, it's a pretty good song. Brian's production is nice on the ears - kind of reminds me of Phil Spector's Christmas album meets The Beach Boys - Love You.

Yep..."Across The Universe" was recorded at the same set of sessions as "Lady Madonna", "The Inner Light", and "Hey Bulldog" (February-March '68, right before the Fabs left for India).

I had never heard the PM song until this christmas when there is one radio host who plays the song almost every day!! Boy am I sick of it, now I just walk out of the room whenever I hear it... and no Sheriff; if Brian came up with this, I would" still think what a load of garbage"... I LOVE or atleast can stand approx. 80-90% of Brian's stuff but that 10% is unenjoyable and in some cases pathetic. I know I always mention it but TM Song... I think that's the worst BW song that I have heard and I am talking about official songs here not unreleased but even then I struggle to think of one that's worse.

As for Child Of Winter.. I don't think it's all that bad, I actually quite like it.

Oh sorry, COW of course, not "Child Of Christmas".  ::)

I'll take Child of Winter over What I Really Want for Christmas anytime - although overall I really enjoyed the new Christmas album.  Shouldn't have done an unimaginative retread of Little St. Nick(single version) though, in contrast to Man With All The Toys where he changed the arrangement and made it a full blown BW production.

My girlfriend likes Child of Winter, which I find really weird. Basically everything she likes is Endless Summer -type stuff... and although I like Child of Winter, it doesn't hold a candle to I Get Around. But my girlfriend, who said to me the other day, "The more you tell me about Brian Wilson, the more I hate him," likes Child of Winter. She even sang to me the "Mama's in the kitchen makin' cookies and bread" line. So weird.

just wondering, the song was recorded and released in 1974, so does Ricky Fataar have anything to do with this?

From the Ultimate Christmas liner notes:

"The recording was a true Wilson family affair. Carl played guitar, Dennis drummed, Brian’s daughters Carnie and Wendy shook sleigh bells, and Brian “did everything else,” say Kalinich – with one exception. “The kazoo? That was me,” he admits. Wilson cousin Mike Love took the lead vocal, except for what Kalinich calls the “grinch” voice – that’s Brian. "

Nearly six years later, I think Child of Winter is infinitely more creative than I Get Around.

Wonderful Christmastime is awful.  One of the most grating and annoying holiday songs ever!!  But as I write this, I'm thinking of the song... singing it in my head... and darn if I'm not getting some Christmas Spirit!  :lol  So I guess it works?   It's hard to hate a song that celebrates the season.  But it always did strike me as purposefully banal.

 :shrug

No folks.

The worst Christmas songs ever are "Last Christmas" (which despite it's awfulness, I admit it is a guilty pleasure for me) and "Christmas Shoes"... Especially the latter. Awful awful awful awful awful awful awful awful awful awful song.

I love all the BB Christmas songs and I love Wonderful Christmastime too.

Wonderful Christmastime is not as good as George's "Ding Dong" and John's "Happy Christmas (War is Over)".  No Beatles or Beach Boys Christmas song is as good as Wizzard's "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday."

Is "Last Christmas" the one that goes "last christmas, I gave you my heart..."  Uuuugh.  That's a dreadful song.  You're right, it's way worse than McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime" which actually feels like a Christmas song and is quite cheerful.

Last Christmas is none of those things.  It actually sucks the Christmas spirit out of you.  Even the name... Last Christmas implies this is your last fcking christmas.  It's over.

Booo.

Don't know "Christmas Shoes."  But if you say it's worse than Last Christmas... I'm going to trust you on that.

It's not though - when it's done Beatles style!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmwVVGFRrBc

Good point. I was going to bring this version up but decided not to.

@Bean Bag

I give you....

Christmas Shoes.

http://youtu.be/0a_Y1wAJ2MU

Since we're back on this song I recall hearing that there was a booted version (or the original release?) which sounds differently from the one released on the recent Christmas comps. Is this one worth checking out? and if yes, where?

Thanks! :)

They remixed it (to no good end) for the proposed Christmas album. That's probably the one.

Why, and what made you change your mind?

(Genuinely curious, by the way!)

My posting history on this board spans a pretty developmental period of my life, from ages 18 to 25 (26 next week). There are a lot of things that have happened in my personal life that have really changed me as a person. Whenever somebody posts in an old thread like this, and I see a vintage Aegir post, it always make me feel really weird. My music taste has really changed a lot too. Until about four years ago, I disliked most modern music. If you had told me in 2007 that I would be a really big Strokes fan, for instance, I would have laughed. Child of Winter is such an awesome song and I cannot see why used to think otherwise.

Going from 18-25 is arguably the biggest change in a person's life, especially mentally and emotionally. I'm 30 now and when I was 18, I really didn't care for any music at all. I never found anything relevant to me as a person. It wasn't until college that I started to actually pursue it, even though the seeds were planted in high school as I was in chorus my full tenure. Now, I can't see myself without music, in pretty much any form or genre. I was also in the same boat as you as I never would have thought I'd get into modern music, but that has changed completely.

Case in point, my shuffle went from Back in My Arms Again by The Supremes to What I've Done by Linkin Park while I was typing this. I love it when it does that.

I wonder if any horrible song can be saved by a decent arrangement.

You jest, you jape. Child Of Winter, or COC, as I'm now going to call it, is a repetitive pile of shite, whilst I Get Around is everything that is great about the greatest music all squeezed down into under two minutes. Perfection. You need to get the above post into the unpopular opinions thread post haste Aegir, or I will hunt you down like a mangy dog.

methinks you're full of sh*t;  IGA is great, so is COW. Both great, but different.

 :lol

I'm in the minority who likes "Last Christmas" and McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime". I admit that when those type songs first come out - and are played to death - they can be a bit grating. But then, they come around for a month or two each year, and they kinda grow on you. SENTIMENTALITY takes over! I associate those songs with the holiday spirit, good times, hustle and bustle of the season. It wouldn't be Christmas without hearing 'em in the stores, on the car radio, or on TV.

One simply has to LUV how, in typical fashion, a BBs focused thread, becomes one entirely different, now speaking of McCartney/Xmas songs in general....

Must be Christmas in July here.

not to my knowledge.