As reported last month, Apple has scooped up the rights to the vintage Peanuts TV specials, meaning that 2020 will be the first year since 1965 that Charlie Brown won’t learn what Christmas is all about on broadcast television. But while access to A Charlie Brown Christmas and its follow-ups is a little more restricted than it once was (outside of the days Apple flips over its “The Doctor Is In” sign and streams them for free), there have never been more ways to experience the music of those specials. For example, this new lyric video—an A.V. Club premiere—for the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s immortal “Christmas Time Is Here,” the opening number that first captured the spirit of the season and Charlie Brown’s ambivalence toward it 55 years ago this December.
It’s a landmark year for Charles Schulz’s preternaturally wise and world-weary characters: October 2 marked the 70th anniversary of Peanuts’ debut in the funny pages. To mark the occasion, Craft Recordings has issued several new vinyl pressings of Guaraldi’s Peanuts scores, including a limited-edition of A Charlie Brown Christmas with a bonus lenticular print of the album cover. It may not be the ultimate tribute a pianist can receive—having their picture on bubblegum cards—but it is a fun addition to some of Guaraldi’s most-beloved and best-known compositions.
22 Comments
“Christmas time?” No asinine spooky time-like euphemism?
Seeing as I am an agnostic and my wife is a lapsed Muslim we enjoy celebrating “Non-denominational Santa Gift Giving Day” on December 25th. Either that or we just go with the Feast of Saturnalia.
Io Saturnalia! It’s nice of you and your wife to give the household slaves a break and xo some chores for once 😉
Just a reminder. Its not fucking Christmas time yet!Don’t get me wrong, I am not Scrooge. I just think its far more magical for us to be talking about and celebrating the season for a little over a month and not two or three months ahead of time. The day after Thanksgiving, feel free to blast me with Christmas songs, give me egg nog and throw me in an ugly sweater but please can we just let November be November. And for the love of god, can we not put Christmas trees out for sale at Costco in August!!
I could simply say it’s the malaise of the season — meaning the current season.But wouldn’t Lucy say that?
The calendar is messed up this year because Thanksgiving is largely canceled due to the pandemic. Also due to the pandemic, Black Friday sales are being spread out instead of concentrated in such a short timeframe and Amazon moving Prime Day to October caused a lot of retailers to try to jumpstart their holiday shopping season, not to mention that a lot of them can really use the money to make up from losses caused changes to people’s shopping habits, both incrementally and from the pandemic.Plus, I don’t think I’m speaking for just myself, but some people would really like 2020 to be over. If we can rush Christmas, maybe New Years will be next.
Personally here are my thoughts1) Thanksgiving isn’t cancelled, its just going to be a more intimidate gathering. 2) Totally agree on the early black friday thing. Its been a financial issue for me and the wife because our budget is planned to start spending right around Black Friday so we didn’t have the free cash we would have liked to have for things like Prime day. On top of Covid-19 making finances tight in general for many reasons3) For me wishing 2020 would be over seems silly when we are probably still going to be on edge with Covid-19 worries well into 2021. Also rushing to Christmas isn’t a great thing because then we will just be sitting in December not doing all the Christmas activities we love because of it. My kids won’t sit on Santa lap this year. We won’t be going to MSI to see the Christmas trees from around the world. If things get worse, I can see even outdoor plans stopping like tree lightings and zoo lights events. Not sure if we should rush into it all or just let it come naturally. Still don’t like seeing Christmas trees in stores in August.
Black Friday sales have been trending this way over the
last few years. The tipping point happened with sales starting on
Thanksgiving day. People rejected this. Retailers are now trying to capitalize on FOMO by pushing sales earlier.
The thing that kills me the most is, by and large, most of these sales are not that great of deals. A lot of times they are close outs of last years stuff, or lower end models that companies want to move. And the sales repeat throughout the holidays until Christmas and sometimes right after. Hell they say TV deals tend to be better if you wait another month and go for a Super bowl sale because that is when they are closing out all the high ends TVs they overbought and didn’t move for Christmas
In addition to Thanksgiving being a more intimate affair with far fewer people going to visit Grandma, primarily to protect them, a lot of colleges also have weird schedules that are going to mess-up traditional plans.Because of the way my kid’s out-of-state college is doing it, we might do Thanksgiving a few weeks late, but we may just skip it this year.
Marketing said we have to!
According to the yelling on the Internet, we’re now a socialist country so all holidays will be canceled.
No, I get it. I hate that Thanksgiving never gets its due. Yes, I know, there aren’t that many catchy tunes associated with Turkey Day (no, that Adam Sandler one doesn’t count! Although the Laurie Berkner one my son listens to is quite catchy), but you get one hell of a tasty meal out of it! I love Christmas, but I like celebrating it AFTER Thanksgiving! Actually, I’m glad that Thanksgiving doesn’t have that many songs. If I had to spend two holidays listening to pop singers belt Thanksgiving AND Christmas songs at the top of their lungs at work I’d go insane.
What about the rest of the world that doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving? Christmas is practically world-wide (it even managed to spread to non-Christian Japan where it is a day to eat KFC chicken and occasionally see decorations mixing the Nativity and Santa Claus). When does the Christmas season begin outside the US?
December 1st would be my thought. A two month ramp up for any holiday seems excessive. Edit: yes I realize that lent is like 6 weeks but people don’t start putting up Easter decorations on Ash Wednesday.
Christmas time is… over there. Thataway.
Damn, I was hoping for a Ray Parker Jr cover.
I have been eyeing these special edition vinyl editions since they announced them in September, but find myself absolutely paralyzed by the half dozen choices.
I was really thrilled thinking that this was going to be a Peanuts video for the bonkers Beatles Christmas single of the same name.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3TlJZCRmfM&ab_channel=What%27sforafters%3F
That’s ok I bought the Christmas DVD in time to watch this season.And I’ve owned the Guaraldi score on CD for years.
“But while access to A Charlie Brown Christmas and its follow-ups is a little more restricted than it once was”Errrrr…no. It’s infinitely more accessible to an international audience (and for free) than it was on *checks note* US free to air television. With like …antennas and shit?