'Tis the Season

Many of you may know that when it comes to classical music, I am a purist. I don't like it changed, adapted, interpreted, or otherwise messed with. The masters wrote their opuses the way they did for a reason. Do you really know better than Mozart how his music should sound? No? Then stop putting drums to it! Seriously, it drives me crazy.

This is also true with Christmas classical pieces. Any change whatsoever to the Messiah is an abomination. I'm convinced that Handel wrote it expressly for the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Hearing it performed differently is like nails on a chalkboard. If that makes me a Messiah snob, so be it.

But non-classical Christmas music can be much more malleable. This does not mean that anything goes (I'm looking at you, Manheim Steamroller--the music that will be played in hell), but I eagerly accept Elvis and the Beach Boys singing their versions of Blue Christmas.

So, imagine my surprise when I happened across this adaptation of the Nutcracker Suite. Sure, Pyotr may be spinning in his grave, but I can wholeheartedly recommend this rockabilly version of a true classic:



P.S. As a follow up to the trivia question on the previous post, Jon and JT/Kristen correctly identified the Maltese Falcon, the giant robo-clipper owned by VC-extraordinaire Tom Perkins. It's amazing in so many ways, not the least of which is its submarine, which is more fighter jet than it is sub--straight out of a 007 movie. Word is that it's for sale--in case you had an extra $200MM laying around.