Things We Love Today returns with the Beatles’ H songs, finding one thing to love in each: from Happiness Is a Warm Gun to Honey Pie.
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Things We Love Today: The Beatles’ F & G Songs
Things We Love Today returns with the Beatles’ F and G songs, in which we discover one moment, one detail, or one reason why each track still resonates.
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Things We Love Today: The Beatles’ D & E Songs
Drums, harmonies, mishegas, timpani, and ice cream cake. Things We Love Today returns with the Beatles’ D and E songs, finding one thing to love in each. Even the weird ones.
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Things We Love Today: The Beatles’ B & C Songs
Things We Love Today continues with the Beatles’ B and C songs, finding one thing to love in each—even the ones I rarely revisit.
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Things We Love Today: The Beatles’ A Songs
I don’t listen to The Beatles as much as I used to, but there’s still at least ONE THING I love about every song. Let’s start with the A tunes.
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Buttkickin’ Holiday Songs: “What Child Is This/The Holly and the Ivy” — Bing Crosby (1962)
A Christmas Day reflection anchored by Bing Crosby’s “What Child Is This / The Holly and the Ivy,” a medley that unfolds with gentility and warmth. Timeless carols, a familiar voice, and an invitation to pause, reflect, and share gratitude for the season and those listening along.
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Buttkickin’ Holiday Songs: “Mistletoe and Wine” — The Darkness (2025)
The Darkness approach “Mistletoe and Wine” with sincerity and restraint, letting the song’s hymn-like warmth unfold through shimmering guitars and Justin Hawkins’s controlled falsetto. A reflective, dramatic cover that respects the original while filtering it through modern glam rock confidence.
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Buttkickin’ Holiday Songs: “Back Door Santa” — Clarence Carter (1968)
Clarence Carter’s “Back Door Santa” is a funky 1968 Christmas classic built on cheeky entendres and Southern soul swagger. Naughty without being obscene, it turns holiday innuendo into an art form, delivered with groove, charm, and a knowing grin.
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Buttkickin’ Holiday Songs: “It Doesn’t Have To Be That Way” — Jim Croce (1973)
A melancholy Christmas song without bells or cheer, Jim Croce’s “It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way” walks through holiday loneliness with honesty and restraint, offering empathy instead of despair and a fragile hope that what’s broken might still be repaired.
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Buttkickin’ Holiday Songs: “The 12 Pains of Christmas” — Bob Rivers (1987)
Bob Rivers’ “The 12 Pains of Christmas” isn’t a parody so much as a holiday stress test. With escalating voices and mounting frustration, it captures the slow emotional collapse of December better than any peaceful carol ever could. A loud anxious and endlessly funny seasonal classic.
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