Friday 80s Flashback for December 3, 2010

[Winter Holidays: Week 1] -- Ah, December. Remember when the holiday season waited until after Thanksgiving before it truly kicked into gear? No? Well, that's no surprise. I can barely recall that either. But at least here, on Prophet or Madman, no one can be accused of jumping the holiday gun (or, hopefully, the shark). And now that we are finally in the most wonderful time of the year, it's safe to break into songs about winter, snow, Christmas, Santa, etc. And because so much wonderful holiday music came out of the 80s, we're going to stretch this theme to cover four weeks. That's right. Today's Flashback is the first of a four part series!

Read and hear more after the jump.

Flashback #1: "We never get together at all | Until the last day of Hanukkah | I got you a harmonica | and a bag of chocolate coins." We are presently in the midst of Hanukkah, Judaism's eight-day Festival of Lights, so what better way to kick off our first flashback than this wonderfully humorous song by They Might Be Giants?

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Flashback #2: "So deck those halls, trim those trees | Raise up cups of Christmas cheer, | I just need to catch my breath, | Christmas by myself this year."  Who hasn't wanted to just skip Christmas and skip all the exhausting work of the holiday? It's an all-too-familiar refrain as the holiday preparations begin earlier each year, but we still seem to have far too little time to truly be ready for it. If you can identify with that scenario, then you're more than ready for a little Christmas Wrapping.

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Flashback #3: "And so Happy Christmas (War is over) | For black and for white (If you want it) | For yellow and red ones (War is over) | Let's stop all the fight (Now)."  This sentiment rang just as true when The Alarm covered it for their 1990 Standards collection as it did when John Lennon first released it in 1972. In fact, it rings just as true today and it's a message we need: War is over, but only if we -- the people of the world, not our governments -- really want it and actually do something about it. Of course, how can we have peaceful relations with folks in the Middle East when we can barely have a civil conversation with our neighbor from across the street, or the individual that sits in the next cubicle? Peace begins at home. And it begins with one person. (Note: The Alarm's version of song was released in 1990, but it was on an album cataloging their material from the 80s. And I love it. So it makes the 80s list. If you don't like that, I invite you to do your own flashback.)

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Even during the holiday season, Flashbacks follow the rule of three: Three shall be the recalling of Flashbacks, and the number of Flashbacks shall be three! See you next time, 80s-philes!