From the assistant editor

Can’t stop singing ‘Last Christmas’!

Wed, 12/11/2019 - 8:45am

    You know the one, the 1984 Wham! song that’s had one remake after another, none as good, but still such a catchy tune and lyrics. Area radio stations are filling up with holiday music and I am drawn to it, like a Hallmark movie you can’t look away from.

    Wham!’s has had so many covers, last year, billboard.com named the 10 best. After sampling, I maintain Wham!’s should not have been remade, just as Gene Autry’s “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” shouldn’t have, although Burl Ives did Autry’s some justice and Dean Martin did his unique take, which isn’t all bad. But the best thing about the first “Last Christmas” was its soul and, on that, the covers, in large part, don’t cut it.

    What are we left with? Mostly, sugar cookie-sweet. 

    Like Martin’s happy hour “Rudolph,” sugar cookie-sweet isn’t all bad, either. And no matter which version of “Last ...” is on the radio, afterward, I can’t get it out of my head. But when I sing it, the one playing in my head is the original.

    And I do have to say, before I write out of sight, the Wiscasset school chorus’s carols at the tree lighting are always just right.

    Week’s positive parting thought: You shouldn’t have to hear from me about music again until next Christmas. But we would like to hear from you. Write a letter or just respond on our Facebook page.

    What? You didn’t know Wiscasset Newspaper is on Facebook? Oh, but we are. At last check, 3,951 Facebook pages were following ours. If one is yours, thank you very much. We appreciate it. And if not, we invite you to become one of the 49 who take us the rest of the way to 4K. With Wolverine results and local news big and small from wiscassetnewspaper.com, it’s one more way to enrich your day.