9. "Silver Bells" The Radio City Christmas Spectacular Version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EicJHgO9ORE This is the quintessential New York City Christmas song (sorry "A New York City Christmas"), and, working in this city every day, it's hard not to think of the lyrics, "City sidewalks, busy sidewalks" when you're shoving past store-friendly tourists and Salvation Army Santas clogging the walkways. I also always thought the line, "Strings of streetlights, even stoplights/blink a bright red and green" was fairly clever, since red and green are traditional Christmas colors. The reason I chose the Radio City version is because when I first saw the show as a kid, I remember thinking how appropriate this song choice was, given my Manhattan surroundings. Just hearing it on the radio every year (though it's usually not this version, which is accompanied by a full orchestra and, of course, those prancing Rockettes) reminds me of the first time I heard it, sitting in the theater at Radio City Music Hall and impatiently waiting for Christmas to arrive.
Michael Perone
Michael Perone has written for The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore City Paper, The Island Ear (now titled Long Island Press), and The Long Island Voice, a short-lived spinoff of The Village Voice. He currently works as an Editor in Manhattan. And he still thinks Michael Keaton was the best Batman.
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