Like many of you, I imagine, I'm kind of done with superhero movies, etc. They're fine, and sometimes good fun, but if you had told me 20 years ago that it would be the whole of our media landscape, I would not have believed you.
I would have been wrong, obviously.
At this point, I'm what? 40 movies or so behind in the MCU, and have no real interest in catching up. I realize the Universe gave me whole damn pandemic with nothing much to do but watch superhero movies, but if you're caught up here, you know I had far more important things on my plate. (BTW, saw Sloan 11/23, and, though there was a little roughness in the brand-new songs, on the whole they were tight and rocking, as they have been every time I've seen them so far. And when I told Jay Ferguson where I was from, he recalled my (pretty small) town's 1980's AHL team, so there's that.) My obsessions do not tend toward the heroic and explosive.
But I have fallen into a couple of the more interesting (to me) MCU shows: WandaVision and SheHulk: Attorney at Law, the latter of which will probably stand as a model of third-wave feminism for many years. And I did see the two Guardians of the Galaxy movies (there are only two, right?), the problematic god-bothering of the lead actor notwithstanding.
Which brings me to my delightful point. I love power pop (duh), but I have come to think of it as woodland fungi, to a certain extent. It needs to be sought, it does not come to you, usually.
And yet here we are, Christmas 2022, with a bona fide power pop hit on the TV: The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special's centerpiece hit by Bzermikitokolok and the Knowheremen, using ancient Earth instruments for the first time.
It's the Old 97's, of course, a longtime fave in these parts, and Rhett Miller is really leaning into the goofiness of the whole thing. They even appeared with co-star Kevin Bacon on Jimmy Fallon a week or so ago. Damn, that's almost respectable!
There's also some fun other favorites on the soundtrack, including the only holiday tune that really feels like the holidays feel, the Pogues' "Fairytale of New York." Fountains of Wayne's "I Want an Alien for Christmas," also makes an appearance, and there are a handful of others. But the Old 97s are the stars here.
Anyway, I'm always glad to add new stuff to my Power Pop Christmas playlists, and this one's pretty fun. Enjoy!
