ACME hopes you had eight days of light and love.

A final reason Hanukkah feels better than Christmas -

You do not have to pretend happiness with your family - Cheer is optional.

You've probably run out of gifts at this point, wrap your family's fresh laundry as the gift that shows you've done the laundry. At this point, look up a local oil recycler - it will do better for everyone as a biofuel.

And here, I promise, is the last set of videos celebrating Hanukkah -

Hanukkah With Veronica Monica -




Chanukah in Santa Monica   GMCLA -




ACME Eagle Hand Soap would like to finish out Dave Grohl's Hanukkah offering with his final song of his set



It should be mandatory that we listen to Uncle Lou during the Hanukkah season.


In The Market For A Miracle   A Christmas Story -



Kids, this is the essential 11 o'clock number.


Can I Interest You In Hannukah? Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert -



Can you believe they were ever that young?


SNL Celebrates Hanukkah -



Hey, somebody has to clean up all of that wax on the break front. And somebody's got to call the guys who pick up used cooking oil for bio-fuel.


ACME Eagle Hand Soap would like to share with you another of their annual salute to the holidays via Rock and Roll (well, some Rock and Roll).


Run Rudolph Run  Chuck Berry –



The song holds the record for the longest amount of time between a song hitting the charts and then breaking into the Top 10. When it was released in December 1958, it went to #69 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2019, it re-entered the chart at #45, and in January 2021 - 62 years and two weeks after its chart debut - it reached its peak at #10.


Merry Christmas, Please Don't Call  Bleachers –



I only just heard this song yesterday. And no I'm not crying, that's just dust in my eyes


Sock It to Me Santa   Bob Seger –



I defy you not to get up and dance around the house.


Getting Ready For Christmas Day  Paul Simon –



The song is built around a sample recorded in 1941 of the last sermon by pre-war American Christian preacher and gospel singer, Reverend J.M. Gates.


Pretty Paper  Roy Orbison –



This song was written by Willie Nelson, who at the time was a successful songwriter but relatively unknown performer. It's a Christmas song where the singer goes about preparing for the holiday, but notices an unfortunate homeless person who can't afford the luxuries of the season. Unsure how to handle this, the singer decides he is just too busy and carries on with his preparations. The "Pretty Paper" serves as a metaphor for how we often cover up our problems or choose not to notice them


Here's a holiday song I'm guessing you haven't heard - Carol of the Bells, featuring Stephen Colbert and Henry Rollins:



The internet meme Ding! Fries Are Done is the anthem of a Burger King worker named Billy set to the tune of Carol of the Bells. It originated in 1993 on the mysterious singer's cassette album A Very Spastic Christmas and gained attention the following year on the Dr. Demento radio show. In 2006, Peter Griffin covered the song on the Family Guy episode Deep Throats. Despite the cartoon's popularity, interest in the song waned not long after the episode aired.


And, of course, Santa Claus Is Comin To Town  Bruce Springsteen –



Bruce Springsteen released the song as the B-Side to My Hometown in 1985 ( he had been playing it in concert for years,) and it quickly became a holiday staple. Strangely, many people consider it one of the worst Christmas songs.


Before you go - a rather rude song from a rather elderly British gentleman:



Oh Mr. Idle, what are we going to do with you?

Demand Euphoria!

ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour (468)

Thank you for joining us today

It's the Seventh night of Hanukkah. Open a window someone please, that oil has gone a bit rancid..




Before our feature presentation, If you can stand it, The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour would like to start the evening with more Hanukkah Videos

Charlie Brown Hanukkah -




Kurstin X Grohl: The Hanukkah Sessions: Night Seven -



Jack Black makes any night special


Chad Gadya  Jack Black -




(When Is) Hanukkah This Year?  Mêlée -




Chanukah is Here   Zucha -




Oy Chanukah   Pacific Pops Orchestra -




As always, ACME wants you to join them in celebrating the holidays with your friends at The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour - the official soap of our nation's bald eagles. Remember, if your bald eagle's talons are filthy, do we have a soap for you! We are very close to tend of Hanukkah and Christmas is a less than a week away! Why join The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour in celebrating the season by watching our tribute to It's A Wonderful Life -

December 20, 1946 -
The Frank Capra film It's A Wonderful Life had a preview showing for charity at New York City's Globe Theatre, (a day before its official premiere) on this date.





The film is no longer available online – please enjoy the 1947 Lux Radio Theatre broadcast.



The film is regarded as a classic and is a staple of Christmas television around the world, although, due to its high production costs and stiff competition at the box office, financially, it was considered a flop.



There have been countless parody of this classic film -













(Another, more adult alternate ending of the film) -



This is truly a strange little film.

Demand Euphoria!

Remember to buy some token Hanukkuh decorations,

so your party won't seem so racist.

It's the Sixth Day of Hanukkah, there are just a few more days to go

At this point you may want to skip the unnecessary calories and just drink the oil - but not too much. Mussolini used to use this as a torture for his political enemies.



Another reason Hanukkah feels better than Christmas - Christmas isn’t the only holiday who has ugly sweaters! Hanukkah has some pretty tacky sweaters to compete with


The Hanukkah Sessions: Night Six   Kurstin X Grohl: -



Dave keeps giving out those gifts


Oh Hanukkah  Jack Black -




A Hanukkah Pap Smear CBS Cares -



Nothing says I Love You more than the gift of a kosher prostate


Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah  Erran Baron Cohen -




8 Days (Of Hanukkah)  Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings -



I wish Sharon was still around to continue to sing for us


Ocho Kandelikas  Pink Martini -



Who doesn't want to cha cha during the hoidays?


Hanukkah Night   The Living Sisters -



Just the right amount of mid-century holiday kitsch


In our second holiday feature is Acme's annual salute to the holidays via Rock and Roll.  First up - Do you hear what I hear?: Female Performers:


River  Tracey Thorn –



The song is about the recent split of a romantic relationship, with the singer needing to escape her immediate surroundings and emotional connections as they are too painful. It is said to be inspired by Joni Mitchell's 1968 to 1970 relationship with fellow artist Graham Nash.


Run Rudolph Run  Sheryl Crow –



Chuck Berry based this tale on Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, giving Rudolph a bit of an attitude as he delivers the toys. Unlike Santa, however, Rudolph is copyrighted, and Berry had to give the publishing rights to Johnny Marks, who wrote the original Rudolph. Perhaps if Berry had used "Randolph" (another reindeer he mentions), he could have kept the publishing.


Mrs Claus Taylor Swift -



I don't believe Mrs. Claus never looked as good


Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas  Norah Jones & Laufey –



This was used in the film Meet Me In St. Louis. Judy Garland starred in the film and added some of the lyrics. At first, the words were very dark and she didn't feel comfortable singing them in the scene, so she helped change them to lighten the mood of the song. It was still a very melancholy song, and included the line, Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow.


2000 Miles   The Pretenders -



While many people believe the song's title and lyrics refer to two long-distance lovers who miss each other over the holidays, it was actually written for James Honeyman-Scott, the group's original guitarist, who died the year before the song was released.


The Holly & The Ivy  Annie Lennox -



The song is an ancient English folk carol blending pagan winter traditions with Christian symbolism, representing Christ's Passion (thorns, blood-red berries for the crown/crucifixion) using the evergreen plants of holly (masculine, Christ) and ivy (feminine, Mary).


Let It Snow  Lucious Jackson –



This was written by the lyricist Sammy Cahn and the Broadway songwriter Jule Styne in 1945. Although this song is associated with Christmas, there is no mention of the holiday in the lyrics. It's about making the most of a snowy day by spending it with a loved one by the fire.


And of course the holiday favorite - Christmas Wrapping The Waitresses -



When Chris Butler wrote this song, he was not feeling very festive. The Waitresses were signed to ZE Records, whose boss, Michael Zilkha, asked the bands on his roster to each come up with a Christmas song that would go on a holiday compilation issued by the label. The Waitresses were in the middle of a grueling tour, and weren't happy about the task, especially since it was July and they weren't exactly in the Christmas spirit.

Demand Euphoria!

May your candles burn bright and your latkes be extra crispy

Another reason Hanukkah feels better than Christmas -

betting Hanukkah gelt (money) on candle races.



Impress your friends: The fifth night of Hanukkah is called 'the darkest night', not because it falls on one of the last days of the Hebrew month of Kislev (meaning there is no moon), but because it is the only night of Hanukkah that can NEVER fall on Shabbat


Kurstin x Grohl: The Hanukkah Sessions 2022: Night Five -



Who knew?


Dreidels Of Fire  Adam Green -




Chanukah Honey  Rachel Bloom -




Chanukah Trivia With Strangers   Meir Kay -




Tchotchkes   The Lemon Twigs -



Not quite a Hanukkah song but I think we can let it slide


Pass It On  The What's Up Band -




The Kvetch -




Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy explains Hanukkah -




Chanukah at the North Pole -




I believe that oil fatigue may have already set in. Hold on, you will get through this.


We are smack dab in the middle of the holiday season, given Christmas is a mere week away! Why not join The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour in watching celebrating our second holiday feature - that How the Grinch Stole Christmas! written by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel was published as a book by Random House in December of 1957. The book criticizes the commercialization of Christmas and the holiday season.

Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! the CBS animated special based on the book of the same title by Theodor Geisel (better known as Dr. Seuss), directed by legendary cartoon director Chuck Jones, premiered on this date. The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour would like you to join us in watching this fun holiday special, so push away from pile of gifts you are wrapping, if you can, get comfortable and enjoy the show.



The special is notably the first prime-time animated television special based on a Dr. Seuss book, it features narration by Boris Karloff (who also voiced the title character) and music written by Albert Hague.



Here's a brief interview with Chuck Jones involvement with the special -



Boris Karloff was picked to voice the Grinch after Chuck Jones heard a recording of him reading Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book stories (which Jones was a fan of).



Here's a 'making of' documentary of the special, hosted by the late Phil Hartman -



and finally some very rare original commercials from the original broadcast -



Much like the Coca Cola sponsor plugs from A Charlie Brown Christmas, the original broadcast of How The Grinch Stole Christmas was sponsored by the Foundation for Full Service Banks and featured plugs for them at the beginning and end of the special. These have since been edited out of subsequent airings and are quite difficult to find, however they recently resurfaced in 2021.



So, welcome, Christmas, bring your cheer. Cheer to all Whos far and near. Christmas Day is in our grasp, so long as we have hands to clasp. Christmas Day will always be just as long as we have we. Welcome Christmas while we stand, heart to heart, and hand in hand.

Demand Euphoria!

Eat more sufganiyot

No don't need to clean the chimney during Hanukkah.

Another reason Hanukkah feels better than Christmas - Never a silent night among Jewish families.



After hosting the fourth night of Hanukkah,



now is the time to figure out how to send all the mishpokhe home.


Adam Sandler had nothing better to do than to update his song yet again - Chanukah Song Part 4 -



It's run by a big eastern syndicate, you know.


Kurstin x Grohl: The Hanukkah Sessions: Night Four -



Tonight Dave and his family celebrated celebrated the teenage Jewish girl anthemist- Janis Eddy Fink.


A Jackson 5 Hanukkah   Y-Studs -



Fill the dark with all the light


Hot Hanukkah   Couplet -




Eight Nights Of Joy Rabbi Joe Black and Maxwell Street Klezmer Band-




Spread Light UPMIX    DJ Farbreng, Alex Clare & Matisyahu-



As the grandmas will say, "... such nice boys, as comforting and sweet as a freshly fried jam-filled sufganiyah".


Dreidel Dreidel   Kosha Dillz -



Not quite an oldie but a goodie


Bunkies, it's half way over.


Will you profit from what I've shown you of the good in most men's hearts?

Today is the 192nd anniversary of the publication of Charles Dicken's story - A Christmas Carol.


There are literally dozens of adaptations of A Christmas Carol. Let's take a look at a few of them:

A Christmas Carol (1910) -



This is one of the earliest film adaptations of the story. It featured Marc McDermott as Ebenezer Scrooge and Charles S. Ogle as Bob Cratchit.


Scrooge (1935) -



This film is the first live action production to include the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come's scene of Scrooge's shrouded corpse as in the book.


The Christmas Carol (1938) -



Carl Barks' Uncle Scrooge McDuck was probably based physically on this version of Ebenezer Scrooge, with the fringe of hair and the small tuft of hair on the top of his head.


The Christmas Carol (1949 TV special) -



This is a very rare example of a 1940s television broadcast still surviving in entirety. In the infancy of television, programs were always broadcast live because videotape recording technology did not yet exist.Although crude (a film camera was pointed at a television monitor filming the broadcast,) it was the only available method to record a live broadcast during the earliest days of television.


Scrooge (1951) This is the favorite in the Caligari manse-



Scrooge was likely based on a real person named John Meggot (born John Elwes), who was a local celebrity, a member of Parliament, and a famous miser from Charles Dickens' part of England. Meggot was dead by the time Dickens was born, but he heard quite a bit about "Scrooge" from locals where he grew up.


A Christmas Carol (1971) -



This was the only film version of A Christmas Carol to win an Oscar. After this television short won the Oscar, the Academy changed its rules so that a made-for-television cartoon could never again win this honor, even if it was shown theatrically


Blackadders Christmas Carol (1988) -



It has been noticed by some that Robbie Coltrane's costume and character in this Christmas special, has a nearly identical portrayal to his much later role as Hagrid, in the film versions of J.K.Rowling's series of Harry Potter books. Also, its been claimed that JK Rowling herself had said Robbie Coltrane was always intended to have been cast as Hagrid in the films, suggesting that this Blackadder episode may in part have inspired the creation of Hagrid.


A Christmas Carol (1999) -



During the 1990s, Patrick Stewart wrote and starred in a one-man play based on A Christmas Carol, performing it in various places in the United States and the United Kingdom. He performed it again for the survivors and victim's families of 9/11, and again in 2005. In the play, he performed over forty different characters.


Please join us in watching what could be the greatest mash-up ever, or at least the most labor intensive. Heath Waterman spent 18 months putting together this labor of love, retelling the story of Ebenezer Scrooge in his video A Christmas Carol Encyclopedia, Stave 1 (which is an update of his original Twelve Hundred Ghosts - A Christmas Carol in Supercut.)




Mr. Waterman uses clips from over over 850 sources to make this holiday classic. (Make it your business to watch this!)


And there is no better way to get into the holiday spirit than drinking spirits -

Eggnog is usually thought of as a Christmas beverage and to tell the truth I am not a huge fan of Eggnog. So I find it amusing that the recipe that I'm posting is for Eggnog (Above is a copy of my family recipe - my father sent it to his sister in 1962.)

Coquito, a Puerto Rican twist on the classic, is a family favorite and I thought I'd share it with you and perhaps you can try it out on your family.

Please note: these drinks go down quite smoothly and are very potent - they could be administered as a calmative for frayed nerves during the holiday season.

Ingredients:

* 4 large egg yolks
* 1/4 cup of sugar
* 1/2 can of (14-ounces) condensed milk
* 1 14-ounce cans evaporated milk
* 1 1/2 cans of 15-ounce cans cream of coconut
* 1/2 of a Fifth of white rum (or more)
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1 teaspoon coconut (or vanilla) extract


Tools:

* Drink Blender
* Can opener
* Glass


Directions:


Add the egg yolks, sugar, spices and vanilla into the blender. Mix until well blended.

Add the evaporated & condensed milk to the blender and briefly mix. (Condensed milk is very thick - you may want to open the can up all the way and scrap out all of the milk with a spatula.)

Vigorously shake the can of cream of coconut (it tends to separate.) Pour the cream of coconut into the blender and mix well. Scrap out any remaining coconut stuff from the can.

Add the rum and mix. Taste. If you think you need more rum, add it.

Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Serve cold.


A Christmas Carol Tom Lehrer -

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May your Hanukkah is sweeter than a jelly donut!

Tonight is the third night of Hanukkah -

Let's see what's on the ole turntable for Hanukkah this evening -


Let's see what's on the ole turntable for Hanukkah this evening -

The Chanukah Song Part 3    Adam Sandler -




Kurstin x Grohl: The Hanukkah Sessions: Night Three -



What wouldn't we do for love ... of latkes!


A Very Jonas Hanukkah   Y-Studs x Jonas Brothers -




8 is Great   Monty Pickle and Kosha Dillz -




Weinerville Chanukah Special -



I'm still sure you Bunkies have never seen this one


Mayim Bialik and Noa Tishby Light Candles for the Third Night of Hanukkah -




Eight Nights A Week  Loudon Wainwright III -




Remember to eat some steamed vegetables or a bran muffin.


Happy Holidays! I'm sure you are just starting to run around doing your holiday shopping. So why not sit back and relax (quick, find the most comfortable seat on the sofa,) get a snack (perhaps, some popcorn,) and a beverage before our special starts, here's our final guest programmer with her favorite Christmas jingles (she was able to produce these within a day - Brava!)

Remember, it's the holidays (there are no bad choices, especially if the guest programmer lives in my house. There also seems to be some duplication between some of the guest programmers)

Jingle Bells  Barbra Streisand -



The words and music for this Christmas classic were written by James Lord Pierpont, a popular American composer, in 1857 with the title of One Horse Open Sleigh. Pierpont was a member of a staunch Unitarian Church family, and his father was a minister. It was originally written for a local Sunday school entertainment on Thanksgiving Day in Savannah, Georgia. Its catchy tune was soon taken up by Christmas revelers.

Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)  Darlene Love -



This is a favorite in our home. We'll talk more about it later this holiday season.


The Grinch  Tyler the Creator -



This was written and recorded for the classic 1966 Dr. Seuss TV Holiday Special How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Seuss wrote the lyrics and Albert Hague wrote the music. The song appears three times in the special, starting when The Grinch begins crafting his impostor Santa suit. Each time it plays, we hear more about the despicable green guy, who eventually grows a heart. The version played on radio is a combination of the three show uses.


The Christmas Song  Nat King Cole -



Mel Torme and Bob Wells were songwriting partners, and used to take turns going over to each others' homes to write songs. One particularly hot July day, Mel drove over to Bob's house in Teluca Lake, California. When he got there he walked into the house, couldn't find Bob, but found a spiral notepad of paper with some words on it: "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose, Yuletide Carols being sung by a choir, folks dressed up like Eskimos." When Mel found Bob, he asked him, "What's this?" and Bob said, "It's so blistering hot here, and thought it would be fun to see if I could write something about a totally different season, the winter season, Christmas season, and see if I could mentally, virtually cool off." Mel said, "Not only have you also cooled me off, but I think you've got a song here!" And the duo wrote the rest of the song in about 35 minutes.


Snowman  Sia -




The song is a poignant love song using a snowman as a metaphor for someone she doesn't want to lose or see melt away, as she sings, "I'm Mrs. Snow, 'till death we'll be freezing".


Before you go - Once again, I'm going to play a perennial favorite bonus track (in our house, anyway) - the inspired mash-up of Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You and My Chemical Romance's Welcome To The Black Parade.



In case you've ever wondered what Thom Yorke would sound like singing a Christmas song



This is so perfectly matched that it seems it was written this way. I didn't think this one would work but give it a listen



Okay, maybe you've had enough of Mariah -



We'll end this session with the Mariah Carey/ Marilyn Manson mashup (by the brilliant Bill McClintlock.)


Sweet Dreams.

Demand Euphoria!

If life gives you potatoes - make latkes

It's the second night of Hanukkah.

(It’s an excuse to eat donuts all day long.)



Gather your family around and listen to some more Hanukkah songs -




The Chanukah Song Part 2  Adam Sandler -




The Hanukkah Sessions: Night Two  Kurstin x Grohl –




Kpop Demon Hunters Hanukkah Medley The Maccabeats –




THIS CHANUKAH  Miami Boys Choir –




Hanukkah (Favorite Time Of The Year)  Too $hort –




Festival of Lights  The Temple Rockers -




(Psst - pace yourself with all the fried food.)


When I was five my parents bought me a ukulele for Christmas. I quickly learned how to play it with my father's guidance. Thereafter, my father regularly taught me all the good old fashioned songs. – Tony Visconti

Let's make everyone a little happier - tonight's second theme is a Uke Xmas


Mele Kalikimaka   Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters -




What Child Is This   Jake Shimabukuro -




Winter Wonderland   Ukulenny -




Good King Wenceslas   The Ukulele Orchestra Of Great Britain -




It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas   She & Him -




Happy Xmas (War is Over)   Cynthia Lin, Ukulenny, and Abe Lagrimas, Jr.-




ACME is proud to sponsor the annual U900 Christmas Special featuring Usagi-no U (Rabbit U) and Kuma-no Kulele (Bear 900)



- Nothing says Happy Holidays more that a pair of ukulele playing knitted puppets.



There's something about the ukulele that just makes you smile.

Demand Euphoria!