Muddle Me & Muddle You
Dames Nation, get out your calendars. We have another livetweet to announce!
Given that our first attempt at a cheerful holiday matinee ended up a bit muddled, we want to take a second crack at it. Ergo, at 2:30pm ET on Sunday, December 27th, we are going to host a livetweet of The Muppet Christmas Carol, a movie Dame Margaret has seen at least twenty times and one that Dame Sophie will be experiencing for her very first time! It is streaming for free on Disney+ and also rentable on most other streaming media platforms for less than $5. We will share more details between now and then, but we know-- even in the midst of a pandemic-- that everyone’s calendars can fill up quickly in December. So block this afternoon out for an extension of holiday cheer with Us Your Dames.
Operation Keep the Cry in Christmas
As devoted readers may know, We Your Dames take the importance of Christmas Melancholy very seriously. What value is joy expressed without the accompaniment of tears? No value at all, says we. So we are happy to see that may, just maybe, 2020 is the year the tide has begun to turn on one of the key issues of our platform: making sure that all renditions of Christmas Crying Classic “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” follow “someday soon we all will be together / if the fates allow” with the original lyrics of “until then we’ll have to muddle through somehow” rather than the nonsensical and emotionally vacuous alternative (created for and popularized by Frank Sinatra) “hang on a shining star upon the highest bough.” When even one woman musical depressive episode Aimee Mann opted for the soulless star version, we nearly gave up hope on this battle altogether. But, in the last two weeks, two vital new allies have joined our cause: first, Aimee Mann’s natural successor Phoebe Bridgers and then, just yesterday, our beloved Canandian indie pop darlings Stars followed suit. Has 2020 finally left us so emotionally bruised that we have no choice but to accept the muddle? It’s weird, but we have to admit: we really hope so.
If you would like more muddling versions, Dames National Sarah Mackey has created a Spotify playlist to collect all the ones she can find, which you can enjoy (and add to!) right here:
While we’re on the subject, we suspect you might enjoy this Fresh Air interview with the song’s composers, Hugh Martin and Ralph Blaine, on how they came up with the song, the even MORE depressing lyrics it originally had, and what it was like working with Vincente Minelli on Meet Me in St. Louis.
You can have a lovely Christmas cry by revisiting Dame Sophie’s tribute to another classic Christmas weepy, “Last Christmas” by Wham!
And finally, if you’d like to extend your Christmas crying options, Dame Margaret put together a decidedly (but not exclusively) melancholic Christmas playlist that should do just that named, appropriately enough, “That’s Why the Carols Make Us Cry.” Dig in:
A Smattering of Further Gift Ideas
If the two and a half gift guides we’ve already produced were not enough to sate your need for gift advising, never fear, we have more for you!
First, and most crucial: if you have any appetite for vintage kitsch, you’re going to want to check out Building a Witch House, our genius friend Laura Koenig’s guide to the best obscure Etsy finds she discovers. Issue one covered great vintage art and candle holders and issue two? How to build the perfect cheese plate, complete with a compendium of visually stunning cheese boards.
Next, The Strategist’s compiled list of all the best things under $50 that their writers, editors, experts, and celebrity interlocutors have bought this year is sure to inspire some genius purchases.
And finally, we spotted this suggestion on Twitter and were so taken with it that we wanted to relay it to you immediately:
Diana Triptych
Finally, we’re betting that many of you have recently consumed the fourth season of The Crown, Netflix’s extremely glossy, lightly elevated soap about Queen Elizabeth II and the British Royal family. And that means you’re likely ready for more Diana content.
First up: Rachel Syme on how the show captures Diana’s distinctive early style, and the second life of her most infamous sweater.
Second: You’re Wrong About podcast’s five-part series on Princess Diana, which posits that one can be both a hot mess express and a powerful figure for positive change.
And then, as a treat, Rachel Syme’s article on what makes You’re Wrong About such a special podcast.
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