the worst.
― gesange der yuengling (crüt), Monday, 24 September 2012 04:23 (eleven years ago) link
Oh man, I was stuck in a car with my Dad and his Mannheim Steamroller CD a few Christmas' ago on a long trip. I was ready to go on a killing spree afterwards.
― MikoMcha, Monday, 24 September 2012 08:53 (eleven years ago) link
Memories or whatever. xhuxk mentioned Jody Rosen's piece above so:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/18/magazine/18christmas.html
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 9 December 2013 19:15 (ten years ago) link
Meantime I had a vent on them back in 2007 as part of a larger piece
http://www.ocweekly.com/2007-12-20/music/silent-night-please/
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 9 December 2013 19:17 (ten years ago) link
The photo from the NYT piece is gold, though:
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/12/14/magazine/18christmas.450.jpg
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 9 December 2013 19:29 (ten years ago) link
Plus this:
The headquarters of Chip Davis's musical empire occupy three sprawling low-slung warehouses 10 miles north of downtown Omaha. Davis moved his business here in 1983, and American Gramaphone, now a 50-employee operation, retains a folksy feel. Many of Davis's top staff members are old friends; Brian Ackley, the company's chief operating officer, is Davis's former recording engineer, and he still occasionally breaks from his executive duties to do a session behind the mixing board. When I arrived, on an unseasonably sultry morning in October, I was greeted by Dan Wieberg, the director of promotion. "Welcome to the only record label in the United States that has suffered turkey damage," he said, gesturing to the parking lot where a flock of wild turkeys once attacked several company cars.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 9 December 2013 19:31 (ten years ago) link
mannheim steamroller's christmas album is just the worst shit. i still think it's the only music i've ever heard by them. i just remember it as the bumper music for a million commercial breaks on local tv and radio in chicago.
― christmas candy bar (al leong), Monday, 9 December 2013 19:33 (ten years ago) link
It really is the worst shit, but I voluntarily listened to a lot of that shit this weekend. Christmas music just completely shuts down my critical faculties.
― Snausage Party (Old Lunch), Monday, 9 December 2013 19:35 (ten years ago) link
I can nearly make it through this song if I keep my teeth clamped down on my tongue hard enough
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwQw1S6SyYg
horrible christmas albums are horrible
― Milton Parker, Monday, 9 December 2013 19:39 (ten years ago) link
you'll bleed less if you play this at the same time
http://miracleofnature.org/blog/silly-sounding-goofbird
― Milton Parker, Monday, 9 December 2013 19:42 (ten years ago) link
hell's soundtrack
― christmas candy bar (al leong), Monday, 9 December 2013 19:43 (ten years ago) link
I muttered this on FB but the thing is that Davis has all sorts of roots in the same general private-release/proto-new-age stew that I Am the Center talks about. Per Jody's piece and elsewhere, Mannheim Steamroller itself was chugging along as a prog-lite project for about ten years before the first Xmas album and like so many acts he pretty much started releasing records on his own because nobody else would, even after the "Convoy" breakout. The Fresh Aire are all essentially pleasantly anonymous but at least they're pleasant (linking the first of them from 1975 here):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u81lqZm9aZg
...and at least at the time of Jody's piece he was still focusing in on that and questions of healing music (again, pretty heavily spelled out through the I Am the Center notes as a common theme):
Davis has long had a taste for the mystical. His eight albums in the "Fresh Aire" series include meditations on space travel, Greek mythology, the power of the number 7 and, in the series finale, "Fresh Aire 8," a consideration of the "8 Topics of Infinity." His current passion involves "psychoacoustics" and healing: recording nature sounds and packaging them with music into something called the Ambient Therapy System, a device Davis invented, which is currently being tested in a local Omaha hospital and at the Mayo Clinic. You can hear both Davises - the hardheaded entrepreneur and the New Age shaman - when he talks about the project. "The A.T.S. is such a worthy cause. It has huge business potential. And huge upside healing potential."
So yeah, comes across as a weird hybrid of George Lucas and Thomas Kinkade in impact.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 9 December 2013 19:49 (ten years ago) link
one time my girlfriend was mad at me for some reason or another and during our argument i secretly used my iphone remote to play Deck The Halls on the stereo. she started cracking up and we made up. TOTAL CLASSIC
― diamonddave85, Monday, 9 December 2013 19:51 (ten years ago) link
And you gotta love Wikipedia:
The group appeared in the 2011 and 2013 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, playing their version of "Deck the Halls." (As is typical of the performances of the parade, the band pantomimed to the studio recording of the tune. This was especially noticeable in the 2013 "performance" when it was clear that the bass player wasn't bothering to move his fingers.)
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 9 December 2013 19:51 (ten years ago) link
― diamonddave85, Monday, December 9, 2013 1:51 PM (20 minutes ago) Bookmark
hahahahaha! there's no fighting when the MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER comes through!
― sweat pea (La Lechera), Monday, 9 December 2013 20:12 (ten years ago) link
BWAA BWAA BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAdeedlydeedlydeedlydeedlyBWAA BWAA BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
― Snausage Party (Old Lunch), Monday, 9 December 2013 20:13 (ten years ago) link
Mannheim Steamroller is the soundtrack to Ayn Rand riding a sleigh driven by robotic reindeer.
― Snausage Party (Old Lunch), Monday, 9 December 2013 20:14 (ten years ago) link
As I said on Ned's FB post. GOUGE MY FUCKING EARDRUMS OUT WITH A SHIV. I don't get what the fuck this asshole is trying to do with his "music".
― Nerd Trombones (thebingo), Monday, 9 December 2013 20:17 (ten years ago) link
a taste for the mystical my ass. straight out garbage.
― Nerd Trombones (thebingo), Monday, 9 December 2013 20:18 (ten years ago) link
he is trying to inspire people to feel the spirit of the season, mr violent! cmon, feel the sonorant deluge of emotion!
― sweat pea (La Lechera), Monday, 9 December 2013 20:18 (ten years ago) link
gives me a deluge of anger.
― Nerd Trombones (thebingo), Monday, 9 December 2013 20:19 (ten years ago) link
almost as good as Trans Siberian Orchestra.
― Nerd Trombones (thebingo), Monday, 9 December 2013 20:20 (ten years ago) link
feel it wash over you like the skin dust of a hundred thousand old people
― sweat pea (La Lechera), Monday, 9 December 2013 20:23 (ten years ago) link
I'm less baffled by MS's existence than I am by the fact that they became holiday radio staples.
― Snausage Party (Old Lunch), Monday, 9 December 2013 20:24 (ten years ago) link
never knowingly heard a note by these guys but P4K today descibing them as a "Kraftwerk-goes-Christmas holiday electro ensemble" makes them sound like the best thing ever
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Thursday, 5 February 2015 12:44 (nine years ago) link
They are not. They are more like Paul McCartney's Christmas song stretched over an entire career.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 5 February 2015 12:48 (nine years ago) link
This thread could not be anymore American.
― Bob (Tom D.), Thursday, 5 February 2015 12:51 (nine years ago) link
http://hoosierhomemade.com/wp-content/uploads/Summer-Sausage.jpg
beg to differ
― A Severus of Snapes (contenderizer), Thursday, 5 February 2015 13:35 (nine years ago) link
'TIS THE SEASON
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68j6Ceof8QQ
― I Am Curious (Dolezal) (DJP), Monday, 30 November 2015 16:37 (eight years ago) link
I used to get nauseous listening to MS playing at my in-laws, who loved them. Not even kidding.
― Jazzbo, Monday, 30 November 2015 16:40 (eight years ago) link
i feel like i need to be wearing a ridiculous colorful long coat when i hear MS
― brimstead, Monday, 30 November 2015 18:13 (eight years ago) link
He married a really good friend of mine from undergrad, who was like 20 years his junior. She was gorgeous and the marriage failed. I think she interned at AG.
Worst, most awful music ever.
― Thomas H. Handy (dandydonweiner), Tuesday, 1 December 2015 02:24 (eight years ago) link
Yeah, it sucks. I reviewed a Christmas show years ago; editor headed it "Yule and Unusual Punishment." The couple behind me in horrible sweaters fell asleep. There was a Santa's Village with elves, iirc, and at one point Chip showed home movies of his kids.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 1 December 2015 03:57 (eight years ago) link
Their gift shop is amazing:http://store.mannheimsteamroller.com/Gifts/b/2492815011?ie=UTF8&title=Gifts
they've reached Rankin-Bass 'Leprechaun's Christmas Gold' levels where they ran out of Christmas shit and started branching out into other holidays
― social justice warriors... come out to play (Abbott), Tuesday, 1 December 2015 04:02 (eight years ago) link
Spa Bag - Romantic Melodies - Mother's Day
Express your affection and appreciation for the women in your life who give so much of themselves to lift others up. Treat her with this spa gift set that includes our signature rose-scented aromatherapy candle, Rose body wash and Romantic Melodies CD. Packaged in a shimmering gossamer drawstring bag, this is the perfect gift for Mother's Day, Christmas, her Birthday or any day!Spa gift set that includes rose-scented aromatherapy candle, Rose body wash and Romantic Melodies CDLet the special lady in your life escape into romantic relaxation with this sensory-rich spa gift packagePresented in a shimmering gossamer drawstring bagPerfect gift for Mother's Day, Christmas, Valentine's Day, her Birthday or any day!
― social justice warriors... come out to play (Abbott), Tuesday, 1 December 2015 04:03 (eight years ago) link
Party and Party 2: Music that cooks Combo CD Set
From casual cookouts with friends to gatherings around the milestones in life, food and music are essential ingredients for success when it comes to planning a party. This two pack of CDs - Party and Party 2 bring the sizzle to all your celebrations with family and friends. Get the festivities hopping with the Caribbean flavor of Party and keep everyone feeling good with the classical, calypso and baroque tunes of Party 2. Pick one up today and make your next event one for the ages!Create an appetizing atmosphere with this 2-CD setParty and Party 2 CDs includedSomething for everyone to enjoy with caribbean, classical, calypso, baroque and more musical styles
― social justice warriors... come out to play (Abbott), Tuesday, 1 December 2015 04:04 (eight years ago) link
Mannheim Mary Mix
$19.98
Everything you need to put together the perfect Bloody Mary for a weekend brunch with friends and family is included in this Mannheim Mary Mix. Our signature mix includes bottles of our Mannheim Steamroller Finishing Sauce, 4-Pepper Hot Garlic Sauce, and Grilling Salt. Our twist on a classic drink will have your friends asking for seconds. Just combine 1 jigger 4-Pepper Hot Garlic Sauce, 1 jigger Finishing Sauce, and 1 whack of Grilling Salt with V-8 or tomato juice and enjoy. Whether you make it with vodka or without, it's guaranteed to provide the perfect eye opener!Everything you need to make a Mannheim Mary1 bottle Mannheim Steamroller Finishing Sauce1 bottle 4-Pepper Hot Garlic Sauce1 jar Grilling SaltJust add tomato juice and spirits, stir and enjoy!
$10.00 sale $1.00
Get your very own $1,000,000 bill with a reproduction of Chip Davis' signature in the Mannheim Steamroller tradition. Featuring Davis' smiling face, this gag gift makes a great stocking stuffer for Mannheim Steamroller fans of any age and is a great way to tell the people you love that you think they're one-in-a-million!$1,000,000 bill featuring Chip Davis' smiling faceGreat stocking stufferPerfect for Mannheim Steamroller fans of all ages
― social justice warriors... come out to play (Abbott), Tuesday, 1 December 2015 04:06 (eight years ago) link
God I hate this shit ...
― 빨간 럼 ఎరుపు రమ్ רום אדום (Eisbaer), Saturday, 12 December 2015 01:00 (eight years ago) link
if they ever remake silent night deadly night this should soundtrack the killings
― nomar, Saturday, 12 December 2015 01:05 (eight years ago) link
The music itself should be the weapon maybe
― nomar, Saturday, 12 December 2015 01:06 (eight years ago) link
https://www.brenmarco.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Mannheim-Steamroller-Hot-Chocolate-with-Cinnamon-71000.jpg
― omar little, Monday, 4 December 2017 17:33 (six years ago) link