A Nightmare of New York (Zuccotti Park)

A Christmas ditty for troubled times.

The ghosts of a New York Christmas yet to come.

December 17th marks the one-month milestone since the raid on Zuccotti Park, when Mayor Mike Bloomberg and New York Police Chief Ray Kelly sent heavily armed and armored NYPD to evict the protestors from the park at the corner of Liberty St. and Broadway.

I was not there that night, but I was a contributor to the Occupation and a donor to the People's Library. One month later, I'm still outraged at the NYPD's continued violence against the people of this city and especially its members of the working press. So here's a Christmas present to the Commish, Hizzonner, and all the boys in blue who raided the park.

(Ed. note: I wrote this yesterday and thought twice about posting it. But given that the police are arresting former clergy at Duarte Square today--and that a cop just punched a credentialed photographer in the kidneys (twice) it's running now.)

A Nightmare of New York (Zuccotti Park)
A song parody by Paul J. Pelkonen
Sung to the tune of "Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues. Original song written by and © S. McGowan/J. Finer. Sheet music available for purchase and download here.

It was on the Seventeenth, in Zuccotti Park,
They came at one A.M., to catch us sleeping.
They came with sound cannons. Gave us no place to run.
Within just two hours, New York was weeping.

The Mayor sent them there, into a public square,
Two months of street protests, had made him nervous.
Bloomberg's private army, Came in to make us bleed,
For our right to protest, did we deserve this?

All the tables they smashed all the beds that were trashed,
The People's Library books ripped up and torn,
The tents they were slashed up, our stuff it was mashed up,
To the sound of a garbage truck's primitive roar.

They beat on reporters, they shut out all others,
They cleared the air space and kept the choppers down,
They came in like cowards, they crushed us like flowers,
It was a black mark for fair Manhattan town.

And the boys of the NYPD choir were armed with pepper spray,
And we shall ne'er forget their deeds that day.

You're a bum,

You're a punk,

And Ray Kelly's a skunk,
You stink of corruption and corporate graft.
Go sleep in Zuccotti,
with your corporate hottie,
with your own private army
you just make me laugh.

And the boys of the NYPD choir were using pepper spray,
And we shall ne'er forget their deeds that day.

You took our homes from us,
You took our jobs from us,
And what coins that were left,
Were pinched and swindled
You went and ruined our books
You claimed for our own good,
But we will rise again,
The sparks are kindled.

And the boys of the NYPD choir still using pepper spray,
And we shall ne'er forgive their deeds that day.

Concert Review: The Chosen Carols

The New York Festival of Song presents A Goyishe Christmas To You.

Lauren Worsham, Stephanie Blythe,
Judy Kaye, Joshua Breitzer,
John Brancy, Joshua Jeremiah,
Alan Kay, Steven Blier.
Image © 2011 Kaufman Center.

Tuesday night's concert by the New York Festival of Song featured the second year of A Goyishe Christmas To You, Steven Blier's program of holiday favorites, written by Jewish composers. This was the program's first appearance at the Merkin Concert Hall, the NYFOS' regular home. The show combines well-known Christmas chestnuts by Jewish composers with 20th century rarities and a new song, submitted in an e-mail from composer Howard Levitsky. 

Mr. Levitsky's song, "Candle in the Window (God Bless the Christmas Jews)"opened the program, setting an appropriate, light-hearted tone for the concert. The lyrics examine the disparity of being Jewish and celebrating Christmas anyway, even adding a few extradimensional words from God, admonishing his worshipers not to "think too much." It was engagingly performed by baritone Joshua Jeremiah and soprano Judy Kaye in a breezy, Broadway style.

The program then moved through an astonishing variety of music, from the familiar ("Santa Baby", vamped by nascent diva Lauren Worsham) to obscure nuggets from little-known musicals and old television specials. The best of these: "What Makes Santa Run?" a comic psychoanalysis of St. Nicholas, with Mr. Jeremiah taking the role of Dr. Sigmund Freud.

The biggest name in the little cast of singers was Stephanie Blythe, the potent mezzo-soprano who has become a current fixture at the Met. It was more than thrilling to hear her Wagner-sized voice sing "Let it Snow" and "The Christmas Song," with jazz-inflected piano accompaniment from Mr. Blier. She gave these popular songs full, rich tone and a seductive warmth. 

In addition to rarities and favorites, Mr. Blier presented some bold reworkings of familiar songs. "Winter Wonderland" was presented as an ode to gay bliss, with John Brancy and Mr. Jeremiah singing it as a baritonal duet. In a state where gay marriage is at long last legal, the line about Parson Brown and matrimony received hearty approval. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", was reworked in Yiddish. The Johnny Marks classic was sung by tenor Joshua Breitzer in a red yarmulke, accompanied by stepped-up piano and klezmer-style clarinet playing from soloist Alan Kay.

More traditional was "O Holy Night", the soaring carol from French composer Adolphe Adam. (Mr. Blier declared that Mr. Adam was "actually Jewish for one holy night" in his liner notes.) This was sung with emotive power by Mr. Brancy, who clearly relished the chance to open up his instrument and show its full power and range. He sang it a second time in French, using the original words and giving them even more weight. 

Following Ms. Kaye's playful rendition of David Friedman's "A Simple Christmas Wish," the concert ended with the whole cast lining up at the piano  to share Irving Berlin's immortal "White Christmas." The simple melody was reworked as a triple duet, with pairs of singers splitting up its few short lines. Following this touching performance, the cast cut loose with another Johnny Marks classic: "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree."