Growing up with MTV instilled a love of good music videos into me. Some videos are just unforgettable. Thanks to YouTube, these favorites can be enjoyed over and over.

Mariah Carey - All I Want for Christmas Is You

Olivia Olson - All I Want for Christmas Is You

from Love Actually

It might be brief, and not actually about us, but our Managing Editor Ron Lieber had some air time last night on NBC as a segment on the ubiquity and potential negatives of gift cards around the holidays. FiLife was mentioned insomuch as a subhead under his name.

I’m sure there’ll be more press as we head toward open beta and eventual public launch of the site. Check out FiLife.com for more (I work there now).

Some people really go all out.

This is a good video, and it is a great Christmas special. I know I’ve been rocking out to this Charlie Brown Christmas Mashup for the last few weeks. Dig it!

This holiday season I’ve noticed a slew of commercials using very similar music. I’m thinking of Old Navy and JCPenney especially. These commercials usually have a lot of beautiful women lounging in sweaters, petting dogs, walking in the snow, etc. The music always has a female singer and is sparsely composed–usually just a guitar or piano. There are no baselines, no throbbing beat, just vulnerable folky warbling. That’s right up my alley. You Tube videos and music credits to come after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

It wouldn’t be Christmas without Clark Griswold and his wonderful family. The Griswold’s are really the pioneers of the Hilarious Dysfunctional Family which has been made popular by Everybody Loves the King of Queens Dear at Home (they all run together for me, sorry). Chevy Chase, you sir did it first, and you sir do it best.

That Spirit of Christmas.

Saved the best for last. If you just can’t get enough or find this speech oddly topical for you own life. Here is an mp3 version for your iPod.