Ralphie and A Christmas Story

A Christmas Story is one of my favorite yule time movies (only How the Grinch Stole Christmas could top it).  Peter Billingsley starred as Ralphie.  All he wanted was a Red Ryder BB gun under his tree.  The semi-autobiographical story was written by Jean Shepherd.   Jean was also the film's narrator.  Peter has turned the book/movie into a theatrical production running now in Seattle complete with a leg lamp kick line.  

Nightline talked to Peter Billingsley who gave us some insight into the "stick your tongue on the frozen pole scene".  If a bully dares you to to it, pass.  In the movie, it was a fake pole with a hole in it so the actor could stick his tongue in it.  Looked pretty convincing to me. 

Soundtracks Making a Comeback

Soundscan for the week ending January 20th:

#2 Juno soundtrack -only being bested by Alicia Keys. Why does the Velvet Underground show up everywhere?
#13 Alvin & the Chipmunks soundtrack - holding steady for a second week at this position. It actually ranked as high at #7 a few weeks ago. It's an album of sped up vocals.
#18 High School Music soundtrack - this has surpassed the 3 million sold mark. This brings me to kids TV. While in FL with my niece, she had the TV tuned to Nick and Disney. No matter what the show, someone was breaking out in song. It could be a video or a band performance. I can only compare this programming to Dream Girls meets MTV.

The music business never ceases to surprise.