Kringle Terrace

Lilly has discovered the all-Christmas music station in the Chicago area, WLIT. A seasonal thing, though I don’t know when it started exactly. A limited amount is the best amount for something like this, but she’s pushing the limit already. Usually weekend radio around here is for the terrific jazz: “Live from the Landing: Riverwalk Jazz” and “Swing Shift” on Saturdays on WDCB (College of DuPage), and Dick Buckley’s Sunday afternoon “Jazz Treasures” on Chicago Public Radio, WBEZ.

In its Christmas incarnation, WLIT suffers the usual canalization of commercial radio. Of a universe of x Christmas songs -- a very large universe, I’d think -- the station plays 0.01x over and over. How many versions of “The Christmas Song,” “White Christmas,” or “Let it Snow” can there be?

But I will give the station credit for occasionally playing versions you don’t hear often. Just yesterday I heard the Judy Garland version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” which she sang in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944). In that version, instead of, “Hang a shining star upon the highest bough,” the line is, “Until then we’ll have to muddle through somehow,” a much better set of words, since the previous line refers to the Fates, who are known for their unpredictability.

And I have a new appreciation for Elvis’ version of “Here Comes Santa Claus.” I wouldn’t be the first to comment on his remarkable voice, but it does seem hard to hear him clearly, since he’s been encrusted with 50 years’ worth adulation.

As a kid, I thought that song’s opening line was strange but didn’t know why. I still think it’s strange, because of the reference to “Santa Claus Lane.” Santa’s a real estate developer who names things after himself? Is Kringle Terrace -- 140 luxury condos starting at $495,000 for a one bedroom, up to $3.2 million for a penthouse -- also on Santa Claus Lane? And why does he need a lane, anyway? Doesn’t he fly?