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THE GARAGE — It’s that time of year where you revisit all the beloved Christmas specials of your childhood.
You’ve got your Charlie Brown and your Rudolph, of course, but no Christmas feels quite complete without “The Grinch” TV special from 1966.
In at least one opinion, the best part of “The Grinch,” (besides everything), is the song “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” sung in the slung-deep bass of Thurl Ravenscroft. It’s the perfect example of silly, yet chilling, aspects of many, many children’s stories. (Think about it.)
Now, many people have covered this song, and most understand the silly side of the song, but never quite get the chilling. However, the band Small Town Titans recently posted a cover of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” and they commit fully to the chilling direction. Goodbye to most of the silly, and hello to going straight for the jugular.
The video starts with a slow, wolfish bassline. Then a deep, rich voice quietly starts singing his first insults to The Grinch: That’s when things get really dirty, rotten and nasty (aka Grinch-like). For you see, The Small Town Titans are firmly planted in the music genre of “hard rock,” and they definitely stay on brand in the video.
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Lead singer Phil Freeman has an incredible ability to manipulate his voice from classically trained singer to the sort of gravelly vocal-fry singing popular with '80s hair bands that evolved into the hard rock bands of today.
The performance can be described as “stunning.” But whether that means you’re stunned because you’re impressed, or stunned because you’re horrified, can only be determined by watching it yourself.
