The Yule Logs of YouTube
Whether you’re spending the next 48 hours celebrating Christmas or just enjoying the near-total shutdown of the working world, tonight is the single best night of the year to hunker down with something warm and boozy and put on some nice, soothing background entertainment that doesn’t require any serious thought or attention. Since its inception, nothing has been better for this than the yule log, and since the advent of the internet, no need to settle for whatever your local syndicate decides to put on. Even Netflix has its own log now! But YouTube continues the best source when it comes to variety, and we’ve combed through the detritus to find the best logs for every taste and occasion. It’s going to be a deeply soothing holiday.
The Classic
The whole concept of the yule log originated on New York’s WPIX in the late 60s (the Village Voice has a nice retrospective), and attention must be paid. The original WPIX log, filmed on-site at Gracie Mansion, is up on YouTube, and though it only clocks in at around eight minutes (meaning you can’t just leave it on for the whole evening), it packs a lot of old-New-York-y holiday vibes into a short span of time. Never gets old.
The Funny Log
Just a short, funny send-up of overly-serious DVD director’s commentary, in this case as it concerns the making of a yule log video. Also a nice opportunity to hear Pachelbel’s Canon while staring into a fire.