I think I've made it abundantly clear in the past that I think New Year's Day is a stupid, stupid excuse for a holiday. I'm not opposed to there being a day on which the new year begins, I just don't believe there's any sense in celebrating it, or in going to any special effort to observe the exact moment at which the new year begins. That's why I instituted a policy of seeing a movie on New Year's Eve, specifically a movie that starts late enough and lasts long enough so that the new year will begin while the movie is still playing, making it not just inconvenient but also socially unacceptable to note the passing of the old year. This year, I saw Slumdog Millionaire, which was outstanding.

That said, Happy New Year! Here's a gorgeously harmonized rendition of "Auld Lang Syne," performed by the Beach Boys . Enjoy!

The Beach Boys - Auld Lang Syne (MP3, 1.2MB)

Previous Advent posts:

2004: Auld Lang Syne
2005: New Year's Day in Tokyo
2006: A Happy New Year
2007: New Year’s Day
2008: Panel from a Diptych Showing the Adoration of the Magi