Random Music Observations: Humbug Edition

I love almost everything about the Christmas season, save for two things: the crass commercialism, and the music (ok, lots of the movies, too, including *gasp* A Charlie Brown Christmas, but these aren’t random film observations). It isn’t just that I don’t really like Christmas music – I hate just about all of it (save for some traditional hymns and classical pieces). This hatred was never aided by the fact that, growing up, I was forced to listen to it every year, both in the house [when not shut up in my room enjoying my OWN music] and in the car. And so, in the holiday spirit, my observations on the dreck that is holiday music:

-The world needs another version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” like it needs another version of “Summertime (And the Living’s Easy)”.

-Item one also goes for “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “White Christmas,” “Santa Clause Is Comin’ To Town” (the worst moment in the Bruce Springsteen catalogue), and probably another 127 songs.

-I think the goal of trying to get into the multi-ethnic, multi-religious tone of the season by playing holiday songs from other religious and ethnic traditions is fine. Playing Adam Sandler’s “Haunukah Song” as the only “Jewish” song to meet that goal is not fine.

-I think the Chipmunks’ Christmas Song is just like the comic-strip Marmaduke – it probably stopped being funny or cute around 1963 (save for, of course, modern re-interpretations of Marmaduke).

-In the modern music world, I think nothing better captures the modern holiday season than holiday albums from Mariah Carey, Christina Aguileira, Destiny’s Child, and even New Kids on the Block (and you’d forgotten about them). In a perverse way, nothing is more perfect about it all than the fact that they are simply trying to cash in on “genuine love” for the season.

-I don’t know its name, but there was one Christmas album titled "The Tarquin Records All-Star Holiday Extravaganza" that I loved (and frequently played when I was on air). The college radio station I DJed at in undergrad had it, and it included songs such as “Santa Was Seen Flying Through Soviet Airspace” by the Philistines, Jr., "Zamboni Stuck in the Snow" by the Zambonis, "R2D2, We Wish You A Merry Christmas" by Brian Dewan, and "Rudolph Burger...Hold the Nose" by The Pork Guys. It was often stupid, but in a good way, and at least it was different.