I was a little humbled to discover that the most beloved Christmas album from my youth, the one that most strongly evokes family and hearth and love and safety, is a Perry Como record
I had this on a cassette tape as a kid and didn't realize there was an actual TV special until I was an adult and watched it as a grainy bootleg on YouTube. I think it's still on there -- it's worth a watch, if only to see Miss Piggy shamelessly flirt with John Denver.
Same! I’m eagerly waiting for Thanksgiving to pass so I can share medieval carols, holiday pop, and metal covers of Advent and Christmas hymns by Judas Priest’s Rob Halford.
For me “Christmas” the commercial season/midwinter feast of lights, feasting, and gifts starts when Santa appears in the Macy’s parade (as opposed to the liturgical season which starts Dec. 25.)
One time when I was 12 and I was in church choir we performed at a rehab center and a guy offered to connect me with a Christian record label and my mom said no and I think about that a lot
I like both a lot! Got to go to a jazz club in New York in the spring. A tiny basement club and the John Dokes Trio was playing standards. It was a bucket list moment.
In hindsight encountering ‘Ironman’ and Let Mortal Flesh Keep Silence and O Come O Come Emanuel around the same age was like, the origin story of my musical taste.
Christmas music written after 1920 is generally cringe, with the exception of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, “Merry Christmas from the Family”, the world of Vince Guaraldi, and Wye Oak’s cover of “Christmas Is Just Another Lonely Day”
Do you like Christmas music or do you just like compulsory Christian culture permeating every public space for ten weeks a year? (I'm sorry is this mean? I just braved Target.)
I feel less hostile to “compulsory Christian culture” since I discovered that almost every single “Christmas” tradition dates from the solstice celebrations of pre-Christian people (also known in more derogatory terms as pagans).
Headphones! I started wearing headphones and playing my own music in stores every Nov/Dec a few years ago, and I am *markedly* less homicidal when navigating the holiday retail crowds if I have my own music.
I had that epiphany a while back and realised my music 'taste' is just little eclectic buckets of shared themes. now I cultivate playlists that are a concept with a stupid name like "Frankie's Getting Married (Down The Brooklyn Gymnasium)" and it's all Louis Prima and mid 50s doo wop bands and so on
I mean I'm not prescriptive or particular or anything, I also have one called "The Trials of Swordfucker Mountain" that's just Dark Ambient and Dungeon Synth.
I don’t particularly care for Christmas music, largely because most of it isn’t really Christmas music, it s more like wintertime music. I mean what the hell does jingle bells or let it snow have to do with Christmas?
My idea of what a good Christmas song is is more like “I don’t know what Christmas is - but Christmastime is here” from the GotG Christmas special, or the Nightmare before Christmas soundtrack.
I like both but he’s there is a reason my favorite Christmas albums are those ones pottery barn used to release that were full of Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald and Ertha Kitt! (And Mariah tbh)
Daddy raised me on Billy Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald and more. I loved his choice of music and nothing has really matched it for me, but I do love classic Christmas music.
It’s like… someone switched on the Christmas music feature for the simulated reality to see who still automatically puts up the tree and starts shopping. It’s not about listening- but the greatest capitalism trigger ever created.
Jazz, absolutely not, it’s like listening to a Kindergarten music class. Big band 1940’s, oh for sure. Never thought about Christmas music like that before and I love it.
all it takes is to hear any other song of any of the popular artists and suddenly you realize how much of a fan you’ve always been of that kind of stuff
Vince Guaraldi Trio, Eartha Kitt singing Santa Baby, there's so much to love.
but the real question is: do you love Jessica Rabbit singing "Why Don't You Do Right"? because it should be a 'yes' which means yes you love old jazz, like some other mennnnn.... dooooooooo....
I did one season at Williams-Sonoma at the Mall of America. Williams-Sonoma didn't suck (DISCOUNT!), but the Mall of America was a miserable place to work during that season.
I really like Christmas music. But I heard some people think it is inappropriate? It all sounds nice and makes me happy, I think some people just need to find happiness and not find unhappiness
My theory on that is there are only so many songs (a VERY, pitifully, pathetically small number) in the Christmas Song Canon...that are also secular, that have completely survived decades and decades of radio play, cultural relevance etc.
It's incredibly sad imo. I want to hear the forgotten songs
Well there's also the artists who want to, or are asked, to do their own take on a classic even when it's not meaningfully different from the original.
Like there is not a great deal of difference between Frosty the Snowman adaptations except the decade and the singer.
this is amazing, I only know wassailing in my one particular context and had no idea it could be done to trees. I need to be part of this, or at least see this, someday!
I was more familiar with house-to-house wassailing (and even got to experience Wren Boys coming to our house in Ireland back in the day), then later came to know about the Apple Wassail.
My favorites are the Appalachian carols collected by John Jacob Niles and the traditional carols (e.g. Once in Royal David's City), but the mid-century stuff is very satisfying when it's not shmaltzed up.
Oh hey, could you recommend an Appalachian Carols collection? I’m Jewish, but if I could take such a thing to my Christian in-laws it would make Christmas dinner so much more bearable.
I actually only like 1940s and 1950s jazz and it's the only time I'm in bliss at my job..
The rest of the year they play garbage but we finally at least get some smooth jazz during the end of the year to calm my insanity.
Yes, choral music for sure! A few years ago at xmas I thought I was missing church and jesus and stuff (haven't gone for decades), turns out that what I was really missing is being in a choir and singing with people regularly. I'm glad I figured that out before getting sucked back into religion.
The Vince Guaraldi Trio's soundtrack for the Charlie Brown Christmas special in particular is sheer perfection. I could survive Thanksgiving to Epiphany on that alone.
I like jazz and I know it. I hate most Christmas music but I do have a substantial holiday playlist of rockabilly/swing, straight no chaser, and medieval solstice music that I start listening to after Dec 1.
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Not so humbled that I didn’t buy it, mind you
however first housemates when I was 21 introduced me to the Chieftains’ “The Bells of Dublin”
as it wasn’t retail soundtrack I didn’t hate it immediately and it’s picked up nice associations
Yanked out ancient Columbia LP - ‘hey Johnny Mathis! That works’
Forget which song but it sounded like 1 take & Johnny couldn’t hear or totally did not know the melody. Comically bad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWKN-EYFxbs
One of my all-time favorite Christmas albums is Blackmore's Night's "Winter Carols." Wonderful songs.
I like that and doom metal, so.
https://first-draft.com/2024/12/05/musical-interlude-advent-carols/
Also Eartha Kitt was a goddess.
That guy from Wings is history’s greatest monster.
Artists realized it reaps hella royalties
Nat King Cole’s catalog is so much more that The Christmas Song.
A human is a complex animal, and so on.
My idea of what a good Christmas song is is more like “I don’t know what Christmas is - but Christmastime is here” from the GotG Christmas special, or the Nightmare before Christmas soundtrack.
Yes. I’m a cliche.
i don't like most modern christmas music though, just classical and 40s/50s (and Last Christmas but only the Wham version)
That being said, I ain't over here listening to Bing Crosby or the Rat Pack every day. Maybe once a month.
FTR I love both.
YOU'RE WELCOME!!
It does feel like Christmas season, so I prefer classical piano.
but the real question is: do you love Jessica Rabbit singing "Why Don't You Do Right"? because it should be a 'yes' which means yes you love old jazz, like some other mennnnn.... dooooooooo....
This skeet was produced with support of the John D and Catherine T McArthur Foundation, and listeners like you.
I did one season at Williams-Sonoma at the Mall of America. Williams-Sonoma didn't suck (DISCOUNT!), but the Mall of America was a miserable place to work during that season.
Soon.
It's incredibly sad imo. I want to hear the forgotten songs
Like there is not a great deal of difference between Frosty the Snowman adaptations except the decade and the singer.
Here’s my favorite track off of our album 😉
https://conspiratio.bandcamp.com/track/gower-wassail
TBF, most of our repertoire consists of “drinking songs”:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Frbk1O1tnxw
every year I make a point of listening to the Mediæval Baebes album Mistletoe and Wine; it’s my favorite Christmas vibe https://music.apple.com/us/album/mistletoe-wine/306375705
Wassailing is a lot of fun (and definitely taps into pre-/non- Christian traditions).
Most years, here in Seattle, we go help wassail the apple trees - appealing to the spiritual to increase the harvest.
Which involves Morris dancers. 😁
https://www.facebook.com/events/1385953079030381/
Wikipedia has a good article on the tradition:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Wassail
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc68kYdUH-k
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/en/product/christmas-songs-and-carols-18443533.html?srsltid=AfmBOopJ_RhekMyWZbb0y5nVqggN1uUc0PO2oJV3DzX9Ua2Dj7J48COC
(I like Christmas music but there's no denying I'd love it way more if it were improvizational)
https://youtu.be/66P5-H5lKSE?si=MaR2rncVX5ijgKMF
The rest of the year they play garbage but we finally at least get some smooth jazz during the end of the year to calm my insanity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwhlswpdlPw
some years we didn't play christmas music at all, just ella fitzgerald and louis armstrong
Christmas music, but just everyone's settings of O Magnum Mysterium would be an excellent radio format
I'm purely cognizant of this fact.