Over Thanksgiving, while my parents were visiting, I discovered the all-Christmas-music station here in GR. I think I need to stop listening to it for a while, because I’ve started thinking about the songs a little too much, and a lot of them don’t really stand up to much analysis. For example, there are a few songs that I have no idea why they play at all, such as John Lennon’s So This is Christmas. “So this is Christmas, and what have you done; another year older, and a new one just begun.” That just doesn’t say Merry Christmas to me. It makes me feel old and depressed.
I have quite a high tolerance for Christmas music, no matter how sappy or overplayed. I secretly love “Sleigh Ride,” even dopey Lawrence Welk-like vocal versions, though the Boston Pops instrumental one is my favorite. I even like that Paul McCartney “simply having a wonderful Christmas” one. There are a couple that I really don’t like, though. For example, “Someday At Christmas.” I appreciate the general idea, but it’s a little too sanctimonious for me. And today I finally heard a song that was far too sappy even for me, it ended like this: “Christmas is sleigh bells, Christmas is sharing, Christmas is holly, Christmas is caring, Christmas is holly.” I guess they really wanted us to remember about the holly.
A perennial Christmas mystery for me is why certain songs are played only at Christmas, though they have nothing to do with the holiday. For example: Frosty the Snowman, Sleigh Ride, Winter Wonderland, Baby It’s Cold Outside (I actually never associated that one with Christmas before, but they played it on the Christmas station so it must be), and other winter-themed ones.
My parents have an annual tradition of counting the number of times they hear “Little Drummer Boy.” They some years are very Drummer Boy-heavy, while others have a Drummer Boy dearth. I think this is going to be a big year for the Drummer Boy; we counted three or four L.D.B’s just while they were here visiting (plus one mistaken hearing–I always mix up LDB and Do You Hear What I Hear, for some reason).
I’ve always been somewhat partial to “The Night Santa Went Crazy” by Weird Al…
There are actually at least two all-Christmas-music stations in GR. One is at 100.5 and the other at 105.7. When I’m driving around I bounce between the two whenever the current station gets into a rut of commercials, because like you I have an inexplicable fondness for Christmas music. It’s like all my musical taste goes out the window and I find myself listening to arrangements that at other times of the year would turn my stomach.
Counting LDB is a great idea. I think I’ll have to try that– next year. Merry Christmas!
I also love listening to Christmas music. Well, most Christmas music. If I ever find the person responsible for the Alvin and the Chipmunks’ Christmas song, I will be forced to lay a beating on him.