It seems the holidays come sooner every year, and by holidays I mean the holiday--Christmas. Home Shopping Network starts with Christmas in July shopping. Many stores start putting out Christmas cards just after Labor Day. You can even see holiday decorations sitting on the high shelf waiting for Halloween to end so they can move those in and show October the door as quickly as possible. So yes you can pretty much blame retail as Christmas accounts for the majority of their sales and profits for the year so everyone wants to get a head start on it.
But what about Christmas music. I will go on record now and say my iPod currently has 1027 holiday tunes on it. Sure there are like 20 version of some of the same songs by 20 different artists but all the variations are interesting. I will say, however, that a lot of tunes can be like dirges, Christmas should be upbeat and fun not sleep inducing. For most people they can tolerate the early decorations but when it comes to the music people seem to have the same reaction...ugh...do we have to? It gets mocked with endless derision it seems and I have to say I don't know why. One would think that the joy Christmas brings to lots of folks would carry over to the music of the season but it doesn't. Websites have even done NCAA bracket type contests to find the "worst" of the bunch. This "Grinchification" of the sounds of the holiday is just sad. I think the main problem stems from the fact that many places play seem to play the same compilation of tunes, thus people end up hearing the same song possibly eight or nine times in a day, depending on how many stores they hit while shopping. I say don't blame the music but blame the stores for sticking with the common instead of delving deeper into holiday albums by pretty much everyone who has ever recorded music.
Artists record Christmas cds/lps usually either early (see Justin Bieber) or late in their careers (see Rod Stewart). Though every now and then a singer will do one while at the top of their careers (see Celine Dion or Michael Buble). One of the reasons for this is money obviously. A Christmas cd can have built in sales year after year after year--just ask the estates of Bing Crosby and Elvis Presley. Problem you run in to is that the same tracks get the airplay while other songs on their albums get short shrift. I think if more selections were played instead of overplayed folks wouldn't roll their eyes every time the whole idea of listening to Christmas tunes comes along. I get it a lot from people at work and from the SO whenever I want to put some on for listening pleasure. Usually though I try not to "subject" folks to any until at least after Thanksgiving. I have a playlist on my iPod of just the holiday tunes and whenever I want a little pick me up I will pop on the headphones and crank up the cheer. I actually have two xmas playlists--one is every song--the other is just the upbeat ones so I tend to go for that one.
So is November too early? For most people I'm going to say yes, or at least any time before Thanksgiving can be a bit much for some. But for any of you out there who like holiday music I say it's okay to open your heart to the magic of Christmas tunes and just tell everyone else to go F themselves--now that's the holiday spirit bitches! Cuz' when you "need a little Christmas right this very minute" it's quite alright to turn it on and turn it up and feel the warm cheer no matter what time of year it is.
Herewith then are a few of my favorite tunes to go ahead and get you in the mood:
"All I Want For Christmas Is You" Mariah Carey
"This Christmas" Donny Hathaway
"Blue Christmas" Wynonna Judd
"The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" Andy Williams
"Happy Holidays" Andy Williams
"Carol of the Bells" David Foster
"A Wonderful Christmas Time" Paul McCartney and Wings (yes I like this no matter what people say)
"Step Into Christmas" Elton John
"Merry Christmas Darling" The Carpenters
"Please Come Home for Christmas" The Eagles
But what about Christmas music. I will go on record now and say my iPod currently has 1027 holiday tunes on it. Sure there are like 20 version of some of the same songs by 20 different artists but all the variations are interesting. I will say, however, that a lot of tunes can be like dirges, Christmas should be upbeat and fun not sleep inducing. For most people they can tolerate the early decorations but when it comes to the music people seem to have the same reaction...ugh...do we have to? It gets mocked with endless derision it seems and I have to say I don't know why. One would think that the joy Christmas brings to lots of folks would carry over to the music of the season but it doesn't. Websites have even done NCAA bracket type contests to find the "worst" of the bunch. This "Grinchification" of the sounds of the holiday is just sad. I think the main problem stems from the fact that many places play seem to play the same compilation of tunes, thus people end up hearing the same song possibly eight or nine times in a day, depending on how many stores they hit while shopping. I say don't blame the music but blame the stores for sticking with the common instead of delving deeper into holiday albums by pretty much everyone who has ever recorded music.
Artists record Christmas cds/lps usually either early (see Justin Bieber) or late in their careers (see Rod Stewart). Though every now and then a singer will do one while at the top of their careers (see Celine Dion or Michael Buble). One of the reasons for this is money obviously. A Christmas cd can have built in sales year after year after year--just ask the estates of Bing Crosby and Elvis Presley. Problem you run in to is that the same tracks get the airplay while other songs on their albums get short shrift. I think if more selections were played instead of overplayed folks wouldn't roll their eyes every time the whole idea of listening to Christmas tunes comes along. I get it a lot from people at work and from the SO whenever I want to put some on for listening pleasure. Usually though I try not to "subject" folks to any until at least after Thanksgiving. I have a playlist on my iPod of just the holiday tunes and whenever I want a little pick me up I will pop on the headphones and crank up the cheer. I actually have two xmas playlists--one is every song--the other is just the upbeat ones so I tend to go for that one.
So is November too early? For most people I'm going to say yes, or at least any time before Thanksgiving can be a bit much for some. But for any of you out there who like holiday music I say it's okay to open your heart to the magic of Christmas tunes and just tell everyone else to go F themselves--now that's the holiday spirit bitches! Cuz' when you "need a little Christmas right this very minute" it's quite alright to turn it on and turn it up and feel the warm cheer no matter what time of year it is.
Herewith then are a few of my favorite tunes to go ahead and get you in the mood:
"All I Want For Christmas Is You" Mariah Carey
"This Christmas" Donny Hathaway
"Blue Christmas" Wynonna Judd
"The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" Andy Williams
"Happy Holidays" Andy Williams
"Carol of the Bells" David Foster
"A Wonderful Christmas Time" Paul McCartney and Wings (yes I like this no matter what people say)
"Step Into Christmas" Elton John
"Merry Christmas Darling" The Carpenters
"Please Come Home for Christmas" The Eagles
I plunked down on the couch beside him. "I don't have any musical accomplishments. I don't have any accomplishments of any kind. I'm stupid and boring. I don't have any hobbies. I don't play sports. I don't write poetry. I don't travel to interesting places. I don't even have a good job. Flights to Johannesburg
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