There is a lot to be said about holiday music.
Really I don’t think there is another time of year when just about everyone has belted out some lyrics with people like Dean Martin or Steve and Edie
There is a brief window of time each year when the ‘artist’ who performs a song doesn’t even matter.
No longer will you squeal ewww when you hear Bing Crosby- on the contrary it’s almost like a warm hug of familiarity.
This is the joy (and horror) of holiday. As hard as we or other ‘moderns’ try to update traditions it simply doesn’t work. Oh now I’m not saying there hasn’t been a winner of a Christmas song since 1962, but I am saying that the true bulk of holiday repetition is done by the masters.
Even those like Michael Buble or Harry Connick who are direct rip offs of the classic artists- simply cannot sustain White Christmas is most “White Christmas” when its Bing. “Silver and Gold”? Burl Ives.
Even Elvis Presley did a kickin White Christmas, but it’s not Bing.
There are songs that you must hear. There are those that if you haven’t heard them it simply won’t ‘feel’like Christmas. It has to be on the radio too- you may have every Christmas recording known to man but nothing will compete with the random radio play surprise. Same as holiday programs- I don’t care if you own The Grinch- it’s not official til it’s on TV, commercials and all.
So for about six weeks a year we hang up our ‘punk’,‘Goth’, rocker, or whatever title and become fans of music. For every Pantera fan who sings along with Peggy Lee and ever Weezy fan kickin it with Sinatra- it’s the one time where we actually take pleasure in music not for its genre but for what it reminds us of.
Music is memories. Its why there is “our song”,how certain riffs zip you right back to high school. Christmas music unites us all- you don’t have to be a Christian, you don’t have to even celebrate the holiday- but you’ll hear a “Jingle Bells” and its gonna paint an image in your head of a day gone by.
I’m glad we have as many differences as we do- I’m glad we all don’t listen to the same thing. I’m glad we have the intelligence and individuality to appreciate thing in unique ways.
And Im pretty glad theres timeless music to be appreciated- if only once a year.