Now, I'm not a huge fan of getting sonorously pummelled by Christmas music, be it at malls, stores and even pubs, for crying out loud, especially when said pummelling starts in early November. There is an acceptable time for Holiday tunes, and that is between December 24th and January 1st, inclusively, neither before or after, unless there is a work-related X-mas party involved, as well as alcohol (subject to one other exception noted below). There should also be an outright ban on crappy, unimaginative commercial 'standards', first and foremost that fucken 'Feliz Navidad' abomination, but also 'I saw Mommy Pegging Santa Claus', Santa Baby' and their ilk.
That being said, there is some great Holiday music which should be listened to and appreciated. These are my favourites...
Favourite X-mas Albums
1. - Christmas in the Heart, by Bob Dylan
This is now one of my favourite albums of all time, whether Christmas-themed or not. It sounds exactly like what would happen if your Crazy Uncle Bob decided to grab a 26-pounder of rye, do X-mas karaoke for an hour and record the results. I am guessing that SNL collectively kicked itself when the album came out a year ago for not thinking of doing a ‘Bob Dylan sings Christmas tunes’ sketch. The album sounds like that sketch would have sounded. Upon listening, one wonders if Dylan is pulling a fast one on us and in fact mocking or parodying the Christmas genre altogether. And either despite or because of all this (I really cannot decide), it is addictively listenable. I do not grow tired of this album; in fact, my buddy Jordan and I will put it on at various times during the year as it is in a category of its own. The highlight is a rollicking cover of ‘Must Be Santa’, which on top of Dylan improvising on the names of the reindeer, also actually sounds like klezmer influences may have been cleverly worked into the music. And if you can believe it, Dylan sings ‘Adeste Fideles’, although singing may be an overstatement. The album is entirely covers of Holiday standards; it would have been interesting had Dylan penned his own holiday songs.
This is a must-own…
2. - The Bells of Dublin, by The Chieftains
Now 20 years old, The Bells of Dublin is a lovely Christmas project by The Chieftains. Accompanied by numerous guest artists, including Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne and the McGarrigle sisters, the Chieftains cover numerous Christmas classics, as well as some traditional holiday-tinged reels, carols and folk songs. They are at their peak, using a bevy of traditional Celtic instruments. A few original songs are included, written for the occasion. ‘The St Stephen’s Day Murders’, co-written by Paddy Moloney and Elvis Costello, provides an apt description of family holiday festivities gone wrong. Jackson Browne contributed ‘The Rebel Jesus’ which sounds like most of Browne’s songs, but builds on an interesting concept. The album is clearly holiday-themed, but is a refreshing departure from the usual holiday schmaltz; it is essentially a Christmas album for adults.
3. - A Charlie Brown Christmas, by The Vince Guaraldi Trio
Growing up in the 70's, in an era when sitting down together to watch television was an essential element of middle-class family life, an important part of my childhood Christmasses were the viewing of the four quintessential TV Specials. The four horsemen of TV Christmas Specials are, of course:
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer;
- Frosty the Snowman;
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas; and,
- A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Each animated in a different classic style, these feature great stories which do not talk down to children and are subtle enough to be appreciated by adults, along with memorable characters, scenes and dialogue. All four also are also peppered with classic Holiday music and songs, whether they pre-dated the specials (Rudolph and Frosty) or were originals ('You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch...'). Of all four, however, one soundtrack clearly stands out, and that is the Vince Guaraldi Trio's soundtrack for 'A Charlie Brown Christmas'.
Clearly not aimed at children, the album features the Trio's jazzy interpretations of Holiday classics (e.g., ‘O Tannenbaum’, ‘Hark the Herald Angel Sings’) and pieces created especially for the TV special. Just listening to the numbers, one can vividly picture the various scenes in the special; the music was that much ingrained in how the show presented its story.
4.- Christmastide, by Jessye Norman
Jessye Norman: I love the woman. Here are a couple of Jessye Norman stories.
- On July 14, 1989, the 200th anniversary of 'la prise de la Bastille', the start of the French Revolution, I walk into our den as my Dad is watching the official parade/celebrations on TV. All of a sudden, the opening lines of La Marseillaise ring out. 'Allons, enfants de la patrie, l'heure de gloire est arrivée.' I am frozen; I literally cannot move, overwhelmed by the beauty of what I have just heard. As shivers run down my spine, I manage to turn to the TV screen, and see this beautiful, majestic African-American woman, dressed in a bleu-blanc-rouge dress with a 30-foot train flowing behind her belting out the French national anthem, one of my favourites as it is basically a revolutionary battle hymn. It was one of those transcendental moments of pure beauty and joy that remain imprinted on one's mind, never to be forgotten.
- In 1997, during the year I spent living in Vancouver, on one of the visits from my then-girlfriend we decided to go down to Seattle for a few days. While we were planning our visit (booking hotels and restaurants) using the at-that-time-newfangled thingy called the internet, I ended up looking at a listing of upcoming Seattle events. Shocked was I to find out that Jessye Norman was coincidentally giving a recital on one of the evenings we were planning to be there. Greater shock ensued when it turned out that there tickets still available. We spent that Saturday evening having that wonderful, stately voice just rolling over us. As I remember, the recital included mostly German lieber and some classical versions of American folk songs.
Neither of these stories have anything to do with Christmastide. The album is a collection of Christmas hymns, operatic versions of traditional songs and sacred pieces. It is the perfect 'classical' Christmas album, always melodic and equal parts low-key and uplifting.
Favourite X-mas Songs
1. - When I lived in Vancouver, I listened mostly to one particular (classic rock) radio station which created their own novelty songs. I do not generally enjoy novelty songs, but these were usually topical, pretty imaginative and funny. They had done a song mocking the travails of Moe Sihota, an embattled provincial NDP minister, entitled ‘Moe Sihota’ and sung to the tune of ‘My Sharona’. It was pretty funny, but you get the picture. Most mornings leading up to Christmas, they played the attached song; I thought for years they had done it themselves, but discovered a few years ago that it was not their creation…
2.- Pour finir, voici la meilleure toune de Noël, interprétée par Noël Denuy avec l’aide de son frère Janvier…
So enjoy, and hopefully these musical selections can play a small part in making your Holidays worthwhile...
(And yes, I unabashedly made a Tim Tebow joke; it's now official, everybody has.)
