There have been threads on various forums about Christmas music, and what are people’s favourites.
As an unrepentant prog-rock fan, I have a definite soft spot for Greg Lake’s “I Believe in Father Christmas”. I don’t think it’s as dark and depressing as some people make it out to be; the ultimate message is positive; we only get out of Christmas (or anything else) what we’re prepared to put in. Think of it as an antidote to the over-sentimental or crassly commercial.
A lot of my favourite are traditional carols.
- Silent Night, especially sung in five-part harmony.
- O Come All Ye Faithful, although you’ve got to do it properly and have somebody singing the descants for the “Sing Choirs of Angels” verse. Still think it works best with just four verses – just because a lot of hymnbooks print two extra verses doesn’t mean you have to sing them.
- Hark the Herald Angels Sing – when you have words by Charles Wesley and music by Felix Mendlesson, you really can’t go wrong.
But for every Christmas gem, there’s some Christmas cheese which has passed it’s sell-by date. Now I’m going to risk coming over like a grumpy old man, and cast a vote against any of this lot:
- John Lennon’s “Merry Xmas (War is Over)” – Tiresome hippy platitudes set to an annoyingly twee tune. How is it that Lennon gets a free pass with sentimental mush like this when you only have to mention Paul McCartney’s name and everyone starts shouting “Frog Chorus?”
- Away in a Manger – go look up the Monophysite Heresy.
- The Little Drummer Boy. This one is just plain annoying. There’s something about the par-ap-a-pum-pum that just drives me up the wall.
- That Slade song. OK, it was great fun in 1973, but it’s been played to death, and has suffered badly from over-exposure.
So what are your favourites?
On the rock side of things…
1) The Greedy B*stards ‘A Merry Jingle’
Half of Thin Lizzy & half of the Sex Pistols do a rocked out We wish you a merry Christmas / Jingle Bells medley. Good festive mindless rocking fun.
2) The Fountains of Wayne ‘I want an alien for Christmas’
American happy punk at it’s irreverant best
3) IQ ‘The Christmas Carol Medley’
I don’t know if they have ever released this but they used to do a very Hacket period Genesis influenced Once in Royal David’s City at the Xmas Marquee gigs
Another response to “Christmas Songs.”
The 70′s were as turbulent then…as the present, with many of the exact same “crisis” that our nation and our world are struggling with today.
To say that John Lennon’s ‘War is Over’ christmas song is “stale” or outdated shows a bit of ignorance and a lack of awareness.
Merry Christmas.
loner.
I stand by my comments on Lennon’s song – I know Lennon is a bit of a sacred cow, but I find that song rather banal both musically and lyrically. And don’t get me started on “Imagine”.
Anyway, what’s the point of having a blog if you don’t express a few strong opinions?
No offense meant or taken.
The music was a product of it’s generation and period of development.
Still, though somewhat nostalgic…I believe the music to be well developed. It’s a matter of taste I suppose.
Merry Christmas, and happy holidays.
loner.
OK so the same tired old songs get trotted out each year but they keep coming back because no one else churns out anything to replace them! I don’t know why not, get a good Xmas song and its got to be an earner for life hasn’t it? Come on Tim, persuade some of the bands you know to do Xmas songs that can replace the oldies. But then maybe they don’t want to be used as muzak …