Holiday Music

Before I can start writing my “here are my cats” entries, I need to decide upon and upload photos of each of them to Flickr. So for now, I’ll use yesterday’s writing prompt:

"Holiday music: essential part of the season, or 'no way, it makes my ears bleed'?"

For me, it depends on the music. I get very sick of “Feliz Navidad” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” over and over. I try to ignore most of the trendy renditions of the songs that appear on the increasingly sucky A Very Special Christmas compilations (ever notice the ones in frequent replay are off the first album only? There’s a reason for that…).

With the exception of Trans-Siberian Orchestra – who I really wish I could afford to see in a couple weeks when they come to Providence – I don’t care for a lot fo the current songs out there. Call me a purist. I want to hear Bing Crosby and Burt Ives. I enjoy most of the renditions off of the first A Very Special Christmas compilation. I’ll happily take some beautiful brass quartet renditions or the non-confrontational muzak or smooth jazz.

The one thing, though, that does make my ears bleed is hearing seasonal music before Thanksgiving. I don’t need Christmas music around Halloween, thanks. Nor do I want to see the decorations up in a store that early. If you have them for sale, well… I think it’s early but I’ll tolerate that. Christmas music shouldn’t be played through store speakers until Black Friday, in my opinion.

I do get tired of it, though, by the time Christmas comes around- and I think it’s because it’s the same stuff played over and over. There is so much Christmas music out there—I wish stores would both play a variety, and play stuff appropriate to the surroundings. When I’m going into the drug store, I don’t need to be blasted by a full choral version of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” or a Josh Groban’s over-enthusiastic rendition of “O Holy Night.” I need to be focusing on reading the warning labels at that moment. On the other side of the coin, hearing the songs from the Radio City Christmas Spectacular while skating at Rockefeller Center is great.

For me, holiday music isn’t so much about creating the atmosphere of the holidays—that’s accomplished just fine by the changing weather, the lights and the crazy schedules as we shuffle from one party to the next. Holiday music helps bring back memories from years past, thinking about loved ones now missed dearly, and enjoying a few more moments with them through those memories.