Is it just me or are there some fairly fabulous jingles in the holiday commercials this year? Target has a good one, (I think it's Gwen Stefani) so does Old Navy...who thank God above has stopped the campy commercials. My favorite is JCPenney with the rock-ish version of Here Comes Santa Claus.
It's just a nice change. I think the advent of using popular music in sitcoms, dramedys and dramas such as Grey's Anatomy has finally hit a chord with viewers. (Count the assorted puns in that sentence! )
While I'm on the subject of Christmas Music...Can I just say that just because you are a "singer", it doesn't mean you should actually sing Christmas songs? Or re-do the original arrangements. This irritation is directly specifically at most current "artists". I'm pretty sure that these classics don't need a backbeat or runs.
Also, I've noticed singers tossing in Christmas references and calling it a Christmas song. Kind of like the aged rocker in "Love Actually", where they took a former hit of his and made it into an unbearable Christmas song. Just don't.
Just sing it the way it was intended to be, sing the classics or sit down. Of course, there's always exceptions. Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" is a good current song. Bare Naked Ladies & Sarah McLachlan "God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen" is amazing. But mostly, the Christmas cd's that are issued recently are just painful. AND they all contain the same songs! Mostly mainstream, secular, and boring.
Also, the country singers seem to be do a better job at these songs than most artists, I wonder why? Although I am not including Kenny Chesney's All I Want for Christmas is a Tan. How depressing is that?
My favorite Christmas Album ever? Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer by Gene Autry. It has all the classics, sung the way they're supposed to be. Call me a purist. (:-D
If you are a non-traditional Christmas music human, do try the Bare Naked Ladies Christmas album. Their version of Jingle Bells is priceless. I would describe it as manic-depressive. They include Hannakuh songs, which are kind of cool too.
The local radio station does 24 hour Christmas music from midnight Christmas Eve through Christmas Day. I was up late one year and it seemed like they had raided my parents albums. I heard such obscure classics as "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" and "I Want a Hippapotomus for Christmas." It was awesome! Instant time travel!
So Merry Christmas Everyone! Belt out those carols! Whichever version you prefer, although I would recommend surfing EBay and buying Rudolph's album.
No comments:
Post a Comment