It’s finally Christmas day. Sadly, this doesn’t mean that tomorrow we will be rid of “Christmas music.” I say sadly because I am one of the horde for whom Christmas music has been spoiled.
We had a Solstice feast at SmallAgency a couple of weeks ago. Basically it was an excuse to eat French toast and eggs in the middle of the day and actually take our allotted time for lunch. During said lunch someone thought it would be a good idea to stream a Christmas music channel from Pandora to her iPhone. This was a bad idea for two reasons: 1) iPhone speakers suck so what we ended up with was tinny, too loud music in one small area and 2) she was sitting right beside me and by mid-December I can’t stand the sound of Christmas music. One of my colleagues asked why and I gave the standard answer: I blamed TGF whose birthday is near Christmas and who falls into that category of people with near Christmas birthdays who can’t stand Christmas music. Her dislike has just rubbed off.
But then I realized something about my relationship with Christmas music: I don’t actually dislike most Christmas music. The problem is Christmas music has for me been spoiled by people who claim to love it.
Americans who claim to love Christmas music want to start hearing is as soon as possible. That used to mean sometime around mid-December. These days, it’s starting to mean November 1st. I have 12 programmable FM radio buttons on my middle-aged car stereo. Of those 12 take two away because they are allotted to all news format stations which leaves 10 possible music stations. Of those 10 stations, half of them went Christmas music 24/7 on November 1st.
This was too soon. Way too soon. Not that anyone who claims to love Christmas music would understand that.
A blanket statement, I know, but in my life I have met only one person who claims to love Christmas music who understands that maybe the rest of us don’t want to hear it on November 30th. Maybe, just maybe, we’d like it to be a little darker, and a little colder, and maybe have some of those nice, twinkly lights up before we start roasting our chestnuts over an open fire or listening to Karen Carpenter croon in a minor key about what she’s wishing for on Christmas Eve. Maybe we’d like to have finished, or even started, the present shopping before the sleigh bells ring and the snow glistens.
And maybe, just maybe, if it wasn’t thrust upon us so early and so inescapably like the aural version of frosting made with a healthy dose of Prozac and Valium the rest of us would actually be able to enjoy the sounds of the holiday season.
So no, it’s not that I don’t like Christmas music. I just don’t like it when I’m still eating leftovers from Thanksgiving, or before the first tree lot pops up in the local big box store parking lot.
To prove I don’t dislike it, I offer up two mixes I made ages ago that I think stand the test of time. Listen, download, enjoy.
Christmas ’95, vol. 1.1
Download (45.4 MB)
Christmas ’95, vol. 1.2
Download (43.9 MB)
Christmas ’95, vol. 2.1
Download (42.1 MB)
Christmas ’95, vol. 2.2
Download (47.9 MB)
Thank you!
I’m among those who have a disdain for the two months of Christmas music that begins on DÃa de los Muertos. I groaned when I saw Pandora’s alert of a Christmas music channel – nice thought, but noooooooooo! I reached a nadir the week before Thanksgiving as MBH and I were shopping at Michael’s for crafty gifts for my daughters. The cinnamon-ish aroma when you walk in fades soon enough, and the red/green barrage can be avoided, but the music… so loud and laser-targeted at shoppers in those narrow aisles. Could. Not. Shop.
I would be totally fine with these soundtracks +/- 4 days of the actual holiday. But when presented for one-sixth of the year, it loses its luster.
Merry CHristmas!