I was, as is my habit, working in a coffee shop yesterday afternoon, editing videos to a background of the pop songs that now seem to be an inevitable part of Christmas. Whilst, by and large, I ignore the background noise when working in this way, these songs permeated my consciousness and left me with an uncomfortable feeling.
Might it be the case that most younger people now think that Christmas began in 1973? John Lennon, Mud, Roy Wood, Greg Lake and others all turned out Christmas hits around that time that must have guaranteed their financial well-being ever since so often have they been played. The only one I heard that appeared to be substantially more recent was Bill Nighy's version of ‘Christmas is All Around', and that is from ‘Love Actually', which is now well over twenty years old. All the rest appear to have been recorded when I was either a teenager or a very young man.
How was it, I wondered, that this very sugary period in pop history, for which I had remarkably little affection at the time, has come to define the whole Christmas period? Isn't it time that we learned to move on?
I am not suggesting that we need another load of new, sugary Christmas pop songs. I think Mariah Carey tried that, and as far as I can recall, she did not feature during my visit. I am simply suggesting that there must be better ways to celebrate Christmas, if we think it's important, than by listening to all that old tat all over again.
I went home to listen to some Rutter.
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“I was, as is my habit, working in a coffee shop yesterday afternoon”
I unexpectedly envisioned you were a barista too!
@ Raffeale,
I thought that too.
I also thought that “tat” was going to lead to a discourse about the amount of planet destroying plastics, much of them single use (whether designed that way or not), that get churned out every year.
Sorry to disappoint
@ Richard,
Not disappointed at all Sir.
No doubt there’ll be plenty of opportunities, if not necessarily here, to rail against the Festival of Excess over the next few weeks.
In the meantime I’ll content myself by railing against something that hasn’t been mentioned yet; cheesy cover versions! There’s many a classic, not just at Christmas, that’s been tortured over the years. Spare a thought for some of those in retail who have to listen to the muzak renditions, all day, for weeks on end.
I like the idea of Richard as a barista…
Customer: “How much do I owe you for the coffee?”
Barista: “It’s so nice to see you understand that money is nothing more than debt!”
Reminded me of a marxist plumber I once employed, who came at 8am sharp every morning but insisted on spending the first half hour (at least) talking about Althusser or Poulantzas. Thankfully, he was also the best plumber I’ve ever known.
I talk to baristas.
I know quite a number.
In few of my regular hanuts do I ever have to mention what I want.
But I have never thiught of crossing the bar. I think I am too old for that.
I quite enjoy listening to Christmas music though my enthusiasm for some of the well known popular songs released in the 70s and 80s does wane after a while (there is only so much of Slade and Shakin Stevens I can take). Quite a lot of these songs have become synonymous with a cliched, contrived and commercialised version of Christmas. The Band Aid hit, while well meaning at time, hasn’t aged particularly well with its lyrical content emblematic of a patronising western attitude towards Africa. There are still some stand out tracks from that era such as Fairytale of New York which is a very strong track in its own right. Since then besides Mariah Carey’s hit there have been very few festive tracks which have stood out in terms of originality, the quality of the tune and lyrics.
Some of the more endearing popular Christmas songs are the traditional ones recorded over 50 years ago such as the Phil Spector produced Sleigh Ride and Baby Come For Christmas and of course Bing Crosby’s White Christmas. Personally many of my favourite pieces of Christmas music predate the 20th Century with tunes such as Silent Night, The First Noel, O Holy Night, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Away in a Manger and Hark the Herald among others – Classic FM plays a lot of these tunes at this time of year. My favourite festive tracks from the pop/rock era tend to have little to do with Santa, presents or mistletoe. Two of my favourite tracks have very little to do with Christmas: 2000 Miles by the Pretenders was inspired by the death of their guitarist and Queen’s A Winter’s Tale was the last song written by Freddie Mercury before his death.
Thanks
I have to agree.
The only one I ever liked was the Wings/Paul McCartney one, and of course the Pretenders tune.
For me though, it’s the Christmas Carols. Silent Night is my favourite, but there are quite a few cracking tunes for choirs.
Christmas though – it’s all a bit hollow now I think. It should be a time of reflection and decision making to put things right. Good will to all men – I think not. We’re not all men for a start.
🙂
My favourite Christmas song is Cold White Christmas by Casiotone for the Painfully Alone.
https://youtu.be/pFdHv4tYvtM?si=YvquE3UxJApyRwGK
A nice antidote to the aforementioned sickly fare constantly pumped into our brains from the middle of November.
B’ah humbug!
A bit mournful but an excellent antidote to all the sugar coating. Thanks for introduction.
Greg Lake’s I Believe in Father Christmas is very much an anti – Christmas, ” they said there would be snow at Christmas, they said there would be peace on earth, instead it just kept on raining, a vail of tears for the virgin birth” ( apologies if this is a miss quote)
Christmas is a lovely time for refection and positive thought as somehow the world feels worryingly broken at the moment. I hope that as we move into next year that somehow so many of these problems can start to be addressed. Like you, I love more traditional music – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpRw54mDEZE
No! Richard, I must respectfully disagree.
“Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” is a novelty Christmas song written by Randy Brooks. There is nothing like the joy of hearing two 10 year old boys sing along with the radio to this song. Same thing with Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmas Time”.
The music was from ‘Love Actually” always generates delightful discussion by adults about the movie and its stars whenever one of the songs pops-up on the radio.
I find joy (and find it entertaining) in watching other people have a good time.
The Christmas season is short (six weeks) so I have no doubt that people who do not like all the commercialization and “tat” have the ability to just ignore it for six weeks.
I like bits of Christmas. Getting a tree, for example. Always a good bit. But 70s pop? No thanks!
SIX WEEKS???
10 days is about as much as I can take.
(Bah, humbug!)
Thank you. I read many a disparaging comment about “Grandma” at this time of year, so yours is a breath of fresh air. 🙂
At Christmas a couple of years ago, after I had survived a year of my treatment for kidney cancer, I really tried to celebrate Christmas in the most traditional way, artificial tree and all. A year earlier my ex-husband had flown in from Massachusetts to take care of me over the holiday when I was at my lowest point. Then last year although I was much better, distressed by the relentless bombing of Gaza, I could not choke down the happy, happy hypocrisy. Where is the ‘Peace on Earth”! I bought an artificial olive tree, the only ‘decoration’ a white peace dove. My Olive tree has remained in place all year long, as I will this horific genocide to come to an end. I do my best to help accomplish that goal by leading all of the National Gaza protest marches in London in my wheelchair.
Although I have happy memories of celebrations with my ex-husband’s family in the US, I have become thoroughly nauseated by the obscene commercialization of Christmas; it creeps earlier and earlier each year. I will never forget crashing through heavy seas crossing the bay of Biscay in a sailing boat heading North in late December. It seemed totally surreal hearing “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas” playing on the radio as we neared the UK to arrive on Christmas Eve. My best Christmas was spent aboard a Swan 65 sailing down to the Canary Islands from Mallorca. Off the coast of Africa we caught a Mahi Mahi fish on Christmas day to share between our six crew on deck in the midday sun. No bloated turkey dinner has ever excited me enough to eclipse that truly blissful memory.
As someone who grew up singing in school and church choirs (and others since) I am totally with you here! There are so many amazing Christmas carols from the Coventry Carol to (as you rightly note) Rutter’s many offerings that every year when the tired old “tat” starts (earlier and earlier) on the radio and in shops it sets my teeth on edge. However I would put in a plea for Kate Rusby’s Sweet Bells album if contemporary music is requested!
I have not heard that, and like Kate Rusby…I will look for it
Born in 1940 I have experienced all the styles of popular music since then. The first memories are of the Swing era . My parents were avid fans of Frank Sinatra , Nat King Cole and others. I have always loved that genre. Some of the greatest songs ever written and performed At 84 I still listen top them. Then came the start of Rock and Roll. I was in my teens. Some of that music was in my opinion excellent but some was rubbish. Most of it was American. Then the sixties arrived. I was in my 20s. Wonderful stuff . The British artists ruled the world. The Beatles,the Stones,Rod Stewart and many others still resonate and are played often because it was remarkable. The working class was emancipated and flourished in a way not possible before the 1945 Labour government released the talent. The same applies to actors. My boyhood friend Patrick Stewart became a world class actor. He would not have stood a chance prior to the freedom given to the working class by a democratic socialist government. I have so much to be thankful for being born when I was. My country is now a pariah state due to its support for depravity in Palestine. I leave this life having seen the best of times and now the worst of times.
Thanks
I enjoyed the Rutter – thank you. Have you heard Britten’s St Nicolas cantata?. First performed in 1948 and sometimes referred to as the real Father Christmas.
I have heard it, and enjoy it. But I suspect it is not for everyone. https://youtu.be/4wXSm0OpYR4?si=WeiB1haJKMA92uUL
there are many people (my ex-husband included) who believe that nothing written after 1899 can be classed as classical music! One day (whilst still married) I was playing some music and husband walked in and said ‘that is nice music’ – he saw my face and stated ‘oh – it is Britten’ – it was one of Britten’s early works and proved husband’s bias in that he liked it until he found that it was Britten! – My attitude is that we all have different tastes in music, and just because some people do not like a piece of music (I write really in the context of classical music), it does not make it bad! There are those who appreciate ‘tat’ (including Christmas tat) – but please do not make me listen to it! My none-classical tastes stop with beyond early 1970s music – I appreciate in particular music from the 1950s and 1960s – and then some of the 1920/1930 ‘easy listening’ music is very relaxing. Thanks for the youto. link. If you are interested, BBC iPlayer (BBC TV channel 4) is showing Britten’s Curlew River from Blythburgh church – as previously noted, it was performed there in June this year and 60 years since it was first performed – a wonderful line up of singers and production.
That would be worth looking at …..
Going off to search it now
Bah Humbug! Thank you for the John Rutter and as a further antidote in a more contemporary vein I offer you:
Cara Dillon ‘Upon a Winter’s Night’. Understated Christmas songs such as the Wexford Carol beautifully accompanied. We’ve seen her Christmas concert a couple of times and it is a delight
Putumayo ‘Christmas Around the World’. Songs and instrumentals from such diverse countries as Haiti, Cuba, Martinique and France. I defy anyone, except perhaps Scrooge, not to be uplifted by a Barbadian oil drum band’s rendition of ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’. An interlude of joy in troubled times
Merry Christmas!
You curmudgeon you!!
🙂
I suspect the ‘why’ is down to tradition. Traditions are reassuring, and possibly moreso than ever in our fast-paced and changing lives. Even if it’s tat, it’s familiar tat and comforting.
Besides, Fairytale of New York is clearly the best Christmas song of all time and can’t be improved on!
I admit that one is really good
Bob Dylan for all occasions. Punctuated by quadrophenia and some stones
This little video will cure you all, especially those of us of ‘a certain age’ – enjoy!
https://x.com/bagshaw2112/status/1863994367737729087?s=61&t=ucoL_hpjFYhpC56kXkOhKg
thank you – !! took me back, somewhere around the Goons, Monty P and et al – Peter Sellars would have loved it.
I do love Christmas carols and Christmas choral music, and The John Rutter Christmas Album is wonderful – one we have, and play a lot in Advent – especially to accompany meals around Christmas.
(I do admit to my guilty pleasures of Last Christmas by Wham – brilliant 80s tune (with a brilliant music video) – albeit played to death everywhere you go; and Wonderful Christmastime by Wings!)
Perhaps the greatest Christmas record of modern times: Rage Against the Machine and Killing in the Name in 2009.
Proof that the Internet can be a force for good, rallying people to come together and rebel against the crass commercialism and idea that marketing alone can dictate public taste (X-Factor).
Perhaps not quite Richard’s cup of coffee but a great rebellious non conformist message unsurprisingly censored from Xmas day Top of the Pops: “Fuck you I won’t do what you tell me!”
Killing in the name of was originally released in 1992…. It became a christmas tune in an orchestrated attempt to prevent one of Simon Cowell’s X Factor manufactured popstars becoming Christmas number 1
I was taught by one of my teachers, my O-Level Geography teacher if I remember correctly, to always question absolutely everything. To always ask why, and if you’re not satisfied with the answer, go and find out for yourself. I clearly remember thinking at the age of 14, yes! That I don’t have to accept anything in this world that is rammed down my throat without question. I later came to understand that this acceptance of traditions and what we are expected and supposed to enjoy is really just social conditioning – how we both think and behave. We are actively taught some of it, the rest we pick up from parents, wider family, school, friends, colleagues, our work environment, the media, the laws of the land, and our political and economic system. I will admit that to some degree social conditioning fosters social cohesion but I think it is still incumbent upon us all to ask ourselves: Did I choose to think this? Did I choose to behave like this? Or, are they patterns of thinking and acting that have been planted within me by others. Are my thoughts, my opinions, my perspectives and my way of functioning as a human being my own, or have I been pervasively taught to accept and embrace them by others? That was a very long winded way of saying Christmas and everything about it, pisses me off!
Then there is question, why are you frightened into complying?
Try listening to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwQR9I7V6Jg
Then seek out her Christmas album that it comes from, ‘Noel’ released in 1966.
I admit that was too evangelical for me
But that is the thing about music – its diversity is its strength
May I recommend my chosen music for Christmas, a charming mix of Bohemian pastoral and Baroque melodies.
If this doesn’t get your blood singing, I don’t know what will. Edmund Pascha Christmas Mass
https://youtu.be/urt9FwfIebY?si=_5siw_5cH_kiZshU
Thanks
I do love the way Rutter constructs his pieces. The interaction of the various building blocks has always fascinated me.
Now for something different ! this is swedish metal band Sabaton with Christmas Truce 1914 do listen all the way through before judging and on the biggest screen you can https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPdHkHslFIU
That was very good
Thank you
Recommended to others.
Before I rush to Christmas I try to savour the season of winter – already had snow a week back, and now steady heavy rain.
May I lob in a concert by Sting in Durham Cathedral? Some allusions to the Christmas Story can be heard. Was on the tellybox once upon a time – can now be watched on YT and I guess the album is available. Turn the lights low around you, hot choclate by the fire etc…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl1FnmSGj1Q&list=PLSXzW6Pr8txA7FSi1dFiX2QLASFsFFjbG
Thanks
On my viewing list
That appeals
May I suggest Mary Gathier’sChristmas in Paradise aa a more recent song with social meaning and non religious?
Actually, the musical Christmas pop tat we are constantly subjected to for months has its good side. Why? Because it has finally usurped the commercial overkill of traditional Christmas carols and songs.
When I was a child, the traditional carols got played in shops, ad infinitum. I got sick of hearing Silent Night, God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen, etc, before Thanksgiving—despite the fact I love these traditional songs.
And then suddenly that changed. Suddenly only ‘pop’ hits and Christmas Number Ones assaulted our ears everywhere we went during the extended season. Hooray! I do dislike these songs themselves—BUT their constant assault on the airwaves has finally restored the traditional carols I love to Christmas Eve and Day itself.
Instead of getting fed up with hearing Silent Night played 24/7 for months beforehand, everywhere I go, I can now go home on Christmas Eve and listen to this kind of traditional Christmas music and carols on my CD player—fresh, seasonal, and unspoiled!
Richard – did you find Curlew River? if so, were you suitably entertained? Interesting that originally it was to have been directed by Claire Van Kampen (in re Mark Rylance) and the baritone part was to have been sung by Peter Brathwaite. The quite late change of director to Deborah Warner did, I understand, cause some chaos with the seating, and both performances had already by then ‘sold out’. Neither Deborah Warner taking over, nor Marcus Farnsworth replacing Peter Brathwaite, in my mind, made the performance less intense and nor less enjoyable. The boy treble (the spirit of the boy) was sung from a very high platform in the rear of the church and sent shivers up and down my spine. Marcus Farnsworth is performing tomorrow (Sunday 8th) in Messiah (Buxton Musical Society – full orchestra and chorus, both splendid). I look forward to it with positive anticipation. Willard White is coming to Buxton Opera House in early May 2025. I wonder if anywhere is performing Britten’s Noye’s Fludde this weekend?
I have not watched yet
But we have flagged it
Maybe tonight….
And all noted
Thank you for intruducing me to John Rutter.
Once heard, not forgotten