It's that time of year again, by now your ears will be overwhelmed by the continual assault of this "music" all month long.
And must we start slipping Christmas music into the shops and malls as early as November? Is the 31 days of December not enough? I mean hell, that's 744 hours with which they can numb the mind, make us forget the meaning of Christmas, and turn us into shopping automatons.
Look, I'm not trying to be a complete scrooge, but honestly people, there's 31 days and there are not that many Christmas Carols. How many times must one endure the tired strains of Deck the Halls, Jingle Bells, or Silent Night? This last in particular sung by anyone who reckons they can sing, including TV stars.
Thus far this year, I have been fortunate to avoid much of this mind numbing, desensitising assault by virtue of my job. Working outdoors hath its benefits, though not many, for my face looks like someone mistook it for lobster, but perhaps its a small price to pay.
I can point out, happily that all is not lost. There are a handful of people that have produced excellent Christmas albums, and or songs.
Chris de Burgh wrote a song postulating that perhaps the star of Bethlehem was actually a UFO and it was an alien that marked his birth. I reckon that's believable.
Mr. Hanky's Christmas Album is worth a listen. There are a couple songs that do make me laugh. Laughing is good at Christmas. Take "Christmas Time in Hell", or the message from "Dead, Dead, Dead" or the slightly goofy "Carol of the Bells"... There are other songs on that album that make me laugh, but somehow they are not quite as Christmassy....
Twisted Sister made a Christmas album I genuinely like. Heavy metal music and Christmas go together surprisingly well.
And, last but not least, I must mention Sarah McLachan's Wintersong. A beautiful collection of songs, some favourites, some written specifically for the album. Including a song about death.
No comments:
Post a Comment