Happy Christmas, Everyone!
As it is a season of giving and sharing, I’d like to present you not one but two playlists this month. First one, the just right in time before Christmas is a yearly holiday themed selection. Second one, bearing December’s gifts, and the bests of the bests of 2019, will arrive a week later.
Even though it is supposed to be the time of joy, magic and giving, I have noticed in the recent years that Christmas is increasing getting on peoples’ nerves. The fact that the commercial Christmas season starts on the heels of Halloween, or even earlier, doesn’t help it at all. The shopping frenzy and the pressure to find the right gifts resulting in anxiety, high blood pressure nausea and a lengthy credit card bill, can put anyone off the celebrations. What supposed to be calm and magical, became intense and calculated. I, myself, have an ambiguous relationship with “the holy jolly” season. I really do enjoy some of its aspects. The thrill of pre-Christmas anticipation, the seasonal food and drink, the prospect of getting together with people I care about, the decorations (in moderation) and, of course, the Christmas music. The last element occupies a large chunk of my heart. Christmas music itself covers a lot of ground; from the tradition of carolling to the modern festive pop novelties; from the carefree, life affirming tunes to the poignant accounts of the holiday loneliness and depression; a lot goes into the big bag of Christmas music. The majority of my favourite artists have attempted a Christmas tune as some stage of their artistic career, one way or another. There are few types of Christmas tunes that put me in the festive mood: the old-time swing tunes (DINAH WASHINGTON, DORIS DAY), the jazzy renditions of the traditional carols (OSCAR PETERSON), the vintage soul numbers (PERCY SLEDGE), the cheeky indie versions of festive classics (THE BLOSSOMS) and the electro pop miniatures (TAKEN BY TREES). I enjoy when electronic producers rewire the Christmas standards into something new (TRENTEMØLLER, DELICATE STEVE) and when alternative bands scrape the cheese right off beloved pop tunes or give Yuletide a satirical twist (MAGNETIC FIELDS). I also really appreciate the original compositions, which expand the holiday songbook every year, especially the tranquil snowed in folky ballads (PHOEBE BRIDGES, KASEY MUSGRAVES, MOLLY BURCH), the wryly inverted X-mass songs by the angry guitars bands (PALMA VIOLENS, SEAFANG) and the moving and honest accounts of Christmas downsides. All of them capture a different fragment of the emotional complexity this season brings.
Nonetheless, a lot of these are actually really enjoyable pieces of music regardless of their context and main purpose, whether they are original song or covers. The main problem with Christmas music is that you can only really listen to it during certain time of the year. You could, of course, blast Phil Spector’s Christmas album out of the speakers though your windows in June, but that would be slightly out of place and feel little odd. That’s what makes the festive tunes more appealing, like the certain foods you can only have at Christmas. Many of us look forward to hearing them again.
“The Christmas Mix-Up 2019” is the fourth edition of the holiday mixtape for TakeYourSeats, and a digital extension of my own tradition. For over a decade now I have been putting together an alternative soundtrack for myself and my family and friends. Something of a music playing postcard. Some people put their babies or cats on the Christmas cards, I put songs. And as much as I like to complaint over radio stations dropping “Last Christmas” way too early every year, I also go through a lot music of holiday music, including that song’s inevitable cover (JAMES WYATT CROSBY), much ahead the Christmas time. And I won’t deny it, that it’s an enjoyable activity. And as always, the result is a collection of music by artists I enjoy listening to, the ones from the past (PATTI LABELLE, SALSOUL ORCHESTRA) and the present (FEET, STEADY HOLIDAY, GINGER ROOT).
I’d like to believe that this selection will rub a little tension out of your shoulders, energize you for the celebrations and will put you in the festive mood. Enjoy!
A Happy Christmas to You All!
