Wrapped in metal, wrapped in ivy

[sovay]

Driving around on errands, I seem to have discovered that my tolerance for Christmas music has zeroed out unless it falls into the class of traditional carols, i.e. can be used for wassailing, first appeared in Latin, was arranged once by Benjamin Britten. I relayed this sentiment to spatch and he promptly broke out SNL's "I Wish It Was Christmas Today." When we saw the news of the death of Dave Mallett, I played him my favorite version of the "Garden Song," from Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger's Precious Friend (1981). I remain entertained that the official website of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts had to put up a short post attesting to the historical reality of the Massachusetts Bay Colony's Penalty for Keeping Christmas 1659. The catchiest music I have heard on the radio lately—WHRB, natch—is almost certainly Auntie Christ's "I Don't" (1997). I am all for amending our still-critical drought, but these 100% chances of rain could be snow any time now.

Comments

[mrissa]

Hurrah, another Precious Friend fan. One of my college friends had that on tape and a very elderly car with a tape deck, and our whole crowd imprinted hard.

[asakiyume]

With you on the Christmas music!

[luzula]

May I recommend this album which is Swedish Christmas music from the folk tradition? A lot of it is wassailing music that combines the story of St Stephen (Staffan in Swedish) with things like "if you don't give us liquor we'll set fire to your barn".

[selkie]

Unexpectedly positive feature of running a synagogue: never ever Christmas music.

[theseatheseatheopensea]

I seem to have discovered that my tolerance for Christmas music has zeroed out unless it falls into the class of traditional carols, i.e. can be used for wassailing, first appeared in Latin, was arranged once by Benjamin Britten.

Relatable! My own categories are: songs my grandmother liked, songs that make fun of the hypocritical side of the holidays, and obviously Tom Waits and The Pogues. (And "Last Christmas", because it's a fun game!)

[thomasyan]

Have you heard of, I think it's called, manualism? Where you make differently pitched farting sounds with your hands to perform tunes? I think my inner kid would get a kick out of hearing many different tunes performed that way, including Pachelbel's Canon and "Hymne", the catchy jingle for Gallo Wine many years ago, and also the Star Wars theme.

Here's a rendition of aha's Take On Me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwxvOKuLUQ0

[gwynnega]

My two favorite Christmas songs are seventies glitter anthems: Wizzard's "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" and Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody," but I also like the Phil Spector and Ella Fitzgerald Christmas albums, and Al Green's version of "O Holy Night." I haven't heard any of these yet this season, so I'll probably just end up playing them myself!

[swan_tower]

unless it falls into the class of traditional carols, i.e. can be used for wassailing, first appeared in Latin, was arranged once by Benjamin Britten

Hey, I finally have a way to describe my taste in Christmas music!

(Special exception made for "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.")

[choco_frosh]

Joining the chorus on the Christmas music thing! I mean, I obviously don't have the this is not my religion and so I wish they wouldn't blare it at me constantly that some of my friends have, but ARGHHHHH.

(This is part of why I started a Winter Songs collection.)

"Last Christmas" may be more of a British thing?

[rushthatspeaks]

I would like to put in a good word here for Sufjan Stevens' Christmas music, which comes in two categories: one, traditional etc. as you have summed up, and he's very good at it; and two, things like 'Did I Make You Cry On Christmas? (Well, You Deserved It!)', 'Get Thee Behind Me, Santa', and 'Christmas Unicorn', which contains the entirety of Joy Division's original rendition of 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'.