If only capitalistic ventures and common sense went hand-in-hand. Although Christmas is still well over a month away, the music that accompanies the season is on display at multiple retail stores, playing in heavy rotation on select radio stations, and fueling nostalgic thoughts of winter nights in front of the fireplace for many of my collegiate colleagues. I’m a bit of a Grinch when it comes to the holiday season; if I had my way, Christmas music would only be played during the two weeks prior to the 25th. Since I can’t reverse the trends of Americans, consumerism, and their tendency to beat every single holiday to death with a stick, I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon and breakdown my shortlist of Christmas albums worth listening to. Here goes.
At the top of the list is A Charlie Brown Christmas, performed by the wonderful Vince Guaraldi and his Trio. This album has been a staple in my life for as long as I can remember, and has become even more influential as I have delved deeper into the art of jazz. Although I try to regulate myself to A Boy Named Charlie Brown during the other eleven months of the year, a track off of the holiday version occasionally creeps on to my playlist. It can’t be helped. Guaraldi’s exquisite piano-playing is served up on a gold platter, and his arrangements of classic Christmas carols are impeccable to say the least. Timeless songs such as “O Tannenbaum” and “Greensleeves” bookend the record, pushed along by delicate shuffle beats and textured with Guaraldi’s almost-signature syncopation of famous melodies. Inside the record are Vince Guaraldi originals, including the easily-recognizable “Linus and Lucy,” the swirling, care-free “Skating,” and, my personal favorite, the instrumental version of “Christmas Time is Here.” Guaraldi utilizes minor thirds throughout the melody of the song, invoking a feeling not of sadness and despair- as minor intervals so often do- but one of nostalgia and contentment. It’s a little unorthodox, but it works in this context. Regardless of where I am, but especially when I’m away from home, hearing this song makes me slow down and appreciate everything about the Christmas season. I think that’s what I love about this record. It’s not a contemporary pop artist putting their spin on a standard Christmas tune; it’s not loud, upbeat, or in-your-face. Every time I hear a track off of this album, I can picture the scene it corresponds to in the television special, and I think that’s a nod to it’s timelessness. Vince Guaraldi created true art within truly commercial confines, and I think that speaks to the amount of musicianship and brilliance this man had. If your Christmas playlist on Pandora starts to get old, go out and buy a record player and this album. Or at least look it up on Youtube.
Turning to the realm of pop music but by no means out of the realm of extremely talented and gifted musicians, I propose to you the option of Sufjan Stevens’ Songs For Christmas. The five-disc set is a collection of EPs privately released by the singer-songwriter to his friends and family between 2001 and 2006 before being made available to the general public. As with A Charlie Brown Christmas, Songs For Christmas is a solid mixture of traditional Christmas songs and original compositions. Stevens’ devout attention to Christianity comes into play with this compilation. Many of the pre-existing songs he chose to record have roots in sacred music (i.e. “Angels We Have Heard on High”), while the new tracks have a definite underlying Christian theme. Surprisingly, that’s perfectly okay with me. While I am in no way religious, I do recognize and appreciate the true meaning and significance of Christmas, and I very much prefer hearing renditions of true Christmas carols, as opposed to commercially-influenced music. That being said, these recordings still ooze the eclectic essence that is Sufjan Stevens, and any fans of his, or of quirky folk music in general, will be very pleased. Banjos are bountiful, along with sparse horn sections, assorted mallet percussion, and the ever-popular arpeggiated acoustic guitar lines. If you are looking to go a step further than what Vince Guaraldi has to offer and find a set of songs truly sobering and pensive, yet accompanied by beautiful instrumentation, look no further than to what Sufjan Stevens has to offer.
Now, any pre-conceived notions you may have developed about me while reading my previous two recommendations will hopefully be erased by this next album. As much as I’d like to listen to introspective and technically brilliant Christmas music exclusively, I need to indulge in a bit of light-heartedness for my sanity’s sake. Thank God for She and Him. The quirky indie pop duo just dropped their brand-new Christmas album, sensibly titled A Very She and Him Christmas, last week. Containing twelve very secular holiday songs, the album isn’t particularly upbeat, but, nonetheless, meets my quota of necessary light-heartedness. The naive and carefree personalities of characters that Zooey Deschanel portrays on screen weave their way into her singing voice quite easily; her rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” would fit right into the context of Elf, and I can picture Summer Finn and Tom Hansen dueting on “Baby It’s Cold Outside.” M. Ward certainly pulls his weight throughout the album as well, providing an acoustic backdrop for Deschanel’s vocals on tracks like “Blue Christmas” and “Christmas Day,” along with a truly awesome blues-ballad guitar line on “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Perhaps Ward’s most impressive moment is his gritty blues solo over the melody of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” the end of which is reminiscent of George Thorogood at his heyday.
So there you have it. Even amidst all of the typical droll played on supermarket loudspeakers, quality Christmas music really does exist. To add to the excitement, Sea Wolf is releasing an EP of holiday-flavored tunes later in the month which should supplement this list even further. If you absolutely despise holiday music, I can guarantee that you’ll enjoy at least one of the three albums. I would know; I used to be just like you.
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Holiday Playlist Alternatives
Sam ClarkNov 9, 2011 2 Comments
If only capitalistic ventures and common sense went hand-in-hand. Although Christmas is still well over a month away, the music that accompanies the season is on display at multiple retail stores, playing in heavy rotation on select radio stations, and fueling nostalgic thoughts of winter nights in front of the fireplace for many of my collegiate colleagues. I’m a bit of a Grinch when it comes to the holiday season; if I had my way, Christmas music would only be played during the two weeks prior to the 25th. Since I can’t reverse the trends of Americans, consumerism, and their tendency to beat every single holiday to death with a stick, I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon and breakdown my shortlist of Christmas albums worth listening to. Here goes.
At the top of the list is A Charlie Brown Christmas, performed by the wonderful Vince Guaraldi and his Trio. This album has been a staple in my life for as long as I can remember, and has become even more influential as I have delved deeper into the art of jazz. Although I try to regulate myself to A Boy Named Charlie Brown during the other eleven months of the year, a track off of the holiday version occasionally creeps on to my playlist. It can’t be helped. Guaraldi’s exquisite piano-playing is served up on a gold platter, and his arrangements of classic Christmas carols are impeccable to say the least. Timeless songs such as “O Tannenbaum” and “Greensleeves” bookend the record, pushed along by delicate shuffle beats and textured with Guaraldi’s almost-signature syncopation of famous melodies. Inside the record are Vince Guaraldi originals, including the easily-recognizable “Linus and Lucy,” the swirling, care-free “Skating,” and, my personal favorite, the instrumental version of “Christmas Time is Here.” Guaraldi utilizes minor thirds throughout the melody of the song, invoking a feeling not of sadness and despair- as minor intervals so often do- but one of nostalgia and contentment. It’s a little unorthodox, but it works in this context. Regardless of where I am, but especially when I’m away from home, hearing this song makes me slow down and appreciate everything about the Christmas season. I think that’s what I love about this record. It’s not a contemporary pop artist putting their spin on a standard Christmas tune; it’s not loud, upbeat, or in-your-face. Every time I hear a track off of this album, I can picture the scene it corresponds to in the television special, and I think that’s a nod to it’s timelessness. Vince Guaraldi created true art within truly commercial confines, and I think that speaks to the amount of musicianship and brilliance this man had. If your Christmas playlist on Pandora starts to get old, go out and buy a record player and this album. Or at least look it up on Youtube.
Turning to the realm of pop music but by no means out of the realm of extremely talented and gifted musicians, I propose to you the option of Sufjan Stevens’ Songs For Christmas. The five-disc set is a collection of EPs privately released by the singer-songwriter to his friends and family between 2001 and 2006 before being made available to the general public. As with A Charlie Brown Christmas, Songs For Christmas is a solid mixture of traditional Christmas songs and original compositions. Stevens’ devout attention to Christianity comes into play with this compilation. Many of the pre-existing songs he chose to record have roots in sacred music (i.e. “Angels We Have Heard on High”), while the new tracks have a definite underlying Christian theme. Surprisingly, that’s perfectly okay with me. While I am in no way religious, I do recognize and appreciate the true meaning and significance of Christmas, and I very much prefer hearing renditions of true Christmas carols, as opposed to commercially-influenced music. That being said, these recordings still ooze the eclectic essence that is Sufjan Stevens, and any fans of his, or of quirky folk music in general, will be very pleased. Banjos are bountiful, along with sparse horn sections, assorted mallet percussion, and the ever-popular arpeggiated acoustic guitar lines. If you are looking to go a step further than what Vince Guaraldi has to offer and find a set of songs truly sobering and pensive, yet accompanied by beautiful instrumentation, look no further than to what Sufjan Stevens has to offer.
Now, any pre-conceived notions you may have developed about me while reading my previous two recommendations will hopefully be erased by this next album. As much as I’d like to listen to introspective and technically brilliant Christmas music exclusively, I need to indulge in a bit of light-heartedness for my sanity’s sake. Thank God for She and Him. The quirky indie pop duo just dropped their brand-new Christmas album, sensibly titled A Very She and Him Christmas, last week. Containing twelve very secular holiday songs, the album isn’t particularly upbeat, but, nonetheless, meets my quota of necessary light-heartedness. The naive and carefree personalities of characters that Zooey Deschanel portrays on screen weave their way into her singing voice quite easily; her rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” would fit right into the context of Elf, and I can picture Summer Finn and Tom Hansen dueting on “Baby It’s Cold Outside.” M. Ward certainly pulls his weight throughout the album as well, providing an acoustic backdrop for Deschanel’s vocals on tracks like “Blue Christmas” and “Christmas Day,” along with a truly awesome blues-ballad guitar line on “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Perhaps Ward’s most impressive moment is his gritty blues solo over the melody of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” the end of which is reminiscent of George Thorogood at his heyday.
So there you have it. Even amidst all of the typical droll played on supermarket loudspeakers, quality Christmas music really does exist. To add to the excitement, Sea Wolf is releasing an EP of holiday-flavored tunes later in the month which should supplement this list even further. If you absolutely despise holiday music, I can guarantee that you’ll enjoy at least one of the three albums. I would know; I used to be just like you.
Related Posts: