After reading about – and listening to – Jonathan Aird’s Christmas tunes, I couldn’t help but chiming in with my own. These are all new recordings, although lots are covers.
Texan Presley Haile has been climbing the Americana charts with songs off her outstanding “Off To Find A Sunny Day” EP. But “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” was released as a single for the holiday season:
Luke Bryan and Ella Langley are smooth, if silly, in “Winter Wonderland.” Langley can spice a song with more southern accent than anyone since Reba or Loretta:
Tiera Kennedy seems to find a sweet spot between country, pop, and R&B. And she found a sweet song to cover in “Mary Did You Know”:
Virginian Morgan Wade has a smoky sound and uses it to great effect on “Same Old Lang Syne”:
We’ll wrap with a tune not particularly tied to the holidays. But hey, Chaparelle and Sierra Ferrell tell us about what happens “When it Snows in Texas” (pro tip: chaos):
Oh joy of joys! A christmas thread! Oh how my heart beats!
Not.
But at least it gives me the chance to rant which is one of my favourite things.
I don't engage with christmas myself. The enforced jollity, the compulsory commercialism, the plastic bonhomie, the absolute cultural ex-communication of nay sayers who'd rather just 'not' (resulting in the ignorant shorthand of labelling said nay sayers as 'grinch' or 'scrooge' or any other misunderstood reference you'd care to mention). All of these things serve to annoy me. These and the music we are FORCED to listen to in whatever form. Oh the music...
Name me a christmas song that you would listen to at any other time of year. No? Ah...
One of the most popular of these non-tunes appears to be "Do They Know Its Christmas" - a dirge cooked up with good enough intentions in response to the famine in Ethiopia in the last century. My response to the brain addled who insist "But surely Paul you must like this?" is thus:
The majority religion in Ethiopia is Ethiopian Orthodoxy, followed by P'ent'ay (a sort of evagenlical protestantism), followed by Islam, followed by Judaism. Need I point out that The Orthodox Church observes christmas in January? So: no - they don't know its christmas. Geldof and Ure should have done a little research there I feel. This line of argument makes a fun engagement when in pubs talking to amateur drinkers who venture into drinking venues at this time of year over a cacophony of non-tunes. I flatter myself to think that I have bested these idiots as they walk away shaking their heads.
However if I absolutely must play the game have this:
"Name me a christmas song that you would listen to at any other time of year"
Oh and
I can't even name one I'm prepared to listen to at Christmas!
Got to be this classic ~
My irritability keeps me alive and kicking
I generally dislike Christmas albums, but there are a few Christmas songs (and one album) that I can tolerate (or very much like in the case of the album)
Songs
Tom Waits - 'Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis'
The Black Crowes - 'Back Door Santa'
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - 'Christmas All Over Again'
Natalie Merchant - 'Children Go Where I Send Thee'
Joni Mitchell - 'River'
The Delines - 'Christmas in Atlantis'
and the album (okay, I accept it's not americana)
Dunedin Consort & Players - 'Handel: Messiah, Dublin Version, 1742'
@whilhem Just twigged that you're calling this 'holiday' instead of 'christmas'. Are you american? That's not a problem obviously but I find the fact that americans say 'happy holidays' rather than 'happy christmas' intriguing. People (UK centric) often talk about the christmas holidays but I find the description slightly irritating and quite patronising. In my line of work I have two days off (and have to doff my cap for that) whereas my significant other has three weeks. I do sometimes wonder if those blessed with a long lay off at this time of year understand what everybody else makes of their free time given that they work harder and for more hours than usual. The perils of being a peasant I guess. As soon as I score Twelve Days Of Christmas I'll be tempted to join in. In the meantime I've thought (silly how I forgot) of a really good non-christmas winter tune:
Side note: Steve 'Peregrine' Took accepted the gig with Bolan in order to pay the bills. He was proper counter culture material back in the day having a drug bust under his belt and being a proper hippy which Bolan admired. He played percussion and did backing vocals on the Tyrannosaurus Rex first three albums (this track is from 'Unicorn'). They played the first Glastonbury. He was a multi instrumentalist who hung out with The Pink Fairies, Sid Barrett et al. Sadly when he asked Bolan for writing credits and a chance to record some of his songs songs Bolan sacked him. Died in 1980 by choking on a cherry whilst high on mushrooms and morphine (so legend has it).
And - because I don't qualify for the 'happy' amongst the 'happy holiday' crowd - I'm forced, against my will, to serve you this. Its the next track on the album. On vinyl the gap must be something like a second and as I know it so well it feels like an itch I can't scratch not to play it here:
I'm done now other than to point out that the legendary Tony Visconti produced this and played the piano (which none of the other two were capable of).
