Christmas Songs

[poliphilo]

Ugh- Christmas music!

I'm not talking about carols or even Christmas hymns- I like a lot of those. I'm talking about Christmas pop songs. Aren't they horrible?

And inescapable at this time of year: Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Slade, Wizard, Cliff Richard.

The chingly sleigh bells, the fake bonhomie. Like being backed into a corner by a sentimental drunk with mincepie breath.

There are only two Christmas songs I can stand. The first is White Christmas. Well,  it's Irving Berlin and Irving Berlin was a mensch. And the second is the Pogues' Fairytale of New York.

"You scumbag, you maggot, you cheap, lousy faggot"- ah now, there's the true spirit of Christmas!  

Comments

[four-thorns.livejournal.com]

what, technically, is the definition of a "carol"?

also, nobody's mentioned All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth. two years ago, my brother actually got his two front teeth knocked out about two days before christmas. maybe it's mean, but i had a field day with that.

[baritonejeff.livejournal.com]

A Christmas carol (also called a noël) is a carol (song or hymn) whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas, or the winter season in general. They are traditionally sung in the period before and during Christmas. The tradition of Christmas carols hails back as far as the thirteenth century, although carols were originally communal songs sung during celebrations like harvest tide as well as Christmas. It was only later that carols began to be sung in church, and to be specifically associated with Christmas.

A popular urban legend was that they were named after a little girl named Carol Poles who disappeared in 1888 in the Whitechapel district of London. According to the legend, the little girl was reported missing around Christmas and many people went searching for her at night. Due to fears concerning Jack the Ripper, the group would sing Christmas carols upon knocking in order to declare their good intentions

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

A carole is a ring dance. So carols were dance music before they mutated into something else. They go back to the late middle ages (at least). Baritonejeff says they're always associated with Christmas, but I don't think that's true. I can't provide chapter and verse, but I believe there are secular carols as well as carols for other Christian feast days.

Since writing the above I've checked with Wikipedia and, yeah, it backs me up.

I don't know what the modern definition of carol would be. I don't suppose there is one.

All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth- I'd forgotten that one. What a classic!

[four-thorns.livejournal.com]

hmm. i just asked because you seemed to be making a distinction between carols and pop christmas songs, and i'm not sure what it is.

but i do agree with you-- when i think about it, the only christmas songs i like are the religious ones (o holy night, what child is this, etc), although i do really like "have yourself a merry little christmas". there's something very melancholy about it: "though the years we all will be together if the fates allow" always gets me; there are few christmas songs that acknowledge that 1) bad stuff happens and 2) there's nothing you can do about it