Christmas Music

 

There is a genre called “Christmas” music.

There are lots of types of music. Pop music, Hip Hop music, Dance music, Rock & Roll music, Swing music, Rhythm & Blues music, Techno music, Country music, etc. The list goes on and on, but there is only one type of music that is coming out of every speaker and headphone at the end of the year. The music is playing in the elevator. The music is playing in the grocery. The music is on every television program. There are special parades with this music. There are impressive orchestra presentations of this music. There are movies made about this music.

No other music overwhelms the ears during the 12^th month than “Christmas” music.

So how do everyone else adapt to this white Christian cultural event that has been promoted for years? Everyone joins in. Musicians, worth their salt, will either cover a “Christmas” song or write their own “Christmas” music. Seasonal commercialization 101.

“But wait,” you say, “Christmas music started a praising of the birth of the Son of God (today known as SOG)”. True. Cathedrals were constructed with outstanding acoustics for choirs to harmonize with words by contemporary composers who had no prior references.

Then words like “God” and “Jesus” started changing to little drummer boys’, frosty the snowman and of course Ole Saint Nick. A pious day of reverence turned into a party.

I heard every “Christmas” song since I was born. I’ve also heard most of the religious tunes too. I haven’t kept up with each year’s new batch but have a few favorites I play on Christmas day. Just to keep it real, I crank up the boom box outside and blast some “Christmas” music when it is 100 degrees in the shade. It is like ‘surf’ music when it snows.

So this year I decided to find all the variations of one of my favorite “Christmas” music and post one everyday. Many years ago I did a similar project to another popular song ‘Louie Louie’ and it stands the test of time.

This year as you are chomping on your fruitcake and slogging down your spiked eggnog, enjoy “Carol of the Bells”. You can sing along if you’d like.