Sunday, Dec. 03, 2006

Sing it With Me

Signing on for the Holidailies Prompt of the Day, we shall now discuss the following:

"Holiday music: essential part of the season, or 'no way, it makes my ears bleed'?"

Or, rather, I'll tell you how I feel about it, and you can discuss with your family and friends how big a nutjob I am.

I love holiday music. Well, most of it -- I really don't find much value in the "novelty" songs or the "funny" (in quotes, because they ain't) songs. Dogs barking "Jingle Bells" is an aural assault, and the person or persons involved in the creation, recording, and distribution of said assault should be appropriately charged, booked, found guilty and hoisted up a flagpole so that everyone can throw fruitcake at them.

But the "regular" holiday tunes? Abso-freaking-lutely. I don't listen to holiday music before Thanksgiving, because it just seems wrong to put it on before then, but from the last week of November to January 1? It is totally ON.

For me, Christmas just isn't Christmas without Perry Como singing "O Holy Night", for example. And we're not a particularly religious group, my family, but there's just something beautiful and majestic about "Joy to the World" and "Away in a Manger" and "What Child is This?" I love to listen to the various artists who release these songs, the different effects and twists their various voices and arrangements have on the tune. My absolute favorite "modern" carol is "God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen" by the Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan. I love both BNL and Sarah separately, and putting them together, with that song? Magic. Three minutes of musical magic. I also enjoy the fun songs, too -- "Deck the Halls", "Frosty the Snowman", and "The 12 Days of Christmas".

I love to sing Chrismas songs, too, either with a choral group, or just along with the radio. I started with my Girl Scout group, when I was around 7, and we'd go to rest homes and sing holiday songs for the elderly folks. Since then, I've been in a variety of holiday/winter performances. I love performing them, singing with them, because I love the songs.

So, up with holiday music, for the beauty in the words and in the music woven beneath them. But let's get rid of those stupid barking dogs.

saturncat at 11:08 p.m.

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