As the nights draw in, the days get shorter and the rain gets colder, it’s easy to see that winter has arrived. Well, not for me, because I’m at university in Manchester so it’s always dark and raining. However, for others located not quite as close to the Arctic Circle, I’m told that winter has arrived. November is a hideous month for us students; as well as the darkness making it more difficult to motivate oneself for those hateful 9ams, the month is riddled with deadlines, dwindling loans and a heightened dependence on alcohol. Or is that just me?
There is, however, one thing which has aided the pain of November for me, and by proxy, my flatmate. Christmas music. That’s right. Come at me.
“NO.”
“No, Christmas starts on December 1st.”
“IT’S TOO EARLY.”
“Oh God, you’re one of those.”
I have been met with the above by practically everyone I know. Let me justify myself: I don’t care. No matter what anyone says or how many people complain and roll their eyes, you cannot deny that Christmas music is brilliant. It just is. It’s so happy, so energetic and full of excitement. I’m not even necessarily talking about your average Slades and Muds here, because even, even I roll my eyes at the introduction of Merry Christmas Everybody. However…
Take Wizzard’s I Wish It Could be Christmas Every Day. It’s absurd. There’s so much going on that you can listen to it 9 times and still find a new detail. Kelly Clarkson’s Underneath the Tree (a recently discovered work of magic which has become a fast favourite) and Step Into Christmas, a brilliantly colourful work of instrumental genius with a bassline that fills me with festive joy the minute I hear it. I adore Last Christmas, which will never cease to be a beautiful song for me lyrically and musically, no matter what my brother says. I’m so sick of Fairytale of New York but it does have an annoying nostalgia to it. And of course, nobody, I don’t care who you are, nobody, can resist Mariah. Don’t even try.
I have to point out a special one – imagery is an important factor in Christmas music and many successfully capture this, but few do so as authentically as White Christmas. It’s the one that even the I-do-my-shopping-on-Christmas-Eve Grinches are fond of. It’s the ultimate Christmas song; warm, sophisticated, simple, beautifully crafted and reminiscent of a Christmas before Slade and Mariah Carey – a glorious image for most, I’m sure.
But it isn’t all about the mainstream Christmas music. I wouldn’t be the annoying music snob that I am if I didn’t point out a few underrated favourites. One of these is Greg Lake’s I Believe in Father Christmas.This is one of the songs in my household which is worshipped by everyone – a rare occurrence, I assure you. In a similar vein, In Dulce Jubilo is performed every year by my brother on Christmas morning for my mum. Other tunes played frequently are the Waitresses’ Christmas Wrapping, Little Saint Nick by the Beach Boys and A Spaceman Came Travelling, though the latter is so loathed by my brother that even the first three seconds causes him to break out in hives.
There are so many things to love about Christmas music; the excitement they conjure from the off and the richness and warmth they wrap you in. Images of blazing log fires, blankets, mulled wine, cosy evenings and the smell of the Christmas tree as the light glints off the decorations all come to mind as the music begins to infiltrate daily life. As well as this, they’re (mostly) really well-written songs. Christmas music is, in a way, very inspirational as a songwriting tool. Layered with interesting and often complex instrumentation, along with an onslaught of melodic genius, a good Christmas song is timeless. Christmas is such an extravagant occasion, so why not make the music to match? It’s the one time of year where we’re allowed to embrace bells and brass bands left right and centre. So to all those who have pooh-poohed my choice of listening to Christmas music before it’s socially acceptable to do so, I say the following: bah humbug, you miserable git.
