Christmas Music: Not So Cheery

In our house, we've been listening to Sufjan Stevens' Songs for Christmas. It's a collection of 5 EPs that Sufjan originally recorded to send out to his friends. I generally prefer not to listen to Christmas music, but I bought this CD set for Laura one Christmas after we spent a week constantly going back to NPR to stream Stevens' "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing". (That song has tragically been removed, from the LDS hymn book, but the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and others still perform it.)

There are definitely some songs/hymns that I really like, but the way that Christmas music has been treated does little to inspire me.

I am wary of any band or entertainer that puts out a Christmas album. I use that word "entertainer" loosely... it was the best I could think of at the moment so as not to use "musician" or "artist" which are more debatable terms under these circumstances. Christmas albums seem like a cheap shot at sales that somehow someone still concedes to produce as another offering to the undiscriminating masses. I consider the Sufjan Stevens EPs as a definite exception because he recorded 5 EPs over 6 years for friends and then decided to make it commercially available.

To me, most Christmas albums are a tribute to those who don't want to bother with making a real choice about what to listen to. "Harmless" is the only requirement. Just think about how many Christmas albums that fall into these categories: adult contemporary, country, and new age - a selection that runs from bland and blah to downright putrid. Just type in "Christmas" while searching for music on Amazon and you'll get a good picture of this bleak landscape. The inspiration that was required for Handel's Messiah or "Silent Night" is wrung out and replaced by the simple sales point of "hey, listen to me... I know all the words", not to mention the smothering by "original" compositions. bleh.

I think that the hardest part for me about Christmas music is how it is rolled into the mass marketing of the Holiday season. I am frightened of those, and I'm mainly talking about commercial enterprises, who play Christmas music as soon as the turkey's off the Thanksgiving table. Few things are more grating than the barrage of pop-culture mediocrity. There were some definite music fiends that I had to listen to as a missionary because of my inability to convince some of my missionary companions that any album with "Christmas" in the title was not automatically "inspirational" music -- Boyz II Men are definitely going to hell for what they've done.

Sufjan is half of the reason I am writing this post. The other half is because I heard a review of Bob Dylan's new Christmas album on NPR. After listening to the few samples of the songs that were included in that story, the first thing I'd like to say is: ¿Can someone please find Bob a losenge? His throat must be killing him..

Secondly, I do like Dylan's music. If you're not a fan of Bob or even dislike his music, one thing that can help you better appreciate his writing talent is to hear someone else sing his songs: Tim O'Brien's version of "Forever Young", nearly anyone's version of "Girl from the North Country", but I do like Sam Bush's rendition, and there are definite reasons why so many people have covered "Don'tThink Twice It's Alright" and "All Along the Watchtower".

With that preface, I have no idea why. ¿WHY?

¿WHY did Bob Dylan record a Christmas album?

Maybe you can listen to a track or two and tell me.

NPR's All Songs Considered has their yearly selection of Christmas Covers up and running, and The Annoying Music Show also has this year's post. Both programs have Bob Dylan, if that means anything.

* I stole the photo from New York Magazine.