Like many of us, most of my music time comes while navigating local streets. With the Holidays in full swing and my ipod transmitter broken I am at the mercy of the local radio stations to get me in the spirit. It's only been several days and I already don't like the mood they are creating.
A few thoughts on Christmas music and radio:
- There are literally thousands of Christmas songs and millions of different versions of those songs. Why do these stations stick to the same 500? I love Bing Crosby as much as the next patriotic American but let's put the daily limit on "White Christmas" at 15.
- The 40's, 50's, and 60's had to have been the golden years for the commercial Christmas song. Don Draper and his contemporaries gave us the classics like Rudolph, Frosty, and others all in the name of moving products at Macy's.
- Meanwhile the 80's gave as a horrible nadir in terms of quality music. Leave it to Wham, Paul McCartney, and the folks behind "do they know its Christmas" to stink it up so badly that it would be almost a full decade before we would see artists tread back into these lucrative holiday waters.
- If you are a successful musician making a Christmas song has to the lowest hanging fruit possible. Easy money, shooting fish in a barrel, you get my drift.
- There are few religious Christmas songs played on the radio today. The obvious exception is "O Holy Night". But I think that is because it showcases the range of the diva more than celebrating the traditional meaning for the season. Seriously, if you are an artist and you want to demonstrate your skill then this is the Christmas proving ground for you. "Little Drummer Boy" is another exception but, c'mon...how offensive is a he?
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