ladynorbert: (saywhat)
Lady Norbert ([personal profile] ladynorbert) wrote2006-12-10 04:06 pm

The Christmas Carol Rant

This is a bit of a tradition for me. Every holiday season, I complain about the Christmas carols I feel should be retired. Generally the same ones from year to year, but here's this year's list.

1. "Sleigh Ride" -- Let's see. First of all, unless you specifically go to a place where such things are offered, nobody goes for sleigh rides anymore (except Santa, of course). I certainly don't know anyone who uses the expression "Yoo hoo," unless they're talking about a chocolate soft drink. The outdated-ness of the song gets on my nerves, but I could overlook that factor if it was fun to listen to. I don't find it to be. I just find it irritating.

2. "It's the Holiday Season" -- I think this is the name of the song, but I'm not positive. Where "Sleigh Ride" merely annoys me, I hate this song with the burning passion of a thousand fiery suns. It gets stuck in my head and bugs the hell out of me for days on end. Plus it's one of those obnoxious songs with nonsense words in it. "So loop-de-loo, and dickory dock, and don't forget to hang up your sock." In other words, they couldn't think of any real words that fit the rhyme scheme and rhythm, so they made shit up. I HATE that. If you're gonna sing a song, make sense.

3. "Jingle Bells" -- Yes. I hate the old JB. Well, hate is a bit strong; it's bouncy and the refrain doesn't bother me. Even the first verse (the one everyone knows) isn't so bad. It's the other verses that get on my nerves, being about as socially relevant as "Sleigh Ride."

4. "Believe" -- Josh Groban, I love your voice. And the lemody vs. melody thing doesn't bother me too much, really. But you are incredibly overplayed by my local radio stations, and so even though Christmas is more than two weeks away, I'm already tired of this song.

5. "Christmas Shoes" -- This song gets turned off the instant I recognize that it's what I'm hearing. I hate, hate, hate this tug-at-your-heartstrings thing about a kid buying new shoes for his dying mother. Is it a beautiful song? Yes. Is it moving and socially relevant? Yes and yes. But it makes me cry, every time (partly because my own mother was on her deathbed a few Christmases ago), and I resent being made to cry while I'm trying to drive.

[identity profile] melydia.livejournal.com 2006-12-11 12:53 pm (UTC)(link)
I agree that the old JB needs to be retired, but for me it's because I've heard too many grade schoolers singing it at dirge speed. It doesn't help that it's usually the second or third song one learns when picking up a new instrument, giving me flashbacks to middle school band concerts.

Sleigh Ride doesn't bother me, but I'm not about to tell someone their opinion about a song is wrong. (But I also might be more tolerant of such attitudes since my best friend hates everything about Christmas, the music especially.)

I've never heard the other three, though that sounds like a good thing. I've heard several people griping about that Christmas Shoes song in particular.