The CHIRP Blog
It's the holiday season, which means Christmas music. Lots and lots or Christmas music, most of which was written before the people listening to it were even alive. While "Jingle Bells" and "We Three Kings" are great, and resilient, we're devoting this year to finding the best Christmas song written since 1989. We continue today with #4, and Of Montreal's guide to a twee Christmas.
#4: Of Montreal, "My Favorite Christmas (In A Hundred Words or Less)" (1997)
When Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes more or less disowned his band's early work in a 2011 interview with Pitchfork's Larry Fitzmaurice, I was majorly bummed. For me, albums like Cherry Peel and The Gay Parade were pinnacles of the '90s psych revival, not, as Barnes described them, "naive and sweet and not all that competent." However, I can get over disses on my favorite albums. What really upset me about Barnes' stance was how it helped push one of the best Christmas songs (and compilations) of the '90s even deeper into obscurity.
"My Favorite Christmas (In A Hundred Words or Less)" came out in 1997 on Christmas In Stereo, the first holiday compilation by Kindercore Records. Before compilations like The O.C. soundtrack and the Maybe This Christmas series brought Christmas music into the 2000s indie mainstream, the folks on Kindercore were turning out terrific original holiday compositions that hardly anyone was hearing. These weren't just no-name bands, either; Kindercore was the second home of Elephant 6 acts like Dressy Bessy, the Essex Green, and the Olivia Tremor Control, as well as then-emerging groups like Kings of Convenience and I Am the World Trade Center. Released just before the Napster revolution and now out of print, Christmas In Stereo and its sequel, Christmas Two, have always lurked at the edges of availability. However, they remain two of the strongest full-length efforts of new holiday music released in the last two decades.
Of all of the bands on those two albums, Of Montreal now has the highest profile. They're also the only act to appear twice, each time turning in the best track. "My Favorite Christmas (In A Hundred Words or Less)" is especially fantastic, reading like a manual for twee holiday celebrations everywhere. It would've been great a fantastic addition to the Elephant 6 Holiday tours from a few years back, but Barnes' busy touring schedule (and reluctance to look backward) prevented his group from taking part. Maybe one day, the the Ghost of Christmas Past will take a break from tormenting Scrooge and show Barnes the error of his ways. Until then, we'll just listen from here.
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It's the holiday season, which means Christmas music. Lots and lots or Christmas music, most of which was written before the people listening to it were even alive. While "Jingle Bells" and "We Three Kings" are great, and resilient, we're devoting this year to finding the best Christmas song written since 1989. We continue today with #5, and a completely unironic Christmas love song from Badly Drawn Boy.
#5: Badly Drawn Boy, "Donna and Blitzen" (2002)
Although it's not generally included in the holiday movie pantheon, About A Boy has sneakily become one of my favorite Christmas movies of the last few decades. Part of that might come from its treatment of the holiday music industry; as Will Freeman, Hugh Grant spends the movie repulsed by (and beholden to) a Christmas song, written by his father, whose assured annual ascendence up the charts keeps him flsuh with royalties and devoid of his own artistic expression. That grim little layer of context makes it hard to listen to tracks like "Winter Wonderland" or "Sleigh RIde" and not imagine the Wills they might've created.
For a movie critical of holiday music, though, About A Boy pulled no punches when it came to its own contribution to the songbook. Written by Damon Gough (aka Badly Drawn Boy), "Donna and Blitzen" skips the jadedness of the movie's early acts and goes right for the emotional fragility. It's a lovely, sentimental piano ballad that, in a different world, could've been a sunnier companion piece to "Fairytale of New York." If Gough earns any royalties from this one this year, I hope he buys himself something nice.
It's the holiday season, which means Christmas music. Lots and lots or Christmas music, most of which was written before the people listening to it were even alive. While "Jingle Bells" and "We Three Kings" are great, and resilient, we're devoting this year to finding the best Christmas song written since 1989. We continue today with #6, and a genuinely sexy Christmas song from Casper and the Cookies.
#6: Casper and the Cookies, "Kiss Me Beneath the Christmas Tree" (2007)
Finally, a track for all of you sexually frustrated college kids out there. When you're in school, Christmas can be a drag. You're back at home with nothing to do, you're in your parents' house as a guest instead of a resident, and, more likely than not, your signficant other is hundreds of miles away. Judging by "Kiss Me Beneath the Christmas Tree," Casper and the Cookies totally understand. The song is a strutting, glam ode to the fantasies of snowbound young adults everywhere. Also of note: it manages to be sexy without being skeevy (looking at you, "Baby It's Cold Outside").
In addition to its objective merits, the song also stands out for me as one of the rare moments of one-hit-wonderdom in my personal collection. I downloaded it in 2007 on a Christmas-music binge, loved it, and then managed to go seven years (and counting) without hearing another song by the band. I'm sure they're great, and have lots of other tunes that rival or surpass this one. But I like the spot they occupy in my playlists now: a once-a-year treat in the form of an almost-perfect pop Christmas tune.
It's the holiday season, which means Christmas music. Lots and lots or Christmas music, most of which was written before the people listening to it were even alive. While "Jingle Bells" and "We Three Kings" are great, and resilient, we're devoting this year to finding the best Christmas song written since 1989. We continue today with #7, and one of many, many possible entries from Sufjan Stevens.
#7: Sufjan Stevens, "Come On! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance!" (2003)
By my count, Sufjan Stevens has written, recorded, and released 37 original Christmas songs since 2001, making him far and away the most prolific holiday artist on this countdown. That's not even counting the the 63 other new arrangements and covers of other people's carols that populate his two (!) Christmas boxsets, 2006's Songs for Christmas and 2012's Silver & Gold. It's also not counting any he's written since 2012; those boxsets are, of course, compilations of annual Christmas records that Stevens first distributes among friends and family.
What Frank Zappa is to experimental music and Guided By Voices is to lo-fi indie rock, Sufjan Stevens is to modern holiday tunes.
Choosing one of his originals for this list obviously proved daunting. Hell, limiting myself to just one of his songs was equally hard. In the end, though, I gave my vote to "Come On! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance!", which first appeared on 2003's Ding! Dong!: Songs for Christmas, Vol. III. For me, the song always stood out for its accurate portrayal of how I experienced Christmas as a kid.
The holiday is a sensory overload, with mundane changes (stores are closed! relatives are here!) getting jumbled up with massive metaphysical beliefs (it's the birthday of mankind's savior!). Stevens noticed that, too, and turned the jumble into a kinda-sweet, kinda-sad reflection on youthful existence. It's a powerful song, underneath its ramshackle poppiness, and articulates an idea that I've felt for years, but could never express.
