Katharine Whitehorn, journalist
As I get into the Christmas spirit, I have assembled all our holiday songs onto the iPod. It’s rather convenient to start from the top with Ray Davies’ “Thanksgiving Day” or play straight through from Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Diana Krall, Vince Guaraldi, Jane Monheit, Kenny G, Wynton Marsalis, The Tonight Show Band with Doc Severson, Jethro Tull to the one off specialties from "A Very Special Christmas" that features, Bruce Springsteen, Eurythmics, Stevie Nicks, Madonna, Bryan Adams, Bob Seger or more one-offs from Mick Jagger and Joss Stone, The Kinks, and John Lennon. Thankfully the iPod allows shuffling to mix it all up.
It sounds good until I start to realize that while I have 150 songs and 8.7 hours of melodious holiday music that I also have to wade through roughly:
6 Winter Wonderlands
5 White Christmases
4 Sleighrides
2 Silverbells
6 Silent Nights
4 Santa Claus is Coming to Towns
2 Come all ye Faithful
4 The Little Drummer Boys
4 Let it Snows
5 Jingle Bells
3 I’ll Be Home for Christmases
7 Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmases
4 Hark the Herald Angels Sings
3 Greensleeves
7 The Christmas Songs
Something interesting I noticed is that there are different titles to the same song. “The Little Drummer Boy” is also called “Little Drummer Boy,” “We Three Kings” also has a “We Five Kings” sibling.” Then there is a “Merry Christmas Baby” and “Merry Christmas Darling.”
Okay, I’ll admit that I actually like some of it for a little while, but soon I long for regular music because all these holiday tunes make the season seem like something from “Leave it to Beaver” or “Ozzie And Harriet” when really it’s just music that encourages over spending and debt.
Christmas, Ba humbug!