FEATURE:
Silent Nights
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Could Artists of Today Pen a Christmas Classic?
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IT may seem depressing to bring up Christmas music…
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when it is the middle of November! One cannot fail to notice that Christmas usually starts around October! We are ‘treated’ to Christmas adverts and then, after a few weeks, Christmas songs start to make their way into shops and supermarkets. At the moment, it is not too bad in terms of the songs played – it usually gets a lot worse by the end of November. There are enough of us who like the classic Christmas tracks and, to be fair, I can listen to iconic tracks by Slade and Wizzard all day! There is that divide between the more contemporary Christmas songs and carols such as Silent Night – which is, in my opinion, the definition of Christmas. I think people are more annoyed with how early we start hearing Christmas songs, rather than the ones we are used to. There are some naff Christmas songs, but the all-time best rank alongside the best songs ever written. All I Wat for Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey is a strong Pop number in any era. The Pogues’ Fairytale of New York features the wonderful Kirsty MacColl and is an unconventional take on Christmas – in the same way Die Hard is a pretty atypical Christmas film! We all debate as to which is the best Christmas song of all-time (I love The Pogues’ classic), and we all do revel in hearing these songs that we have grew up with or associate with this time of year – even if we have listened to them dozens of times!
In the same way there have not been too many updates to the Halloween/Halloween-themed songs, the Christmas market has not seen too many entries through the years – at least nothing that holds the same weight as the golden oldies. Maybe the 1990s was the last decade when a modern classic was penned – Mariah Carey’s Christmas staple came out in 1994. Maybe current artists are a bit worried that a Christmas song might be a bit of a commercial misstep. If it is not an instant classic, they can be associate with a turkey (I will limit the Christmas puns) rather than a cracker (sorry!). I can understand that but, every year, we do see attempts. More often than not, modern artists are putting their own spin on the established breed – including recent reworkings from Robbie Williams with Jamie Cullum, Lucy Dacus and Michael Bublé. Artists have a lot of affection for those older numbers, but I do think there is a window for a modern song. Whether artists want to follow The Pogues and create a song that is funny and unusual or stick with a more tried-and-tested route. I think it would be possible to create a modern classic. In terms of the lyrical and compositional formula, the song needs to be fairly similar to the ‘standard’ Christmas sound – I think a Grime or Rap Christmas song is less likely to endure compared to something Pop-based.
At a time for music where joyous choruses and happy moods are in short supply, I think there is an incentive to pen a Christmas song that extends beyond the seasonal. It might be hard to summon images of joy and togetherness, but I feel there is a call for it. There is always a place for the Christmas classics, yet so many different versions have been recorded making me wonder whether we will see some modern gems. There are articles that ask whatever happened to modern Christmas songs. Why is it hard to generate something that can rival the best of years past? Maybe the standard is high, or artists do not have the incentive to write a song that will only be played at a set time of year. Maybe modern artists recorded Christmas songs years ago because the market was healthier in that respect. There was this race for the Christmas number-one and, as such, we saw some great Christmas tunes. Now, the Christmas number-one is not necessarily concerned with Christmas – we usually see X Factor winners and random songs hitting the top. I would be interested to see a modern Christmas classic – or one that could become a standard – and, although I turned my nose up at a Rap or Hip-Hop Christmas track, maybe there is scope, if the tone was right. Christmas songs are great in the sense that they need not be confined to specific aspects of Christmas; they do not need to be just about family or snow, for instance. The glut of modern Christmas songs is strange, but I think there is potential for some current artists to step up and pen a Christmas great. The older songs are good; one could do with a few alternatives in the market. Maybe, soon enough, we will receive a new Christmas song(s) that…
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