I don’t like Christmas music. It sells a lie, and while I’m usually ok with the fantasy of artificial joy in music, this lie doesn’t work for me. The weather, the expectations, and the finances make this a difficult season. No one is happy this time of year, except the junior executive from Big City who goes back to Small Town and finds what she really needs in a well-fitted flannel shirt.
The Christmas Music Industrial Complex makes me sad that so many who do love this holiday are forced to listen to such mediocre music. It’s really just boring. But sometimes there are some bright spots.
And this year, we find some light thanks to Melissa Carper’s A Very Carper Christmas. Unsurprisingly, the clever songwriting is accompanied by a near-perfect jazz-style Christmas music, with just a touch of hillbilly goodness. “I Want A Dog For Christmas” is beautifully recorded and performed, and “All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth” is a classic.
But it was “Dumpster Divin’ On Christmas Eve” that got me. The silly storytelling, classic sounds and references to our economic situation are right up my alley. It’s the reality that sneaks in there that grounds this album. Also, “Made With Love” is cute. It was inspired by a gift of homemade granola given to Carper by Brennen Leigh and Kevin Skrla, who labeled this tasty jar of breakfast goodness “Made With Love.” I’m a sucker for a good story about friends.
Speaking of folks who are good friends, The Doohickeys have a fun EP1 of Christmas music out that also makes me smile. Merry Happy Whatever’s title track provides a softer and sillier take on your drunk uncle’s inability to figure out that some folks don’t celebrate his holiday — but in a non-anti-woke, non-fragile white guy way. “Put it on Credit” delivers the one-two punch of late-stage capitalism and poppy country sing-alongs — perfect for the holiday season.
On a slightly less snarky note, The Doohickeys once again pair biting social commentary with wit and razor-sharp musical ability. Haley Spence Brown’s crystalline vocals and her ability to assume the tone of nearly any Southern country star elevate these tracks. The backup vocals by the Wolves of Glendale and picking by the team (especially the banjo by Jordan Bush on “Credit”) push these songs beyond the same old thing.
Jack Hackett is also on the album…which will be streaming later this month and is available on CD now. 2
In this year’s entry into the sad sack song department, Texas’ own Cory Cross brings us Christmas In My Head. A perfect mixture of nostalgia and sorrow, this twang-filled title track puts you in a dark place. There is something about a list song in a minor key that paints a picture.
Cross releases sad sack country music somewhat regularly, which makes me like him even more. His last Christmas song, “Ice on the Road,” was more hopeful, but still a bummer. He told me last year that he feels the need to express something that so many feel during this period: loneliness.
What connects these songs and albums is that each fits within the general style of each artist. There is no reason to become someone else for the holiday season — unless you really want to leave that soulless marketing job in Big City to save the Inn/Bakery/Christmas Farm in Small Town that is being taken over by your soulless marketing firm’s client. Then you should change everything.
Until next time, keep on listening to great country music. And if you have to, great Christmas music.