Tom Dunne: Great songs to bring the Christmas cheer
Noddy Holder, Phoebe Bridgers, and John Lennon are among the many artists who've released Christmas-themed songs.
It’s hard to be an indie music fan at Christmas. You are torn between on the one hand, maintaining your cool indie credentials, and on the other, not being a weirdo. You don’t want to be reduced to listening to Cure albums in your room while downstairs the party is in full swing.
“Is he in his room again listening to those weird albums?” someone will ask, but the sounds of Ed Sheeran wafting up the stairs only makes you turn up the volume on ‘Head on The Door’. It develops into a stand off until finally your children cry in unison, “Ah come down, Da, It’s Christmas Day, FFS!”
“Don’t use that language in this house!” you finally shout, joining them, ever so reluctantly at the table. You eye their Spotify playlist disdainfully, shaking your head from side to side. “DNA tests for the whole bloody lot of ya,” you bark, “and if I hear Shakin’ Stevens I’m back up that stairs!”
But later, as the sherry kicks in, you mellow as Jona Lewie’s ‘Stop The Cavalry’ casts a familiar spell. “This is a good one!” you declare.
You then try to tell them he also had one called ‘You’ll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties’, but they dismiss this by telling you it was in a TV ad as well and everyone, EVERYONE, knows that.
You hide the sherry behind the back of the couch and resolve not to speak. However, quietly, you are thinking that The Pretenders ‘2000 Miles’, Perry Como’s ‘Silver Bells’ and Slade’s ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’ are quality tuneage.
You are surprised to hear that the whole room is of the view that while ‘Fairytale of New York’ is the greatest Christmas song ever written, it is over exposed. Into this box go many other old classics. Great, but overdone.
Then John and Yoko’s ‘Happy Christmas (War is Over)’ starts. Despite being ubiquitous, it hits home every time. It has that wistfulness, that as an adult you appreciate more and more. You don’t want to be a downer but the Christmas message of hope and renewal seems more urgent each passing year.
Bing and Bowie follow with ‘Little Drummer Boy’. You remember seeing it for the first time, when Bing, from your parent’s world, opened the door to find a man from the future. You remember it like yesterday, still in awe of Bowie’s ineffable cool.
You marvel at the fact you are now favourably disposed towards Paul McCartney’s ‘Wonderful Christmas Time’. You hated it once, but now it says Christmas in your parents, simpler times and, a perfectly good Christmas song.
But it is Live Aid’s ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ that brings the roof down. The children are of the view the it is the greatest song of all time. Hence, we often hear it in July. They sing every word. I marvel quietly, what magic is in these songs? What voodoo is this?
The Waitresses’ ‘Christmas Wrapping’ breaks this spell of deep inner contemplation. Eartha Kitt’s ‘Santa Baby’ and Ray Charles’ ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ remind us we are here to party, not lament. The sherry is gone and Slade is on for a second time. All is good.
But later you will make time for Low’s ‘Just Like Christmas’ and reflect that, however reluctant they might seem, indie music gives good Christmas.
The Ramones ‘Merry Christmas (I Don’t Wanna Fight Tonight)’, Eels’ ‘Christmas (is Going to the Dogs)’, Ron Sexsmith’s ‘Maybe (This Christmas)’ or Kathleen Edwards ‘It’s Christmastime (Let’s Just Survive)’ are all beautiful, bruised, evocative, epics. If Radiohead had done one, it might have ended us.
Thankfully, in the absence of Ronnie Spector, a new Queen of Christmas has emerged in the shape of Phoebe Bridgers. Each November, for several years now, she has taken to releasing beautifully downbeat Christmas songs. This year it is a version of the Handsome Family’s ‘So Much Wine’.
This is a sad song, but if sad Christmas floats your boat I have great news. There is a genre called Country Christmas where the giants of country, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson and John Prine, sing songs of Christmases so lonely and sad you wouldn’t wish them on Matt Hancock.
The golden age of Christmas songs were the 1970s and 80s. But since then Indie acts have slowly made great headway. Indie is so often downbeat, so often a reaction to the brash and the crass. It was made for Christmas.
