Whether they are clever remixes of old classics or completely original tunes, a slew of new Christmas songs accompanies every holiday season.
Although often beloved for inspiring cheerful holiday spirits, these melodies also run the risk of converting listeners to regular Scrooges, causing them to beg for an end to Christmas and the resulting headaches. In keeping with this principle, some Christmas tracks brightened my holiday playlist this break, while other musical disasters were so abysmal they almost struck me as funny.
But the good news first with their new album "Save Me, San Francisco (Golden Gate Edition)," Train did not disappoint. Tracks like "Shake Up Christmas" boast catchy tunes and clever lyrics, showcasing the songwriting prowess that allowed Train's single "Hey, Soul Sister" to top the charts as the bestselling song of 2010. Some of the most memorable lyrics include "There's a story that I was told/And I wanna tell the world before I get too old/And don't remember it/So let's December it/And reassemble it."
Train did not "reassemble" an old Christmas classic like so many other artists do, but rather created a modern and versatile holiday tune that was catchy enough for the radio but also festive enough to be played by the fireplace on Christmas Eve.
The track was even featured as the song for the international 2010 Coca Cola Christmas commercial, cementing Train's return to musical prominence after their three-year hiatus. Like Train's new cachet in the music industry, "Shake Up Christmas" can safely hold a place in the canon of popular Christmas tunes for years to come.
With twins on the way and now married to "America's Got Talent" host Nick Cannon, it seems that the pop diva Mariah Carey has finally gotten what she hoped for in her seasonal smash hit "All I Want For Christmas Is You," which was blared in every department store I entered this season. Attempting to duplicate the success of this well known Christmas anthem, Carey released the single "Oh Santa" from her "Merry Christmas II You" album.
"Oh Santa" resembles a modern version of her classic as she asks for a lover this Christmas in a playful chant: "Santa's gonna come and make him mine this Christmas/Santa's gonna come and make him mine/Mine."
These lyrics evoke Carey's bubbly and catchy hit "Mickey," but this time it sounds like the seasoned diva is trying too hard to have another Christmas hit and ultimately fails to deliver. The track lacks the youthful panache of Carey's older singles.
But while her earlier innocent image and youthful appeal are long gone, her powerful voice remains reminding listeners that there are still female singers achieving success based on powerful vocal talent, even in an industry controlled by the likes of KE$HA and Katy Perry.
In addition to covering every popular song possible, the Glee cast got their hands on the Christmas classics this season, releasing the highly successful "Glee: The Christmas Album." Some of the tracks on this album managed to successfully reinvent songs that everyone knows and loves, but others just failed to impress.
"Baby It's Cold Outside," sung by Chris Colfer (Kurt) and Darren Criss (Blaine), puts an innovative spin on a holiday classic, switching it up by substituting two male lead vocalists for the traditional male-female duet. Colfer and Criss' performance is sentimental and original, as well as vocally superb. The cast's cover of "Last Christmas," however, does not come close to Wham's velvety and sultry original.
Without the classic '80s drum machine, synthesizer and vibe, nor George Michael's charismatic voice all the elements that made the original song a hit the cover is painfully lacking and simply cannot compare to Wham's version. Granted, Glee fans will probably still adore the track. What's more, it will hopefully inspire people to listen to the original hit song.
Now that the holiday season has passed, we'll have to wait another year for the influx of Christmas songs, old and new, that defines each December. Until then, 2010 has supplied us with more than enough holiday tunes to last a year.
