Many people hate Christmas music. I love it so much that I can start listening to it in October (Or sooner). But that said, I get why so many people hate it. Much of popular Christmas music needs massive repetitiveness. Even the most enthusiastic Christmas music fans like me can grow tired of hearing the same song ten times daily. Even worse is when you hear many covers of that same song done the same way, an additional ten times a day each. Add in that the original song was often, at best, only okay. And yeah, it's easy to turn anyone from Kris Kringle into Scrooge with that musical recipe.
It doesn't have to be that way. Christmas music taps into our memories' most happily nostalgic parts, and Christmas songs are some of the most poignant melodies ever put to music. That said, when releasing a Christmas album, many artists only contribute to the stigma associated with Christmas music. Let's face it: the bulk of Christmas music released is bland, repetitive, unoriginal, and the very stuff that will continue to fuel Scrooges everywhere.
As a self-appointed connoisseur of Christmas music, I believe in holding Christmas music to a high standard. After all, one of my favorite genres of music deserves nothing but the best. So all of this has led me to formulate five rules for artists thinking of recording a new Christmas album. If more artists stick to these five rules, Christmas music can at least begin to shed some of the negative reputation it's acquired. So, without further ado.
Rule #1: Avoid songs covered by over five famous artists in the last 10 years. This rule will be the hardest because more than half of almost every Christmas album released contains the most covered songs. For some reason, it's been drilled into artists' heads that the way to get your songs added to people's annual playlists is by almost note-for-note remaking the songs already on it. How can your cover stand out when everyone is remaking the same few songs? We all hear Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas" nonstop every year. The first few covers of these may have been cute novelties, but now everyone does them.
A small pool of other songs in The Overdone Club are also on the "must-cover" list. "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," "Rocking Around The Christmas Tree," and "White Christmas," among others. The first thing that needs to be said is that, while the originals are fine and classic for a reason, they are a bit simplistic. Most artists must repeat the entire song multiple times to fill a three-minute track. Add in that almost every artist does the song nearly the same way. What's left is a mountain of like-sounding covers with little to differentiate one from another.
Now, many classic hymns are also covered endlessly. I cut these a bit of slack since they at least speak to the birth of Christ, often have more interesting melodies, and more room for creative interpretations. But even these can become overdone. At some point, there are only so many different ways I can hear "Silent Night" in its standard melodic approach. For these, we can tweak the rule to 10 A-list artists in the past 10 years. Even then, a lot would still miss the cut.
These songs shouldn't be banished. However, if we went a while without new renditions, the renditions we already had would lose their charm, and other songs could join them and become even more special classics.
And on that note.
Rule #2 - Find obscure Christmas songs and cover them.
This is the converse of the first rule. There are so many classic Christmas hymns that you never hear anymore. So much so that they may be mistaken for an artist's original by casual listeners. Many original works from recent decades remain uncovered by others. If they have been covered, it is often by obscure artists who remain unknown.
I believe that instead of doing another rendition of "Last Christmas" or "Christmastime Is Here," it would be more memorable to include covers of "O Come, Divine Messiah," Jon Anderson's "Where Were You," Jim Croce's "It Doesn't Have to Be That Way," or Alan Mann's "Christmas on the Block" on a Christmas album. You've never heard of those songs, have you? But you can find 10 to 20 covers of some of the songs, as mentioned earlier, all done by artists you've heard of. See the problem?
These obscure songs are overlooked gems. While I would still employ Rule #1 so these songs don't join The Overdone Club, we could have a few renditions of underappreciated classics. This could help expose those songs to a whole new audience. My Christmas playlist is deep, but my favorite part is the variety of unique songs.
While we're on the topic...
Rule #3 - Write strong Christmas originals.
Imagine if the artist who originally wrote the songs everyone covers in an attempt to be added to Christmas playlists only covered the same songs that everyone else covered instead of writing their own. Every classic was once new. Write original songs, and write them well. So many originals feel so half-hearted. Throw a bunch of cliche Christmas lines together into something upbeat sounding and call it a day. No. Could you put some meaning and thought into it?
One artist who has done this very well is Future of Forestry, who is involved in their Light Has Come project. The album has four original Christmas songs, and the other three included are hymn covers that different artists less heavily cover. As a result, the project is starting to finish a memorable work of art. "Light Has Come" and "What Beauty" are some of the most majestic Christmas songs you'll ever hear. But even among more famous artists, think of Downhere's "How Many Kings," Steven Curtis Chapman's "Christmas is All in the Heart," and Hillsong Worship's "Seasons." Some of the best Christmas songs are artist originals. These are the kinds of songs that could fit into Rule #2.
Imagine an album of obscure hymns, strong Christmas originals, and covers of recent originals that haven't been done to death. Imagine how much more memorable an album that would be than another rendition of the same ten songs we hear nonstop on the radio every year.
But familiarity is appealing. I get that. So, with that said...
Rule #4 - If you must record a popular Christmas song, make it your own.
It is possible to reinvent these overdone songs. Do something with it that nobody has done before. Make it your own. The Drifters covered "White Christmas" but did it uniquely so that people now cover their cover. (If you need to get more familiar with their name, it's the version Kevin's singing to himself in the mirror in Home Alone.) Famous contemporary band Casting Crowns rewrote the melody of "I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day." Now, their version is a classic. There are a lot of options for this. This is where an artist's vision can shine. Rewrite the melody. Add a chorus. Make a unique interpretation or hook. Do all three.
Could you do something to make your song rendition stand out from the pack? Christian artists have done this well with the classic hymns I mentioned a few sections back. However, their covers still need to be more stifled creatively for songs written within the past 60 years. I get the appeal of going for familiarity, so on that front, it's helpful for artists to put their creative vision onto a cover and turn it into something new.
Rule #5 - Above all else, make Christmas music art.
Most artists and Christmas music we promote violate many of these rules to varying degrees. If you like, you can read this and show me examples of songs that improve my rules. Maybe your favorite cover of "The Christmas Song" really slaps. And I am not here to Grinch away everyone's favorite Christmas music. But let's face it: There is a bit of a stereotype to it. Christmas music is often seen as a soulless cash grab or an obligatory contract fulfiller.
Name one other genre of popular music that many argue needs to be quarantined for one month a year. Imagine saying you can only listen to love songs for the first two weeks of February, or since this is a Christian music site, imagine only singing about Christ's death and resurrection around Easter. Why is the birth of Christ somehow different? I think the issue with Christmas music isn't that it is inherently evil but that the market for it is massively hijacked with the same batch of mediocre songs that get equally uninspired covers. We're inundated with this tidal wave of "meh."
An artist's best work is when inspiration strikes them, and they create genuinely memorable songs. It could be their own original, or it's a spirited cover. But whatever the case may be, it's only when there's true inspiration behind what they do that any of them will ever release something that will one day be considered a classic. So, let Christmas music be the same way. That may mean truncating a full-length into an EP instead of fluffing it out with uninspired filler. Or it may mean looking through old hymnals to find a Christmas hymn that people have not heard of.
Whatever one does, put some artistic thought into it—combining these rules in whatever capacity best leads to making a Christmas album that people will remember for generations.
What is the best stuff that we choose to listen to again and again? It's from artists who dared to do something different. Something bold. Something that people said might not work. And these artists easily could have failed and faded into obscurity.
But one thing is for sure. They wouldn't be classics today if they had played it safe. So, if artists think of making a Christmas album, don't play it safe. Take the risks! Cover that obscure song! Write an original to be the next Christmas classic. Do "All I Want For Christmas" as a brooding symphonic metal ballad. (Well, okay, maybe not that last one. Unless you're up to the challenge!) Do something that could make even the Scroogiest of Christmas music critics not mind hearing your Christmas song playing in October. (Or *gasp* even in the middle of summer.)
J.J. Francesco is a longtime contributor to the NRT Staff. He's published the novel 'Because of Austin' and regularly seeks new ways to engage faith, life, and community. His new novel, 'When Miracles Can Dream,' is out NOW!
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