“Should _____ make an Xmas album?” Ninety-five percent of the time, no matter who you plug into that question, the answer is no.  The Popdose Mellowmas series is proof of that.  It kind of makes all the terrible Xmas music worthwhile, but not in a way that you’d ever want to experience it personally.  Even the well-intentioned artists that you might otherwise listen to have a hard time making a worthwhile holiday album, so when someone makes one that’s fairly listenable, it’s kind of like…a miracle?

My Morning Jacket Does Xmas Fiasco Style

My Morning Jacket is probably a band you either love or hate.  Within a minute of the first song, you learn that you have to have a high tolerance (if not a liking) of two things:  vocal reverb and slide guitar.  If you listen to the album, you’ll find that it’s not very Xmas-y.  Sure, “Christmas” figures into the lyrics here and there, but that’s about it.  Covering Nick Cave’s “New Morning” is certainly an interesting choice.

There are two exceptions.  I think “I Just Wanted to Say” captures the spirit of the holidays.  Not in a ho ho ho sort of way, but…well, you’ll just have to listen.  The other exception is their cover of “Blue Christmas.”  It’s all kinds of awesome.  Even if you don’t want to spend $6 on the whole EP, I’d say spending $2 on those two songs would be worth it.

Songs for Christmas
Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Stevens’s music is probably either something you love or hate.  Whoa, déjà vu.  His style is unique, but his songs get very busy.  It’s all in the arrangements.  Take “Come on! Let’s Boogey to the Elf Dance!”  There’s the chorus, which is continued in the background during the verses to form a counter-melody.  Then there’s the instrumentation, which gets complicated and intricate, and as you try to follow it, you’re not always sure how the pieces fit together to make something that works.  There are probably people who don’t think it works, but I’m not one of them.

The collection as a whole is…long.  Two hours, to be specific.  The set was released on five discs over a period of (I think) six years, so it’s not meant to be taken in one sitting.  As much as I love them, the songs start to become indistinguishable after prolonged listening.  Plus you’ll end up asking yourself why there has to be three versions of “O Come O Come Emmanuel.”

The highlights of the set are his original songs.  I find the lyrics particularly entertaining when they’re in a rhyme scheme, like in “It’s Christmas! Let’s Be Glad!”  It’s not as ambitious as finding a thousand words that rhyme with Decatur, but good nonetheless.  And you’ve gotta love those exclamation points!

[ Posted in » Xmas Music Survival Guide ]