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The Indiana Daily Student

arts

COLUMN: Pop punk covers of holiday music are the only thing stopping me from saying bah-humbug

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It’s that time of year again. We are entering the weird stretch of weeks between Thanksgiving and the holidays where the holiday spirit is in full swing. Shops are decorated with lights, trees and wreaths while seasonal music plays on an endless loop.

It’s enough to make you go wild.

To put it simply, I am not the biggest fan of this music. After four years of high school choir and two years working in a coffee shop, there are only so many times a girl can hear Pentatonix sing “White Winter Hymnal” on repeat without wanting to rip her ears off. 

But, 'tis the season and I am in the minority opinion.

Unlike me, the general population enjoys holiday music. This love transcends a range of age demographics and generational groups, with millennials making up over one-third of the people who listen to holiday music often.  

This shows in the charts. Christmas songs like Mariah Carey's “All I Want For Christmas is You” and Brenda Lee's “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” have recently reentered the Billboard Hot-100 at number 14 and number 21 respectively. 

The demand for Christmas music also impacts how radio stations plan their programming. Radio stations that switch their content to Christmas music can experience a substantial increase in listeners during a good December.

I just don’t get the excitement. 

Objectively, Christmas music is good. I can enjoy the complex harmonies of choirs and marvel at the arrangements of instruments in orchestra pieces. However, you could never find me purposefully searching up a Christmas playlist at any point in the year. 

The feeling of joy some people get when listening to holiday music, the feeling that makes them listen to the same songs, at the same time, year after year, just doesn’t resonate with me.

I don’t get it and I don’t think I ever will. 

Yet there is a select group of songs that technically qualify as Christmas music that bring a smile to my face and feelings of joy in my heart and they can all be summed up with one example:

My Chemical Romance’s cover of “All I Want For Christmas Is You”

The harsh vocals of a rock singer and the clash of guitars are not elements typically associated with the joyful and holy tones of Christmas music, but for some reason, it works.

Laugh all you want, but nothing makes me get into the Christmas spirit faster than the vocal stylings of Gerard Way.

From Blink-182 to the Ramones, pop-punk and rock artists have been covering popular Christmas tunes or writing their own for years. 

These are the types of Christmas songs I will purposefully go listen to, and I think there’s a reason for that. Aside from my love of rock music, the combination of holiday nostalgia and the adrenaline rush granted by rock music makes these covers both emotionally accessible and exciting for every listener. 

On a deeper level, these covers ooze innovation and creativity from every note. I think these covers are examples of musical talent and knowledge. I am astounded by the skill it takes for someone to take a completed piece of music and make it entirely their own. Mariah Carey and My Chemical Romance both sang “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” but they are not the same songs. 

Maybe that's the reason I enjoy rock covers of Christmas music so much.

Year after year, we play the same music by the same artists in the same genres to celebrate the holidays. There’s nothing wrong with it — there's a reason Christmas music has continued to be a constant presence in our society. However, every so often the mold is broken by a new take on a familiar classic.

It’s like a breath of fresh air in the strict traditions and practices of the holiday season.

So this holiday season, you won’t find me blasting a traditional Christmas tune. But, I will sit by the fire with a warm cup of cocoa and truly rock around the Christmas tree.

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