Shut-up Stupid Sunday: Christmas Songs

Strangely enough I like Christmas Songs. What I like is that they offer a change in the music I hear whenever I go out. It throws a little variety into my life.

I can deal with those demanding ones, telling me to have both a Holly and Jolly Christmas or yelling at me to “Bring them some Figgy Pudding”. They can wish me a Merry Christmas all they want. People have wished worse things on me in the past.

What I can't stand is the radio stations that switch to all Christmas songs and only play the same 10 songs over and over again.

We have been celebrating Christmas for over 200 years. For over 100 years of that we have been able to record the Christmas songs. Tons of singers have made Christmas albums. From Bing Crosby to Alice Cooper and Twisted Sister. I understand the radio stations not playing “Santa Claws is coming to Town.” but Joan Jett's “Little Drummer Boy” was a faithful sweet rendition of the classic song.

Over the last 100 years, there have been 1,000s of Christmas songs made. Some covers of the classics some new songs. So why is it that every time I step into a store all I hear is Wham's “Last Christmas” or worse a cover of Wham's “Last Christmas”.

With so many Christmas songs out there, a radio station could have a huge variety of songs. They could go for a week (3,000 songs) and not have any repeats. But instead I hear the same 10 Christmas songs over and over again.

So to all the radio stations that switch to Christmas music but don't have the songs to back up that decision, I say, “Shut-up Stupid. The thing I like about this time of year is the great variety of Christmas Songs. By playing the same ones over and over you destroy that. So I say to you, add more songs to your Christmas Line up, or Yule be sorry.”

By Darrell B. Nelson author of I KILLED THE MAN THAT WASN'T THERE