Switched on Pop - Why do new Christmas songs fail?

Episode Date: November 29, 2022

In case you missed it last year: why are there no new Christmas songs? One one hand, there's more holiday songs than we’ll ever need. Every year pop stars drop countless holiday-themed album. But despite the annual glut of Christmas releases, few of these new songs join the rotation of holiday classics. On Billboard's Holiday Hot 100 chart right now, there's only four songs from the past ten years that have made it to the top fifty. We listen to each of these holiday hits—from Kelly Clarkson, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, and the Jonas Brothers—and and ask if these songs can go the distance and become the 21st century members of the Christmas music canon. Songs Discussed - Playlist Kelly Clarkson - Underneath the Tree Ariana Grande - Santa Tell Me Justin Bieber - Mistletoe Jonas Brothers - Like It's Christmas The Bird and the Bee - You and I at Christmas Time Loretta Lynn - White Christmas Blue Woody Goss - One for One Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings - 8 Days of Hannukah Jenny Owen Youngs, Tancred, John Mark Nelson - Fireside Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Discover it and let emvolver for his essence. Welcome to Switched on Pop. I'm musicologist Nate Sloan

and I'm songwriter Charlie Harding. Charlie Harding, can you do me a favor? Sure. I'd like you to put

on ugly sweater. I'd like you to pour yourself a cup of eggnog because it's the holiday season and I want to talk about Christmas music with you. I'm excited for this because I actually am a true fan of eggnog and holiday songs, even though they're both kind of gross. Then you are my ideal partner for this conversation, Chuck, because I want to try and answer a question that's been vexing me. What's that? It's why are there no new Christmas songs? There's like, Uh, Taylor Swift had that Christmas tree farm song. There's like a couple, but yeah, it's all oldies and Mariah.

Right, I'm being hyperbolic. In fact, there are more Christmas songs than we'll ever need, and every year we get even more of them. Right, right, right. We have countless holiday-themed albums drop to try and capitalize on the season of spending when people are more likely to buy music than ever. And it makes sense because holiday music is extremely successful. Like the fact that Mariah Carey is on end of year 2021 charts because all I want for Christmas is you is such a big song. Just proves that holiday music is a big moneymaker. But despite the annual glut of Christmas releases, few of these new Christmas songs pierce our collective holiday listening traditions.

It is strange. I don't even hear them. I almost always default to the classics. Right. And if we look at Billboard's holiday Hot One Home, list, which tracks holiday song plays over streaming, sales, and radio play. The top five tracks are all songs that have been written many moons ago. Yeah.

At number one is, of course, the song that you just mentioned, Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas is you. The song is 27 years old. It came out in 1994. It's not new. But it feels new compared to the majority of other holiday songs on the radio, which are most coming from the 50s or 60s. Right.

Mariah at 1994 is a relatively recent entry into the Christmas canon. I think one of the strangest things that's happened in your life that you never would have expected is that you have become the media's go-to interpreter of Mariah's all I want for Christmas is you. I feel like you go on the radio every single holiday to explain this song. I do. And it is one of the strangest and most enjoyable parts of my job. I'm the Mariah Whisperer.

Okay. So that's number one. Number two, any guesses, Chuck, on the holiday Hot 100? It's going to be either Louis Armstrong or something by Irving Berlin. Wrong and wrong. It's rocking around the Christmas tree by Brenda Lee from 1958. Was Brenda Lee 13 years old when she recorded that song? Yes, she was.

Whoa. Does that need to be mentioned every time we mention it? Yes. Definitely. Okay. Number three, any guesses? Charlie has his eyes closed. in deep holiday meditation.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas. Great guess and completely wrong. It's Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms. And that's from 1957. Number four, I feel like you're just giving up. It's a holly jolly Christmas by Burl Ives. I feel like all of these songs could be playing in the background of a home alone film shopping scene

when they're going to buy the gifts. They're like the upbeat commercial songs. That is definitely the vibe, and it's also true of the song that rounds out the top five. It's the most wonderful time of the year, recorded by Andy Williams in 1963. It's the most wonderful time of the year. With the kids jingle belling and never...

So Chuck, as you said, besides Mariah's 1994 classic, all of these songs are from the 50s or 60s. So clearly, we are drawn to the nostalgic sounds of Christmas past every year, starting around December 1st. And while we might pick up the latest Christmas offering from, say, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani, ultimately, we're going to go back to the classics, right? surely the first thing that I do post Thanksgiving is play Charlie Brown's Christmas it's a long-time family tradition and it feels like it is the auditory signal a sort of Pavlovian kind of entry into the holiday spirit for my family it's the Nat King Cole Christmas album chestnuts roasting on an open fire jack frost nipping at your nose but I have the exact same experience, Chuck. Yeah, it's pretty clear that you and I find comfort in the classics. And we're not alone. On the Holiday 100 charts, as of this recording, there are only three songs written in the

last 20 years to make it into the top 40. Really? What I want to do is listen to each of them, consider what's made them join such rarefied company as Mariah and Andy Williams, and ask if these songs can go the distance and become the 21st century. members of the Christmas music canon. This is just delightful. Let's start with a song that's sitting comfortably at number 13. It's Kelly Clarkson's Underneath the Christmas Tree, originally released in 2013. Okay, so the first thing I notice is that this is immediately drawing on all of the throwback sounds.

It is almost indistinguishable. It's got that plonky quarter note piano riff, bells and giant orchestration in a sort of 60s wall of sound. kind of feel with big reverberation. If you played this back to back with Jingle Bell Rock, I'd be like, cool, yep. Same kind of deal. I hear that, Chuck,

and I would suggest another Christmas classic as the reference point here. It's Christmas, parentheses, baby, please come home by Darlene Love. Oh my gosh, it's the same chords. And that was produced by Phil Specter,

hence that wall of sound approach that you were referencing. Yeah. I'm just going to be a curmudgeon and say that I enjoy the returnal more than the piece that it influenced. Fair enough, but there's some lovely touches in this Kelly Clarkson underneath the Christmas tree. I especially

like her use of background vocals in the second verse. I think I've mentioned before on the show that I was once exposed to the raw mixed-down tracks of Since You've Been Gone. And one of the most amazing parts of that song are

the depth of vocal layers that Kelly Clarkson has. She really knows how to weave together harmonies and counter melodies to pull you and even closer to the original melody. I agree. I think if the song works at all, it's because of those nostalgic sonic references we heard and because of Kelly Clarkson's powerhouse vocals. It's running eight years strong. Let's see it.

Keep that one in your mind as we move to the song that's sitting at number 17, on the holiday charts, it's Ariana Grande's Santa Tell Me from 2014. That's neat because it has some of the timbers of old Christmas music, your Glock and spiel kind of thing. Right. Some more traditional instruments, strings. But it's much more contemporary in the way that it's syncopated. it's more rhythmically engaging

and doesn't sort of fall on the sort of rock and roll backbeat tropes. I also really love in Ariana's music, her use of strings is always so compelling. I feel like we neglected to talk about Ariana's record positions that she put out that has done really well this year. The opening song, Shut Up, has really beautiful strings in the same kind of way. That's a great reference.

I feel like that's one of her secret tricks. Like she knows how to do those classical references with very contemporary stuff. And that's what we're getting on her holiday song. It's very modern. But it's got the throwback. It's both. I love it. I think you're on to something, Charles.

Because when we get to the first verse, they lean even further into those modern production choices. Oh my God. What is that beat? Is that a, like, that feels like a JZ beat? It's a little bit 99 problems, I think. Yeah, it's Jay-Z meets a Christmas carol. I never knew I wanted it. And it worked.

It totally works. Okay, let's move a little further down the charts to number 34, where we'll encounter an old friend Justin Bieber and his song from 2011 Missletoe. I'm a believer. There's our little sleigh bells. It's the most beautiful time of the year. Jason Maraz guitar I should be playing in the winter snow

But I'm a be under the mistletop Nate I don't like that song Why not Charlie? Wow, very visceral reaction here No, this is just Just a personal thing I don't like the sort of

Jason Marzzy 50s chord progressions with a reggae beat kind of vibe It's just like It's bro music to me I'm sorry It's just not my vibe. I appreciate you coining a new term, Marazzi, as in similar to Jason Maraz, whose song I'm Yours is clearly being referenced here. Well, are you done done me in you bet I felt it?

I tried to be chill, but you're so hot that I melted. I fell right through. I don't want to throw shade at Jason Marz because for me, it's more about the song represents the guy at the party with the acoustic guitar trying to woo people. It's just like it's a scene. it's not mine. I hear that. Missletoe is almost a carbon copy of this Jason Moraz song. It's got the exact same chord progression. It's got the same guitar and the same guitar rhythm. It even has similar melodic phrasing. But I would venture to say this is even cringier than I'm yours, especially when we get to the chorus of Missletoe.

No. No. No. Hearing Justin Bieber sings shorty, I don't know, something about it just kind of ruins Christmas for me. I would rather listen to Peaches every Christmas because that's a great song. It doesn't have anything to do with the holidays, but man, this makes my ears bleed. All right, Charlie, because you've been good this year, I'm going to give you one more. It's not in the top 40.

It's currently at number 42, but it's a song from 2019 called Like It's Christmas by a band I know you love. It's the Jonas Brothers. Oh, I like this. It's so camp. Is it a timeless classic? No, but do I enjoy anything that opens with a bearer tone going Yeah, we're so easy, Charles. That's suck.

Yeah. It's fun. It's clear from this conversation that my taste is probably wrong. I'm just telling you how it resonates for me. Okay, but now that you've admitted that, we still have a job. We have to pick which of these four songs we think is the most likely to join Mariah and Perry Como and Bing Crosby in the annals of Christmas music classics. Is it Jonas Brothers like it's Christmas? Is it Justin Bieber's mistletoe?

Is it Ariana Grande's Santa Tell Me? Or is it Kelly Clarkson's underneath the Christmas tree? What say you, Charles? I want it to be Ariana Grande. day. This is my favorite song. But it's definitely going to be Kelly Clarkson because it's so closely adheres to the formula. Okay. So a bold prediction from our resident songwriter. I'm going to disagree. I'm going to go ahead and say that Santa Tell Me by Ariana is going to be the biggest modern hit that we'll see because like we were saying, it's got that blend of modern production

and kind of classic Christmas hallmarks. You know, the fact that old school hip hop is having such a nostalgia wave right now makes me think that maybe you're right because holiday music is all about nostalgia. And as we get older, the references which feel nostalgic, they creep up in the decade. So maybe that those references feel like they fit in the same world of throwback hip-hop. We'll have to see. We'll have to reconvene 10 Christmases from now and see what has emerged in our collective consciousness. I'll see you in the podcast Metaverse in 10 years. Okay. We're going to take a quick break. Charlie, when we get back, we've been listening to songs that are super popular that are smashing the charts but there's a lot of other great Christmas music holiday music out there and I want to offer you and our listeners some of my favorite options to put on during your holiday festivities you with me yeah I really hope that we play some Kenny G

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We're back and it's time to move away from the charts and share with you, Charlie, some of my favorite Christmas albums that you can put on and genuinely feel good about as you go through December and the holiday season, okay? Sure, let's start. Let's start with a selection that I might call the vibeest Christmas album that you could spin this year. It's from a band called The Bird and the Bee, which is made up of singer Anara George and multi-instrumentalist Greg Kirsten. That name might be familiar to you because he's produced a lot of Adele's tracks and many others.

Oh, yeah. And they've got an album from 2020 called Put Up the Lights. Let's spin the first track called You and I at Christmas Time. I love that. It's like riding the Neo Soul vibe. It's doing a little bit of the lo-fi thing. But I really appreciate the use of an upright piano. And you can hear the clicking of the keys.

Because my favorite thing during the holidays where people gather around the piano and sing together. And it's doing that for me. I totally agree. This is an album that you can actually put on from beginning to end. And if you're having a party or you're with your family, People won't look at you and go like, what the heck are we listening to? It's actually very viby and very cool.

Let's move on to my next selection. It is what we might call the most soulful country holiday album. It's from a legend Loretta Lynn. It's called White Christmas Blue. And let's listen to a little bit of the title track. You're turning my white Christmas blue. You're turning my white Christmas blue. Christmas

I love this. It's a very two-step Christmas. Very, yes. We've got mandolin, which I happen to play and really love the instrument. I dig it. It's sweet.

It's lovely. It's got Loretta Lynn's incredible vocals, but it's also got a sense of humor. I think this is a really fun album to put on and genuinely enjoy. Isn't that interesting that so many of those songs at the top of the charts,

as much as they are holiday music, they're really kind of silly and fun. Like, Jingle Bell Rock is not taking itself too seriously. And now there is this. Okay, Charlie, I think I'm going to be preaching to the choir with this next selection because you've already outed yourself as a Charlie Brown Christmas fanatic. And this album is the one that I would describe as the most second coming of Vince Goraldi-esque. It's called A Very Wolfie Christmas.

It's from 2019. Volpeck? It's a trio from Wolfpack. Pek's pianist Woody Goss in which he takes some of the funk band Wolfpex songs and turns them into these Vince Goraldi-style trio arrangements. So take a Wolfpex song like One for One, DiMaggio. Let's listen to the original. And let's listen to the very Wolfie Christmas version. I love this because I really am the biggest fan of the Vince Goraldi trio who did the Charlie

round Christmas album because it exists in this world of jazz that is kind of a unique vocabulary to Vince like no one plays quite like him yeah and this record is getting it right on the nose I know they've even managed to find the same kind of slightly out-of-tune piano that garaldi used on the original recording it's it's really fun and this is another one that works from start to finish so you can put it on without concern that your guests will be like, what is this? What are we listening to? Okay. Finally, I'm going to end with a curveball because it's the album that I would select for the funkiest holiday album.

And the track I want to play is actually not a Christmas song, Charles. It's called Eight Days of Hanukkah. And it's performed by the late great Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. I mean, it's so good, Charlie. Oh, that's really fun. Before we go, can I throw in a favorite? Fine. Just because it's the season, I'll let you get in here.

What have you got for us? Well, our friend Jenny Owen Young's put out a song called Fireside with John Mark Nelson and her partner Tinkered. And it's just really one of my favorite holiday songs right now because it's all about those fireside vibes. There's a moment in the holiday season where you're throwing that big old party

and you got to play jingle bell rock and you got to throw on that Sharon Jones track because everyone's vibe into the eggnog. But then later in the night things slow down

and there's like you're sitting around the fireside, you're having the final nightcap and you just need that thing to chill out too. I love that feeling

warm altogether around the fireside kind of feeling. I agree. I'm gonna throw all these songs. in a playlist and we can share them and you can have your own deeply vibey Christmas that'll take you from morning to evening and all the emotions in between. Charlie, thanks for joining me on this holiday Odyssey and I'm very keen to stay tuned to see which songs make it into the Christmas canon which get left by the wayside.

So, will you make this an annual tradition with me? Absolutely. As I said at the top, this was just true. really delightful. Switched on Pop is produced by Nate Sloan, me, Charlie Harding. We're engineered by Brandon McFarland, edited by Julie Myers, social media by Abby Barr, illustrations by Iris Gottlieb. Our executive producers are Hannah Rosen and Nashat Kerwa. We're a member of the Vox Media Podcast Network and a production of Vulture.

You can find more episodes of our show anywhere you get podcasts and on our website, switch on pop.com. We love hearing from you on Instagram and Twitter at Switched on Pop. Tell us what your favorite holiday songs are. What are the new ones? What are the old ones that you keep coming back to? We want to know. We're going to be taking a little break for the holidays.

Really looking forward to some rests on Megnog, some holiday songs. We'll catch you in the new year. We've got some really fun stuff planned. We can't wait to see you. It's been so great listening to this year. Have a great holiday season. And until 2022, thanks for listening. Convierte your passion in a business with Shopify

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