Yule Tunes

Another Christmas has passed us by as I sit here full to bursting from our traditional Xmas feast of turkey, ham and pudding while contemplating this year’s festive season. After all this time, i have yet to grow weary of Xmas. I don’t mind the increasingly pervasive consumerism, bumper shopping crowds, impossible parking, the liver punishing parties and the wallet depleting gift giving; amidst all this mayhem, I still relish soaking up the special magic in the air that is Xmas.

Christmas means different things to different people and increasingly I’ve noticed that dressing up your house with extravagant fairy lights has become an important Xmas ritual for many. Don’t get me wrong, I admire a good lighting display as much as the next person, and I’m often entranced by the glow, but this lighting one-upmanship is spiralling out of control. This year I’ve seen giant, illuminated Santa inflatables, animatronic reindeer and a host of flashing, strobing and pulsating lighting rigs. Perhaps it’s lighting envy or insecurity that’s spurring these people on, either way, they’re obviously sinking a lot of time, money and effort into these Xmas wonderlands. If I sound jealous, it’s probably due to resentment in the lack of creativity and imagination in our household, and as tempting as it might be to bathe our house with mega watts of artificial lighting, we’re not going to join in on these reindeer games. No, we’ll be sticking with our modest lighting adornments, draped half-arsed over the balcony, featuring a series of busted globes - It’s very rustic and charming the way it is.

All the rain and mild temperatures we’ve been having lately is in stark contrast to the dry, sweltering summer heat that’s typical around this time of the year. A welcome relief for those who slaved cooking away in the kitchen today preparing Xmas lunch. All the heat emanating from oven furnaces and stove cook tops would’ve been that much more tolerable in the cooler conditions.
In a year of heightened climate change awareness, this sporadic weather (there were reports of snow in Victoria today) is like an eerie manifestation of the grim conditions Al Gore warned us about in the Inconvenient Truth. I bet he’s really rubbing it in to the skeptics and naysayers right now… “I told you so! My pretty powerpoint graphs were right!”.

Despite all the craziness that accompanies the season, I always retreat to the aural sanctuary of some good Xmas tunes - yes, I’m a sap for these type of things. Here’s what I’ve been listening to over the past week (in no particular order):

Do they know it’s Christmas - Band Aid 1984
Mele Kalikimaka - Bing Crosby
Under The Christmas Tree - Albert Hammond
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Coldplay & Pretenders versions
The Christmas Song - The Raveonettes
Last Christmas - Jimmy Eat World (a cooler version of the wham! original
Punk Rock Xmas - Ramones
Christmas Song - U2
Little Saint Nick - The Beach Boys
The Christmas Song - Weezer
Lonely this Christmas - Elvis
Feels like Christmas - Cindy Lauper
Christmas Time - Bryan Adams
Santa Clause Is Coming to Town - Bruce Springsteen
Thank God It’s Christmas - Queen
Santa Claus is coming to town - Ella Fitzgerald
Little drummer boy - Johnny Cash
Please Come Home For Christmas - Jon Bon Jovi
Happy Xmas (War Is Over) - John Lennon & Yoko Ono