I walked into a store on November 1st this year. There was a song playing at the store you may have heard of it before. You may in fact even like it. It was of course “Dreaming of a White Christmas” by Bing Crosby.
Now, I have no problem with the song itself. I have no quarrel with the dude that wrote it. However I can not stand hearing it 2 months before Christmas. I am completely at a loss, I can not stand Christmas music anymore. Christmas is a time of year I run hiding from stores. I hate walking into a place and hearing the same 20 songs played over and over.
Yeah sure, Josh Groban does one version of a silent night however having Brittany spears sing it next with a different beat does not make it a different song. Its gotten to the point for me that I feel Christmas carolers are just trying to be facetious because of the fact that christmas songs are blasted in your face for a whole two months before a specific event.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas. I love the meaning and the hope that the holiday represents. I love the tender moments and the family together. It just feels like stores are guilting you to buy more stuff because you are supposed to spend money during Christmas time. I hate the idea that you have to do something and the subconscious attempt to guilt me into buying stuff for others or myself, leads me to aggressively fight against it. Its like stores are shoving stuff at you and saying “See this is what you should be like!” Or “These people are happy why aren’t you?”.
I wish it were easy to just block it out of my mind, unfortunately my brain has a habit of hearing everything, especially music. When I hear music I see, feel, and imagine differently. All my ideas come from listening to music. When I want to go to a different world I play movie soundtracks and instrumental pieces. When I want to hear poetry I put on lyrical stuff. When I want to feel angst I put on some teenage pop. When I want to buy something I do not ever put on Christmas music. I put that on when I want to feel close to people NOT products.
I wish I could feel happy or calm around Christmas music. I wish I didn’t feel like strangling the person who wrote the songs. It would be different if there was some sort of nostalgia factor but there really isn’t a chance to feel nostalgia about Christmas music when you hear it every year for two months at a time. There has not been a way to miss Christmas and I don’t think its been my imagination that stores just don’t let up.
My solution is to back off of things when they get to be annoying. Take Thanksgiving, a holiday with almost a religious tradition behind the food. I love the food and would eat it when its in front of me but I avoid having a traditional thanksgiving if I can. In the case of Thanksgiving its about giving thanks for what you have and making the most of what you have. Making good food no matter what it is has been fantastic, in my opinion, better then the same old thing. Change can be a good thing.
Music isn’t the point of Christmas it’s part of a tradition that has gotten old at least for me. It has a place for certain situations and I can appreciate that. Where stores are telling me to buy more gifts and products, I think I will be making my own presents instead. I will make my own tradition and evolve the ones that are no longer working. I refuse to accept that music makes the holiday. It’s not that I am Ebenezer Scrooge, or the Grinch. I won’t stop anyone from listening to their music that they like. It might mean that I avoid parties and church when they play “that type” of music. As I said it’s just me. Someday I might go back. Someday there might be a reason to. Until then I will listen to anything but the traditional stuff.
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