Spring Break
Trivial holiday songs and more
Scott Dennis
Issue date: 11/14/08 Section: Forum
Since the day after Halloween, a steady stream of Christmas music has been pouring from my speakers. When questioned about the appropriateness of the music given the current time of year, I tell people to blame the lack of good Thanksgiving songs.
Come to think of it, how many holidays really have songs associated with them? We play scary music for Halloween and patriotic music for Independence Day, but what about the other holidays - what of Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day? When was the last time you heard someone strolling through campus singing "Five Little Turkeys" or "Valentine Valentine?"
When most people think of "Holiday Music," they think of Christmas songs and the like, which is rather unfair to the other major holidays. Where are their classic ballads and Bing Crosby standards?
Since Thanksgiving is coming up soon, let's use it as an example. There must be plenty of song-worthy things about this classic November holiday. It brings people together, for one, so it's a lot like Christmas in that regard. But instead of bringing families together to exchange gifts and discuss the year in review, Thanksgiving lures them together with promises of overeating and watching football while the kids hop around and ask when it'll be Christmas.
This beloved holiday tradition should provide plenty of material for today's crooners. With any luck, soon a cavalcade of new Thanksgiving classics will resonate in dorm rooms all across the country. I'm sure it will be magical.
With the conclusion of the presidential election, we should prepare a new slate of traditional jingles for our next big holiday. It's only a couple months away, so we'll have to be quick about it - Inauguration Day doesn't come every year, you know.
Though it's only officially observed by government employees in and around Washington D.C., everyone should be able to celebrate this glorious day by tuning in to their favorite Inauguration Day ballads or folk songs - we just have to write them first.
Come to think of it, how many holidays really have songs associated with them? We play scary music for Halloween and patriotic music for Independence Day, but what about the other holidays - what of Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day? When was the last time you heard someone strolling through campus singing "Five Little Turkeys" or "Valentine Valentine?"
When most people think of "Holiday Music," they think of Christmas songs and the like, which is rather unfair to the other major holidays. Where are their classic ballads and Bing Crosby standards?
Since Thanksgiving is coming up soon, let's use it as an example. There must be plenty of song-worthy things about this classic November holiday. It brings people together, for one, so it's a lot like Christmas in that regard. But instead of bringing families together to exchange gifts and discuss the year in review, Thanksgiving lures them together with promises of overeating and watching football while the kids hop around and ask when it'll be Christmas.
This beloved holiday tradition should provide plenty of material for today's crooners. With any luck, soon a cavalcade of new Thanksgiving classics will resonate in dorm rooms all across the country. I'm sure it will be magical.
With the conclusion of the presidential election, we should prepare a new slate of traditional jingles for our next big holiday. It's only a couple months away, so we'll have to be quick about it - Inauguration Day doesn't come every year, you know.
Though it's only officially observed by government employees in and around Washington D.C., everyone should be able to celebrate this glorious day by tuning in to their favorite Inauguration Day ballads or folk songs - we just have to write them first.
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