When Christmas songs go wrong.
Photo by Chad Madden on Unsplash
This isn’t a blog about our puppy – although it could be! For regular followers of the blog, he’s now nearly 9 months old and is still completing our family, albeit in a slightly mischievous way.
Anyway, I digress.
This is about Christmas. Everything seems to be about bleeding Christmas at the moment.
Look, I have a young daughter and her Birthday is in December – I love Christmas. That is, I love the countdown to Christmas in December. Yes, that’s right – in December. The last time I looked advent calendars had 25 windows (or doors if you are so inclined) not 50 and in some instances, 50 plus!
At Get Carter HQ we are avid radio listeners – not usual listeners. We have average hours of circa 40 plus hours per week. If we ever get some Rajar diaries… we are open to incentives.
To that end, hearing “Last Christmas” on Thursday 16th November was mildly confusing/irritating. We must remember that music is the most powerful emotion known to man*. To that end, it evokes emotion and memories – the good and the bad. What I didn’t want in mid-November was to be reminded about the time I was thrown on a scrapheap by some girl who at the time I was undoubtedly smitten with or being reminded of never getting the Raleigh Grifter bike I craved but the Raleigh Arena – a size too big, and being told “You’ll grow into it.”
I can still sense the disappointment in my voice as I thanked Santa for my gifts.
I spent the rest of Thursday the 16th moping around the office and trying to get it all back together. To no avail. This was then followed up by “Stop the Cavalry” by Jonah Louis - a song I love (It was the second record I ever bought). I was confused again – it was out of context, maybe I’m just getting old.
Now, if I had been listening to one of the many pop up Christmas radio stations – I could have readily steeled myself for the forthcoming woe and confusion. Neigh – I would have felt neither of those emotions as I would have been listening in context. To that end why, oh why are mainstream stations playing Christmas songs in mid-November?
As previously mentioned I am a lover of Christmas and Christmas songs – in fact, one of my guilty pleasures are pop up Christmas radio stations.
To that end can we keep the Christmas songs on them. Well at least until I open a window on my Advent calendar.
Matthew Bromham
