I love Christmas tunes... or do I?
Christmas time is upon us... obviously, and as I sit here with iTunes shuffling some various Christmas tunes for me, I got to wondering...
When an artist/band decides to record a Christmas album, is that a good thing or bad thing in terms of their career and their success?
Okay, the obvious take here would be that it is a good thing, for no other reason than the artist is still actually recording, which means some label is still taking the time to sign this act and produce their stuff. But really, is it that good?
The other side is that it means one's career is on the slide, that its a vain attempt to regain fans and or exposure. I mean, there are a lot of Christmas albums out there, so, even if youre a band on the downside of your success, recording a Christmas album can do nothing but good for your rep, because Christmas tunes are like clubhouse sandwiches... they are very hard to screw up.
Myself, I think the answer lies somewhere in the middle of that equation. I mean, unless you are a pop band who can churn out all sorts of crap and teens will eat it up even if you were secretly pulling a Juda Priest on them, then I think it is a questionable move in terms of how you are viewed. But at the same time, if youre a legendary (= old) singer who still has fans of all ages, then putting out some Christmas tunes for all to enjoy can actually be a shot in the arm to a career in need of circulation. I mean, the number of good Christmas songs out there are very few, if you want to avoid the whole ultra-religious side of things... so its really a foolproof idea, as everyone will instantly know every word to each song on your album.
Now dont get me wrong, I love Christmas music... I just wonder sometimes what would bring artists to record Christmas tunes... I mean, I can see N'Sync doing it, just because their marketing scheme was to put out as many songs/pictures/articles of themselves as they possibly could while they were popular until people figured out that they all sucked (cept, JT's got skills... he's the modern day Michael Jackson -- only without the freakiness and abusive childhood memories). But what about Mariah Carey? She did a Christmas album in the 90s, and it's pretty good... but what drove her to do so? Sheer love of the holiday season? Not sure...
What about Neil Diamond? John Lennon? Frank Sinatra? Elvis? They have all made some very memorable Christmas music over the years, but at what point in their careers did they decide to make that move? And why? Who knows... but Elvis did record some as young Elvis (who could do no wrong) and as fat old Elvis (who needed the work)... so I guess he would be the ideal litmus test for this question, as he recorded Christmas albums at both points in his career... I guess we'll never know...
One more thing about Christmas music that gets me is that it seems that Christmas music and the National Anthem have become the two music styles that are open to any type of artistic impression. I mean, you see people take all sort of artistic liberties with the National Anthem (see R. Kelly) and the same is true for Christmas tunes (listen to O Holy Night by three different artists and you'll see what I mean)... my question is, how did that come to be? I mean, shouldnt a manager tell someone not to eff with a good thing? Who knows... I'm not a singer or a producer... I'm just a listener... but I can tell you that when I see some random act of the week taking on the National Anthem with numerous runs and lengthy notes, it makes me sick... but on the flip side, when I see someone like BabyFace or Boyz II Men do their take on White Christmas or Let it Snow, I find it refreshing and enjoyable... odd...
anyway... enough for today... back later with thoughts on Chinese food...
When an artist/band decides to record a Christmas album, is that a good thing or bad thing in terms of their career and their success?
Okay, the obvious take here would be that it is a good thing, for no other reason than the artist is still actually recording, which means some label is still taking the time to sign this act and produce their stuff. But really, is it that good?
The other side is that it means one's career is on the slide, that its a vain attempt to regain fans and or exposure. I mean, there are a lot of Christmas albums out there, so, even if youre a band on the downside of your success, recording a Christmas album can do nothing but good for your rep, because Christmas tunes are like clubhouse sandwiches... they are very hard to screw up.
Myself, I think the answer lies somewhere in the middle of that equation. I mean, unless you are a pop band who can churn out all sorts of crap and teens will eat it up even if you were secretly pulling a Juda Priest on them, then I think it is a questionable move in terms of how you are viewed. But at the same time, if youre a legendary (= old) singer who still has fans of all ages, then putting out some Christmas tunes for all to enjoy can actually be a shot in the arm to a career in need of circulation. I mean, the number of good Christmas songs out there are very few, if you want to avoid the whole ultra-religious side of things... so its really a foolproof idea, as everyone will instantly know every word to each song on your album.
Now dont get me wrong, I love Christmas music... I just wonder sometimes what would bring artists to record Christmas tunes... I mean, I can see N'Sync doing it, just because their marketing scheme was to put out as many songs/pictures/articles of themselves as they possibly could while they were popular until people figured out that they all sucked (cept, JT's got skills... he's the modern day Michael Jackson -- only without the freakiness and abusive childhood memories). But what about Mariah Carey? She did a Christmas album in the 90s, and it's pretty good... but what drove her to do so? Sheer love of the holiday season? Not sure...
What about Neil Diamond? John Lennon? Frank Sinatra? Elvis? They have all made some very memorable Christmas music over the years, but at what point in their careers did they decide to make that move? And why? Who knows... but Elvis did record some as young Elvis (who could do no wrong) and as fat old Elvis (who needed the work)... so I guess he would be the ideal litmus test for this question, as he recorded Christmas albums at both points in his career... I guess we'll never know...
One more thing about Christmas music that gets me is that it seems that Christmas music and the National Anthem have become the two music styles that are open to any type of artistic impression. I mean, you see people take all sort of artistic liberties with the National Anthem (see R. Kelly) and the same is true for Christmas tunes (listen to O Holy Night by three different artists and you'll see what I mean)... my question is, how did that come to be? I mean, shouldnt a manager tell someone not to eff with a good thing? Who knows... I'm not a singer or a producer... I'm just a listener... but I can tell you that when I see some random act of the week taking on the National Anthem with numerous runs and lengthy notes, it makes me sick... but on the flip side, when I see someone like BabyFace or Boyz II Men do their take on White Christmas or Let it Snow, I find it refreshing and enjoyable... odd...
anyway... enough for today... back later with thoughts on Chinese food...
Labels: stuff I think about
posted by The Captain at 12/13/2005 02:03:00 PM
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