Holiday Music

[Bulerias]

I know Christmas is still a month away, but I'm already in a very festive mood. Even though I'm non-religious, I find the holiday spirit quite infectious, and I especially love the music that goes along with it.

So I've already started listening to a bunch of stuff... notably, Vince Guaraldi's "A Charlie Brown Christmas", which features tunes from the Charlie Brown Christmas specials, along with jazz treatments of Christmas music standards. Great stuff, really. His rendition of Greensleeves is especially good -- so good, in fact, that I was inspired to arrange the tune for solo guitar... should be up on YouTube soon.

I'm also listening to "Emmanuel", by [ethereal], per Storm's recommendation. I dug their rendition of Joy to the World. Finally, "An Oscar Peterson Christmas" is on its way from Amazon.com... can't wait. <3 Also, with Hanukkah right around the corner, I've also been listening to a lot of klezmer music.

So are you guys listening to holiday music, too, or am I the only one listening to it so early? Haha...

Wow - another "non-religious" internet-user. Join the bandwagon. The population is stunningly high.

Wow - yeah; A JAZZY Christmas sure raises spirits! No, it doesn't. It isn't nearly wholesome enough. No strings (And no, not guitar string). Pianos? Saxes? That isn't a very merry Christmas, but it beats, BY FAR, all of the recent remixes (i.e. Mariah Carey); I literally cringe.

But as for it being "so early" to listen to Holiday music - that's ridiculous. They start playing it on the radio right after Halloween. I don't know of what you're thinking.

The old music is truly festive in spirit - modern music is too obnoxious - the quaint recording equipment produces a wholesome sound. The instruments are also nice - pure orchestration, without it lacking brass, strings, and a haughty voice.

I am quite aware of the internet population of agnostics, thank you very much. I, however, am a spiritual agnostic... those are usually a little rarer. But honestly, I don't care how "stunningly high" the population of non-religious internet-users is.

No strings? What kind of jazz Christmas music are you listening to? There are plenty of records with strings, such as Oscar Peterson's Christmas record. The recent remixes suck, I'll give you that.

I realize they start playing it on the radio right after Halloween. I, however, usually wait until a week before Christmas to start listening to the music... hence, this is "early" for me.

So you're saying the older versions are superior because of inferior -- "quaint", as you put it -- recording equipment? Or are you implying that modern recording equipment cannot produce a "wholesome" sound? Besides, since when is music released in 1965 (Vince Guaraldi's Christmas album) modern?

Jazz has strings? As in orchestral strings? Since when is that jazz? The only strings I know of in jazz are various guitars and basses. Too low-key. Not exciting. Nada.

Older versions are far superior because of the equipment, as well as the style.

1965 isn't modern - who said it was? It should be clear that I was talking separately when referring to jazz music and my overall opinion, but Jazz is much more modern than classical.

Again, Christmas music should be wholesome. Jazz is not. To tell you the truth, I don't know WHAT jazz actually is. Calming? Cool? It's definitely not wholesome.

Sounds like you have no idea what jazz actually is.

"Since when is that jazz?" Umm... since years ago? I don't think you're aware of the various sub-genres of jazz... one of them being orchestral jazz, which was created in 1920:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestral_jazz

"Jazz is not wholesome". What the hell? What kind of jazz are you listening to? You're probably basing your opinion on the stuff you hear on the radio. Again, it sounds like you're blissfully unaware as to what jazz is, and how beautiful, complex, and wholesome the genre is. Your descriptors of jazz are especially telling -- "Calming"? "Cool"? Try listening to something other than smooth jazz...