a) “Songs for
Christmas”/“Silver & Gold” by Sufjan Stevens
I think it's safe
to say that Sufjan Stevens has lost his damn mind. It's either that
or he is one of the most strange, calculating SOBs making music
these days.
His
“Songs for Christmas” collection was quite wonderful, a
5-EP set of original and traditional Christmas songs that
sounded very... Sufjany. There were gentle acoustic-picked
ballads, some great harmonizing vocals, and a shitload of
banjos. Some of his best songs were the most depressing, like
“That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!” but the cheerful
cuts didn't suffer at all. “I Saw Three Ships” should not
sound that fresh and fun.
Now let's cut to
this year with the release of 5 new EPs, collectively titled “Silver
& Gold.” A lot of these songs were recorded in the years after
Sufjan's “Illinois” album, when he was experimenting with albums
about turnpikes and going back to his more electronic, glitchy roots.
But this isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially if you like that
kind of thing. Personally, I think the biggest standout track is the
9-minute galvanic epic “Do You Hear What I Hear?” This might not
be your grandparents' Christmas album, but it looks to be the one of
the future.
b) The Office (UK) Christmas
Special
This is not me
condescendingly saying that the British version of The Office is
better than the American version. They are very different shows and
I have a special place in my heart for both. That being said, the
finale of The Office (UK) will not be surpassed by the pending end
of The Office (US), mostly because Michael is gone, Jim and Pam are
already together, and Dwight did not end up being manager.
What UK had that
US shied away from early was an overall hopelessness that I found so
endearing. These employees were stuck. Not just stuck, but STUCK in
every sense. No one was really happy and no one ever got their way.
And the despair was so painful and hilarious.
So while the
Christmas special tied everything up in a nice bow, more or less
giving everyone what they wanted (including the audience), which went
against what the show seemed to stand for, but still felt satisfying.
I mean, getting what you want (better, what you deserve) is what this
season is about, so it fits that (only assholes say “spoiler
alert”) Tim and Dawn end up “together,” Brent gets a reassuring
date from a beautiful woman, and Finch receives a well-deserved “fuck
off.” Merry Christmas to all.
c) Christmas commercials
“So, do you
think Santa will like these red and green M&Ms?” It's a
classic. So is the formation of Hershey's Kisses jingling “We Wish
You a Merry Christmas.”
I don't know what
makes me a sucker for the consumerist aspects of Christmas (I'm sure
marketing majors could help me out), but I totally buy into it. All
of it. I may not actually make any purchases (because I honestly
don't know if I've ever actually seen an ABC Warehouse with my own
eyes), but I can't help but watch and believe. Campbell's
Soup not only melts the snow off of some snowman-like kid (I mean,
really, where were his parents when their son got encompassed by a
7-inch thick shell of snow?) but it also melts my heart.
Similar
to when Christopher Walken guest stars on SNL, it seems that ad
agencies really pull out the big guns during Christmastime. Sure,
some companies seem to get bafflingly lazy—“It's Christmas. Um...
buy diamonds.”—but plenty make an effort to try and get us to
purchase their products and I appreciate the step-up in giving a
shit. You know what, Old Navy? I'll throw you a bone and stop by your
store. I'm just browsing, but we can pretend otherwise.
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