I’ve featured a fair bit of Christmas music over the years, and I’ve tried to steer clear of the most ubiquitous, big-name holiday songs in favour of some hidden, or forgotten, yuletide gems. This Wednesday marks this blog’s tenth Christmas, and while I fully admit that Christmas music isn’t for everyone, I’d like to do my part to help even the least jolly person find their own December anthem.
So I’ve done what any nerd would do. I made a flow chart to help you find your way to a Christmas song from this blog. See you at the bottom.
If you ended up at that last box, your current Christmas mood is in line with my own. Sarah Spring‘s approach on this song is similar to what Ben Laver did on a track I featured last Christmas – she takes a seasonal classic and preserves its core while giving it her own quirky, eccentric twist.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. The no-nonsense production. There’s no magic holiday reverb or layers of effects; she could pretty much be playing this on a piano in your living room.
2. The way the melody pushes, falling a sixteenth note ahead of each beat, like someone trying to balance three glasses of eggnog they’ve just poured for their guests.
3. The brief diversion at about 1.20, during which the piece follows a quick flow chart of chord changes before coming back to where it started.
Recommended listening activity:
Hiding a gift you just bought for someone in your family.