6 Radio broadcasting of Christmas music.

Radio stations often convert to a 24-7 Christmas music format leading up to the holiday, starting sometimes as early as the day after Halloween – as part of a phenomenon known as ' Christmas creep'. Performances of Christmas music at public concerts, in churches, at shopping malls, on city streets, and in private gatherings is an integral staple of the Christmas holiday in many cultures across the world. Elvis' Christmas Album (1957) by Elvis Presley is the best-selling Christmas album of all time, selling more than 20 million copies worldwide. These included songs aimed at children such as ' Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town' and ' Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer', as well as sentimental ballad-type songs performed by famous crooners of the era, such as ' Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' and ' White Christmas', the latter of which remains the best-selling single of all time as of 2018. While most Christmas songs prior to 1930 were of a traditional religious character, the Great Depression era of the 1930s brought a stream of songs of American origin, most of which did not explicitly reference the Christian nature of the holiday, but rather the more secular traditional Western themes and customs associated with Christmas. Many songs simply have a winter or seasonal theme, or have been adopted into the canon for other reasons. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject matter ranges from the nativity of Jesus Christ, to gift-giving and merrymaking, to cultural figures such as Santa Claus, among other topics. Simply love.Christmas music being performed at a US Army Band concert in 2010Ĭhristmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. The album closer 'Triple Dog Dare' gracefully encapsulates the album's emotional essence - despite family drama, unspoken feelings, fears and seemingly no path forward, hold on to any glimmer of hope you can. It can be furious, as illustrated by 'Thumbs' and its suppressed murderous thoughts toward a partner's emotionally taxing father, or the anger at a love settling for less on 'Christine.' Most vitally, the songs Dacus writes here are beacons of representation for queer kids seeking love while growing up in Christian communites of repression (see: the taboo exploration of 'VBS' - vacation bible school). 'Please Stay' unflinchingly confronts the feeling of helplessness when trying to get through to a suicidal friend, with each passing line stinging evermore. It showcases young love discovery in bursts of rock bliss ('First Time') and pain ('Partner in Crime'). Lucy Dacus's songwriting hits new heights on her third album, painting lyrical scenes rich with color, personal details, enlivening emotions and agonizing ones. No songs from 2021 felt more lived-in than the ones found on Home Video. From the bombastic horn of the opener 'Introvert' to the minimalist slow stoner burn beats of 'Rolling Stone' to the clattering African rhythms of 'Point and Kill,' the soundscape never gets complacent. The album is peppered with scored interlude tracks, which, rather than slowing the pace, almost give the presentation a Disney-esque magical floating feeling. The MC delves into being present for love ('I See You'), African female swag ('Woman'), daddy issues ('I Love You, I Hate You'), maintaining a healthy level of uncertainty ('Miss Understood'), and a host of other concerns with an uncanny lyrical flow that feels smoothly never-rushed while still embodying a no-nonsense blunt edge. A creative tour de force, the hour-plus album takes listeners on a journey through the varying facets of what it takes to be a woman. British-Nigerian rapper Little Simz didn't limit her scope on Sometimes I Might Be Introvert.

Best holiday albums 2021