<–Question of the Week: 11/27/16 Question of the Week: 12/11/16–>
The Question of the Week is posted every Sunday and will consist of a question followed by my answer and explanation to the same. Some questions will only require a simple answer that could potentially be followed by an explanation. Many questions will be writer oriented, but not all. Everyone is encouraged to answer in the comments and discussions/follow up questions are more than welcome!
What Christmas/holiday song do you hate?
“Christmas” fucking “Shoes.” That is the WORST goddamn song ever written. Seriously?? Who the hell writes a song about someone’s mom dying on Christmas Day?! What the hell is wrong with people? Ughhhhh! I won’t even post a link to that horrible thing here. I absolutely refuse to listen to it, and I’m so happy I don’t work in retail where it could potentially come on the radio. I’m also a Christmas music snob. I’m not a fan of what plays on the airwaves this time of the year, and instead I opt for my own song list consisting of classical and (surprising to some) religious favorites. I’m aware “Christmas Shoes” has a religious tone, but it still disgusts me that someone would foist that off as a holiday tune.
What holiday song is on your Nope List?
I look forward to your answers in the comments!
<–Question of the Week: 11/27/16 Question of the Week: 12/11/16–>
The Shameful Narcissist Speaks 
Pingback: Question of the Week: 11/27/16 | The Shameful Narcissist Speaks
i have never heard of that song and now I want to listen, but I suspect I would regret it – dilemma!
I always hated Santa Claus is Coming to Town, it always seemed a bit sinister to me (I was a morose child). Even now when I’m the epitome of optimism and joy, it gives me the creeps. I’m fairly sure I’m alone in that though.
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You should look it up on YouTube and let me know how long you could listen before needing to turn it off or throw something lol!
Omg I totally agree. Santa Claus is an absolute stalker. That song is creepy as hell. “He sees you when you’re sleeping/He knows when you’re awake.” Um why is Santa stalking me?
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Exactly! I’m glad someone else gets it 😀
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A friend just posted about this today, but I’ve considered it for a while, the absolute creepfest of “Baby It’s Cold Outside.” What. The. Hell.
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Heh, things were definitely seen differently in the past!
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I like the Portal parody “Baby It’s Space Outside” lol.
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Heh, that’s great!
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I *hate* Christmas Shoes with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. Morose topic, yes, but what jerk kid goes out shopping when his mother is dying? Why is he not home with her? I always pictured that mother opening one dying eye: “Where’s Johnny? I wanted to tell him I love him.” Her husband answers: “Out shoe shopping.” UGH. Words cannot accurately portray my pure and unadulterated hatred for that song.
When I was little I didn’t like I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, because I thought the mom was cheating on her husband. Now I find it disturbing because I think that her husband is dressing up as Santa Claus for some sort of role-play and I just don’t want to think about that (haha). But there is no song that I will rage-turn-off faster than Christmas Shoes.
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YES ughhh, there are no words to express how much I detest that song. The first time I heard it, I was like, “Am I really hearing this. Did someone actually write a song about this? Is the radio actually playing it? What is WRONG with you??!” Like that is NOT a Christmas song; I’m sorry.
Omg…you know about rule #34? If it exists, there’s a fetish? Yeaaaaaah, good ole St. Nick is not immune. There are people who are, um, obsessed with Santa Claus and don’t want to sit on his lap to ask for presents :O
You and me both with Christmas Shoes. I’ll leave the room if I can’t turn it off.
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Oh man. I’m going to have to go read something wholesome now to get those images out of my head……. haha
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Oh God! I HATE this song with a passion! Just thinking about it makes me want to start banging my head against the wall! For me, runners-up would be Santa Baby, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, and Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer. Just…Ugh!😕
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Actually, yeah. Santa Baby is annoying.
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Right?! Yet it’s so popular.😕
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That one’s definitely on my annoyance list. I really detest most of what comes on the radio lol.
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O.M.G. There are no words to express how much I utterly abhor that song. Santa Baby is really annoying because it’s sung in that over the top accent. I don’t have I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus as much because there’s a Jackson 5 version so I can’t be too upset, but Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer is one of those silly holiday songs I just want to shoot lol, and I don’t utterly hate silly holiday songs, but that one is definitely ugh.
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And when they play them over and Over AND OVER, it makes it soo much worse!😡
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I feel so bad for anyone who has to work in retail. They have to listen to it all day every day for nearly three months straight D:
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Torture!😕
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I don’t think there’s any I genuinely hate. Jingle Bells used to wind me up because you’d hear it everywhere, but my daughter has just learned to sing it so it gets a pass.
Personally, I’d say this is the best Christmas song of all time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH2umxtA_sc
Any song with “I got a DVD, I got a DVD and it was Doctor Who!” as a lyric is a winner in my book!
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There’s an awesome version of Jingle Bells by Frank Sinatra that I actually enjoy lol.
Yassss that was amazing.
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Occasionally, my pupils ask me to put in Christmas songs in the run up to the holidays. They immediately regret it when that comes on the speakers.
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I was just listening to Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas and realized that I have a love/hate attitude toward it. I love it because it sung by Judy Garland and it’s from one of my favorite musicals, Meet Me In St. Louis. But then I remember how Esther singing it to Tootie makes her cry and destroy her snowman family.😕
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Aw that’s quite a bittersweet combination. I haven’t seen that musical! THAT’S something I need to catch up on. I absolutely love show tunes and have a bunch on my playlists, but I’ve seen a rare few musicals in my lifetime even though I love musicals. The ones I’ve seen are really only because they were performed at my high school so yeah, I need to catch up.
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Ooh, you’ve got to who watch it Adrienne! It’s such a classic and it’s perfect for this time of year!😊
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I greatly dislike, “Do You Hear What I Hear.”
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Hm, I wonder if I could find you a version that you don’t abhor :p Is there a particular version that you hate the most?
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I feel like I always hear the exact same version every time so it’s quite possible you could find one that isn’t as horrible lol.
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I think I know what version you’re always hearing, the Bing Crosby one :p I like that one, but if I had to hear it fifty times a day, I’d want to punch something, too.
I’m kind of partial to this one now.
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That is not so bad.
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I had never heard Christmas Shoes before. What a great way to kill off the joy of the season…
Honestly, most Christmas songs get on my nerves a few weeks into December. They are so overplayed!
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It is hands down the worst song ever grrrr argh *rage* Like why would you do something like that?? I could rant about this for DAAAAAYS.
It doesn’t help that every single mall/retail arena plays them nonstop starting at the beginning of November (some even sooner). I feel so bad for everyone forced to work retail during the holidays. I try to be extra nice to them if I do venture out. I do the majority of my shopping on the interwebs though. Much safer.
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I don’t blame you! It’s a horrible song… I’m not a fan of malls at all, but I refuse to go within 100 meter radius of one from Black Friday until Jan. I did all my shopping online this year. Thank you Amazon for saving me from the chaos. 🙂
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Online shopping is the best modern invention! I need to organize my shopping list and take care of it this weekend. So far, the only person I’ve bought for is my husband. My older brother just wants money, and I’ll probably get my younger one an Amazon gift card. My sisters in law (husband’s sisters) sent their Christmas lists, and my brother’s wife will be happy with a Kindle gift card though I got her that last year hm.
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LOL wondering if i ever saw you writing that angry / with that much of *not liking* something in your lines ^^
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I know, I usually try to do the “elevate what you like instead of bashing what you hate” hehe, but I figured it would be a nice twist to do something different. I had this question planned for a while, and I’ve noticed many people have, shall we say, not so favorite Christmas songs :p
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“Little. Drummer. Boy.” Possibly the most monotonous, annoying bit of “music” I have ever heard. And one that’s not necessarily a Christmas song: “My Favorite Things” feels like rubbing sandpaper on my brain.
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My friend runs a contest every year with that song! Around Thanksgiving she makes a post that if you hear it between then and Christmas, you lose the game, and it’s based on the honor system. I lose every year. Most versions are very monotonous, but there are a few I’ve heard that are pretty amazing 🙂
“My Favorite Things” is one of those songs that’s not Christmas, but it’s associated with Christmas like The Nutcracker Suite. It IS played a lot around this time of the year. I think a lot of the Christmas song hate is due to hearing it over and over and over again ad naseaum.
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You might be right about the repetition, but I agree that arrangement has a lot to do with it, too. Years ago, I heard a live performance of Little Drummer Boy that was novel and energetic enough that I didn’t hate it, but otherwise… lol. Likewise, I realize some people don’t like “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” — most of the time, it sounds like elevator music — but the second time “Hang a shining star upon the highest bough” comes up in The Carpenters’ version, her voice is so plaintive and rich, it gives me chills every time.
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There’s this version of Drummer Boy by Tori Amos that’s chill inducing. No drum. Just her and her piano in front of a live audience for a taping. I think the arrangement has a great deal to do with it. I’ve heard some of my favorite songs arranged in a way I didn’t like and it ruins the song for me, but then I’ll hear a song that I didn’t like performed in such a way and I’m hooked. I was always ambivalent towards The Holly and the Ivy, but then I heard Loreena McKennitt’s rendition of it in the minor key, and I absolutely love it!
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I looked up the Tory Amos live version — is this the one you mean? It’s almost not the same song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BxkF7d3veQ
Then I looked up Loreena McKennitt’s Holly and the Ivy — it has a compelling epic fantasy vibe to it, I think, and I really love her voice. I’m not as drawn to the stylized stuff Amos does, but both of them certainly establish the importance of the arrangement. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FvE-z8xV1g).
Maybe I haven’t been listening as much as during previous years, but I heard the first carol of the season yesterday — Burl Ives’ “Holly, Jolly Christmas”! A childhood classic. Lol
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Tori is VERY stylized, and I can see her not being everyone’s cup of tea. I’ve listened to both her and Loreena McKennit since high school. I love that Holly and the Ivy version she does. That whole album is just fantastic. She does The Seven Rejoices of Mary, Emmanuel, Let Us the Infant Greet, and a bunch of others. There’s one song she does in French, too, Noel Nouvelet, which is lovely in addition to an instrumental medley of Bring a Torch/I Saw Three Ships. Incredibly talented lady.
That song reminds me of the Rankin/Bass animations! I know it’s featured in one of them. I really should watch them before the holiday is over. I’m going to have a Question of the Week about Christmas specials coming up 🙂
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I’ll have to research those McKennit songs, too. 🙂 Have you listened to much Kate Bush? I was recently introduced to her music by a woman who writes some of the most exquisite poetry I’ve ever read. Kate’s a little bizarre, but her voice and sense of humor are compelling.
Lol! You’re right. I think “Holly, Jolly Christmas” shows up in “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”.
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I haven’t! I’ll have to check her out.
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Pingback: Question of the Week: 12/11/16 | The Shameful Narcissist Speaks
Haha, it’s way past Christmas now… but I REALLY hate Dominick the Donkey. I don’t know who came up with it, but it’s awful! Christmas Shoes is hella depressing- not a feeling I want when I’m listening to holiday music!
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Ahhh now it’s stuck in my head! It’s the worst kind of ear worm. I’m not a fan of “silly” Christmas songs. I much prefer the more religious and (oddly) somber sort even though I myself am agnostic. I would throw those Christmas Shoes out a goddamn window and then set them on fire.
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Haha sorry! All the terrible songs get stuck in my head too!! I’m pretty much the same way with Christmas songs! I do enjoy some of the classic songs though, and I love the religious ones even though I am not religious at all either. HAHA oh yes set the Christmas Shoes on fire!! 😉
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That’s how I am! I was raised Christian (African Methodist), but I’m agnostic now. I still love the old classics though, and I’m such a Christmas goth hehe.
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I was raised Catholic Christian, so I know what you mean! 😉 I don’t really label myself as anything but if I had to, it would be atheist or agnostic atheist. Haha I am a Christmas goth too! When people who know me realize I like Christmas music, they are very surprised! 🙂
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I take the stance of I don’t know, and I’m not ashamed to admit it! I like what Neil deGrasse Tyson says about if you don’t know the answer to something, it’s okay to say you don’t know rather than making something up. I don’t have an issue with religion so long as it doesn’t infringe upon others rights…which unfortunately, it often does
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I agree! There is nothing wrong with saying you don’t know something. Neil deGrasse Tyson is a brilliant man 🙂 I just kind of live and let live and whatever makes people happy and brings them comfort, I’m all for it! Religion is definitely a tricky subject sometimes.
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