Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Winter Wonderland Wednesday: "All I Want for Christmas is You" - Mariah Carey

Yeah, hi. I won't lie, that awful Band Aid 30 song really put me in a sour mood. Man, I just need a Christmas song filled with love and joy, not pretentiousness and patting each other on the back! Let's get back to basics. What is Christmas about?

Well, it's about Jesus. But in a broader sense for those who may not be as religious, it's about love. Love for one another and joy of the season. And ooooooh, bay-bee, have I got a song that encapsulates that.


It's Mariah Carey back in her heyday. In 1994, you knew a Christmas song by Mariah Carey would have had to blow up on the charts. And, it did. Blowing up the charts internationally, it became Carey's biggest hit around the world. Something about combining Christmas with the biggest pop star of the 90's must have really struck chords with people.

But that's not to take away from the song. It is indeed a very worthy addition to the holiday canon that we're used to. "Sleigh Ride", "Jingle Bell Rock", "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", all those classics. I think Carey's song holds up along with them. It's undeniably catchy, for starters. The beat just bounces along with the jingle bells, and though the lyrics are pretty simple, it works because Christmas isn't really supposed to be a challenging time. I can forgive mediocre lyrics a lot more in a Christmas song than anywhere else, especially since there's only so much you can do with the holiday.

I mean, yes. It's not exactly the most original of songs. There have been Christmas love songs before, dare I say better ones. ("Please Come Home for Christmas" probably being my favourite of the bunch.) But... there's just something about the joy of this song that makes it such a worthy Christmas staple. Carey sounds like she's having the time of her life singing it, and you can't help but enjoy it for that reason alone.

Well, I must say. This has brightened my mood quite a bit! Maybe I'll get to enjoy Christmas this year, without any more bad songs making it onto my radar. I guess we'll find out next week if Billboard has decided to be naughty or nice.

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