The holidays...

I love the holidays. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chanukah, New Year's...I love them all. I spend an appalling amount of money buying songs and materials for my students to do holiday lessons, just waiting for that four-week period where I get to do this sort of stuff.

I especially love '80's Christmas music. Sometime, when you have a second, go back and listen to "Last Christmas" as recorded by Wham!. How did we ever, ever believe that George Michael was straight? Also, check out the video- I downloaded it from iTunes. Seriously, George and the other guy are feuding over an extremely '80's-looking girl. It is craptastic.

While you're in the land of the '80's, give a listen to "Do They Know It's Christmastime" by Band-Aid, the most defunct celebrity supergroup ever. You can tell they thought Boy George would be a superstar for a long time, with all the solo lines he got to sing.

Bono sounds the same, thank goodness...

What bothers me, though, are the Christmas songs designed to make you feel bad. "Do They Know It's Christmastime" is on the cusp, but because of its awful cheesy goodness, I accept it. I heard a song on the radio the other day, though, about a pathetic little boy buying shoes for his dying mother to wear in her coffin, or something, and I was sobbing by the third syllable. Why?? Why do that to me at Christmastime? Stop it!

Give me Willie Nelson singing "Frosty The Snowman." Or Carrie Underwood singing "Do You Hear What I Hear." Give me happy cheesy goopy glurgy holiday cheer. I can't get enough.