My friend asked me yesterday if I am “…tired of holiday music”. Although I understand his question and many people’s differing opinion, my answer is “no” for various reasons:
1. Most holiday music is pretty positive, which is always a good thing.
2. Although Christmas is the focal point of most songs, these tunes are not overtly religious and include people, bring them together and have the potential to start a conversation: “…the weather outside is frightful” (“Let It Snow”) has been known to start off dialogues at my local Trader Joe’s as the customers commiserate about the wind and rain – or, more often, chuckle in unison as they pick their fresh fruit in a T-shirt and think about their friends and family on the east coast digging their cars out of the snow.
3. Staying with the “bringing-together” theme, the most successful and most-recorded holiday song of all times (and also the most recorded song of all time according to music rights organization BMI) is “The Christmas Song” (“Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire”) – it was co-written by Mel Tormé, who was Jewish. See, the holidays bring people together 
4. The mostly upbeat songs fit this time of year, when everybody so busily tries to get things done, buys presents, meet certain people before the end of the year or before the end of the world etc. Without the cheerful sleigh-bells egging everyone on, who knows how much worse people would feel and how much sooner they would run out of steam.
5. Lastly, I feel any occasion, which brings people together to actively “make” music, instead of just listening to it and “consuming” it, is a gift. Personally, the fondest and most poignant holiday memories I have are linked to singing Christmas songs with my family in Austria. Although I did not partake in singing the songs when I was a child, now I do and think back to the many voices singing songs and my uncle playing the guitar pretty out of tune – if he could only have taken some private guitar lessons!
A Holiday Music Poll feat. Charlie Brown
Lastly, I would like to know which version of this well-known Christmas-related program you prefer:
The Funky Rock:
The Hip Hop:
The Punk Rock:
Or The Original:
To let me know your opinion or to learn how to play the funk rock drums, the hip hop bass, the punk rock guitar or the original’s piano contact me!