I heard it on the piped music at my coffee joint at about 9:30 this morning, and I may be exaggerating just a little when I say that is about the 3,987th time since the Christmas season began – not the original Christmas season of a couple of thousand years ago, just this one.
Yes, there are those that think the rotten Little Drummer Boy is cute. I am not in their numbers. Ubiquitous it is, and I’d almost be driven to say it is dystopian, at least in intent. Bambi is cute, kittens are cute, Meg Ryan was (once, nine facelifts ago) cute, that drummer kid isn’t. He’s loud, trite and intrusive. Rum-pa-pum-pum, indeed. I bet the Virgin Mary wanted to slap him just as she’d gotten the kid to sleep, along comes this brat with his &%$#* drum. “I’ll rum-pa-pum-pum you my lad if you don’t get your kiester out of this manger!” Anyway, I am also driven to ask, what’s with the drumsticks? They didn’t have drumsticks in the days of Augustus, they had skin drums like bodhrans, and they don’t go rum-pa-pum-pum in the same way. You want stick drumming, bring in Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, or even Don Henley, but not that damn kid with his repetitive and uninspired beat. It gets to a fellow, really it does.
Glad I got that off my chest. Now, there are other Christmas ditties I grow weary of, too. Feliz Navidad; nice enough melodically for maybe once in the season, but not on an ongoing basis. And I thoroughly dislike so called ‘humorous’ Christmas offerings like the barking dogs Jingle Bells, and nasty compositions like Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer. And I am thoroughly with blogger pal, Jazz, about Rudolph. But, I think the winner in terms of tedium is the slightly more traditional 12-days-of-Christmas.
But, enough kvetching. Christmas is meant to be all about positives, so I’ll impose my pet peeves on you no further. There are many items of Christmas music I thoroughly love, or at least like a whole lot. Some are traditional carols – among my favorite Christmas music always, especially if offered by a superlative choir and pipe organ, some are just evocative pieces and memory jolts from an earlier time in my life, some are modern, and some are just enjoyable.
Here’s my list in absolutely no order and ranging from the sacred to the profane:
Hark the Herald Angels: By King’s College Choir, Cambridge
Fairytale of New York: The Pogues with late, lamented and lovely Kirsty McColl.
Blue Christmas: Elvis
White Christmas: Bing
Santa Baby: Eartha Kitt
I Yoost go Nuts: Yorgi Yorgisen
Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire: Nat King Cole
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas: Judy Garland
Christmas in Killarney: Bing
Jingle Bell Rock: Bobby Helms
Linus and Lucy: Vince Guaraldi
The Holly and the Ivy: Traditional
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks: Traditional
Probably even more, when I think of it. But just no more Little Drummer Boy, ever, please.
