Have you had enough yet? For the past five weeks, your ears have likely been assaulted with the annual barrage of snappy little tunes that can easily get on anyone’s nerves. The holiday may only come once a year, but for many it’s one time too many. While it’s true that repetition breeds familiarity – which often equates with a warm, comfortable feeling – it’s also enough to make some of us prefer fingers scraping over a chalkboard before having to listen to “White Christmas” again.
Anyone who has worked retail, and especially those of us who’ve done stints at a record store, will tell you that, by the end of the week after Thanksgiving, they’re ready to take a shotgun to the sound system. You might think it’s a blast to spend your day hearing those cute Chipmunks singing in harmony, but even a pacifist would be forgiven if they took aim at Simon, Theodore, and Alvin. OK!
Since this week’s column falls on Christmas Eve, it’s been suggested by my editor that I take the day off, but I have declined. After all the gifts have been opened and the eggnog finished, with the relatives back home and the kids sleeping off a major sugar buzz, you’ll probably crave a trip to No Depression to get a fix of non-holiday tunes.
So I won’t disappoint. Really.
(That last one is for all you purists out there. Enjoy your holiday.)
