We are a third of the way through Christmas in July. Do not forget that, tomorrow night at 9, Rob Martinez hosts The Christmas in July special edition of The Nights Before Christmas on WBOI. Also, I didn't know at the beginning of the month that Merry & Bright would be participating in this month's festivities; head over there to catch up. And, of course, there's still plenty of time to grab our Stubby's House Christmas mix.
The first signs of Christmas aren't the first fallen snow, nor the first appearance of holiday decorations at your nearby Big Box store. No, much to the chagrin of the Christmas music haters out there, the first signs of Christmas are the Yuletide tracks that get released on non-holiday albums. These tiny sparkling snowflakes drop with nary a whisper right about this time every year. Few even notice them. But I do. A lot of times, they don't amount to much. Once in a while, they are spectacular. While far short of spectacular, we have a couple of newly fallen snowflakes that are...just real nice, and as warm and comfy as a winter afghan.
Y'all know my fascination with Christmas music from distant countries. I credit much of that to reading Billboard magazine in my youth, looking at the Top Ten charts from around the world, and seeing, there, Christmas songs that I would never get to hear. The Japanese charts in December always had a bunch.
Christmas in Japan is a bit different that Christmas here. They've totally embraced the secular parts of the holiday and pretty much ignored the religious aspects (or so it seems from a distance). Over time, Christmas in Japan has evolved to more closely resemble our Valentine's Day; it's now all about whether you're single and alone or in a relationship at Christmas.
But what I find really cool about Christmas music from Japan is that, more than any other non-English speaking country, their Christmas music absolutely has the feel of Christmas here...even if you can't understand a word they're singing (aside from the occasional phrase for which there is no Japanese translation). Such a tune is "Heart of Xmas" by Japanese actor and recording artist Masaharu Fukuyama.
The first signs of Christmas aren't the first fallen snow, nor the first appearance of holiday decorations at your nearby Big Box store. No, much to the chagrin of the Christmas music haters out there, the first signs of Christmas are the Yuletide tracks that get released on non-holiday albums. These tiny sparkling snowflakes drop with nary a whisper right about this time every year. Few even notice them. But I do. A lot of times, they don't amount to much. Once in a while, they are spectacular. While far short of spectacular, we have a couple of newly fallen snowflakes that are...just real nice, and as warm and comfy as a winter afghan.
Y'all know my fascination with Christmas music from distant countries. I credit much of that to reading Billboard magazine in my youth, looking at the Top Ten charts from around the world, and seeing, there, Christmas songs that I would never get to hear. The Japanese charts in December always had a bunch.
Christmas in Japan is a bit different that Christmas here. They've totally embraced the secular parts of the holiday and pretty much ignored the religious aspects (or so it seems from a distance). Over time, Christmas in Japan has evolved to more closely resemble our Valentine's Day; it's now all about whether you're single and alone or in a relationship at Christmas.
But what I find really cool about Christmas music from Japan is that, more than any other non-English speaking country, their Christmas music absolutely has the feel of Christmas here...even if you can't understand a word they're singing (aside from the occasional phrase for which there is no Japanese translation). Such a tune is "Heart of Xmas" by Japanese actor and recording artist Masaharu Fukuyama.
You can disagree, of course, but "Heart of Xmas" just feels like a Christmas love song to me--an epic Christmas love song at that. And there's not a sleigh bell or glockenspiel to be heard (although the choir of singing kids at the end doesn't hurt). Masaharu Fukuyama first released "Heart of Xmas" as a fan club single in 1997. The following year, it was commercially released as the "B" side (to the extent CD singles have "B" sides) of the uptempo "Peach!!" (the theme song of a Japanese television drama, I believe). Now, 20 years later, the single has seen digital release as of February 9. What's really intriguing, though, is that the Amazon listing shows a release date of November 9 which suggests that, perhaps, a physical re-issue of the CD single may be in the cards. The CD single never took off as a format in the states, but it seems to be thriving in Asia. Anyway, the download version is available now.
Our "something new" comes from Sweden, but the lyrics for this one are in English. Kjellåke Ring is, ostensibly, a Folk musician and songwriter who has been active in Sweden going all the way back to the 70s, though much of his work has been as part of other groups or backing other artists. "Please Santa Claus" is the title of a three song EP (only the one Christmas song) released under his own name on June 28 (and it is a 2018 release, not a 2017 release that just found its way to the states). It's one of those Christmas tearjerkers that's sorta Pop-accessible Country. Can't find much more about him on the web, but he does have a Facebook page. You can get "Please Santa Claus" from Amazon or wherever fine Christmas downloads are sold.
RSS Feed
