Awful Christmas Songs, lucky #13, brings us back to a previous entry. In fact, allow me simply to paste and flip the names from day #8 to illustrate my argument:
Perhaps I judge this one too harshly since it comes from the mind and the pen of one of the greatest songwriters of all time. Or perhaps the critics of John Lennon are right, and in the absence of Paul McCartney, his genius fades (and vice-versa, for that matter). I don’t believe that to be the case. Despite the duo of Lennon-McCartney being greater than the sum of the individual parts, it’s tough to argue against the influence and brilliance of each.
The difference here (from McCartney’s awful contribution to the season) is that I don’t find this song itself particularly irksome. Simple and repetitive? Yes. A little haughty? Absolutely. But despite it’s political motivation, Lennon’s signature idyllic style, marked by raw, introspective honesty, actually fits the season brilliantly. The Harlem Community Choir’s backing is peaceful and beautiful. In some ways, this is a quintessential Christmas song to usher in a new year, a fresh start…some ways…but in one glaring and insurmountable way, it’s as awful as awful can be. For the love of the sweet baby Jesus on the occasion of His birth, why was her mic hot? They say love is blind. Evidently love is also deaf. Very, very deaf.
[YouTube: johnlennon]
