Do genetically engineered Christmas carols make you sick?

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  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
    I thought "Do They Know It's Christmastime" was a song that was meant to convict people engaging in sloppy, meaningless sentimentality and false religious sentiment while living in complete contradiction to the Gospel and the commands of Jesus. Satire doesn't play terribly well for a lot of people, and we're definitely not used to hearing it in music.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    I think the "it was just written really fast" is the real explanation: http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1579

    The satire argument doesn't fit the rest of the song.
  • MarziPanda95
    MarziPanda95 Posts: 1,326 Member
    I unashamedly love Christmas music. First of December, time to break Michael Buble out of his cave. I love the classics, too. I Wish It Could be Christmas Every Day, Christmas Time (by The Darkness), All I Want for Christmas, Fairytale of New York etc etc. There are some I don't like, but that's the case for even the most Christmasy of people. I don't care how cheesy the song it. It's Christmas, so it's fine.
    And in defence of (and also not in defence of) Do They Know it's Christmas... it DOES snow in Africa. In South Africa and Lesotho, it snows pretty much every year. It also snows in North Africa, especially in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, where it snows enough for skiing. In 2015, it snowed in Kenya in February. It snows in mountainous regions of Uganda. So even in areas considered too hot for snow, it occasionally happens. So whilst everyone is wrong for saying 'that's stupid, of course there won't be snow in Africa' the song is also wrong for saying that in the first place. Remember Africa is a HUGE continent. People in the west often forget that 'Africa' doesn't just refer to Sub-Saharan Africa. So whilst there won't be snow in South Africa and Lesotho this Christmas time (it's in the southern hemisphere so snowfall there is between May and August usually) there probably will be in parts of North Africa.
    I do take issue with the main line of the chorus. Most of them will know it's Christmas time, but a lot of them won't care. Whilst big parts of Africa are Christian, a lot of Africa is Muslim or follows traditional religious beliefs. I know it refers to the fact that people should be generous at Christmas and the poverty stricken people in parts of Africa won't feel that cheer, but it's probably too literal a way of putting it.
    ...Still love it as a Christmas song, even if I'm so pedantic that I pull it apart every time I sing it. If I'm drunk enough, I won't even care that there probably will be snow in Africa this Christmas time.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,889 Member
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Here's a cello version of Carol of the Bells. God, I love strings.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9GtPX6c_kg

    I like it!

    Like this better:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNNwQ85xoxU
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,889 Member
    Love the song; glad they're not my neighbor:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V245QDDXqU
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
    tomteboda wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    I start listening to Pandora's Christian Christmas channel around the first of November. There are some really good new and newish Christian Christmas songs. I really like the "Mary Did You Know" song. It think it's kind of new.
    I love that you listen to the Christian Christmas channel. There's so much more variety!

    Of all the Christmas songs in the world... you love one that I loathe the most! But its also one a great many people adore because it has a haunting melody.

    I strongly prefer Amy Grant's "Breath of Heaven"

    Some other favorites include
    "How Many Kings" - Downhere
    "Welcome to Our World" - Chris Rice
    "Leaving Heaven" - Matthew West
    "When Love Was Born" - Mark Schultz
    "My Deliverer" - Rich Mullins
    "Will We Know Him" - Don Besig
    "Winter Snow" - Audrey Assad
    "While You Were Sleeping" - Casting Crowns
    "A Baby Changes Everything" - Faith Hill (Wiseman, Wiseman & Nichols)
    "Christmas Offering" - Paul Baloche

    And for a song I'd never do in church, but is wonderful for Christmas (and very different) is
    "Shotgun Shells on the Christmas Tree" - Robin & Linda Williams

    I love This is Christmas, by Kutless.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYVWFZ07-U
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
    And this is the ALL-TIME worst...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCBhQCCyhTo
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
    I'm going to preface this very brief breakdown of "Do They Know it's Christmas?" With a bit of commentary

    "I am responsible for two of the worst songs in history. The other one is 'We Are the World'." - Geldof

    I almost completely agree with him. Dripping in hackneyed sentimentality and condescension for almost everyone involved, these songs drive me nuts and have done so since I was a kid and first heard them. I don't like being manipulated, and both of these songs explicitly seek emotional manipulation (to get money out of people through guilt).

    Now here's the song, which I maintain is just seething with satirical contempt.

    sx1h5xxq539q.jpg

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