David Byrne, enigmatic frontman and eclectic curator, is gearing up for the winter season with a playlist of offbeat holiday songs. Titled “Christmas Music for People Who Hate Christmas Music,” he posted the playlist on Mixcloud along with a lengthy anecdote about his choices.
The 32-track collection spans from Run-DMC to Willie Nelson, from the Staple Singers to Sabrina Carpenter. In between, there’s a plethora of songs from many different genres, nestled together, complementary and contradictory in turn. It’s an interesting mix, but one that delighted David Byrne fans and Christmas music haters.
“The winter solstice marks the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, the turning point when days begin, little by little, to become longer,” Byrne wrote on his website, along with Spotify and Apple Music links. He continued with a little holiday history.
“Christmas and other holidays at this time of year appropriated an earlier celebration of the winter solstice. In our present calendar, it happens on December 21st, but in the old Roman calendar, it was on the 25th – our present Christmas Day,” he wrote. “Commemorated in Stonehenge, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, Egypt, Rome, and numerous other sites around the globe, it was seen as the rebirth of the sun.
“Germanic people called it Yule. To us, it might seem that after December 21st, the winter is just beginning; colder days will be coming… But, to those ancients who watched the skies, it’s an obvious turning point – when warmth, sunlight, and plants commence their gradual return.”
David Byrne Posts Eclectic Christmas Music Playlist For Even the Most Persnickety Listener
Including a quote from the William Davidson Talmud about the winter solstice, David Byrne then continued, “Saint Nicholas brought gifts as well as punishments – a time of year that brings mixed blessings.” The post concluded, “This playlist is not about the solstice, nor does it have some Pagan agenda – it’s rowdy, fun songs that gently poke at and refer to the holidays. Enjoy!”
Highlights from the playlist include two Run-DMC songs, “Christmas Is” and “Christmas In Hollis”. There’s also Willie Nelson’s “Pretty Paper”, Yellowman’s “Santa Claus Never Comes To The Ghetto”, and Gaby Moreno’s “Mi Burrito Sabanero”. Additional songs include “Did I Make You Cry On Christmas?” by Sufjan Stevens, “War Is Over” by Genghis Barbie, “Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis” by Neko Case, and “sympathy for the grinch” by 100 gecs (a personal holiday favorite).
Meanwhile, David Byrne is currently on tour supporting his recent album Who Is The Sky?, which included a stop at NPR’s Tiny Desk. He crammed 13 musicians, including himself, behind the miniature concert space, but Byrne and his touring band are used to playing in close quarters.
They performed two new tracks, “Everybody Laughs” and “Don’t Be Like That”. The stripped-back show also included two Talking Heads favorites, “Nothing But Flowers” and “Life During Wartime”.
Photo by Jim Bennett/Getty Images
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