Non-Commercial Christmas Music

Christmas is in full swing once again, and seasonal songs are filling the air. Whether it is on the radio, played as elevator music, or used as a background tune in every retail commercial imaginable, there seems to be no escaping these holiday melodies. However, some find that more popular songs such as “All I want for Christmas is You,” by Mariah Carey, can be overplayed and overdone. To freshen up the average Christmas lover’s playlist, the Clypian has researched music for the holiday season that could be seen as non-commercial.
Most holiday songs are cheerful, with a certain brightness to them. However, heavy metal covers of songs like “Silent Night” put a darker, more creative spin on holiday classics. The Chuck Billy and the Others cover of this song in particular is a polar opposite of the original. It was released in 2008 on a heavy metal compilation album called “We Wish You a Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year” that features other covers of classic Christmas songs by other heavy metal artists.
“I have heard some covers from bands that are considered to be metal or rock bands that have
Christmas songs that I like,” Alivia Hart ‘19 said.
For some students at South, commercialized Christmas songs are quite a stretch from songs they have grown accustomed to. This is true for the exchange students in particular, especially since Christmas is not as prevalent in the countries they are from as it is in the United States.
“Christmas music in Denmark is more traditional. Most of the songs are older and involved with church and not modern in anyway,” Nanna Oleson ‘17 said.
Some of these “older” Danish Christmas songs include “Nu er det jul igen [Now it is Christmas again]” and “Sikken voldsom trængsel og alarm [What a terrible hustle and bustle].”