Welcome back, my fellow creatives!

Earlier this month, I shared an experience with Biff and how the right kind of Christmas music can calm us when life gets overwhelming. It struck me it’d be neat to hear from each of my little B’s this week to learn about their favorite Christmas crooners and the songs they sing.

~*~ Bash ~*~

Hey, Bash, can you come here for a second?

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

I know you’re busy with Transformers, but can you tell me which Christmas singer you like best?

Frank Sinatra.

Why that guy?

Because it makes me nostalgic for something I never existed in.

…Oh-kay. Is it his voice, or something about the songs he sings?

I like how the recordings are fuzzy so they sound like they’re old and long ago.

I like that sound, too. Which song is your favorite?

“I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas.”

~*~ Biff ~*~

Hey Biff, I need to ask you something.

Can I get my seal?

No, you don’t need your seal right now. I want to ask you about your favorite Christmas singer.

McDonald’s.

NO NOT MCDONALD’S. Fast food’s the last thing you need right now. Who do you like to listen to?

Lou Rawls.

Why that guy?

He sounds really good and I like jazz lot. It’s neat to listen to and the rhythm is fun.

Which song is your favorite?

All of them!

No, you have to pick one.

That one where he sings about what Christmas is.

Got it.

~*~ Blondie ~*~

All right, Blondie. When you think of Christmas crooners like Dean Martin or Bing Crosby, do you have a favorite guy?

Nnnnnno.

…you sure?

Yeah, I’m not really a fan of those.

Then what Christmas singer DO you like to listen to?

Annie Lennox is pretty good.

Say, she’s neat, I agree! But why her?

I just like her voice because it’s kind of similar to mine. It’s like the Alto range and stuff and cool and doesn’t like go to ear piercing highs notes. And her Christmas songs aren’t that bombastic. They’re just kind of chill.

Well there’s nothing wrong with some chill at Christmastime. Do you have a favorite you want to share?

“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” is pretty cool.

~*~ ~*~

I admit, I thought I’d hear at least one Dean Martin in the mix, or Sinatra’s “Jingle Bells.” But we all have our music of comfort in the season, be it of Marshmallow worlds or Santa comin’ to town. And I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t limit myself to one kind of Christmas music. I’ll enjoy the choirs and the carols with everyone else, but sometimes you just want something…well, different.

The collection Christmas Cocktails is one of my favorite driving albums right now–firstly, because I won’t fall asleep to relaxing carols on snowy roads, but also because nearly every track has an off-the-wall take on the Christmas song. Some have a more familiar swing, like Kay Starr’s “The Man with the Bag.”

And then there are organ tracks that just make me picture an older man in a spectularly sequined suit coat with big glasses and a bigger pompadour playing one of those house organs my grandparents used to have.

Granted, nothing quite matches the Herb Albert-esque brass of Ray Anthony’s “Christmas Trumpets.” I mean, that song sounds like the Christmas edition of Match Game and I LOVE IT. The point is this: the music of Christmas takes many, many forms. We each have that form that touches us the deepest, that makes us smile the most. And every now and again we encounter something new that makes us smile in a whole new way (don’t ask Blondie about the first time I heard Bo’s Christmas disco album). I hope in these final days before Christmas you listen to every song that brings you joy. That brings you peace. That brings you laughter. That brings you love.

That brings you together.

Read on, share on, write on, AND hear on, my friends!