The holiday season brings with it perennial favorite songs, but when was the last time you heard a new holiday song that makes you want to play it every year?
The last major breakout holiday song was Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” in 1994, but it’s not like other artists have stopped producing holiday tunes. Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Justin Bieber and others have all taken a swing at writing the next holiday earworm, but those songs have failed to gain the kind of play that the classics like Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime” or even “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer.”
Can we overcome this drought of worthwhile Christmas songs, or has the new Christmas tune become a thing of the past?
Guest:
Chris Klimek, a writer in D.C. who’s written for the Guardian UK, Washington Post, Village Voice and other publications. His piece on Christmas music was recently published in Slate.