No Sugarcoating & No Bullshit: November
Written by Jo Hayes
Saturday, 29 November 2014 03:30
Hello again Uber Rockers, it’s me again with your usual dose of monthly nonsense. With the build up to Christmas, I thought I’d write or rant about something festive as well as music related.
In the firing line this month is shit Christmas music. Usually it’s just the X Factor, now this year there’s Band Aid 30 to contend with too. The pros are that of course it’s a charity single, which is meant to be raising awareness of the disease as well as money. The first part of the music video shows people in plastic suits taking away a person who has Ebola, and shows a blood stained bed. Also the lyrics appear to be about Ebola, all of this of course raises awareness, and in the festive season, where people tend to be more generous.
Now, listening to the chorus “Can they know it’s Christmas time at all?” I really think Christmas is the last thing on the mind of an Ebola sufferer or family member. Of course, Christmas is an important part of western society, so for many people, imagining tragedy happening over Christmas, can seem worse than it happening on any other day of the year. I personally think that line is quite patronising, and trivial, plus the song is basically the same as the first one – which I hate (I do have a hatred of Christmas songs since working in Tesco’s over Christmas many years back, as they were played on repeat for two months solid!)
Maybe the best way to go about raising money for charity would be to threaten the nation with the Band Aid 30 song – if you don’t pay up, we’ll play it – it would certainly work on me (especially as Bono AND Chris Martin are on the same song…hell!)
Despite all my criticism of this song, hopefully it will make some people think, but maybe we’d be better in donating anyway, so Sir Bob doesn’t record the same song again! Plus their video isn’t cheesy like The Darkness’ ‘Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End)’, although The Darkness is slightly more preferable due to the lead guitar at the beginning, but I can’t stand Justin Hawkins’ vocals, or the cheesiness of the video.
I do like some Christmas songs, but for me, the more Rock ‘n’ Roll the better – for instance The D4’s cover of ‘Santa Claus’ and Don’t Believe in Christmas’ (originally by The Sonics), or The Yobs covering ‘Run Rudolph Run’’ (although the Chuck Berry original is also a good one).
I think the deep seated hate from being a Christmas worker at Tesco’s just rears its head when I hear anything that was played on repeat – ten hours a day, six days a week, for two months, now to everyone else I must seem like a Christmas Grinch as a result.
Anyway, I will still have to deal with hearing crap Christmas music for the next month or so, until we reach 2015. At least the festive season also includes being merry, so drinking enough will also help keep my irritability at bay. I’m avoiding the shops for buying my presents, so I won’t have to battle the queues, nor will I have to listen to Wizzard’s ‘I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day’ for the umpteenth time, I can listen to something loud and very un-festive, and I might get close to playing musical Russian Roulette by putting iTunes on shuffle.
Of course the Shit Factor will be rolling out its next bland, boring offering for the race to get to Christmas number one, so maybe I’m better in not watching live TV, and locking myself away from the world until the actual day. Thankfully, I’m too busy to watch much TV, and I don’t usually listen to the radio, so I think that will keep me sane. Then of course, the actual day, I’ll be drinking, and ‘vaping’ (e-cigarette term for smoking in case you weren’t aware), and I can’t imagine my family inflicting aural shit on everyone…but we shall see! Maybe I should ask for some earplugs?
Until next time…
Jo