Sound and silence
Holiday tunes emerged and bloomed in our part of the world, this year as ev’ry in collective mem’ry. Festive music is as unifying and dividing as any ritual practice. In our own lives we might find ourselves on one or the other side of mirthful-musical enjoyment or annoyance, at any sung given time. O holy night, so few opportunities to start a sentence thusly. Last Christmas was probably it for most. I don’t want a lot for Christmas except to let it snow, let it snow. Would referring to a list be cheating? Yes, better to draw these from the surrounding air and to dive deep into reminiscences. It was a Sunday this year when the first bars of Mariah Carey’s seminal classic drifted through our household. A neighbor girl sang them through our daughter’s toy karaoke machine. Last Christmas, I heard the Wham! song enough. The very next day, I heard it again. This year, what do I hear? A Jimmy Eat World cover from 2001 I had no idea existed despite having bought their long...