www.marilynbrant.com

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Humming To Myself

This morning was filled with post-ice-storm errands. A visit to my son's elementary school. The YMCA. Walgreen's and Target. A few other stops on the local circuit for household items and necessities. And playing relentlessly in ALL of these places were Christmas carols...not to mention on my car stereo as I drove between locations.

Here's the good news: I was HAPPY about this. I actually LOVE Christmas carols, even more than Christmas rum balls, if that's possible. I was singing along (well, okay, humming under my breath while in public, but singing in earnest while in the car), tapping my toes, jiggling a little to the beat. Essentially, getting into the holiday spirit finally. Nice, right?

Here's the bad news: I've been trying for two hours to write a scene for a book--a scene that takes place in April, mind you--and I can't get these songs out of my head. From fun favorites like "Let It Snow" and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" to classic ones like "O Come All Ye Faithful" and "Silent Night." From Michael W. Smith belting out "Emmanuel" to Rob Thomas singing "A New York City Christmas." From the crooning of Neil Diamond and Amy Grant to the powerhouse vocals of Bon Jovi and the Boss, I'm being bombarded by distinctively sung carols. And none of them are allowing me to daydream about my characters frolicking around in springtime.

So, I'm just giving into it for today. I can't purge "Holly Jolly Christmas" from my consciousness no matter how hard I try. What about all of you? Which carols are stuck in your head this week?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really like the Christmas albums by Sufjan Stevens and Aimee Mann -- both a little different than the traditional carols, at least in vocal style. I also really like this album called Christmas Cocktails, which are swinging sixties versions of some good songs.

Good luck with your scene!

L.A. Mitchell said...

Um..here it's the Charlie Brown Christmas music. Once those wiggle into my head, only sleep will get them out. Glad to see you're feelin' it now :)

Anonymous said...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...again and again and again and again...

spj