I've said it before--my wife and I have a seemingly unending tolerance for holiday music.
But seriously... there's like eleven songs. When songwriters were busy cranking out the holiday standards back in the day, it probably never occured to them that there would be radio stations playing Christmas music 24/7 from Thanksgiving until the 26th of December or they might have sat down to the piano and cranked out a few more. Who could know that eventually someone would notice in the middle of their Christmas music playlist that even though there are 100 songs on that bad boy, there are only 25 different songs! Yeah, I have Aretha singing Winter Wonderland, and that's cool, but I just checked it out--on that same playlist I have Peggy Lee, Etta James (really it should be either Etta or Aretha ... not both), whiney-ass Phantom Planet, Neil Diamond and Bing Crosby signing the same song. That's a lot of Wonderland for one ipod.
So, when an actual new Chrismas song comes along these days it's a fricking true Christmas miracle. But can you remember the last time that kind of miracle went down? I do. It was 1994's All I want for Christmas is You. Yep. Mariah Carey.
So a few years ago, I hear an upbeat Chrismas jingle start up and immediately it sounds just like the Jackson 5's Santa Claus is Coming to town, right here.
But it's not. So I wait. And listen.
And then, what to my wondering ears should appear? Why it's Elton John, sounding ever so ... festive. Welcoming. He starts right off "Welcome to my Chrismas song..." Thanks, Elton.
I'm elated. It's catchy! It's upbeat and fun! It's Step Into Christmas. Finally something new; something I've never heard before. And it must be modern because why else would Sir Elton be singing about making the holiday fun "emissions free?!"
Instant classic. Like Wham's Last Christmas and No Doubt's Oi to the world, it's a modern miracle. A tiny break in the monotony of the otherwise predictable holiday playlist.
Except, it's old. Older than me! I don't know how i missed it all these years (I can't stress enough the size of this mystery), but it was recorded in 1973. I also don't know how i missed that the song is clearly sung by young, Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting Elton John, not crappy-ass Can You Feel the Love Tonight Elton John.
Also that environmentally preachy line ... turns out it's actually "The Admission's free!"
And then for no reason, two minutes into the song, it becomes Daniel. Seriously, for zero reason at all, it just breaks into that haunting piano melody. Elton's depressing song about a man's war-wounded, blind brother. The piano just rolls in and you can almost sing along: "Santa is travelin' tonight on a sleigh ... I can see the reindeer lights headin for Spai-i-i-i-n ... I can see Santa wavin goodbye."
Also, I can't help associating the song with the late 90s "Fall into the Gap" campain. Although that jingly jangly Elton pop greatness is clearly more of an Old Navy style.
Step into Christmas is a new holiday classic -- or an old one. It's cool. It's vintage. Or perhaps like a hand-me-down Gap sweater, it's at least new to me!
