Tossing a Love Letter into the Ludaverse

I don't usually write reviews regarding rap albums anymore, or albums that are outside the seasonal bent, but it has been over a decade, and this record must have made enough of a mark to consider revisiting it for a tribute.

Jimmy Fallon "Holiday Seasoning"

 Bored with Christmas music? Maybe you need some Holiday Seasoning! 

Wait a second! Where are you going? What? Wasn't that an appropriate joke?

"Exactly, it was a 'joke.' I can tell this may be one of the most boring reviews about an album chock full of holiday cheer and intrigue."

No, I do agree with that. But I haven't even started yet, so please just read another sentence or two. I would consider that an early Christmas gift. One down, two to...wait, I should have said three, or a paragraph! I hadn't even gotten started yet! No, I will not beg you to stay, nor play it coy the "Baby, It's Cold Outside" way.

We could all use a "Holiday" from time to time, whether in light-hearted or in free verse. This is almost as good as the Jo Bros own tune, "Like It's Christmas," but different, not worse. LL Cool J even stops by for the remix on the deluxe with several references and a red solo cup. Sounds like a party, and the lyrics do attest, but... 

"Hey Rudy!" these holiday-rooted lyrics are more engaging, and the music is better suited for a holiday family fun fest, while the former is perfect for caroling, or taking a stroll whilst viewing holiday decorations.

"Wrap Me Up"

No, it's too soon to end this review, there is still more to say, and I forgot, how many guesses did Jimmy make before he realized Meghan Trainor was the gift? That's a game you can choose to play. It was a real cute duet, with an even cuter lyric video. 

Also, if you have not heard A Very Trainor Christmas, and you like her style, where have you been all the while? She even has her own song for the holidays with the funkiest elements on Earth; she was the water.

This next song must be a hall-iday pass for JF and JT because although this song doesn't sound the same as "Mistletoe," and is very catchy, I remember Bieber receiving a lot of flak when this tune was released, and he was a kid for crying out loud. "You'll Be There" judging me, and that's okay, as long as you hear the song.

There is a lot can be said for "It Was a...(Masked Christmas)." I know it was released as a "single" and a video was made for it, but I don't think that means it should automatically be on the record. On one hand it was a capsule of calamity in time no one wants to remember, and the video is full of visuals that could be triggering to many people; albeit the incorporation of certain elements visually is intriguing, it still can be upsetting. It is basically propaganda wrapped in a holiday song.

 "How You Know it's Christmastime" spouts a short list, not a good or bad list, but one that hosts            holi-dentifiers for those people whose life feels like it is one long day. That may not have been the best way to put it, but it's what I got. That, and love, among other things; I cannot declare it sublime though.

One of my favorite songs to listen to during the holidays is another sad New Year's Eve tune, "Same Old Lang Syne" by Dan Fogelberg. To me, it may be even more sad than the song Jimmy was lamenting, and in that lamentation, inspiration.  The "New Year's Eve Polka" with Weird Al is a lot cheerier than its other NYE counterparts, but it is not the most fun you can have on the record.

The next few songs see Fallon sounding like Chris Issak on "Chipmonks and Chestnuts"; "The Boss" to me, but Jimmy was inspired by Zevon for "One Glove"; and I hear John Lennon in "Merry Happy Christmas."

I don't like to drink, but I would be interested in trying "Coquito."

For fans of the "Hallmark Movie," this may offend you. It may even offend Lifetime movie fans, but the song is only relaying the formula that people who have watched several movies see again and again. The last few years, I have grown to appreciate rom-coms and rom-drams and managed to sit through a few hallmark and lifetime films. There are some good ones, but some of them just may have several names. 

While we may not agree that this "Weird Cousin" imitated Weezer really well, we can come closer to an agreement that Jimmy Fallon effectively imitated Bob Dylan and have an even higher likelihood of agreeing that "Thanksgiving Eve" is the biggest drinking night of the year; that prospect is overrated, but I do like the song.

In the traditional album finale, Dolly Parton returns for another, but much less awkward, duet that iterates it is "Almost Too Early for Christmas." The video has the same style as the duet with Meghan Trainor, so it is really cute, even with Jason making an appearance. Their duet on Dolly's last Christmas album was creepier, and that is if you consider the context of the age discrepancy, which makes it a little weird. 

While I do enjoy solitude, I do not think I would like "Christmas Alone," and I may be a lone wolf here, but the autotune and the audio effects cause this Christmas banana to peel; with that said, I can also see how and where others can find this tune to be unbearable and annoying.

As contradictory as this can be, "The Elves Are Unionizing" while wrapped in what sounds like (folk?) punk to me. Nope, he was not my Idol, but the first name I thought of was Billy. I also figured out the other artist I could not pinpoint, another Billy with last name Joel

However, "Broadway (Do You Remember)" finds my memory in less of a fog, as Jimmy reminds me of an A.I. Elton John: good, but not the real thing.     

As for the rest of the songs, a grab bag of souvenirs from the consistently distant aunt and uncle you may see once every y...five years: A song that could be featured on a Rivers Cuomo Christmas Record; a somber dose of nostalgia brought to us by Fallon and Lang Lang; a song about secrets and surveillance sung by an Elvis impersonator less than a foot tall; two covers live at the Electric Lady; and finally a holiday reboot with another rapper that busts rhymes .

Clay Aiken "Christmas Bells Are Ringing"

 While I view American Idol a lot differently now and stopped watching the show as a whole (I have seen an occasional clip here and there the last few years). I remember a time when it was a family staple, a time when I was a lot younger, hearing his version of "Solitaire" before making the connection that it was also the name of a card game. Oh, the naivete, or is it ignorance? Both.

  I remember Clay Aiken's first Christmas album, how bright-eyed he looked on his first Christmas venture, and that voice. What happened to him?!

No, he looks basically the same, but instead of being endearing, that "bright-eyed" look he wears is kinda creepy now. He still sings well. I have heard most of the songs he covers here more than enough to cover my own ears and imagine his interpretation (hyperbole alert). There were some "Magic Moments," this little ditty right there, where it is festive and familiar enough to other tunes heard without being a blatant rip-off, (cough) cover. Ok, forget what I said, but now I know it is a cover (first time I heard it). Others, such as "Caroling, Caroling" hit the high (quality) notes for me; and his version of "Wonderful Christmastime" may be more wonderful than his Wonka-less "Pure Imagination," (which was also covered by his season two superior, Ruben Studdard); still determining that. "On This Silent Night" and "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" could be choice cuts for you. 

While the record was fair, I will ask, was there really a need for another Clay Aiken Christmas album?

I'll answer with this: do we really need all these Hollywood reboots?