Jack Johnson "In The Morning"

The new Christmas songs have arrived, and now that Thanksgiving is over, I feel like we can start playing them in earnest.

Which doesn't necessarily mean we want to start playing them in earnest.

Truthfully, receiving a new Christmas album is often met with a bit of a tired sigh.

I like Christmas music just fine, but newly released songs tend to fall into two categories:

Standards, that have been done to death.

Originals, that are pretty darn weak.

Some years, we'll add one or two new Christmas songs to rotation. Some years, nothing makes the cut, and we just play the old favorites.

But this year, there seems to be a surprising crop of solid originals.

This new Jack Johnson tune doesn't necessarily sound like a Christmas song. You're not overwhelmed by jingling bells or whatever.

Instead, wisely, he goes for the feeling of Christmas, and does a pretty good job of conveying that. And I don't mean the feeling of the season itself. It's not a paean to wreaths and holly and whatnot. It's a simple song about that holiday moment when you have a chance to reflect on what is really important, and what you really have.

Nicely done. Much better than another version of Rudolph.


Hear the song on Youtube.