Tuesday Tunes

There were many songs I associate with Christmas. I grew up with Carols by candlelight, which meant while everybody sung carols I dripped candle wax on my hand until it cooled and I could peel it off. There were some Christmas related songs on a few of my parents records, but they weren’t really fit for church. Then there were all of the seasonal pop songs on the radio, and it never got too much … until I worked in a supermarket. I swear, there was one CD of music and it played Christmas songs from October until February. I can’t remember how long I worked there now, but I have only memories of mesh gloves and Christmas songs. Working in a supermarket killed my love for Christmas. This song fixes all of that …

The Song(s)
Song: Christmastime with You
Artist: Primo
Album: Single - 2019 - Primo
Method of discovery: Twitter

Theory: The song is in a minor key, which I think is intended to work more for the atmosphere than the message. Starting with i-bVII-bVI-bVII, this forms the main basis of the verses. After a couple of lines the pre-chorus comes in and instead of starting again at the i, it drops down through bVI-bVII-i-bVII-bVI-bVII, holding those last two chords. The chorus starts the same way as the pre-chorus, but doesn’t hold the chords the same way, and changes when it gets to the end of the sequence. There is a bar of IV (which isn’t usually major in these circumstances) before ascending again through bVI-bVII-i. The bridge uses the first four chords of the pre-chorus again, twice.

But that Major IV. It does another interesting thing: it extends the chorus beyond eight bars. which may not sound like much, but because we are used to hearing so much music that is perfectly balanced (Yes, Thanos, I know) that extra bar throws our ears a signal to listen up. Coincidentally that when the main message comes is “Curl up by the fire and spend my Christmastime with you” It even includes the title.

Research: Primo has been releasing music since at least 2009, but back then there was no sense of the “Number One Alien”, instead it was the very real Laura Lee Bishop. She released a CD called Fire, auditioned for American Idol, and moved to Nashville from her hometown of Gilmer, Texas. There is a clear evolution of production quality from her earliest release to her later singles still under her own name. Somewhere around 2016 Primo, like Bowie’s Ziggy, must have come to the forefront, because by 2017 Primo had released “To The Max”. It’s an album that includes time-travel, ‘kick-ass parties’, and urgent requests for love.

Personal thoughts: Don’t get me wrong - I like this song. But I like almost every other song of Primo’s more than this one. So this is a great, and timely, starting point to explore this wonderful woman’s world. If you can fit the lyric ‘extraction zone’ into a song un-ironically, then you’ve got my vote. Primo also does a thing I love, which is to offer her album for download on her website. It’s something I’ve always meant to do for myself (2020 goals). Even though it’s not my favourite Primo song (To The Max!) this is the first Christmas song that in a very long time that I’ve not recoiled as soon as Christmas is mentioned. Thanks, Primo, for giving me back a little Seasonal Cheer.

Give it a go: If you’d like to have a Merry whatever-you-celebrate!

Give it a miss: If you really do Bah-humbug.

[links]
Spotify: Tuesday Tunes, Christmastime with You by Primo
Primo: Website, Album Download Link, Twitter
Laura Lee Bishop: Spotify, Gilmer Mirror Article, American Idol YouTube Video