It has got to be a New York thing as big city ennui and resentment of the onslaught of commercialism meet Brill Building catchiness in the quirky commercialism of Jan Peri’s Christmas ditty “I Hate The Holidays”.
I hear sleigh bells (actually I do) evoking the smell of over cooked turkey in Ms Peri’s tuneful rant about the falseness of buying presents for your boss, commuting to your grandmas and all those infernal adverts on the television. I’m not sure if women can actually be grumpy (I know the answer to that one – Ed) but, anyway, Ms Peri spins the song round on its head at the end because she has someone to spend the holiday season with. I’d feel cheated if I hadn’t been singing along like some mulled wine soaked fool.
In summary, the song is simple and it gets the job done with a minimum of schmaltz. Yes, I like that in a woman (you mean song of course – Ed).
Available from CD Baby.