Alef: The NEXT Conversation

Tangled up in Bad

By Richard Skeen

Jews doing Christmas music is hardly new. We have, after all, contributed everything from Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” to “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer,” testament to both the vast appeal of the holiday to Americans and the ability of Jewish immigrants to become a part of the American mosaic. Jewish contributions to the Season’s music is so prevalent that over the weekend, “Prairie Home Companion” host Garrison Keillor suggested we stay out of the Christmas music business.

In the nick of time, Bob Dylan has just released “Christmas in the Heart,” an album offering his take on the Christmas classics that is something both unique and peculiar, and may solve the hub-bub in one listen.

The Jewish people have claimed Bob Dylan since his beginning. Dylan’s history, lyrics, and discography have been passed from father to son and knowing boyfriend to girlfriend for decades. Such a Jewish story: young Robert Zimmerman from humble Minnesota (yes, the same place as the very non-Jewish Garrison Keillor) emerges in the coffee houses of Greenwich Village, and unleashes a barrage of brilliant folk music of protest, winning fans and critics alike. Jews (and millions of others) have loved his songs demanding justice,  were electrified when he defiantly plugged in, and were amazed as his lyrics danced between Biblical allusion and profane love with such ease and profundity.

As his cannon grew, we applied a Talmudic search for meaning within his mystical and elusive lyrics. And like the wicked son of our Haggadah, we indulged Dylan’s flirtation with Christianity (and the abysmally bad music of that era) and forgave his Victoria’s Secret commercial as well as the numerous dud concerts and occasional dud record.  But Dylan’s dreadful new “Christmas of the Heart” album is either unforgivable, or a bad joke. Or both.

From the get go, Dylan singing Christmas classics seemed doomed. Many Jewish fans were perplexed, and I suspect Christmas traditionalists were concerned (xenophobic, sure, but Garrison Keillor has a point). His sandpaper-gruff, wavering voice, isn’t exactly egg-nog smooth or Mel Torme cool (yep, Mel’s one of us too), but now that we’ve listened to his offering, it is clear Dylan has taken a bad idea and turned into an absolute “Polar Express” train wreck. “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” manages to be creepy and shrill, kind of like dating Sarah Silverman when she’s 70. “I’ll be Home for Christmas” feels like a menacing threat from a rehabing Uncle, while most of the other tracks seem better suited as a soundtrack for DrunkHistory than something you’d listen to while hanging those cute felt stockings. Even Dylan’s original “Must be Santa” is so bad – albeit kind of funny – I am tempted to out the Santa-secret to a bus full of second graders to get even.

Or is getting even the point? For 45 years, Dylan has provoked, trail-blazed, and surprised everyone in his path. His most recent albums have explored our nation’s rich and diverse musical heritage and shed brilliant new light on American roots music.  It is quite possible that by offering his take on traditional Christmas fare, Dylan is both playing a wickedly funny joke on a fan base that has always tried to own him and offering commentary on what is, and isn’t, good Holiday music. “Christmas of the Heart” is so wildly unpleasant and off, it may just be the perfect gift for those fretting about the Red & Green Holiday not being “Christian enough.” Finally a secular, Jewish American artist gets the Holiday wrong….and if Garrison Keillor is right, not a day too soon.

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Richard admits his crush on Jewish songtress Regina Spektor in Issue #1: Old Country.

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Photos by Badosa, Cliff1066TM, Duncanh1, and dwhartwig, licensed under Creative Commons.

Tags: Bob Dylan, Christmas, Garrison Keillor, Music

Posted by Emily.Comisar@birthrightisraelnext.org, Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009, 2:55 pm, Holiday Season.

2 Responses to “Tangled up in Bad”

1. Michael Hill says:

   January 28, 2010 at 4:35 pm

   Greet work there. love it!
2. danielle says:

   February 2, 2010 at 11:34 pm

   If you like Bob Dylan, check out his song “Neighborhood Bully” – it’s about Israel!

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJrTfKMSx0g&feature=related