Jingle Bell Pop

By: John Seabrook

Narrated by: Erin Moon

Length: 1 hr and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

It seems like every year, the holiday season arrives earlier and earlier. Before Halloween’s ghosts and ghouls have even had their chance to come out of the shadows, sleigh bells and ribbons begin to materialize at the mall and towering tinsel-tinged trees appear in our living rooms. But the most telltale sign of the arrival of yuletide festivities is the unceasingly merry melody of the seasonal songbook, from "Silent Night" to "Santa Baby." Love them or loathe them, these holiday earworms are here to stay. But how do these songs endure for decades? And why are there so few contemporary Christmas carols?

In this holly jolly Audible Original, New York Times bestselling author and New Yorker columnist John Seabrook uncovers the mysteries of the holiday music machine, exploring how these hits were made and why they’ve dominated the soundwaves each and every winter. From the mid-century reign of songwriter Johnny Marks ("Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer") to the manufactured musical nostalgia of modern holiday hits like "All I Want for Christmas Is You," Seabrook, alongside a cast of singers, songwriters, and producers, reveals the untold stories behind the songs that have us rockin’ around the Christmas tree year after year.

©2018 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2018 Audible Originals, LLC.

Good till the politics

It was good till they felt the need to add their personal political views. She mentions how Christmas songs can bring people together during this political divide, and then proceeds to add a misleading narrative.

Learn a little about something you think you know all about!

well crafted audio feature with narrator , interviews, and musical examples make this a great pre-holiday mall muzak listen!

Interesting about Christmas songs

I am not planning to write a Christmas song but it was interesting to listen to this special audible production and learn about the different songs and how they originated. Also different song writers were interviewed who have written Christmas music!

Not what I expected.

I wouldn't have picked this normally but it was one of the free books and I had to pick one. it wasn't interesting to me.

A nice Christmas listen

I enjoyed learning the stories behind the many popular Christmas songs! I wish this production would include the songs performances , that would make a fantastic Christmas audible.

A Great Way to Get into the Christmas Spirit

If you’re looking for a short book to get you into the holiday spirit, you should consider giving Jingle Bell Pop a try. I listened to it on audible and found the combination of bright narrative, interviews and snippets of fancy songs to be an excellent balance. Starting with Silent Night, Seabrook takes you on a tour of the holiday classics exploring not only the history of individual songs, but the larger themes they fit within. He also spends quite a bit of time exploring what it takes to get your favorite Christmas song into the canon. It’s short and utterly enjoyable.

Fun and interesting

What a fun little romp into the world of Christmas music. Nice mix of history, sound and behind the scenes insight. As expected, there is more than a little arrogance in some of the artists, but you can’t blame them when they had such success.

This was great and a lot of fun.

robotic narrator

The narrator sounded very robotic. the story was okay, but mainly I wouldn't recommend because of the narrator.

Interesting

All good productions make you think and this certaiy did for me. I will never will think of the annual Christmas songs the same way again. There is a truth to them that I did not know....I don't want to ruin it for you...so I am holding back.

Fun read!

If you love Christmas music, this is basically an abridged history of the genre. Lots revealed and lots of pointers if you want to write one yourself.