TERRY GROSS, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. It's the time of year when pop stars release holiday music, and rock critic Ken Tucker has been listening to a lot of the newest releases. He's got a roundup that includes Christmas songs from Brad Paisley, Mickey Guyton, Leon Bridges and Old Crow Medicine Show. Let's start with country singer guitarist Brad Paisley.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS")
BRAD PAISLEY: (Singing) Walking down the street, looking at the faces, seeing just a few more smiles. Storefront windows getting decorated, no, it won't be long now. All the cafes making peppermint lattes. You can make mine a double 'cause it's been a grind, but I see Christmas lights at the end of the tunnel. And we're counting down the days till the world...
KEN TUCKER: Brad Paisley is counting down the days until Christmas. Are you? Paisley, a superb country guitarist with a puckish sense of humor, has made what is easily the best new collection of Christmas music. It's called "Snow Globe Town."
Paisley knows how to layer a proper Christmas album. It's got some lovely ballads infused with snow and sentiment. It's got a couple of novelty tunes, such as one about a naughty elf on a shelf. He covers traditional songs such as "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" and Christmas carols like, "O Holy Night." My favorite new song on this album is this warm, pretty composition called "Falling Just Like The Snow."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FALLING JUST LIKE THE SNOW")
PAISLEY: (Singing) I am melting just like the ice on our boots by the door. And just like the fire, I feel warm 'cause when I look at you with your eyes all abloom, girl, I'm falling just like the snow.
TUCKER: Another country vocalist, Mickey Guyton, has an album called "Feels Like Christmas." It's a cheerful bunch of songs. You can hear Guyton smile as she sings them. One standout is the song "Sugar Cookie," which is arranged to sound like a sweet bit of Motown pop from decades past. "Sugar Cookie" is a new song that arrives with built-in nostalgia.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SUGAR COOKIE")
MICKEY GUYTON: (Singing) I got to say, I've been having this craving. Every day, I've been wishing and praying for the taste. I can't wait. It's been keeping me up all night. You're the one I want the most. You're always melting my heart. Turn me to marshmallow when all the snowflakes start. I've been dying for December to drop 'cause baby, you're the icing on top. You're my sugar, sugar cookie. Sugar, that goodie goodie. Sweetness, fresh out the oven. Your kiss, I'll take a dozen. You keep me warm when it's cold outside. You make it feel like Christmastime. My sugar...
TUCKER: The R&B singer Leon Bridges has released an enigmatic holiday track, a tune called "A Merry Black Christmas." It's a rueful variation on the Irving Berlin classic "White Christmas." Remember the line about a white Christmas just like the ones I used to know? Here, it becomes a Black Christmas just like the one I've never had before. His gravelly croon lends a certain melancholy to the beauty that Leon Bridges summons up here.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "A MERRY BLACK CHRISTMAS")
LEON BRIDGES: (Singing) I'm thinking, I'm thinking about a merry Black Christmas, just like the one I never had before. Like kids out in the street with no shoes on their feet, they're happy, oh, they're happy, can't you see? I'm thinking, oh, I'm thinking, thinking about a merry Black Christmas.
TUCKER: We began with Brad Paisley counting the days until Christmas arrives. We will end with Old Crow Medicine Show, thinking about the day after Christmas. This jaunty Nashville-based string band has a clever original song called "December 26."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DECEMBER 26")
OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW: (Singing) Well, another year has come and gone. We sang songs and drunk the nog. The twinkle lights are staying on all day, fa, la, la. The fridge is full of Christmas goose and needles dropping off the spruce. The ornaments are getting loose and falling, fa, la, la. It's time to throw away the tree, clear out the opening debris. It's far too soon, don't you agree? Hang on, fa, la, la. The relatives pack up the car and follow back the evening star with heavy bags and heavy hearts because it's the day after Christmas and we got to wait a whole dang year for the holly and garland and elves on shelves, the sleigh and the bells and the pine tree smells. Don't want to listen to the fading sounds of reindeer 'cause it's the day after Christmas, and we ain't out of cheer.
TUCKER: Whether you're anxiously awaiting Christmas or already wishing the holidays would be over, here's a lot of music that lets you know you're not alone.
GROSS: Rock critic Ken Tucker reviewed Christmas music from Brad Paisley, Mickey Guyton, Leon Bridges and Old Crow Medicine Show. Tomorrow on FRESH AIR, is the U.S. headed toward another financial meltdown? We'll hear from New York Times business writer Andrew Ross Sorkin, who says history has lessons to offer. Author of a bestselling book on the 2008 financial crisis, his latest is a gripping account of the stock market crash that led to the Great Depression. It's called 1929. I hope you'll join us.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "A MARSHMALLOW WORLD")
PAISLEY: (Singing) It's a marshmallow world in the winter when the snow comes to cover the ground. It's a time for play. It's a whipped cream day. I wait for it the whole year round. Those marshmallow clouds being friendly in the arms of the evergreen trees. And the sun is red like a pumpkin head. He's shining so your nose don't freeze. The world is your snowball, see how it grows. That's how it goes whenever it snows. The world is your snowball just for a song. Get out and roll it along. It's a yum, yummy world made for sweethearts. Take a walk with your favorite girl. It's a sugar date, and what if spring is late? In winter, it's a marshmallow world.
GROSS: To keep up with what's on the show and get highlights of our interviews, follow us on Instagram, @nprfreshair. Fresh Air's executive producer is Danny Miller. Our technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham. Our managing producer is Sam Briger. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Phyllis Myers, Ann Marie Baldonado, Lauren Krenzel, Therese Madden, Monique Nazareth, Thea Chaloner, Susan Nyakundi, Anna Bauman and Nico Gonzalez-Wisler. Our digital media producer is Molly Seavy-Nesper. Our consulting visual producer is Hope Wilson. Roberta Shorrock directs the show. Our co-host is Tonya Mosley. I'm Terry Gross.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "A MARSHMALLOW WORLD")
PAISLEY: (Singing) Oh, the world is your snowball, see how it grows. That's how it goes whenever it snows. The world is your snowball just for a song. Get out and roll it along. It's a yum, yummy world made for sweethearts. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
