If you are not a fan of Christmas music, then right now is not a good time for you. Even if you don't like it, though, you have to admit that Christmas music is pretty fascinating - it's a seasonal genre that virtually every popular act has tried to get in on. It's so popular that anywhere in the USA you can turn on your radio and find a station that is playing absolutely nothing but Christmas music.
The issue with making new Christmas music is that it's a crowded market. Creating a "Christmas Classic" is so difficult that is only happens a few times a decade. Most acts are content to extend their style to the Christmas standards and capture the market for the people who already enjoy their music.
Despite the crowded market, many acts decide to write their own Christmas tunes. Luckily for us, they usually release music videos for these songs. Over the course of December we'll take a look at some Christmas music videos that we think are interesting, starting with 2010's "Christmas Lights" by Coldplay, directed by frequent Coldplay video director Mat Whitecross.
The video starts with the members of Coldplay lying on a wooden floor - the camera travels around them and then we see a colorful piano being playing without anyone pressing the keys. There's a neat levitation trick and suddenly the band is upright and playing on a stage that's reminiscent of a children's play stage, complete with the classic "waves" that is sort of video shorthand for "stage play".
One thing that is really interesting about this video is how ambitious it is for a holiday video. Music videos for Christmas songs are usually a little simpler in concept and execution, and "Christmas Lights" not only includes some complex camera tricks, but also a scene where hundreds of Coldplay fans release balloons from a boat, something that must've been logistically challenging. According to an interview with director Mat Whitecross, the concept of the video started out simple and then grew and grew as old ideas were thrown out for (more complex) new ones.
There is also a pretty flat out rejection of Christmas imagery in this video as well - although there are plenty of lights, we never see a Christmas tree and anything too sentimental. In fact, three people dressed as Elvis (all playing violins) are one of the video's main centerpieces. Instead of red and green, the main background colors are purple and blue. For a song that has "Christmas" in the title of the song, it's refreshing to see a video devoid of really any Christmas iconography.
I don't know if the world is ready to let a band like Coldplay into the pantheon of Christmas classics (those spots are usually reserved for holiday and standards singers), but this video is a really solid entry into the ever-growing world of Christmas music videos.
