Fleet Foxes, St. Vincent, Weyes Blood, & More Cover Christmas Songs On Oh. What. Fun. Soundtrack
It’s that time of the year again. Fleet Foxes, St. Vincent, Weyes Blood, and more are getting ready to release Christmas songs for Michael Showalter’s holiday film Oh. What. Fun., which arrives next month.
Along with the aforementioned artists, the soundtrack also has Gwen Stefani, Jeff Tweedy, Andy Shauf and Madi Diaz, Empress Of, Uwade, and Sharon Van Etten, the latter of whom did a rendition of the Pretenders’ “2000 Miles” that’s out today. About it, she said:
I connected deeply with the underlying narrative from the mother’s perspective in this film. As a mother myself, I resonated with the constant seeking of perfection and the expectations that holidays inherently bring. It reignited the compassion I hold for my mother and mothers everywhere who aspire to provide a place for their families to feel loved, appreciated, needed and relevant … Oh. What. Fun. is a story of a mom finding herself again and reestablishing her connection with her family and what’s at the heart of it all. I am usually very wary of doing covers, especially a “holiday” song — but I connected with the depth of the lyrics and how our feelings around the holidays can be complicated. I tried to honor Chrissie Hynde’s version by collaborating with my band, The Attachment Theory. I hope if The Pretenders hear it, they feel our appreciation and love for Chrissie, the band and this song.
Here’s what Jeff Tweedy shared about his “Christmas Must Be Tonight” cover:
The Band pulled off the impossible. They wrote a Christmas song that’s joyful and appropriate for the occasion while being strange, emotional, and poetic. Who else would call baby Jesus “the little stranger”? To me, this song gets at what this season is about, at its best: the light. “Mary carried the light.” How are we making ourselves a light to each other? How do I bring light into my life? I start with a song like this.
St. Vincent added, “My favorite Christmas songs have an underlying sense of melancholy mixed in with the warmth of their familiarity. Sung by a person who is presumably alone, ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ is a prime example: ‘Next year all our troubles will be out of sight’… the holiday season and its festivities are a temporary refuge, a reprieve after a shitty year. Hopefully the year to come will be better.”
Gwen Stefani’s “Shake The Snow Globe” came out last week exclusively on Amazon Music. Hear Sharon Van Etten’s take on “2000 Miles” below.
TRACKLIST:
01 “Shake The Snow Globe” by Gwen Stefani
02 “The Things We Do For Love” by the bird and the bee
03 “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” by St. Vincent
04 “2000 Miles” by Sharon Van Etten
05 “Angel In the Snow” by Fleet Foxes
06 “Step Into Christmas” by Uwade
07 “Silent Night” by The Wang Family
08 “Hot Cocoa” by Gwen Stefani
09 “Snowqueen Of Texas” by Weyes Blood
10 “Christmas Eve Can Kill You” by Andy Shauf & Madi Diaz
11 “It’s My Life” by the bird and the bee
12 “Christmas Must Be Tonight” by Jeff Tweedy
13 “Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy” by Lorely Rodriguez (Empress Of)
14 “I Heard The Bells Of Christmas Day” by The Wang Family
15 “The 12 Days Of Christmas” by Dominic Sessa
The Oh. What. Fun. soundtrack is out 12/3 via Sony Music Masterworks. Pre-order it here.
