It’s popular to paint Santa in petit-bourgeois hues, as if he’s the boss of the North Pole. For many he’s like a festive foreman, running the workshop as a seasonal overseer. But what if Santa is just another worker, one perennially doomed to work the night shift? It’s plausible. I mean, it’s not like he charges for the toys – we’re told he gives them away to boys and girls for no more payment than good behaviour. That hardly seems the ethos of some kind of profit-obsessed Christmas CEO. And if you set aside the magically-conceived-baby thing (and let’s face it, most of us do) what you’re left with actually sounds pretty socialist. In a sharing, caring, skip the work-camps sort of way. So corral your work-team into the break room – it’s time for our annual spate of poprock holiday hymns.

My go-to source for hooky holiday material is NYC’s mysterious merrymakers Make Like Monkeys. Do they work hard for holidays? I count twenty separate seasonally-themed pages on the band’s Bandcamp page so the answer would be yes. Here they get us into the spirit of getting busy with “Let’s Go Christmas,” a song that levels with you about what is to come (and it may be painful). Another reality check comes from Norfolk, Virginia’s The Mockers as they dispel the make-believe culture war nonsense of the political right on “(There’s No War on Christmas) When Christmas Is In Your Heart.” Keeping to the reality theme Jeremy Fisher completes our initial trio of tunes with the inflation-timely “Economy Xmas.” With a chorus consisting of ‘I owe, I owe, I owe’ this is clearly a real singalong number for many this year. So if you’re just looking for a Quiet Christmas this year, check out Jeremy’s album of the same name.

Trees and presents are essential components of consumer Christmas – we have to cover them. But we’re not heading to that in-town Xmas three lot, no sir. Instead we’ve signed up Sweden’s The Genuine Fakes to take us to Taylor Swift’s “Christmas Tree Farm.” It’s in a rougher part of the outback than Taylor usually frequents. Sometimes the guitars get turned up to 11. Moving on to presents, well you never know what you might get. Here to monetize that anxiety are everyone’s fave pop punkers Vista Blue with a track from their new EP Christmas Every Day entitled “What Are You Gonna Get?” But why worry about stuff when there’s love on the line? The Mockers explore the real meaning of the season and good deal of NYC and its boroughs on their beat group-inspired “(What’s a Better Present) At Christmas Time.”

Christmas is also about geography. After all, Santa’s got to cover a lot of ground in just one night. Perennial pub rocker Geraint Watkins draws our attention to classic humanist theme of harmony and togetherness in his beautiful, piano-based ballad “Christmas Day All Over the World.” Chicago’s Alpine Subs have a more narrow focus, finding Santa “Over Wichita”. There’s a nice Shins-meets-Paul McCartney vibe going on here. LA’s Sofa City Sweetheart draws our attention to the less savory side of a sunshine state seasonal celebration on “Christmas in California.” Still, it’s sung so pretty everything still sounds like a pretty good time. And there’s a whole album to go with it – you can literally spend Christmas on the Sofa.

What about feelings? We know that all the hyped holiday togetherness wallpapered through Xmas advertising gets a lot of people down. Geoff Palmer gives voice to some of this on “Lonely Christmas Call.” It’s basically a George Jones family break-up song but done in a more Nick Lowe poprock style. Make Like Monkeys hit the Beatles pedal hard on “Found Love for Christmas.” It’s an old, old story – everyone can see your new flame is about to go out. Looks like you’re getting heartbreak for Christmas. By contrast, Tall Poppy Syndrome are taking it slow. Why not just “Come Some Christmas Eve”? Seems like a curious time for a drop-in date but what do I know? The song is an oldie from Robin Gibb while the band features Vince Maloney from the original sixties version of the Bee Gees. Their version is both sixties immaculate and rather timeless.

You know what makes Christmas cool? Ok sure, snow. But beyond that you need a healthy dose of surf guitar holiday song instrumentals. Toronto’s all woman Surfrajettes go on a lovely guitar-lick-filled “Marshmallow March.” Then to the Jersey shore where The Evergleams take up the tempo on “Marshmallow World.” So much marshmallow, so little fire. Guitar virtuoso Joel Paterson is back with a second installment of his Hi Fi Christmas Guitar series, dubbed The More The Merrier. So hard to choose just one song from this fabulous collection. His take on “O Tannenbaum” is so groovy, one part Vince Guaraldi, one part shake and shimmying goodness. But then his work on “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer” takes a song most of can’t bear to hear again and makes it jump with new life. I’m just going to put them both right down here.

Wrapping things up, Vancouver’s Said the Whale remind us of the “Weight of the Season,” the different ways it affects us all. Now that Saint Shane is gone York’s Bull get my vote for most emotionally-charged Christmas tune with their new “Gay Days.” In their view the world may be shit and darkness reigns but as long as ‘you’re coming home for Christmas’ they can muster up a choir, some horns, and few penny whistles. We end our melodious journey where we began, with Make Like Monkeys and a focus on St. Nick. On “Father Christmas” the band reflect on the old man’s drive to make some good happen for those who believe while battling wind and weather and whatnot. Kinda like the rest of us (well, some of us).

It’s been a rough year for the working classes at home and abroad and wherever you may be. So please accept a merry happy whatever-you-celebrate this year from us here at Poprock Record.

Image courtesy Tatsuya Tanaka from his Miniature Calendar. I feature his image in part to help promote his great project – check it out here.