Sufjan Stevens' "Music for Christmas" with Chris Marchand

<p>Last December, listener and Anglican pastor Chris Marchand wrote to tell me about <a href='https://chrismarchand.bandcamp.com/album/let-nothing-you-dismay'>Let Nothing You Dismay</a>--an EP of Christmas music that could serve as a the soundtrack to A Blade Runner Christmas--and a book he wrote, <a href='https://amzn.to/2Oi69KG'>Celebrating The 12 Days of Christmas: A Guide for Churches and Families</a>. While we swapped email, we started talking about Sufjan Stevens' five-CD <a href='https://amzn.to/3b8t82T'>Music for Christmas</a>. </p> <p>Pitchfork.com reviewed it and contended that the album's plain-spoken embrace of Christianity felt punk in an indie rock context. The review felt a little like an effort to hold on to Stevens and pull him into indie's doubt-everything ethos that he might not really share, but to be fair, Music for Christmas sends enough signals that it's hard to feel certain about readings of it. Because of that, I thought Chris brought a perspective that would prove useful, so we met online early in January to break it down a bit. </p> <p>In this episode, I also went into the collection to pull out another favorite that's hard to explain. The fiercely Canadian Stompin' Tom Connors released <a href='https://amzn.to/2MUIHmn'>Merry Christmas, Everybody</a> in 1970, and it's hard to put your finger on what's so great about it. I try though. </p> <p>If you like what you hear or are curious, please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts—<a href='https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJxFUMuOwyAM_JpyaxScF3vgsJf9jYiAk6ISQGCazd8vaQ8rWbLlsT2e0YpwC-mUMWRiJWOarZEcphEGMTAje8PFIJjN85oQd2WdpFSQxbI4qxXZ4K-NcYAR2EMC14Ma8avjAMu6Kr1iu4hpGr6mtYOp7lWeWRVj0WuU-MJ0Bo_MyQdRzLfu-wY_NWIwWmXKjYrRYaPDXpsl_yO1ogPdC-85-C3fw3rXj2Qz7eqasob3negHDmN9XkILLeftyAUfe97wxpwnPOvzR7z17b5Bk8uSSennRcWSTOpwldzhb8W3S_YbqKrnmvfiLZ0zerU4NB9D6GPhWx-dEaXHIzskwvRpXr6KdupB9KyymVCveqmDN-gzmt265x_21oho'>Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href='https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwlUMuOwyAM_JpwjICEND1w2MtK-xURDydlSyAC0yx_v6SVLFsaP8YzRiFsMVV5xIykZEiLs5L