The problem with Christmas music is that it’s inextricably linked with singers like Michael Buble, at worst, and Mariah Carey, the best. (Don’t get me started on those schmaltzy, nauseating Nat King Cole classics.) December is a big, great month with a lot of joy. But also, some days are cold, overcast, and wet. Or, God forbid, snowy.
Those days don’t call for Michael Buble and Mariah Carey. They need something more somber but sweet. Something a little melancholic but also a little musing. They need something you forgot about. They need Danny Elfman.
You’ll recall Elfman as the critically acclaimed, widely beloved score composer; if you don’t, that’s who he is. He has a catalog of straight-up bangers ranging from “The Simpsons” theme to all the best songs in the charmingly grim Tim Burton movies of the 1990s.
Underrated about Elfman is that three of Burton’s movies are packed with his songs of a gothic hue exquisitely capturing those chilly and cozy but somewhat gloomy days of the Christmas season. (The following are also some of my favorite Christmas-time films, largely because of Elfman’s contribution.)
‘Edward Scissorhands’ (1990)
This entire soundtrack is essentially what I’m talking about. The title track (formally, “Introduction (Titles)”) chimes with majestic bells in waltzing three-four time, flutes and strings dancing atop. It also includes one of my favorite Elfman signatures: a children’s choir that provides only “ooo”s and “la la la”s that are subtle but highly effective. The next track, “Storytime,” is largely the
