12 Days of Chipmunks: “The Twelve Days of Christmas”
DECEMBER SEVENTEENTH: RECURSION
“The Twelve Days of Christmas” is a curious song, in that it functions not only as a synopsis of Christmas with the Chipmunks—each “day” representing the corresponding track—but as the denouement to the “Seville-ization” saga that began with “Silver Bells”. And since it is only the ninth track, it also gives us a glimpse into what comes next on the album.
12 Days of Chipmunks: “Frosty the Snowman”
DECEMBER SIXTEENTH: HOMUNCULUS
An obvious metaphor for Dave trying to play god and give sentience to that which should stay inanimate.
12 Days of Chipmunks: “Over the River and Through the Woods”/”All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)”
DECEMBER FOURTEENTH: DESTRUCTION
When last we saw the Chipmunks, they had been brainwashed into behaving like normal, human children by their adoptive father, Dave Seville. The indoctrination continues in “Over the River and Through the Woods”, wherein Dave introduces the concept of grandparents to a species whose lifespan rarely exceeds 3 years.
12 Days of Chipmunks: “Silver Bells”
DECEMBER TWELFTH: CIVILIZATION
Up until this point, every track on “Christmas with the Chipmunks” has contained a story of its own, with a beginning, middle and end. Up until this point, Ross Bagdasarian Sr. has been holding your hand and walking you through the scary parts. Up until this point, the album makes sense. But not any more.
12 Days of Chipmunks: “O Christmastime (Greensleeves)”
DECEMBER NINTH: SPITE
Anyone familiar with “Christmas with the Chipmunks” can tell you that “Christmas Time (Greensleeves)” is, without a doubt, the worst track on the album. It’s agonizingly slow, the harmonies are stale and familiar, and none of the Chipmunks sound like they even enjoy singing it. Most people assume that at this point, Bagdasarian simply began running out of ideas. And who could blame them?
12 Days of Chipmunks: “Jingle Bells”
DECEMBER EIGHTH: PERFECTION
I apologize sincerely for not providing a link to “The Chipmunk Song” yesterday. Apparently the public library though it would be a fine idea to block the Youtube website from its patrons. I find it strange that a library would ban information from the public, especially considering their policy against book-burning, but I digress. I have found a new location from which to post my articles, and I know for a fact the owners won’t be home from vacation for at least another two weeks.