vignette

The Christmas songs!

We don’t play Christmas songs anymore like we did 25 years ago when we played them not for ourselves alone but for everybody who cared enough to listen.

One of my fondest Christmas memories involved ‘Iyo Mati Luna. A war veteran with an eternal movie in his mind, the man was passionate about music. And it was a delight to pass by his house because Ray Conniff, Matt Monro, and the Carpenters would be crooning their soothing tunes without fail.

Iyo Mati would be playing holiday songs for the whole stretch of the Christmas season. And because their stereo extended from here to there, the melodies would reach us and we soaked them up.

I liked Iyo Mati’s choice of music better than Papa's. Like me, he liked English Christmas songs that are slow and melancholic.

But then time ravaged ‘Yo Mati’s stereo. And shortly, technology set in with gadgets that use head phones, making songs very private and personal.

For me, songs need to be shared. That’s why I never like using the iPod of old and the ear piece of my cellular phone.

Because I’m a fool and an old romantic, I long for houses to play Christmas songs the old-fashion way. Isn’t it ironic that just when songs have become easy to obtain as they are downloadable and free, nobody plays them for all to hear?

That makes it sadder.