David Byrne has curated a Christmas playlist which features The Pogues, Phoebe Bridgers, Prince and more.
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Created as part of NPR’s Fresh Air series, the 19-track playlist spans different genres with songs to get anyone fully in the holiday spirit. Byrne described the playlist as “something that will bring a little joy to the holidays.”
While speaking to NPR, the former Talking Heads frontman explained why the band never wanted to make a holiday album. “On one hand, Christmas songs are perennial … so you’re kind of you’re set for your song royalties or whatever,” he said. “But if it doesn’t click, you’ve just got this embarrassing thing.”
He went on to speak about some of the playlist’s highlights. Though Talking Heads never created a holiday LP, Byrne did release a solo track titled ‘Fat Man’s Comin’ last year in which he gives an accurate interpretation of Father Christmas himself.
Speaking of writing the track, Byrne said: “Here’s a stranger who’s sneaking, breaking into your house, basically, leaving packages — and dressed in a rather strange outfit. I thought, what if I just write that?”
The Pogues’ Holiday hit ‘Fairytale Of New York’ also made its way onto the playlist. Speaking of the late Shane MacGowan‘s holiday creation, Byrne said: “He paints a picture of this bickering couple that actually love one another very much, immigrants who have come to New York and are finding a hard time of it, getting their footing.”
Other tracks to make in onto the playlist include Paul Simon‘s ‘Getting Ready for Christmas Day’, LCD Soundsytem‘s ‘Christmas Will Break Your Heart’, James Brown‘s ‘Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto’, 100 Gecs‘ ‘Sympathy 4 The Grinch’, Gaby Moreno’s ‘Mi Burrito Sabanero’, Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Santa Doesn’t Know You Like I Do’ and more.
In other news, Byrne recently admitted that he “harboured a lot of racial biases” on an unconscious level when was younger.
In an interview with The New York Times, the Talking Heads star said that he had “implicit biases” as he reflected on his life and used his new perspective on race as an example of how he has changed.
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