David Byrne's Christmas Playlist

Summary

Fresh Air: David Byrne's Christmas Playlist Summary

Date of Release: December 24, 2024

Introduction

In this special Christmas episode of NPR's Fresh Air, host Terry Gross welcomes David Byrne, the innovative founder and frontman of the iconic band Talking Heads. Renowned for his eclectic taste and deep engagement with contemporary arts, Byrne brings a unique perspective to the holiday season by sharing his curated Christmas playlist. Recorded last Christmas, the episode delves into Byrne's selection of songs that range from the joyful to the melancholic, reflecting the multifaceted nature of the holidays.

Curating the Christmas Playlist

Criteria and Inspirations

At the outset ([02:03]), David Byrne explains his approach to creating the Christmas playlist:

"I wanted to not take it too seriously. The Christmas list and have fun. [...] I want them to just have fun. Let's give them something that will bring a little joy in the holidays."

Byrne emphasizes a balance between uplifting tunes and songs that capture the more challenging aspects of the season, acknowledging that the holidays can be a stressful time for many.

Featured Songs and Discussions

1. "Fat Man's Coming" by David Byrne ([03:04])

   Byrne kicks off the playlist with his own composition, "Fat Man's Coming." Departing from traditional cheery Christmas songs, this track exudes high drama reminiscent of a suspenseful film score. Byrne shares his creative process:

   "I looked at the whole Santa phenomena and said, what if I just describe this exactly as what's happening? [...] The arrangement by Jerry Bischoff really catches the slightly ominous mood."

   The song paints Santa Claus as a mysterious figure, blending intrigue with holiday themes.

2. "Fairy Tale of New York" by The Pogues ([06:25])

   Honoring the recently passed Shane MacGowan, Byrne selects this poignant duet featuring Christy Moore. He remarks on its emotional depth:

   "It's incredibly moving. It kind of brings you to tears every time you hear it. [...] It's a bickering couple that actually love one another very much."

   The song captures the bittersweet reality of immigrant life in New York, juxtaposing love with unmet promises.

3. "Santa Claus Goes Straight to the Ghetto" by James Brown ([11:38])

   Choosing James Brown's socially conscious track, Byrne appreciates its blend of funk and commentary:

   "Even though he's making pointed commentary about economics and inequality, there's a joy in the funky beat and how danceable it is."

   The song serves as both a critique and a celebration, highlighting societal issues through infectious rhythms.

4. "Christmas Will Break Your Heart" by LCD Soundsystem ([14:56])

   Reflecting personal sentiments, Byrne shares his experiences of loneliness during the holidays:

   "The holidays are hard. [...] It's like we're supposed to feel joyous, but sometimes that's not the case."

   The song encapsulates feelings of isolation amidst the seasonal bustle, resonating with those who find the holidays challenging.

5. "Another Lonely Christmas" by Prince ([17:53])

   Introducing Prince's deeply emotional track, Byrne notes its raw portrayal of loss:

   "It's if you're alone for the holidays. It is deeply sad."

   The song narrates the sorrow of losing a loved one during Christmas, offering a heartfelt expression of grief.

6. "Who Took the Merry out of Christmas" by The Staple Singers ([26:08])

   Byrne selects this gospel-infused piece to highlight the commercialization of the holiday:

   "They're talking about who forgot about the real meaning of Christmas."

   The song serves as a reminder to cherish the true essence of the season beyond materialism.

7. "Getting Ready for Christmas" by Paul Simon ([28:34])

   With its upbeat melody contrasting somber lyrics, this track underscores the complexities beneath holiday preparations:

   "These perky peppy songs sometimes undercut the lyrics."

   The song touches on themes like deployment and personal struggles, set against a seemingly joyful backdrop.

8. "Ain't Christmas" by Alexander 23 and Levi ([32:53])

   Concluding the playlist of melancholic tunes, Byrne appreciates the song's portrayal of post-breakup Christmas sadness:

   "It's like they're both yearning for each other, but they've broken up and should get back together."

   The duet captures the heartache of lost love amidst holiday festivities.

9. "Oh Holy Night" by Samara Joy and the McClendon Family ([41:25])

   Ending on a spiritually uplifting note, Byrne listens to this rendition of the classic carol. He expresses admiration for its passionate delivery:

   "That's very moving. [...] Little things where you go, oh, yeah."

   The performance underscores the timeless beauty and emotional resonance of traditional Christmas hymns.

Personal Reflections and Insights

Throughout the episode, Byrne shares personal anecdotes and philosophical musings about the holiday season. He discusses his own experiences of loneliness during Christmas ([14:03]) and the pressure to conform to societal expectations of joy ([14:29]). Byrne's candidness adds depth to the conversation, highlighting the diverse emotions that holidays can evoke.

He also touches upon the fleeting nature of Christmas songs in the commercial landscape, noting their temporary relevance and the challenges of creating enduring holiday music ([10:41]).

Conclusion

As the episode wraps up, Terry Gross thanks David Byrne for his thoughtful contributions and wishes him happy holidays. Byrne reciprocates with warmth, expressing gratitude for the opportunity to share his playlist and connect with listeners.

For those interested in exploring David Byrne's curated Christmas selections further, the playlist is available on the Fresh Air website ([44:42]).

Accessing the Playlist

Listeners can find and enjoy David Byrne's Christmas playlist by visiting freshair.NPR.org or accessing the show notes on the Fresh Air podcast platform. This thoughtfully curated collection offers a nuanced exploration of Christmas, blending joy with introspection to reflect the complex tapestry of the holiday season.

Transcript

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[Terry Gross]

This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. It's becoming a FRESH AIR tradition that for Christmas we ask someone who's deep into music and whose work we love to choose some of their favorite Christmas recordings. We started this two years ago with Questlove. Yesterday we featured Jon Batiste at the piano singing and playing some Christmas songs. Today we featured David Byrne and his Christmas Playlist, which we recorded last Christmas. Byrne is, of course, a founder and the frontman of Talking Heads, which was a seminal new wave band in the 70s and 80s, although calling the band new wave and punk doesn't describe how unique they were or how they expanded out from the stripped down music they began playing. Byrne also founded the music label Lwacka Bop, which releases music of different genres from the US and around the world. The restored version of the Talking Head's 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense was released last year. It's widely considered one of the best concert films. Byrne also created the Broadway shows American Utopia and Here Lies Love. David Byrne, welcome back to FRESH air. Happy holidays. So great.

[David Byrne]

Happy holidays. Good to be back.

[Terry Gross]

So I want to start by asking you, what are the criteria that you use to compile this list?

[David Byrne]

I wanted to not take it too seriously. Not too seriously. The Christmas list and have fun. So what I'm putting putting together these kind of playlists for friends or whatever. I'm thinking I want them to just have fun. Let's give them something that will bring a little joy in the holidays. Cause the holidays can be stressful for a lot of people.

[Terry Gross]

Yeah. And we got some songs about that, too, that you've chosen.

[David Byrne]

Yeah, we have that, too. We do have that.

[Terry Gross]

Fear not. There will be some sad songs. All right. I Want to start with something from your list that I really love that I hadn't heard before because I wanted to get off to a really strong start. So we're starting with a song that you wrote and recorded called Fat Man's Comin'now. Most Santa Claus songs are so, ho, ho, ho, cheery. This one is like high drama. It sounds like the theme song for an opening, like, dramatic film. Tell me how and why you wrote this song.

[David Byrne]

Well, continuing on from our previous conversation, I sometimes have a tendency to take things a little bit literally. So I looked at the whole Santa phenomena and said, well, what if I just describe this exactly as what's happening? Here's a stranger who's sneaking. Breaking into your house, basically, and leaving packages and dressed in a rather strange outfit. And I thought, what if I just do that? The arrangement is by a guy named Jerry Bischoff that I'd worked with before. And his arrangement is pretty incredible. Really kind of catches the flavor of when I'm getting this sort of slightly ominous. Despite my description of what Santa's up to as being pretty accurate.

[Terry Gross]

It sounds more like a home invasion.

[David Byrne]

Yes, yes. The arrangement gives it the appropriate mood.

[Terry Gross]

Absolutely. Let's hear it. This is David Burns. Fat man's coming Coming from the land.

[James Brown]

Of the ice and snow A roly.

[David Byrne]

Poly man in the dark he's riding.

[James Brown]

Everybody knows that he's out there now Everybody knows that the fat man's coming his hair is white as the snow that man with the bed trimmed collar Coming in of my call Everybody says that you can't be real People say it's just my imagination Everybody claims that they don't believe but everybody knows that the fat man's coming Wearing boots on a B of leather he'll be creeping into your home Leaving packages unattended before you know it he's come and gone.

[Terry Gross]

So that was David Byrne's song, Fat Man's Coming, with David, of course, singing lead. And an orchestration by Jarrett Bischoff. I really love that. I hope you do more of that kind of like high drama song with Jarrett Bischoff orchestrations. Okay, so the next song we should play from your playlist is the Pogues song Fairy Tale of New York. And the frontman of the pogue, Shane McGowan, died very recently, so we should just acknowledge him and play this song. It's a great song. I know it's a favorite of a lot of people. Tell us why you chose this and what the song means to you.

[David Byrne]

It's a great song. He's a great songwriter. It's a duet with Christy McCall, somebody that I've worked with on a couple of records. And it's incredibly moving. It kind of brings you to tears every time you hear it. He paints a picture of this bickering couple that actually love one another very much. Immigrants who've come to New York and are finding a hard time of it, seeing their footing.

[Terry Gross]

And she's accusing him of all these promises that he made to her about how great New York would be. And they're all broken promises. It's not been great, but it's the.

[David Byrne]

Way he's telling this, the things she's accusing him of. He's sort of singing about himself, his, you know, unreliability and drunkenness and everything else. So it's. Yeah, it's very moving.

[Terry Gross]

So let's hear it. This is the Pogues fairy tale of New York, recorded in 1987.

[James Brown]

It was Christmas Eve, babe in the drunk tank an old man said to me one, say another one. And then I sang a song. The rare old mountains, you I turned my face away and dreamed about you God on the love lucky one k night into one I've got a feeling plus years from beginning so happy Christmas, I love you, baby I can see a better time when all our dreams come true. They got cars big as bars they got rivers of gold? But the wind goes right through you. It's no place for the old. When you first took my hand on a cold Christmas Eve? You promised me Broadway was waiting for me. You're handsome, you a pretty queen of New York City. When the band finished playing, they found out from all Sinatra was swinging all the jokes. We were singing, we kissed our corner then dance through the night the boys of the animal and penny choir were singing away and the bells are ringing out for Christ.

[David Byrne]

Oh, my God. It's like heartbreaking from the first verse.

[Terry Gross]

Yeah. Cause he's in jail because he was drunk in public. Yeah. So I don't think there were, like, bitter Christmas songs like this when you were growing up. I know there wasn't when I was growing up.

[David Byrne]

No, no. It was during the 60s and 70s. I think that I remember there being songs that sort of criticized Christmas as far as talking about inequality and the emphasis on consumerism and things like that. You started to hear those kind of songs.

[Terry Gross]

Was Talking Heads ever asked to do a Christmas album?

[David Byrne]

No. No. No. No one thought of that.

[Terry Gross]

And did you ever release a Christmas album on your label, the Wackabap?

[David Byrne]

No, no. I'm on One hand. Christmas songs are perennial. If you do one that people like, as we all know, every year you hear it again, it starts getting played again and again and again for a few weeks and then it's gone again, but it comes back. So you're kind of. You're set for your song royalties or whatever, but if it doesn't. If it doesn't click, you've just got.

[Terry Gross]

This embarrassing thing that will only be viable for a month.

[David Byrne]

Yes, Only viable for a month. And then will be completely forgotten.

[Terry Gross]

Yeah, yeah. Okay. So moving on, we've got another song about Christmas in the city, and this is a classic. This is one of those songs that does get played every Christmas, and it's James Brown's Santa Claus Goes Straight to the Ghetto. Tell us why you chose this.

[David Byrne]

It's a classic. And this was during the period where James Brown was actually starting to make some social commentary in some of his songs. But even though he's making this kind of pointed commentary about economics and inequality, and he can't help but put it to a funky beat, there's a joy in the funky beat and how danceable it is. That, in a way, is a response to the criticism in the lyrics.

[Terry Gross]

Yeah, you could easily dance to this.

[David Byrne]

Yeah.

[Terry Gross]

Yeah. All right, so here's James Brown. Santa Claus goes straight to the ghetto.

[James Brown]

Santa Claus, go straight to the ghetto. Hitch up your reindeer now Go straight to the ghetto. Santa Claus, go straight to the ghetto. Feel every stocking you find. The kids are gonna love you so leave a toy for Johnny. Leave a doll for Mary Leave something fruity for Johnny. And don't forget about Santa Claus. Go straight to the ghetto. Santa Claus, go straight to the ghetto. Tell him James Brown sent you. Go straight to the ghetto. You know that I know what you will see. Cause that was once me. Hit it. Hit it.

[Terry Gross]

The Santa Claus goes straight to the ghetto. One of the recordings, the Christmas recordings that David Byrne has brought with him today to play for us. So, yeah, that's a great recording. You brought several songs that are pretty sad and depressing Christmas songs.

[David Byrne]

The holidays are hard.

[Terry Gross]

Yeah. What's hard for you about the holidays? Or what was hard for you about the holidays?

[David Byrne]

I've had holidays where I've been completely alone.

[Terry Gross]

By choice or by.

[David Byrne]

No, not exactly by choice. It wasn't like, oh, I don't want to see anyone. It was just like everybody was gone and I was left eating a turkey TV dinner. Sounds like I'm really pulling at the heartstrings there, but. Yeah. And that happens to Quite a lot of people. But also, I don't know what it is. Maybe it's year end. Maybe it's just this kind of enforced joy that we're supposed to feel that people kind of feel like, wait a minute, you're not gonna. You can't tell me to be happy. And we have James Murphy and LCD sound system doing us all gold. Christmas will break your heart, which in some cases is very, very true.

[Terry Gross]

Yeah, this is a great recording. I hadn't heard it before, so really glad you brought it. So here's LCD sound system with James Murphy. Christmas will break your heart Christmas will.

[James Brown]

Break your heart if your world is feeling small and there's no one on your face phone you feel close enough to call Christmas will crush your soul like that laid back rock and roll but your body's getting old it's much too tired to be so bold Christmas can wreck your head like some listless awkward sex so you refuse to leave your bed get depressed when no one checks yet Christmas will break your heart like the armies of the unrelenting dark Once the peace talks fall apart.

[David Byrne]

But.

[James Brown]

Still I coming home to.

[Terry Gross]

Not many Christmas songs have Christmas will crush your soul in the lyrics, but it's a great song. I really like it a lot.

[David Byrne]

And James doesn't sing that often, so it's a nice thing.

[Terry Gross]

Do you often feel like everyone else is having a better time than you are on Christmas? I mean, I've certainly not so much.

[David Byrne]

Anymore, but I used to feel like that. I used to feel like, oh, there's this kind. Look, they really are getting the kind of all the joy and they're going to parties and whatever they're doing. I thought, I'm not sure I'm totally down with all this.

[Terry Gross]

Do you ever perform on Christmas?

[David Byrne]

I think I have. And then on New Year's Eve, I've done that. Those are especially. New Year's Eve can be a very lucrative performance date.

[Terry Gross]

It gets you off the hook of having to have a good time.

[David Byrne]

Yes. You just go, okay, that's done. I provided the entertainment.

[Terry Gross]

Yeah. Yeah.

[David Byrne]

And now, yes, I'll have a drink and go home.

[Terry Gross]

The next song I want to play, David, is, I think, the saddest Christmas song I've ever heard. It doesn't get much sadder than this. And this is a Prince Christmas song called another lonely Christmas. You want to tell us about why you chose this one? Oh, to cheer us up.

[David Byrne]

Yeah, this is to cheer everyone up. Wow. Yeah. Prince is amazing.

[Terry Gross]

Yes.

[David Byrne]

And I. Yeah, I thought, wait a Minute. Didn't he do a Christmas song? But it's. Yeah, but he gave it the twist of being like incredibly sad Christmas song. Echoing LCD sound system and some of the others. It's kind of like if you're alone for the holidays. It is. Yeah. It is deeply sad.

[Terry Gross]

And he's alone because his girlfriend died on Christmas day several years ago. You find that out deeper in the song.

[James Brown]

Yeah.

[Terry Gross]

Yes.

[David Byrne]

He's milking it there.

[Terry Gross]

Yeah, yeah. But he sounds so good on this.

[David Byrne]

Yeah, yeah. He really gives it a. It's a real vocal workout.

[Terry Gross]

Okay. So if you're in the mood for a sad Christmas song, David Byrne has one for you. And here it is. Prince's Another Lonely Christmas.

[James Brown]

Last night I spent another lonely Christmas. Darling island New Year, you should have been there. You are the one that make my love shine, shine, you are the only one I care. My mama used to say always trust your love. Well, I guess that only applies to her. Baby, you promised me. Baby, you promised me you never leave. Then you died on the 25th day of the day and by oh, baby, last night I spent another lonely, lonely Christmas time with baby hate you it's just dream about. You are the one that makes my love shout. See, you are the only one I care for. Yeah. Your father said it was pneumonia. Your mother said it was stress.

[Terry Gross]

If you're just joining us, my guest is David Byrne, and he is co founder and was the frontman of Talking Heads. And he's brought with him a Christmas playlist for us. So we'll hear more Christmas songs chosen by David Byrne after we take a short break. This is FRESH air.

[James Brown]

You should have been there. You are the one that makes my love. You are the only one I care.

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[Terry Gross]

This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. Let's get back to my interview with David Byrne, the co founder and frontman of the band Talking Heads. He's put together of his favorite Christmas songs for us and he's here to play and talk about them. So I asked him about one of the songs he chose, who Took the Merry out of Christmas by the Staples Singers.

[David Byrne]

The Staples are basically a gospel group. They have secular hits, but they come out of the gospel and the civil rights tradition. And so here they're talking about who took the Mary out of Christmas, But I think they're also talking about who who forgot about the real meaning of Christmas.

[Terry Gross]

Yeah.

[David Byrne]

Sometimes when I hear this song, I think instead of Merry M E R R Y, they're singing M A R Y. They're talking about the biblical story.

[James Brown]

Who took the miracles? People all over the world forgot about Mary Busy fighting wars trying to make it to Mars Searching for light and can't seem to find the right star. Oh, such a light and can't seem to find the right star who took the marriage Christmas? Yeah, people all over the world forgot about Mary to be his advying toys Learning about Santa's joys make him believe he's just another baby boy. Make him believe he's just another baby boy.

[Terry Gross]

That is really catchy. Yeah. Thank you for bringing that. Did you spend any Christmases in church?

[David Byrne]

Oh, I probably did. My parents went to church when I was young. At one point, I remember they went to a Methodist church which didn't have a lot of singing. And then they switched over to Unitarian. I asked my dad, why don't you all switch? And he said, the music's better.

[Terry Gross]

What music was it? Was it like guitar?

[David Byrne]

No, it wasn't.

[Terry Gross]

Was that period in church when it was like very folky?

[David Byrne]

Yes, there was that period. This was not that. This was going the other way. They had like full on choirs and classical musicians playing. I mean, it was kind of incredible.

[Terry Gross]

So moving on. This is another anxiety. This is like an anxiety Christmas song. It's Paul Simon getting ready for Christmas Day. Tell us why this one's on your.

[David Byrne]

A couple of reasons. I'm a Paul Simon fan, especially his more recent records. I don't know, the last five records or so I think are some of the best things he's ever done. To my understanding they're a little bit underappreciated. And this is part of a long and continuing tradition of Jewish songwriters writing Christmas songs. Irving Berlin wrote White Christmas and Phil Spector did a Christmas record, which is a pretty long list, I think. And it's a song that starts off like, hey, hey, we're all excited. We're getting ready for Christmas. And then he talks about somebody who got deployed to Iraq.

[Terry Gross]

He's a nephew.

[David Byrne]

Yeah, a nephew got deployed to Iraq and all these other things. Quite sobering thoughts, but those are the kind of things that people think about during the holidays.

[Terry Gross]

And musically, this is another really like, danceable song. It sounds like it's going to be a joyful, upbeat song, but lyrically it's the opposite.

[David Byrne]

Yeah, that's kind of what he does though. These perky peppy songs sometimes and then kind of undercut the lyrics. Undercut it.

[Terry Gross]

There's a sample in the song.

[David Byrne]

With a lot of samples in the.

[Terry Gross]

Song I read on a website. And I can't vouch for whether this is true or not, but according to that website, the sample was recorded in 1941 at the last sermon by pre war American Christian preacher and gospel singer Reverend J.M. gates.

[David Byrne]

Oh, he's a well known preacher too, is he?

[Terry Gross]

Yeah, I'm not familiar with him. So this may or may not be true. I hesitate as a journalist to put this question mark on the air, but that's what it says on the. It's a song website.

[David Byrne]

Yeah.

[Terry Gross]

Okay. Should we hear it?

[David Byrne]

Yes.

[Terry Gross]

Okay. Here's Paul Simon. Getting ready for Christmas from early in.

[James Brown]

November to the last week of December I got money matters weighing me down all the music may be merry but it's only temporary I know Santa Claus is coming to town in the days I work my day job in the nights I work my night but it all comes down to working man's pay Getting ready I'm getting ready Ready for Christmas day Getting ready for Christmas I have to tell you neighbor the undertaker he's getting ready for your work not only that, the Jesus he get ready for you Christmas day and not only the jail but they in law the police folks now get ready for Christmas.

[Justin Chang]

Day.

[James Brown]

I got a nephew in Iraq it's his third time back but it's ending up the way it began with the luck of a beginner he'll be eating turkey dinner on some mountaintop and pack a stand Getting ready oh we getting ready for the power and the glory and the story of Christmas day Get ready for Christmas I'm l Up in your mind time going New York.

[Terry Gross]

Well a kind of really contradictory song again between the joyfulness of the music and the sadness and anxiety of the lyric that was Paul Simon getting ready for Christmas. So we have another like Christmas heartbreak song here. And this is Alexander, 23 and Levi. So tell us about them and why you chose this song.

[David Byrne]

I don't know Alexander, 23. I'm familiar with Leve. She's Icelandic and does songs that sound like they were written before the rock and roll era. It's kind of like a throwback to the kind of older school of Christmas songs.

[Terry Gross]

But much sadder.

[David Byrne]

Yeah, but much sadder. Yes.

[Terry Gross]

Okay, so this is Ain't Christmas. And let's hear it.

[James Brown]

I bought you presents but you'll never get it. Cuz me and you said our goodbyes this December. Oh, no. So I went to the furnace thought maybe I'd burn it but hard is a dry I can't even return it.

[David Byrne]

O.

[James Brown]

The most wonderful time of the year is breaking my heart. So tell me this Christmas who keep you warm? Who put your presents down on the floor under the tree that you bought with me? Watch all those movies that we both have seen I'm hundreds of times we know every line but it's not about that. It's about the time together on Christmas. So this Christmas ain't Christmas at all. I made cookies for Nicky like you used to do But I got so damn sad that I ate one or two of them all. So please turn off Mariah, I'm not in the mood. Cause all I want for Christmas wants nothing to do with me now.

[Terry Gross]

I really like that song. And the way they do it with a male and female singer, it sounds like they're both yearning for each other, but they've broken up and they should get back together.

[David Byrne]

Exactly.

[Terry Gross]

Yes.

[David Byrne]

I'm gonna burn your present. But you can tell she really thought, why couldn't this have worked out?

[Terry Gross]

Yeah. Cause they love the same films. If you're just joining us, my guest is David Byrne and he is co founder and was the frontman of Talking Heads. And he's brought with him a Christmas playlist for us. So we'll hear more Christmas songs chosen by David Byrne after we take a short break. This is FRESH air.

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[Lagavulin]

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[Terry Gross]

This is FRESH air. Let's get back to my interview with David Byrne, and it's a special Christmas presentation. He's brought with him his playlist of his favorite Christmas songs, which he's playing for us. Getting back to your playlist, since we've heard some songs about heartbreak and death, I thought, lighten it up and play a song from your playlist that's just about the enjoyment of shopping for Christmas.

[David Byrne]

And I don't know if this is meant to be ironic, but it really is about. Let's go shopping.

[Terry Gross]

Yeah. And tell us why you chose this song. It's from 1983.

[David Byrne]

It's a sentiment that I might view with suspicion or assume was meant ironically. But it's a song about shopping, about the joy of shopping by a man named Joseph Washington Jr. Whom I'm completely unfamiliar with. But I thought, oh, my goodness, somebody's tackling this in a kind of unironic way.

[Terry Gross]

I'm unfamiliar with him, too, but it's a fun song. So let's hear it.

[James Brown]

I'm going shopping shopping shopping around downtown I'm going shopping I'm going shopping, shopping shopping around downtown Every time Christmas comes around it's time for shopping Traffic jams keep traffic it's time shopping and I've got my Christmas together I'm going to buy presents for my love for my friends for my family for everyone that's been so good to me I'm going shopping going shopping, shopping shopping downtown Going shopping downtown It's Christmas time again and I got my shopping list together Let me see what I'm gonna buy I'm gonna buy buy some presents for my love for my family for everyone that's been so good to me I'm going.

[Terry Gross]

To shopping I'm voting for that. It's not ironic because he's talking about the joy of buying gifts for people who you care about.

[David Byrne]

Yes. And kind of going downtown Mingling with all the other shoppers who everybody's kind of engaged in the same kind of activity.

[Terry Gross]

Do you buy a lot of gifts or have you kind of, like, signed off of that?

[David Byrne]

I kind of signed off on it, but I often. I want to buy something for someone when I see the thing. Like, so and so would love that. Then get it for them.

[Terry Gross]

Also, as an adult, there's always this fear as you're opening a gift that it's gonna be something you know you want to give away. Cause you don't need it and you don't have room for it.

[David Byrne]

And someone's looking at your facial expression and going, hmm.

[Terry Gross]

Exactly. Exactly. I remember a gift I gave to one of my parents, and they opened it and they said, take it back. I don't need it.

[David Byrne]

It's the thought that counts.

[Terry Gross]

Yeah, I know. I was going to ment. So I want to end with a song that's actually a song that's really about Christmas. It's one of the carols, but it's an old song. It's from, like, the 1840s. It's oh, holy night. And this is one of those songs that. It's just a beautiful song. It's a beautiful melody. In the part that goes fall on your knees, there's some chord behind that part that is just. It's kind of gripping. A recent version that I really like a lot is by Samara Joy, and she won, like, two Grammys this year for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best New Artist. And this is a song with her family, because her family all sang gospel music and she's singing lead on it. And her father, who performed with the gospel star Andre Crouch, her father both sang and played bass, I think. Anyways, he sings on it, too. Do you like this song, David?

[David Byrne]

Yeah. Yeah. I haven't heard this version, so I'm really looking forward to this. Usually the versions I hear are very kind of cleaned up and very pristine. And this sounds like it's going to have a little bit more passion in it.

[Terry Gross]

Yeah. Okay, let's hear it. This is Samara Joy and the McClendon family.

[James Brown]

O holy night the stars are brightly.

[David Byrne]

Shining.

[James Brown]

It is the night of our dear Savior's birthday Long lay the world in sin and error pining Till he appeared and the soul felt its words A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices for yonder breaks A new and glorious morning Fall on your knees oh, hear the angel voices all night divine O night When Christ was born O night divine O night all night.

[Terry Gross]

What'D you think?

[David Byrne]

Wow, that's. Yeah. Very moving.

[Terry Gross]

Yeah.

[David Byrne]

Incredibly moving.

[Terry Gross]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[David Byrne]

And then I noticed some little kind of musical songwriting things like she sneaks in an extra measure when she holds out a note.

[Terry Gross]

Oh, I hadn't noticed that.

[David Byrne]

Yeah. Little things like that where you go, oh, yeah.

[Terry Gross]

That's the kind of thing you would notice.

[David Byrne]

I guess so. Yeah.

[Terry Gross]

Yeah. So that Samara Joy song was a song that I chose, but other than that, the songs we've been hearing today were chosen by David Byrne. It's his Christmas playlist. And David, I'm so grateful to you for coming back on the show and doing this. It's been so much fun. And you've introduced me to songs I didn't know and performers I didn't know. I knew some of them, but not all of them. So thank you for that. I personally thank you for that. And I wish you happy holidays.

[David Byrne]

Thank you. Send to you happy holidays.

[Terry Gross]

Thank you.

[David Byrne]

If you make it through the holidays.

[Terry Gross]

Yeah. David Byrne and his Christmas playlist recorded last year. You can find and listen to the Christmas playlist that he put together for us on our website, fresh air.NPR.org, or in the show notes on the podcast. David Byrne co founded and fronted the band Talking Heads. The restored version of the band's 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense, is available for rent or purchase on various streaming platforms. After we take a short break, the best films of 2024 as chosen by our film critic Justin Chang, who is also a film critic for the New Yorker. This is FRESH AIR.

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[Terry Gross]

Our film critic Justin Chang spent a lot of 2024 in movie theaters, at film festivals and in front of his tv. He says that it was, all in all, a stronger year for movies from around the world than it was for Hollywood. Here's his list of the best movies.

[Justin Chang]

Of 2024 it's often said that December for film critics is like tax season for accountants. This is our crunch time when we try to take stock of the past 12 months worth of movies and determine our favorites. Good luck getting us to agree on anything. Earlier this month, the New York Film Critics Circle gave its Best Picture award to the brutalist Brady Courbet's sweeping post war drama about a Hungarian Jewish architect's American rebirth. A few days later, the Los Angeles Film Critics association, of which I'm a member, gave its top prize to Honora Sean Baker's madly entertaining farce about a Brooklyn sex worker. It says something about the quality of the movies this year that as much as I like Honora and the Brutalist, both titles landed just outside my own personal list of favorites. Here then, are the 10 no. 11 best movies of 2024. My number one movie of the year is Close youe Eyes, the latest from the legendary Spanish filmmaker Victor Arise, who's best known for his 1973 classic the Spirit of the Beehive. Close youe Eyes is the first feature he's directed in roughly three decades, and it's an intensely personal work about a long retired filmmaker trying to solve the mystery of what happened to an old friend who vanished years earlier. What begins as a kind of cinephile detective story gradually morphs into an emotionally transcendent drama about the power of love, the agony of loss and the pleasures of getting lost in the movies. The next two movies on my list are both indictments of corporate greed with faintly apocalyptic vibes. Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World is a bracingly foul mouthed comedy from the Romanian director Radu Judah, about an underpaid production assistant driving from one thankless gig to the next. Evil Does Not Exist is Rusuke Hamaguchi's haunting follow up to his Oscar winning Drive My Car. It's set in a remote Japanese village that comes under environmental threat from the construction of a glamping site. Up next are the two most daring and inventive American movies I saw all year. One of them is A Different Man, Aaron Shinberg's audacious and assured horror comedy starring Sebastian Stan as a man whose face is covered with tumors due to a genetic condition called neurofibromatosis. He experiences a miraculous recovery, which is when his nightmare really begins. The other terrific American movie on my list is Nickel Boys, rommel Ross's stunning adaptation of Colson Whitehead's novel about two black boys living in horrific conditions at a reform school in the Jim crow South. In this scene, one boy's grandmother, beautifully played by ingenue Ellis Taylor, is heartbroken at not being allowed to see him. She expresses her sadness to one of his friends and asks him to please give her grandson a package of letters.

[Tonya Mosley]

They told me that he can't have visitors. I just.

[David Byrne]

Would you please.

[James Brown]

Would you please.

[David Byrne]

Yes, ma'am.

[James Brown]

I came all this way. It's a crime, but they won't let me see him.

[Terry Gross]

It's a crime.

[Tonya Mosley]

What kind of place is.

[Terry Gross]

They won't let me see him.

[Justin Chang]

My next two favorite movies put an enchanting modern spin on ancient myths. In La Chimera, the Italian director Alice Rorwacher riffs on the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice as a tomb raider in the Tuscan countryside. Josh O'Connor has never been better. The other one is music, a brilliant rethink of Oedipus Rex from the German director Angela Shanalik. Her storytelling is enigmatic to the point of baffling, but it's also moving beyond words. Next on my list is no Other Land, a searing documentary from a collective of four filmmakers, two Palestinian and two Israeli, who chronicle the demolition of homes in the occupied West Bank. It has yet to find a US Distributor, despite having won numerous prizes at festivals and from critics groups. No Other Land would make a harrowing double bill with my next movie, green Border, a ripped from the headlines drama that embroils us in the chaos at the Polish Belarusian border. The veteran Polish director Agnieszka Holland has spent much of her long career depicting the plight of refugees in wartime. Green Border is one of her very best. The last two movies on my list illuminate the lives of their women characters with rigorous realism. All We Imagine as Light is a quietly shimmering drama about three Mumbai women who find solidarity in the face of societal repression. It confirms the Indian director Payal Kapadia as a remarkable new talent. And last on my list is Hard Truths, in which the great English director Mike Lee reunites with the actor Marianne Jean Baptiste almost 30 years after they work together on Secrets and Lies. All I'll say about it is that Jean Baptiste gives the greatest performance I've seen in ages, and it will be watched and remembered long after this year is over.

[Terry Gross]

Justin Chang is a film critic for the New Yorker. His list can be found on our website, fresh air.NPR.org the new Bob Dylan biopic opens Christmas Day tomorrow. It will feature two related interviews from our archive, an interview with folk singer Pete Seeger, who's played in the film by Edward Norton and one with Bruce Springsteen, who was called the new Bob Dylan early in his recording career and later inducted Dylan into the Rock and Roll hall of Fame. I hope you'll join us. Fresh Air's executive producer is Danny Miller. Our technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Phyllis Myers, Anne Reboldonado, Sam Brigger, Lauren Krenzel, Teresa Madden, Monique Nasser, Susan Yakundi and Anna Bauman. Our digital media producer is Molly CV Nesper. Roberta Shorrock directs the show. Our co host is Tanya Moseley. I'm Terry Gross. All of us wish you a Merry Christmas.

[Lagavulin]

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