Why Is Christmas Music So God Awful Now? I Think I Know The Reason

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Matt Walsh Show

Episode: Why Is Christmas Music So God Awful Now? I Think I Know The Reason
Host: Matt Walsh (The Daily Wire)
Date: December 20, 2025

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Main Theme & Purpose

Matt Walsh delivers a sharp critique of the modern state of Christmas music and movies, arguing that both have dramatically declined in quality since the late 20th century. The episode explores the reasons behind this, focusing on cultural, artistic, and spiritual shifts, and contemplates what makes holiday content memorable and meaningful.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The “Christmas Shoes” Phenomenon

• Critique of "The Christmas Shoes" Song:

  • Walsh describes it as "the single best argument against the First Amendment that perhaps has ever been made" (00:17), joking that a "civilized society would have imprisoned everybody responsible for that song."

  • He mocks the song's melodramatic premise, unrealistic narrative, and absurd details (e.g., a dying mother needing shoes for Jesus, a child counting pennies at checkout in the 2000s).

    “No kid is going to be counting pennies in the checkout line because we don’t make pennies anymore and everyone’s using Apple Pay anyway.” (02:10, Matt Walsh)

  • Walsh highlights the commercialization of the song, noting its adaptation into a movie and book series—evidence, he says, of the "decline of Christmas songs and movies." (04:00)

• Comedic Analysis:

  • He ridicules the song’s manipulative use of emotion and implausibility, humorously comparing the child to an ancient Egyptian pharaoh because of the focus on burial attire (02:58).
  • "But then it gets worse. As Patton Oswalt observed, the kid eventually makes it clear that he's a total scam artist. He turns to the guy standing next to him and demands that he pays for the shoes." (02:55)

2. The Decline of Christmas Movies

• Assessment of Modern Offerings:

  • Walsh claims that "there hasn't been a good Christmas movie in over 30 years," lamenting the trend towards irony, sarcasm, shallow or negative themes (divorce, family dysfunction, saving Christmas as a literal event), and unnecessary violence.

  • He singles out films like Elf, Bad Santa, Red One, asserting that even the more beloved ones are lesser reflections compared to classics like It's A Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street.

    “None of them appear to have any understanding of Christmas, which is a pretty big problem for a Christmas movie.” (05:21, Matt Walsh)

• Industry Shifts:

  • Walsh attributes much of this decline to Hollywood and the music industry's prioritization of political messaging, often of an “explicitly anti-Christian” nature (06:26).

  • He also notes practical realities: Christmas as a genre is saturated with classics, with little incentive or room for new additions.

    “From a practical perspective. It’s a genre of music that’s only played for one month a year. So people don’t need 50,000 different Christmas songs.” (06:58, Matt Walsh)

3. The Rise of Irony Over Sincerity

• Comparison of Generational Media:

  • Walsh contrasts the sincere, faith-based message in A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) with the generic, sentimental message typical of more recent specials like The Muppet Family Christmas (late 1980s) (09:15 onward).

• Sincerity versus Sarcasm:

  • He plays a pivotal scene from Charlie Brown where the biblical meaning of Christmas is recited, noting network reluctance at the time—a risk vindicated by the show’s lasting success.

    “A culture that’s defined by detachment and irony, that never wants to take anything seriously at a fundamental level, it’s very different from a culture that values authenticity, vulnerability, and humility.” (14:11, Matt Walsh)

• Modern Example — South Park:

  • Walsh uses South Park’s irreverent Christmas episodes as emblematic of a broader cultural move from reverence to mockery, suggesting that this damages both message and tradition.

4. What Makes a Christmas Movie (and Song) Actually Good?

• Walsh’s Criteria:

  • The story must be truly about Christmas (not just set during it), ideally involve snow, include archetypal characters (a Santa/Gandalf figure), communicate the real meaning of Christmas (not consumerism or apathy), and instill genuine joy (15:16).

• Memorability & Tradition:

  • Walsh insists that good Christmas content creates lasting memories and traditions. It should be evergreen, something viewers/listeners return to year after year.

    “Good Christmas content, above all else, is memorable. It creates traditions. It’s evergreen [...] You can revisit it every year.” (16:29, Matt Walsh)

• Call for New Creators:

  • He concludes with hope that with sincerity and vision—like Charles Schulz defying executive directives—quality Christmas content can be revived.

    “We just need someone like Charles Schulz to do the exact opposite of what executives tell him to do and create something worth watching.” (16:38, Matt Walsh)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On "The Christmas Shoes":
  "Is the kid’s mom a pharaoh? Is this ancient Egypt? What pyramid is this woman being buried in?" (02:27, Matt Walsh)
• On the Charlie Brown Special:
  “The show is going to run for a hundred years.” – Quoting animator Ed Levitt on the lasting impact of the special (10:15)
• On Culture:
  “By the early 2000s, South Park was producing episodes about this tension over the true meaning of Christmas, which seemed to really confuse people at the time.” (12:29, Matt Walsh)
• Summary/Conclusion:
  “A country that values Christmas movies like this... will be less annoying and much happier. They won’t be mystified about the true meaning of Christmas, either.” (16:21, Matt Walsh)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:17 | Rant begins on "The Christmas Shoes" | | 03:46 | Song’s cultural impact: movie, book series, decline illustration | | 05:21 | Why modern Christmas movies are "awful" | | 06:26 | Political messaging and industry decline | | 09:20 | Charlie Brown Christmas biblical excerpt and network backstory | | 11:55 | The Muppet Family Christmas—shift to generic, sentiment-focused message | | 12:29 | Satirical “true meaning” (South Park) and cultural irony | | 15:16 | Defining a real Christmas movie; importance of sincerity | | 16:29 | What makes Christmas content evergreen |

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Overall Tone

Matt Walsh’s tone is acerbic, biting, and darkly comedic—riffing with sarcasm and theatrical exasperation while maintaining a through line of cultural criticism and hope for revival. The episode blends pop culture analysis, Christian traditionalism, and comedic lampooning of holiday clichés.

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For listeners: If you haven’t heard the episode, this summary captures Walsh’s central arguments, notable quips, and critique of both the substance and spirit lacking in today’s Christmas content. Walsh’s conclusion: Christmas music and movies are in dire need of sincerity, tradition, and meaning—which only brave, principled creators can restore.

Transcript

[Narrator/Host]

Limu Emu and Doug. Here we have the Limu emu in.

[Commentator/Critic]

Its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug. Uh, Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us? Cut the camera. They see us. Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty Liberty Liberty. Liberty Savings vary unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates excludes Massachusetts. The other day it was brought to my attention that radio stations and streaming services are still broadcasting the song the Christmas Shoes, which is the single best argument against the first amendment that perhaps has ever been made. Any civilized society would have imprisoned everybody responsible for that song and banned it many years ago. And in case you're unfamiliar with it, the song is about a guy who's in a bad mood. He's doing Christmas shopping, and then a kid who's dressed in ragged clothing goes up to the checkout line with a bunch of pennies and tries to buy some Christmas shoes. Tells the clerk that his mother's dying and he wants to buy her sho so that you know, she looks beautiful for Jesus.

[Narrator/Host]

Listen, sir, I wanna buy these shoes for my mama. Please, it's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size. Could you hurry, sir? Daddy says there's not much time. You see, she's been sick for quite a while and know these shoes shoes will make us smile and one or two look beautiful if ma meet Jesus tonight.

[Commentator/Critic]

Now, already there are a couple of problems here beyond the very bad and melodramatic singing. First of all, if you're buying shoes or anything, there's no reason to tell the clerk why you're making the purchase. Like, nobody does that. The clerk's job is to process the transaction. That's it. Doesn't really care why you're buying it unless you're buying the ingredients for a pipe bomb or something. There's really no explanation needed. And secondly, the song is outdated at this point. No kid is going to be counting pennies in the checkout line because we don't make pennies anymore and everyone's using Apple Pay anyway. Now, admittedly, back in 2002 when this song came out, that wasn't true, but it was still considered a pretty big faux pas to make everyone wait while you, quote, counted pennies for what seemed like years. And it's an even bigger faux pas when you come up short after all that. And third, what kind of person, child or not, thinks that people get to keep their shoes in the afterlife is the kid's mom, a pharaoh, is this ancient Egypt? What pyramid is this woman being buried in? So at this point, even if you put aside the absurdity of wanting to dress up your dying mother, everyone in line should be furious with this kid. But then it gets worse. As Patton Oswald observed, the kid eventually makes it clear that he's a total scam artist. He turns to the guy standing next to him and demands that he pays for the shoes.

[Narrator/Host]

Watch the counted pennies for what seemed like years in the cashier said, son, there's not enough here. He searched his pockets frantically. Then he turned and he looked at me. He said, mama made Christmas good at our house. Though most years she just did. Tell me, sir, what am I going to do? Somehow I've got to buy her these Christmas shoes. So I laid the money down. I just had to help him out.

[Commentator/Critic]

Now, this pair of shoes cost $50, which in 2002 is a decent amount of money and presumably enough to buy shoes that wouldn't get you kicked out of heaven on the spot. Then we're talking about 5,000 pennies that this kid was counting. As the narrator says it, it felt like it took years. Imagine watching that. And then the kid hits you up for more pennies. This is where you say politely but firmly, no, and you certainly don't pay for the shoes, and then declare that you've discovered the true meaning of Christmas, which is how the song ends. But if you look into it, you'll find that this song was wildly successful. In fact, it was so successful that it was somehow turned into a movie and a book series. Yes, a movie and a book series. Hollywood treated this Christmas shoes song like it was the Hobbit. They apparently got Rob Lowe to play the angry guy at the store who makes the poor kid happy. And in doing so, they provided a very important illustration of a phenomenon I want to talk about today, which is the decline of Christmas songs and movies. And conveniently enough, the Christmas shoes illustrates the decline in in both of these areas. So here's the trailer for the Christmas shoes to give you some idea of how bad things have become. Starting around turn of the century, a special pair of shoes will lead their paths to cross.

[Voice Actor/Reader]

You would have really liked the show. I wish you were there.

[Narrator/Host]

It will be next time your $5.50 short. Come back after New Year's. We'll probably be giving them away too late.

[Commentator/Critic]

This Christmas, two families will test their their faith in themselves and discover the magic that is the Christmas shoes. Now again, this is back in 2002. And Christmas movies have only deteriorated from. From here. There hasn't been a good Christmas movie in over 30 years. None of them appear to have any understanding of Christmas, which is a pretty big problem for a Christmas movie. There's been an uptick in I hate my family or I got a Divorce. So this Christmas is going to be weird type of films. The which, you know, that's like Home Alone, but which is a good Christmas movie. But they can't all be centered around that. The stakes are usually over the top where the fate of Christmas itself is on the line and there's often, you know, unnecessary violence as well. Take your pick. Bad Santa, Red one, Elf. It's not exactly a Christmas story. It's a Wonderful life. Miracle on 34th Street. Now, for what it's worth, Elf was originally supposed to be much raunchier, sort of like a Christmas themed version of Old School. And that's what the studio wanted. Jon Favreau was fortunately able to prevent the studio from making that change. But you know, the movie, the movie is still quite bad. So when did this trend change and why? For Christmas songs, it's very measurable decline. The vast majority of the most popular Christmas songs which made The Billboard holiday 100 or the most played holiday songs were written between 1942 and 1994. So starting around 30 years ago, the music industry suddenly became incapable of producing a worthwhile Christmas song. And part of the explanation we can assume is similar to the reason that TV shows and movies have declined in quality. Writers in the entertainment industry are mostly obsessed with political messaging, most of which is explicitly anti Christian. Doesn't exactly translate into creative writing about Christmas. And more importantly, there are only so many Christmas songs that can really exist. From a practical perspective. It's a genre of music that's only played for one month a year. So people don't need 50,000 different Christmas songs. No one's going to get burned out on Jingle Bells, in other words, the genre is, you know, you could argue, a sort of full already. And therefore, rather than risk a lot of money on a new song that might bomb, most entertainers are happy to sing a cover of well established classics. Or they're happy to churn out garbage like Christmas Tree Farm by Taylor Swift or It Feels Like Christmas by Fallout Boy. You think a fresh start means things will be different, but it's the same system. The banks keep winning while you're stuck paying the price fees keep stacking up. Collection calls won't stop. And every month it just gets worse. But here's the thing. You don't have to keep playing their game. Our sponsor, PDS Debt, has already helped hundreds of thousands of people slash their debt and take back control of their money. That cash should be staying in your pocket, where it belongs, not lining the bank's pockets. If you're dealing with credit card debt, personal loans or medical bills piling up PDS debt actually takes the time to understand what you're going through. They don't just look at the numbers. They get that every family situation is different and they'll work with you to create a plan that fits your life. There's no minimum credit score required, so they're not going to turn you away when you need help most. Their whole focus is helping you save money, knock out that debt faster and finally get some breathing room in the budget so you can take care of what matters. Your family. And they've got the track record to back it up. A rating with the Better Business Bureau, thousands of five star Google reviews and a perfect rating on trustpilot. That's because they've helped hundreds of thousands of people break free from debt. And they can help you too. Don't wait another month. Take back control. In 30 seconds, get your free personalized assessment and the best option for [e-mail] Walsh that's pdsdet.com Walsh PDS but it's also hard to escape the fact that as I mentioned previously, we've become a culture that's obsessed with irony and sarcasm are very ironically detached from everything. Recall this scene from Charlie Brown, Christmas in 1965. Of course, a classic. Charlie asks about the meaning of Christmas. And in response, he's told the story of the birth of Christ. Watch.

[Voice Actor/Reader]

I guess you were right, Linus. I shouldn't have picked this little tree. Everything I do turns into a disaster. I guess I really don't know what Christmas is all about. Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about? Sure, Charlie Brown. I can tell you what Christmas is all about. Lights, please. And there were in the same country, shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them. And the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, fear not. For behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a saviour which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest. And on earth, peace, goodwill toward men. That's what Christmas is all about. Charlie Brown.

[Commentator/Critic]

Now, CBS executives didn't want to air that. They thought it would bomb. It's also not what they had in mind. They were looking for more generic content, which they could use as a vehicle to air Coca Cola content, since Coke was sponsoring the show. As one of the producers, Lee Mendelsohn, put it, quote, I really believed, if it hadn't already been scheduled for the following week, there's no way they were going to broadcast that show because of the tight timeline it did air. It used actual child actors for voices, didn't have a laugh track, featured a jazz soundtrack, all choices that were considered extremely unconventional and risky at the time. In the end, of course, Charles Schultz was vindicated, and so was one of his animators, Ed Levitt, who had insisted it would be, quote, the best special he'll ever make. The show is going to run for a hundred years. Now, normally, when an unconventional production with a unique message proves to be successful, executives try to emulate it. But the Charlie Brown Christmas special proved to be an aberration. By 1987, this kind of Christmas messaging, the kind that unironically sincerely reflects the meaning of Christmas, was replaced by propaganda from spiritual humanists. This was the message of the Muppet family. Christmas, for example. See if you can spot the difference.

[Character Actor]

What's Christmas?

[Commentator/Critic]

Yeah.

[Character Actor]

Oh, don't you have Christmas?

[Voice Actor/Reader]

No.

[Character Actor]

Well, that's when you gather together with the people you love and you wish each other peace on Earth.

[Voice Actor/Reader]

We have a time like that. Yes. Yes, we do. As a matter of fact, we're celebrating it right now. You see, we give each other little presents. I'm giving Boober this nice yellow pebble, and I gave Mookie that pebble last.

[Character Actor]

Year, and I gave it to Red the year before that, and I gave it to you, Wembley, the year before that. That pebble's been a gift 37 times.

[Commentator/Critic]

37 times. Yeah. So this was the beginning of the end as far as Christmas movies and shows were concerned. It's a reflection of culture becoming homogenous of every event or holiday being about our general happiness, you know, rather than any deeper meaning. By the early 2000s, South park was producing episodes about this tension over the true meaning of Christmas, which seemed to really confuse people at the time. We meet again Jesus. You have blemished the meaning of Christmas for the last time, Kringle. I bring happiness and love to children.

[Character Actor]

All over the world.

[Commentator/Critic]

Christmas is for celebrating my birth. Christmas is for giving. I'm here to put an end to your blasphemy. This time we finish it. There can be only one.

[Character Actor]

Dude, this is pretty up right here. Go, santa. Go, gj. And you know, I think I learned something today. It doesn't matter if you're Christian or Jewish or atheist or Hindu. Christmas still is about one very important thing.

[Commentator/Critic]

Yeah, ham.

[Character Actor]

No, not ham, you fat. Christmas is about something much more important. What? Presents. Don't you see, Kyle? Yeah, presents. Hey, man, if you're Jewish, you get presents for eight days. Wow. Really? Count me in. Yeah, I'll be a Jew, too. Dredo, dredo, dredo. I made you out of clay.

[Commentator/Critic]

Now, 50 years after Charlie Brown's Christmas, this is the kind of cartoon that children are watching. You can make the case that south park has a more complicated plot. You could say it's funnier and more profane and more ironic. All that is true. But a culture that's defined by detachment and irony, that never wants to take anything seriously at a fundamental level, it's very different from a culture that values authenticity and vulnerability and humility. True spirituality, it produces different kinds of people and different kinds of relationships. And ultimately, it produces Christmas movies like this. It's Christmas. We should celebrate, they said just a.

[Narrator/Host]

Little get together for the employees.

[Commentator/Critic]

Have.

[Narrator/Host]

A few drinks, blow off a little steam.

[Commentator/Critic]

Nothing crazy. Merry Christmas, Jeremy.

[Narrator/Host]

Great night, huh?

[Commentator/Critic]

That makes the Christmas shoes movie look like a best picture nominee. Christmas content has gone from authentic and memorable to trite and tacky to openly profane and disturbing. That's the trajectory. And one of the things that needs to change is that we need to establish a clear definition of a Christmas movie. It's a cliche debate at some level, but maybe it would help to spell this out. The Christmas movie needs to take place on Christmas, obviously. Or at least, like, needs to be centered around the actual event of the actual day of Christmas, the holiday of Christmas. And as I've said before, there needs to be snow. There needs to be a big guy in a bushy white beard like Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings. There needs to be some statement, either express or implied, about the true meaning of Christmas. And it needs to make you feel merry, like it needs to actually have that. That feeling. It can't depress you or gross you out. It can't be about averting the end of the world or the end of Christmas or the death of Santa. It needs to make you feel like a kid watching Charlie Brown in the 1960s. A country that values Christmas movies like this, actual Christmas movies will be less annoying and much happier. They won't be mystified about the true meaning of Christmas, either. And 10 years from now, they might actually remember the new Christmas movies they're watching and the new Christmas songs they're listening to. Good Christmas content, above all else, is memorable. It creates traditions. It's evergreen. You know, appropriately enough for the. For the winters. It's. It's. You can revisit it every year. We haven't lost the technology or the ability to return to that level of quality. We just need someone like Charles Schulz to do the exact opposite of what executives tell him to do and create something worth watching.

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