SOUNDTRACK: PET SHOP BOYS-“Always on My Mind” (1987).
I certainly have my favorite Christmas songs. But it never occurred to me to winder what the perfect Christmas song was.
I love music; I don’t care about “perfect” songs or “algorithms” or anything like that. I just like what speaks ti me. But there are those who want to figure out things like the perfect song .
So the geniuses at Ostero Music ran their data, crunched the numbers and determined that Pet Shop Boys’ “Always on My Mind” was the perfect Christmas song (even if it’s not a Christmas song).
S how did hey figure this out? They analyzed every (UK) Christmas No. 1 from the past 50 years and found the winning combination of four different components – song duration, key, tempo and the artist’s age.
They also found most Christmas hits tend to be ballads and cover versions – and they are almost all about something other than Christmas.
So this is more about sings that are #1 at Christmastime instead of Christmas songs.
At any rate, the perfect formula is
1. Song duration of 3:57
2. In the key of G major
3. Tempo of 114 bpm (beats per minute)
4. Performer is 27 years old
“I think we’re a long way from an algorithmically-generated Christmas number one,” said Howard Murphy, founder of Ostereo. “But certain characteristics do make a song more likely to resonate with audiences at Christmas.”
So why did the Pet Shop Boy win?
If the formula is applied to all the Christmas No. 1 songs from the past 50 years, the song that comes out on top is the Pet Shop Boys’ 1988 cover of Elvis Presley’s ‘Always On My Mind’. The duo covered the song in G major at a speed of 125 bpm, and the song lasts 3:55. The duo’s average age at the time of its release was 31.5, a few years off the ‘perfect’ 27, but combine this with the length, key and tempo, and you find the Christmas No.1 sweet spot…apparently.
So be sure to include this song on your next holiday mix and see everyone observe how perfectly it fits.
[READ: December 19, 2018] “In This Fantasy”
Once again, I have ordered The Short Story Advent Calendar. This is my third time reading the Calendar (thanks S.). I never knew about the first one until it was long out of print (sigh). Here’s what they say this year
Fourth time’s the charm.
After a restful spring, rowdy summer, and pretty reasonable fall, we are officially back at it again with another deluxe box set of 24 individually bound short stories to get you into the yuletide spirit.
The fourth annual Short Story Advent Calendar might be our most ambitious yet, with a range of stories hailing from eight different countries and three different originating languages (don’t worry, we got the English versions). This year’s edition features a special diecut lid and textured case. We also set a new personal best for material that has never before appeared in print.
Want a copy? Order one here.
Like last year I’m pairing each story with a holiday disc from our personal collection, although today’s SOUNDTRACK is a special 2018 holiday news item (sort of).
Kim Fu summarizes her story rather well in the Q&A with Kim Fu. (more…)
Read Full Post »
SOUNDTRACK:
I Just Read About That... 