O Holy Night

December 21, 2012 7:57 PM

Despite my lack of religion and the fact that this song has been done to death, I thought I'd give it a shot.

posted by chococat (18 comments total) 30 users marked this as a favorite

Hey Choco, I was going to make this comment about the syncopated banjo playing, whcih I really like and admire, since I know how tough it is to do, but I really couldn't.

Dear God, man, you have the voice of an angel. What the hell? I felt like on this you really let yourself sing. On some of your stuff I feel like you deadpan it, deliberately avoiding any conspicuous emotion, but you really sang this, and OMIGOD.

I hate to betray too much man-love here but you really do have the most extraordinary voice and sensibility and I do wish there was a way to enjoy it beyond the anonymity of BGM.
posted by unSane at 8:12 PM on December 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


Easily my favorite Christmas song and loved this version -- thanks.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:02 PM on December 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


Thanks.

I felt like on this you really let yourself sing.
More like made myself, over and over.
Different material/different approach I guess.
Usually I record a vocal in one or two takes because I find the more you sing it, the more you kill it; but in this case I re-recorded the vocals a bunch of times over the course of a few days because I couldn't get my voice to a tone or volume I liked at all. Finally one day I got to where I didn't absolutely hate how I was sounding, and I did a bunch of passes and comped the best/least bad. Lots of punch-ins and re-takes.
I really appreciate the compliment, unSane. I don't feel like I avoid emotion, though; I just work with what I have, voice-wise. Double-tracking and loading on the harmonies also does wonders for a thin voice, I've found. Smoke and mirrors.
posted by chococat at 1:09 PM on December 22, 2012


Absolutely lovely.
posted by Doleful Creature at 11:02 PM on December 22, 2012


yeah, great job. Downloaded and added to the holiday playlist.
posted by dubold at 6:10 AM on December 23, 2012


This is fantastic!
posted by Pallas Athena at 5:44 PM on December 23, 2012


I just found this. How wonderful!
posted by SLC Mom at 8:33 PM on January 22, 2013


Wow, I would absolutely not have thought this would work. Awesome job!
posted by greenish at 7:03 AM on January 23, 2013


This is so very lovely, and I am sure there is a home for it on an awesome Christmas album by you, which I would totally pay twenty bucks for, and so would thousands of other people.
posted by By The Grace of God at 4:26 AM on January 25, 2013 [2 favorites]


This is great! Another stellar offering. Love your music.
posted by Miko at 8:12 PM on December 5, 2013


I was just thinking of this song and remembered this version, and it is even more lovely than I remember.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 3:45 PM on December 16, 2014


Another year, another time being pleasantly surprise at how much I love this. Thank you for it again.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:55 PM on December 23, 2015 [1 favorite]


It seems like chococat's "O Holy Night" season comes earlier and earlier each year. Still so good.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:04 AM on December 2, 2016 [3 favorites]


Here because of some guy's advent calendar. Beautiful stuff, chococat.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 1:41 PM on December 6, 2016 [2 favorites]


Still breathtaking. Thank you, chococat, fo so many years of loveliness.
posted by Westringia F. at 9:04 PM on December 24, 2020 [2 favorites]


Wow, so glad it still means something to you. Thanks a bunch. Happy holidays to you and yours!
posted by chococat at 10:07 PM on December 24, 2020 [1 favorite]


So grateful for MeFi's recent activity page. O Holy Night is one of my most favourite songs - not just Christmas songs, like, literally, Top 10 GOAT songs.
This is just so sublimely beautiful.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 1:13 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]


Yeah it’s one of mine too. So glad I didn’t wreck it for you!
posted by chococat at 6:47 PM on December 27, 2020


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