How the Shopper Stole Christmas

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Here's my submission for the prestigious and highly esteemed 2022 YC Christmas Music Event. I decided to bust out my singer/songwriter boots and trot over to this realm of writing for the event. 

This song is about my wonderful days of working retail, and how loving and caring everyone was. They were days full of love and festivity, working at a store in a wealthy town, where you only meet those that are the most cheerful and wonderful in every way. I was treated with respect and care, soaking up every drop of Christmas cheer that oozed from their ever-smiling faces. 

The holidays were worry free, stress free, and a time where everyone joined in the comradery of this special time of year. I'll never forget the countless hours of the shopper's hospitality and love, filling my heart with joy in an overabundance I wish everyone could know. 

Merry Christmas everyone, it brings a tear to my eye remembering these wonderful and memorable times. 

The score is just the guitar, it's a rough idea of what I played. The lyrics are below, enjoy!!

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Get away from me, get away from me
I don't care about, all your problems
Why can't you see and why don't you believe me, yeah

Well you've run out of luck, cause I don't give a 
When you scream and shout, about your problems
Why can't you see and why don't you believe me, yeah
Why don't you believe me, yeah

And you run around all day
Driving all the workers insane
Spreading joy, and spreading cheer in the form
of filth, for all to hear
This time of year will never be the same
And I'm waiting, waiting, waiting for the carols to reach my ears
But you stole it all from me
With your vile shopping spree
I know I may be wrong, but I can not carry on

With a great big smile, while you frown in the aisles
and you scream and shout, about your problems
Why can't you see and why don't you believe me, yeah
It's Christmas Eve, of course we're out...
We do not have Xbox, legos, tiny toy trucks 
or the Barbies, and Elmos, and all your fancy clothes
So go home, and remember, why we all honor 
This time of year

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1 hour ago, Thatguy v2.0 said:

🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄🎄⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄ 🎅🎄🎁⛄🎄⛄

LOL I'm literally scared seeing this!!

1 hour ago, Thatguy v2.0 said:

Does this also represent THE WORD in your decorations (like the first one)? LOL!!

1 hour ago, Thatguy v2.0 said:

This song is about my wonderful days of working retail, and how loving and caring everyone was. They were days full of love and festivity, working at a store in a wealthy town, where you only meet those that are the most cheerful and wonderful in every way. I was treated with respect and care, soaking up every drop of Christmas cheer that oozed from their ever-smiling faces. 

The holidays were worry free, stress free, and a time where everyone joined in the comradery of this special time of year. I'll never forget the countless hours of the shopper's hospitality and love, filling my heart with joy in an overabundance I wish everyone could know. 

Merry Christmas everyone, it brings a tear to my eye remembering these wonderful and memorable times. 

Great sarcastic description to your funny song! Really great description here!!

It's both weird and fascinating to hear your voice, a guy that I meet only on internet!! I definitely love your recording! Your voice is full of sarcasm and humor. I love that sarcastic change to tonic major in the lyric "And you run around all day". So "positive" and "festive", isn't it??!! The word "insane" is great as well with a slide of tone. The three "waiting" with higher and higher pitch really shows that you ARE waiting! 

Your singing skill is definitely much better than the "singers" in my place. Your guitar skill is great too! Really nice job Vince! Wish you Merry Chrstmas!

Henry

Heeeeeeeeeeeeey my man Henry

This was a lot of fun to make, glad you liked it!

47 minutes ago, Henry Ng said:

Great sarcastic description to your funny song! Really great description here!!

Trying to bait them in, you know?

47 minutes ago, Henry Ng said:

It's both weird and fascinating to hear your voice, a guy that I meet only on internet!! I definitely love your recording! Your voice is full of sarcasm and humor. I love that sarcastic change to tonic major in the lyric "And you run around all day". So "positive" and "festive", isn't it??!! The word "insane" is great as well with a slide of tone. The three "waiting" with higher and higher pitch really shows that you ARE waiting! 

I wanted this to be funny, but also real. On the surface it's humorous, but underneath I'm just about over (almost) how people treat retail workers during the holidays. Working those jobs taught me a lot about humility and empathy, something I'll always hold close to the heart. 

49 minutes ago, Henry Ng said:

Your singing skill is definitely much better than the "singers" in my place. Your guitar skill is great too! Really nice job Vince! Wish you Merry Chrstmas!

You're too kind. I know I'm not a great singer, but eh who cares. Sometimes it's more about getting what you want to say out rather than worrying about how it falls in the annals of music history. More people should just go for it in their music, especially when playing live. Merry Christmas, buddy!

29 minutes ago, Thatguy v2.0 said:

Trying to bait them in, you know?

Yes I'm baited and fooled! Good job here 👍!

30 minutes ago, Thatguy v2.0 said:

I wanted this to be funny, but also real. On the surface it's humorous, but underneath I'm just about over (almost) how people treat retail workers during the holidays. Working those jobs taught me a lot about humility and empathy, something I'll always hold close to the heart. 

I think to be a good composer, you have to be a good human being first. I remember reading Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's book, "Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement With Everyday Life", saying that creative person tend to be having contrasting personality traits. They can be both arrogant and humble, narcissistic and empathetic, but in a balanced way. Any experiences and feelings we have in our daily lives, if reflected and treasured, can be great materials to be developed in our compositions!!

Also consumerism becomes so popular now. Every festivals exist to promote consumption. So tragic. In my place it's so stupid. Great cultural desert it is 

35 minutes ago, Thatguy v2.0 said:

Sometimes it's more about getting what you want to say out rather than worrying about how it falls in the annals of music history. More people should just go for it in their music, especially when playing live.

Totally agree since that's what I cannot do well!!

Henry

1 hour ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

I think to be a good composer, you have to be a good human being first. I remember reading Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's book, "Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement With Everyday Life", saying that creative person tend to be having contrasting personality traits. They can be both arrogant and humble, narcissistic and empathetic, but in a balanced way. Any experiences and feelings we have in our daily lives, if reflected and treasured, can be great materials to be developed in our compositions!!

That's actually really interesting, I think I'll check it out! The band leader in one of the bands I'm in fits that description perfectly. He can be the most cruel person you'd ever hear criticize your playing, but also the person that can pick you up when you're down and out. Very curious about this, I'm definitely going to give this book a run through. Thanks!

1 hour ago, Thatguy v2.0 said:

I know I'm not a great singer, but eh who cares.

What are you talking about dude?  The quality of singing here is spot on!  There's nothing to complain about here.  I think every singer has to sing the kinds of songs that are tailored to their voice or style of sound that they make and your sarcastic song is just such an example!  Some people have raspy voices, other's have really smooth voices.  I think I'd call your voice "edgy".  LoL  But, your voice is really well suited for this kind of song and it sounds really gritty and angry!  LoL  I know you said you learned to be humble and all during the Christmas season but I'm betting that writing this song must have been quite cathartic!  Haha  Finally giving voice to those long dormant thoughts must have been a great expressive milestone for you!

That's en interesting tuning of Eb Standard Tuning that you chose for this song.  So I'm assuming that the score is a transposing score (meaning that all the notes appear a half step higher than written?)  It would have been nice if you included the melody/lyrics in the score as well, but I guess you can't have everything.  Was it easier to sing in this key?  Thanks for sharing this piece full of joy and Christmas spirit!  LoL

Also - interesting ending on the major 3rd of the tonic.  Very unusual - and it kinda makes the listener expect a turnaround back to another verse of the song!

19 minutes ago, Thatguy v2.0 said:

Very curious about this, I'm definitely going to give this book a run through. Thanks!

If you are going to give this book a run through, I will really suggest you to read "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" by the same author. It's after reading this book that I am now capable of composing many more hours by entering to the state of flow!! Definitely a must-read book! The other books by Csikszentmihalyi is great as well, really a great psychologist!

14 minutes ago, PeterthePapercomPoser said:

What are you talking about dude?  The quality of singing here is spot on!  There's nothing to complain about here.  I think every singer has to sing the kinds of songs that are tailored to their voice or style of sound that they make and your sarcastic song is just such an example!  Some people have raspy voices, other's have really smooth voices.  I think I'd call your voice "edgy".  LoL  But, your voice is really well suited for this kind of song and it sounds really gritty and angry! 

Well, maybe it's one of those things where everyone hates the sound of their own voice. I guess if you're Mariah Carey or something you don't think so, but I just cringe at hearing myself sing. I'm glad you think it fits the song, I think you're too nice. Regardless, thanks for the confidence in this one. 🙂

I almost wanted to post a version where I notated the melody with an instrument, in fear of people hearing my voice. Too many people don't post their selves singing around here, but I figured eh what the hell. 😄

19 minutes ago, PeterthePapercomPoser said:

That's en interesting tuning of Eb Standard Tuning that you chose for this song.  So I'm assuming that the score is a transposing score (meaning that all the notes appear a half step higher than written?)  It would have been nice if you included the melody/lyrics in the score as well, but I guess you can't have everything.  Was it easier to sing in this key?

That was the only reason I detuned the guitar; it was easier for me to sing it. I've frequently even went to D standard when doing solo gigs, just to sing everything easier, and I could always use a capo if I needed to bump the song up a step or two. I know... as I said, I debated notating the melody out, but it wouldn't have justified all the little nuances I did with the vocals. Tbh, whenever I notate guitar music, since I play, I'm kind of lazy with it, because I know how I want it, and there's little articulations and imperfections that I know will be a pain to notate. I've always viewed the guitar stuff I notate as a reference to something I'll remember, but yeah, you're right, to give credit to the listener and potential reviewer of my music, I should take the time to notate every little thing. 

I really value your opinion, Peter, and am happy you found this one enjoyable. Thanks for listening my friend!

21 minutes ago, PeterthePapercomPoser said:

Also - interesting ending on the major 3rd of the tonic.  Very unusual - and it kinda makes the listener expect a turnaround back to another verse of the song!

hahaha that was just a goofy thing I did to make it sound funny. Another reason I had to detune to capture that effect with the open strings

What a festive and joyful song! 

Jokes aside, it's actually quite charmingly put together. Lovely to have a live recording too.

The lyrics are so clever and fit well with the guitar part. I wonder if we could have some more guitar-only passages between the singing to space out the telling of the story. I just feel it would make the progression of the song more effective.

Thanks for sharing - something a bit different!

I'm not sure why this makes me miss the Dr. Demento show!?!?!

Anyways, I think you have an awesome voice. A bit unpolished, but definitely one that has great potential. Almost reminds me a little of 90s alt rock (ah.... memories!)

I really like the ycf safe editing hahaha! Guitar playing is amazing, im guessing u did it in one take? very evocative and cynical, my favorite cocktail, aside from hard egg nog. 

Just now, Left Unexplained said:

I really like the ycf safe editing hahaha! Guitar playing is amazing, im guessing u did it in one take? very evocative and cynical, my favorite cocktail, aside from hard egg nog. 

I'm a one take Andy, don't have time to craft perfection 😄

What do you think of the mixing? You know I need your advice on that bruh

23 hours ago, aMusicComposer said:

The lyrics are so clever and fit well with the guitar part. I wonder if we could have some more guitar-only passages between the singing to space out the telling of the story. I just feel it would make the progression of the song more effective.

Great advice! I honestly threw this together pretty quickly, but I agree giving a bit more space in between lyrics would really help with the overall structure. Will note for the future.

Also, thanks for reviving the hopefully annual tradition around here; your pursuit of keeping the Christmas music alive here helped me have some drive to finish this song!

19 hours ago, jawoodruff said:

Anyways, I think you have an awesome voice. A bit unpolished, but definitely one that has great potential. Almost reminds me a little of 90s alt rock (ah.... memories!)

 

Again, as others mentioned about the singing, you're too kind. I'm very critical of my voice. I'm confident in the guitar, but hearing my own voice is something I'll maybe one day get over. Glad you liked it. it was really fun to make! Thanks for checking it out 🙂

Nice work, man! I thought your singing was great and the song was funny.

Also I read the lyrics before listening, and I don't know why but, this line:

Quote

With a great big smile, while you frown in the aisles

I imagined being set to the first part of the chorus melody from "Candyman" by Christina Aguilera 🤣 the syllables and phonetics totally fit

So I was expecting maybe a '40s style swing tune. Remix idea?

1 hour ago, AngelCityOutlaw said:

I imagined being set to the first part of the chorus melody from "Candyman" by Christina Aguilera 🤣 the syllables and phonetics totally fit

So I was expecting maybe a '40s style swing tune. Remix idea?

I admit, I had to check this out because I didn't know her song. Is that lame? Should I have known this? lol. At any rate, after hearing her song, damnit I should've gone with this style. Remix for sure 😄 Thanks for checking this out

Fresh work. I also think it's more effective writing the chord names.