Just Like Christmas

Year: 1999

Written By: Alan Sparhawk, Mimi Parker, John Nichols

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It's hard to argue with the belief that all the best Christmas song have already been written. The quantity may not have decreased each December but the quality certainly has. But then there are genuine moments when a new song makes you feel like a child again, wide-eyed and wondrous at the sound of sleigh bells. One of those moments arrived in 1999 when Minnesota band Low released their 'Christmas' EP (as a gift to fans), which was by and large recorded at a slow and funereal pace, and more specifically their song 'Just Like Christmas' which was contained within. It wasn't just Mimi Parker's emotive/believable vocals that stole the show as the music conjured a winning take on how Christmas songs of yore used to sound. And for all the energy that the song generated you can't help but feel sad and elated all at once. It is one of those indescribable feelings that happens when you listen to music from time to time. In that regard and in almost every other regard (including the sparse but affecting lyrics) 'Just like Christmas' is comfortably one of the best Christmas songs ever written. And its majesty hasn't gone unnoticed with it appearing on the worthy charity compilation 'It's A Cool, Cool Christmas' and the not so 'The O.C. Mix 3: Have a Very Merry Chrismukkah'.

Despite the flawlessness of the original several acts have tried to reimagine the spirit of 'Just Like Christmas'. Snow Patrol put in a ropey enough effort that was not without its plus points but sadly was out-punched by its low ones. Ingo Star Cruiser was more successful by giving the piece a slightly dancey feel. Ok, it didn't really scratch the surface quality of the original but it didn't stink either.