The Pogues Featuring Kirsty MacColl - Fairytale Of New York

December 19, 2011 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

I have to be honest with you all, I haven't been looking forward to doing any of these Christmas music videos, I don't know why, but there are a few reasons that may just be the combination of all of them. The main reason why, i think, is because I haven't felt in the Christmas spirit this year, which is kind of weird since very year since I can remember, I have been looking forward to Christmas, but this year, something is different and I'm not entirely sure what that is. Another reason could be that all these Christmas songs are old, and so the music video will not be up to scratch compared to all the others I have reviewed since I started this blog. The final, and only other reason I can come up with, is that I have so much going on at the moment, with so much to do, that I seem to be letting things slide and this blog is definitely one of them, and although I love to write, I just want to feel that special Christmas magic again, and I don't know why it is missing.

This song is definitely my favourite Christmas song of all time, there's just something about it that makes it that little bit special. It has made names out of both the artists, and everyone knows who The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl are now, but people only know them because of this song, and it begs to question, would people buy any single The Pogues released, or are they just prepared to buy this one? Kirsty MacColl tragically died while on holiday saving her children. Which suggests that people should buy this song in sympathy of Kirsty MacColl, but surprisingly it still has not reached Number one yet in the UK, will it ever... We'll have to wait and see, but I doubt that it will get to the top of the charts.

The music video is surprisingly natural and interesting, I love the fact that the music video is exactly what the lyrics mean and it's a direct interpretation, preventing me from marking down this music video based on narrative, as the lyrics and the music video match perfectly. Although, the NYPD does not have a choir, instead they have a pipes and drums band.

This song was released in 1987, back then, they actually had colour TV, believe it or not. So why was this made in black and white? That's one big question. My interpretation of it is that it emphasises his sorrows and misgivings, and suggests that he did wrong. Although, if it were filmed in colour I would've been a lot happier, as it took me some time to finally get around to watching this music video.

I like everything about it, I like the fact that the lyrics and the music video match, and I like the use of the NYPD pipes and drums and everything else that was featured in the music video. But like all old music videos, there's something lacking, this clearly could have been more, instead they went down the simplicity road, and although it may not always be the best of roads to follow, it looks like it turned out alright to me.

0 comments: