I will never understand why this Christmas song goes so hard.
OKAY MOTHERFUCKERS LISTEN UP
BECAUSE THIS SHIT IS NOT CAROL OF THE BELLS
IT IS CHRISTMAS EVE/SARAJEVO 12/24 AND IT IS SO MUCH FUCKING MORE THAN CAROL OF THE BELLS.
so during the bosnian war (which was this nasty-ass conflict in bosnia and herzgovina) there was this badass cello-playing motherfucker named vedran smailovic. He was from Sarajevo, was upset about all the shit and nastiness that came about through this war (this was full-on brother-killing-brother shit!) that he went around to bombed-out, blown up buildings and funderals––where he was at risk of FUCKING SNIPER FIRE––and playing the cello. This guy was so set on providing one tiny spot of beauty in a seriously nasty war he was risking being fucking SHOT OR BLOWN UP.
AND THIS IS THE GUY WHO INSPIRED THIS SONG.
He’s why there’s the calm cello part at the beginning before everything gets all violent-sounding. It’s THEMATIC.
THAT’S WHY THIS CHRISTMAS SONG GOES SO FUCKING HARD.
Just to clarify (because I was confused!): the rock medley of “God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen” + “The Carol of the Bells” = “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24”. That’s what this ^^^ most excellent post is about.
But, as a plain Christmas song, “The Carol of the Bells” is also pretty awesome, and seems to generally be about as pagan at heart as all the other bitchin’ parts of Christmas. The Carol of the Bells” was composed by a Ukrainian composer named Mykola Leontovych in 1914. He took the familiar, four-note tune from an old Ukrainian folk chant called “Shchedryk” that‘s part of a Ukrainian New Year’s tradition that goes way, way back to pre-Christian times.
In short: there is no part of this song that isn’t awesome.
The Perfect Scientist 