And incidentally, God Only Knows was used on the soundtrack of the best Christmas movie of all time, Love Actually, which in my book, makes it a Christmas song.
Fuck Love Actually. Everyone cheats, creeps on their best friend's partners and employees, etc. The one cute story is the kids, and you know they'll just grow up like the adults anyway...best Christmas movie is Die Hard - it even ends with a proper Christmas song, too!
My grandmother made some very good LSD too... Sadly, those traditional recipes are disappearing, as the younger generation just don't seem interested in keeping them alive.
@@DavidBennettPiano My grandparents never had one, but a sports bar and grill I ate at a lot growing up had one outside the bathrooms. Although that combination definitely fits my grandparents on my mom's side, so take that for what you will
Most of the examples you played of non Christmas songs with sleigh bells I legitimately heard as Christmas songs as you cycled through purely due to the sleigh bells. I agree that more and more sleigh bells just equal Christmas to my ears.
Every time I put on “Dance, Dance, Dance” by The Beach Boys, I can’t help but jokingly think of it as a Christmas song because the sleigh bells are so dominant in the mix
Here in the Philippines, we start Christmas Season by September. People start decorating their houses, Christmas Music starts being played at home and at malls. ❤️ We have a very long Christmas
I'm surprised Angels by Robbie Williams didn't feature here. I've always found its use of sleigh bells a bit weird, as if it was originally designed as a Christmas song (hence Angels etc..)
You see, the reason why Airbag from Radiohead includes sleigh bells is because cars are the modern day version of sleighs, and sleigh bells are a safety device just like airbags. So that well explains the use of sleigh bells in Radiohead Airbag.
The ad that played during your mid-roll had sleigh bells too. I associate sleigh bells with being in elementary school band and having to play them in the christmas concerts
I laughed at it, and then when he explained it meant something about travelling, I remembered I actually know "fahrt" means "travel" because I've studied German for a bunch of years now. But I guess my childish-laughing side kicked in before my knowing-German side did.
I made this observation many years ago as well. Those bells really make the christmasy feel of many none christmas songs all the same as the christmas ones.
I'm so glad you mentioned the Hives "Walk Idiot Walk"; I first heard this song years ago and always noticed the sleigh bells on it, tasteful and not annoying. Thanks!
So glad you made this video, I’ve always loved hearing sleigh bells in non-christmas music and I don’t know many people who feel the same or even noticed them! Some of the examples you gave are some of my; favs Beach Boys, Radiohead, Stooges especially.
I think a few examples you used were actually Tambourines, for example Airbag and I think Total Eclipse too but about this I'm not sure. The differnce is hard to hear but the sleigh bells are a bit brighter and just have that christmasy tone.
In regards to proximity to Christmas: as a choir girl from around age 5 into adulthood we'd start rehearsing and learning our Christmas sets around October to be ready for our seasonal concerts or tours or banquets. I unfortunately haven't been in a choir for about ten years now, but Christmas music still echoes in my mind before Halloween every year.
I absolutely dislike anything Xmas, but this was fun and informative. Tnx! (Must have been the other great content on this channel that made me make an exception to watch anything Xmas-related...)
Given your utterly amazing (and never before seen or heard) singing trout, I have to add that The Trout Quintet by Franz Schubert is very much a reminder of Christmas for me! Always hear it a few times in late December - on radio or television or even my appalling attempt at whistling some of it.
I was thinking about this recently, after I realised that Song For The Dead by Queens Of The Stone Age has some quiet sleigh bells in the background of the bridge. And that song definitely does not sound christmassy! I also agree with the idea of association: I get slightly annoyed when christmas songs are played too early because it makes them (and the holiday itself) slightly less special
You are such a sweet❤ David. Thank YOU for all your entertaining and informative videos. Have a safe and Merry Christmas and I'll see you in the New Year
Every full-service drummer has a set of sleigh bells in his kit for Christmas songs, but inevitably they want to use them more often, so they get pulled out for non-Christmas material, too.
There is a little known artist called Michael Jackson who produced a song called Jam from his 1991 iconic album Dangerous. It remains the biggest selling none-Christmas song with Sleigh Bells in it. 31 million copies sold.
I don't know if it's pure association. Especially with traditional carols, there seems to be a certain quality that make them sound "Christmassy". I remember hearing a coral I hadn't before, and yet it really did sound like a Christmas song.
Fascinating, here in the UK sleigh bells sound especially Christmassy to us, as we don't have sleighs or the regular deep snow that many other European countries have. My impression is that most recent Christmas songs try to sound like retreads of Mariah's "All I want for Christmas is you", which was probably the last explicitly Christmassy song to become a standard
Yeah, “All I want for Christmas is you” is certainly the template for many modern Xmas songs... but “All I Want for Christmas” itself borrowed from older Xmas tunes (namely in its shuffled rhythm and jazzy chords)
@@DavidBennettPianothe sleigh bells will also help raise the 6th note from a song which would otherwise sound mournful, like the natural minor scale, compared to Dorian.
"We have mulled wine, and turkey, and minced pies." Interesting to hear the differences between cultures. Eggnog would be a big thing in the US. And my family always had a ham for Christmas. Probably because we'd just eaten a turkey a month earlier for Thanksgiving. I WISH we had minced pies.
Yeah, I think the lack of Thanksgiving in the U.K. makes our Christmas quite different. From our point of view, it seems like Americans celebrate Christmas twice in a row!
I'm southeast Michigan, but a lot of my family is from western Pennsylvania, and we traditionally have turkey on Thanksgiving, roast beef on Christmas, and ham on Easter. I, too, think it's weird that so many people have turkey again on Christmas so soon after having it on Thanksgiving, especially since turkey is like the highest-effort meat but only really tastes like slightly better chicken, and because you need a lot of people to eat a whole turkey, which typically only happens on Thanksgiving, not Christmas. Of course, ham is the best meat, and I wouldn't be at all opposed to eating that on every holiday.
If you really want to annoy yourself about Christmas Songs played early, come here in the Philippines. As early as September, you will hear Christmas Song, by José Marí Chan, here and there around one song per day, increasing frequency as December arrives. José Marí Chan is the Philippines' "Little Drummer Boy" announcing the arrival of Christmas. Another trivia, the months from September up to December are known to Filipinos as "Ber Months" associating them to the approach of the year-end festivities. These festivities calms down as late as February.
I never even noticed the sleigh bells in Walk Idiot Walk before. One of my favourite examples is 'Bow' by Kasabian. Also, a hell of a lot of Kygo songs.
Brilliant! I thought this was gonna be one of those videos full of jazzy music theory.. ‘see that dim7b5 I added at the end of the chord? that makes the music sounds like its *melting*, hence it’s Christmasy!!’ Nah. It sounds like Christmas because we play it during Christmas!! Association. Nuff said, perfect video.
For me Springsteen's Hungry Heart has always sounded christmassy... I think it's the sax, glock, and percussion that makes it sound like an old Phil Spector Christmas song.
I'm shocked and stunned to learn the gorgeous instrumental passage in Greg Lake's I Believe in Father Christmas is actually taken from a Prokofiev classical piece!
The first 2 things I would think of are the b6 of the major scale infused into or replaced for chords and the precussion element of essentially constant sleigh bells
There are many 'Christmas' songs which are only Christmassy by association. Frankie's Power Of Love was released at Xmas with a xmassy video but the song itself has nothing to do with said season. Same for Stay Another Day by East 17 which was about the passing of the songwriter's brother. Also, I have a number of songs which I include on my Xmas playlists which have absolutely nothing to do with the festive season other than I was given a single or album as a Xmas gift and there's the association! Thanks for all the pleasure your videos give, I really enjoy them. Thank you and merry Christmas DB And merry Christmas to everyone else too. Let's hope 2021 is slightly better eh?
If sleigh bells feature prominently in Christmas songs (and increasingly so, as highlighted), then they too presumably become associated with Christmas.
I only listen to the Pogues album "If I should fall from grace of god" during christmas. Sure ir includes Fairytale of New York but to me the whole album has become a christmas album. I also only listen to ska on sunny summer days. It's just weird to hear it any other time!
For extra credit, spot the "Dm7b5" chord in this video! 🎄 Merry Christmas all and thank you for watching 🎹🙏
10:42
10:57 is a Dm7b5 chord
3:57 is not Dm7b5 but it says fart tehehehe
@@calebfudrums lol
How can you recognize chords like that, I really want to learn tooo
You know it’s a David Bennett video when there’s Beatles and Radiohead examples
Right? He uses them as examples a lot, but I'm not complaining
@@n-man8208 neither am i
they're just that great, they've got a song for whatever subject he talks about :)
@@foofpilled yeah
You're right, nobody else likes The Beatles or Radiohead.
WAIT, so Airbag is a Christmas song
"I am born again"
"I back to save the universe"
- Radiohead / Jesus
(Just going to ignore the rest of the lyrics)
An airbag saved my life- jesus
@@pinguing6425
Obviously a reference to Jesus Take The Wheel by Carrie Underwood
@@VOYAGEUR-YT oh yeah
"fast german car" - jesus in the bible
I love this comment and of of the responses. Thank you
Christmas song producer: “I got a fever, and the only cure is more sleigh bell.”
prescription*
lmaoo
Blue Christmas Cult
I need to make airbag a Christmas song by playing it during Christmas.
By that measure, the theme to Die Hard is a Christmas Song. Change my mind!
I want to make " i wanna be your dog" a Christmas song
In an Interstellar buuuuurst
I'm back to save Chiiiiistmaaaaaas
And incidentally, God Only Knows was used on the soundtrack of the best Christmas movie of all time, Love Actually, which in my book, makes it a Christmas song.
Fuck Love Actually. Everyone cheats, creeps on their best friend's partners and employees, etc. The one cute story is the kids, and you know they'll just grow up like the adults anyway...best Christmas movie is Die Hard - it even ends with a proper Christmas song, too!
Yeah thats why I've always associated it as a Christmas song
@@andrewsparkes8829 By that token, the theme to Die Hard is a Christmas Song. Change my mind!
@@criggie I don't think it's even necessarily a theme from the movie that had those synth bells associated with it. They're all over the place!
It's also in Boogie Nights, which has at least Christmastime scene.
"Gin and Juice" is my favorite Christmas song.
My Grandma has a fish that sings Don't Worry, Be Happy, and I go there every Chistmas, so it's the same for me.
What's with grandparents owning singing fish?
I'm shocked it's a trout. In the Southern US it's a largemouth bass. How many types of these fish are there?
My grandmother made some very good LSD too... Sadly, those traditional recipes are disappearing, as the younger generation just don't seem interested in keeping them alive.
You never heard the original 'Doo Wah Diddy' as a kid? They used to play it on oldies radio a lot when I was young. It was a huge hit in its day...
@@DavidBennettPiano My grandparents never had one, but a sports bar and grill I ate at a lot growing up had one outside the bathrooms. Although that combination definitely fits my grandparents on my mom's side, so take that for what you will
Most of the examples you played of non Christmas songs with sleigh bells I legitimately heard as Christmas songs as you cycled through purely due to the sleigh bells. I agree that more and more sleigh bells just equal Christmas to my ears.
It only counts if it comes from the Christmas region of France, otherwise it's just sparkling sleigh-bell music
🤣🎅🏻
Nope, I Wanna Be Your Dog is now officially a Christmas song!
So messed up, I wann Santa heeahh
7:10 Sounds like an alien trying to play a human instrument while being in intense physical pain
It probably was!
Every time I put on “Dance, Dance, Dance” by The Beach Boys, I can’t help but jokingly think of it as a Christmas song because the sleigh bells are so dominant in the mix
i started playing “I Can Hear Music” as a christmas song
Here in the Philippines, we start Christmas Season by September. People start decorating their houses, Christmas Music starts being played at home and at malls. ❤️ We have a very long Christmas
😍😍
I'm surprised Angels by Robbie Williams didn't feature here. I've always found its use of sleigh bells a bit weird, as if it was originally designed as a Christmas song (hence Angels etc..)
I never noticed that before! It seems obvious now!
The Dm7b5 happened at 10:57. Also, great video, as always!
well spotted! And thank you 😁😁
They smuggled instruments onto a fucking spacecraft and I cant get my bottle of water on a plane
At 4:00 it's about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's father, Leopold, and not about the the well-known iconic composer... (I say that so there's no ambiguity)
You see, the reason why Airbag from Radiohead includes sleigh bells is because cars are the modern day version of sleighs, and sleigh bells are a safety device just like airbags. So that well explains the use of sleigh bells in Radiohead Airbag.
Not sure if joke or not. It would totally make sense.
excellent video as per always!
The ad that played during your mid-roll had sleigh bells too.
I associate sleigh bells with being in elementary school band and having to play them in the christmas concerts
I love your sweater so much- and that thumbnail is a masterpiece
Merry Xmas Mr. Benett and to every subscriber.
🎅🏼🎄
Am I juvenile for laughing at "schlittenfahrt"?
😁
rome8180 yes, it's totally immature! And so am I 👊🏼😂
yes. Reminds me of a school coach trip across Germany too many years ago. How we sniggered as we went past every autobahn exit.
Ive done a few schlittenfahts myself.
I laughed at it, and then when he explained it meant something about travelling, I remembered I actually know "fahrt" means "travel" because I've studied German for a bunch of years now. But I guess my childish-laughing side kicked in before my knowing-German side did.
It blows my mind that the Jingle Bells melody has stayed exactly the same for over 100 years!
I made this observation many years ago as well. Those bells really make the christmasy feel of many none christmas songs all the same as the christmas ones.
I'm so glad you mentioned the Hives "Walk Idiot Walk"; I first heard this song years ago and always noticed the sleigh bells on it, tasteful and not annoying. Thanks!
The idea of you getting up every couple of takes to move the elf fills me with joy lol
Maybe I should upload an alternative version of this video where it’s just the clips of me moving the elf!
@@DavidBennettPiano yes that would be very amusing to me, thank you.
Thank you for showing us your perfect christmas pullover (and your videos of course) 😊 👍
🎅🏻🎅🏻🎅🏻🎅🏻🎅🏻
Ok how adorable does David Bennett look in that Christmas jumper!
Nice sweater!
Merry Christmas David! Thanks for all the amazing videos. :)
Thank you Dan!
So glad you made this video, I’ve always loved hearing sleigh bells in non-christmas music and I don’t know many people who feel the same or even noticed them! Some of the examples you gave are some of my; favs Beach Boys, Radiohead, Stooges especially.
I realized ive never noticed before
Very interesting and informative. A different angle on the familiar. Loved the early Jingle Bells recording.
That sweater is PERFECT
Everyone: sleigh bells
Subtitles: snail bows
Christmas has come early
Nice video, thank you! I'm pretty sure 'Mustapha', which opens the Queen album 'Jazz', features sleigh bells, a particularly intriguing juxtaposition!
I think a few examples you used were actually Tambourines, for example Airbag and I think Total Eclipse too but about this I'm not sure. The differnce is hard to hear but the sleigh bells are a bit brighter and just have that christmasy tone.
In regards to proximity to Christmas: as a choir girl from around age 5 into adulthood we'd start rehearsing and learning our Christmas sets around October to be ready for our seasonal concerts or tours or banquets. I unfortunately haven't been in a choir for about ten years now, but Christmas music still echoes in my mind before Halloween every year.
Your sweater made me wince. Ouch & thank you! Happy Xmas
I absolutely dislike anything Xmas, but this was fun and informative. Tnx! (Must have been the other great content on this channel that made me make an exception to watch anything Xmas-related...)
Thank you! 🎄🎄🎄🎅🏻🎅🏻🎅🏻
Given your utterly amazing (and never before seen or heard) singing trout, I have to add that The Trout Quintet by Franz Schubert is very much a reminder of Christmas for me! Always hear it a few times in late December - on radio or television or even my appalling attempt at whistling some of it.
Another interesting video. Thanks David, very enlightening.
Thank you! 😃😃
That was brilliant
That naughty elf!! 🤣 Brilliant as always.
Thanks! 😄🎅🏻
The Queen Song "Funny how love is" from their second Album also has Sleigh Bells.
Excellent, thank you ,David and a very Happy Christmas to you and your family.
Happy Christmas Peter 🎄
that keyboard sounds amazing 😮🤯
love the sweater 😀😀😀 and the editing in this video is so fun!! good job 👍
I was thinking about this recently, after I realised that Song For The Dead by Queens Of The Stone Age has some quiet sleigh bells in the background of the bridge. And that song definitely does not sound christmassy! I also agree with the idea of association: I get slightly annoyed when christmas songs are played too early because it makes them (and the holiday itself) slightly less special
Go With The Flow is practically cousins with I Wanna Be Your Dog, it's fitting it has bells as well.
You are such a sweet❤ David. Thank YOU for all your entertaining and informative videos. Have a safe and Merry Christmas and I'll see you in the New Year
Every full-service drummer has a set of sleigh bells in his kit for Christmas songs, but inevitably they want to use them more often, so they get pulled out for non-Christmas material, too.
One of the most beautiful videos I've seen this year! Merry Christmas! Take care. Have yourself a merry little tea.
This is a great video, very insightful! My favorite non-Christmas song that uses sleigh bells is Steely Dan's "Charlie Freak".
This is the most incredible music facts channel ever. Keep up the very good work. Happy Christmas!
There is a little known artist called Michael Jackson who produced a song called Jam from his 1991 iconic album Dangerous. It remains the biggest selling none-Christmas song with Sleigh Bells in it. 31 million copies sold.
I don't know if it's pure association. Especially with traditional carols, there seems to be a certain quality that make them sound "Christmassy". I remember hearing a coral I hadn't before, and yet it really did sound like a Christmas song.
Fascinating, here in the UK sleigh bells sound especially Christmassy to us, as we don't have sleighs or the regular deep snow that many other European countries have. My impression is that most recent Christmas songs try to sound like retreads of Mariah's "All I want for Christmas is you", which was probably the last explicitly Christmassy song to become a standard
Yeah, “All I want for Christmas is you” is certainly the template for many modern Xmas songs... but “All I Want for Christmas” itself borrowed from older Xmas tunes (namely in its shuffled rhythm and jazzy chords)
@@DavidBennettPianothe sleigh bells will also help raise the 6th note from a song which would otherwise sound mournful, like the natural minor scale, compared to Dorian.
What an ugly christmas sweater
I love it
Yaay Ringo!!!!
Its amazing, I've been listening to Sheena is a punk rocker for decades and never noticed the bells.
'A Chrismas Carol' (2020) by the metal band Majestica even uses sleighbells. Sleighbells are currently everywhere.
"We have mulled wine, and turkey, and minced pies." Interesting to hear the differences between cultures. Eggnog would be a big thing in the US. And my family always had a ham for Christmas. Probably because we'd just eaten a turkey a month earlier for Thanksgiving. I WISH we had minced pies.
Yeah, I think the lack of Thanksgiving in the U.K. makes our Christmas quite different. From our point of view, it seems like Americans celebrate Christmas twice in a row!
I'm southeast Michigan, but a lot of my family is from western Pennsylvania, and we traditionally have turkey on Thanksgiving, roast beef on Christmas, and ham on Easter. I, too, think it's weird that so many people have turkey again on Christmas so soon after having it on Thanksgiving, especially since turkey is like the highest-effort meat but only really tastes like slightly better chicken, and because you need a lot of people to eat a whole turkey, which typically only happens on Thanksgiving, not Christmas. Of course, ham is the best meat, and I wouldn't be at all opposed to eating that on every holiday.
Was wondering if "Sheena" would be included in this list. Glad to see it.
The Bangles covered "Hazy Shade of Winter"... and it starts with sleigh bells.
If you really want to annoy yourself about Christmas Songs played early, come here in the Philippines. As early as September, you will hear Christmas Song, by José Marí Chan, here and there around one song per day, increasing frequency as December arrives. José Marí Chan is the Philippines' "Little Drummer Boy" announcing the arrival of Christmas.
Another trivia, the months from September up to December are known to Filipinos as "Ber Months" associating them to the approach of the year-end festivities. These festivities calms down as late as February.
Thanks David. Merry Christmas. ❤
Request: Pop songs that use Big Rock Endings?
Wait... you can TUNE sleigh bells differently?!?!?!? What?zz
I think it depends on the size of the bells
Yes you can but please notice it's not very common.
I think I'm the only freak who enjoys hearing Jonah Lewie's "Stop the Cavalry" in May, June, July, August, any dang time of the year
That is a top five Xmas song for me
Great video. The sleigh bells were used so well by Brian Wilson. I think it would be cool to see Paul McCartney use them. Chris Isaak too.
8:06 shut up, and take my money!
I love and hate that that exists
pls upload that last part as a song please please
I have! It’s linked in the description 😀😀
Please Don't Die by Father John Misty is also a good one
I can't believe I missed that one! I love Father John Misty!!
I never even noticed the sleigh bells in Walk Idiot Walk before.
One of my favourite examples is 'Bow' by Kasabian. Also, a hell of a lot of Kygo songs.
Brilliant! I thought this was gonna be one of those videos full of jazzy music theory.. ‘see that dim7b5 I added at the end of the chord? that makes the music sounds like its *melting*, hence it’s Christmasy!!’ Nah. It sounds like Christmas because we play it during Christmas!! Association. Nuff said, perfect video.
“Charlie Freak” by Steely Dan utilizes sleigh bells that come in between the 3rd and 4th verses and stay through the end
And Donald Fagen's outro to The Goodbye Look.
For me Springsteen's Hungry Heart has always sounded christmassy... I think it's the sax, glock, and percussion that makes it sound like an old Phil Spector Christmas song.
First breath after coma uses them too! Love that song
Ok! Now do one about cowbell!!
I'm shocked and stunned to learn the gorgeous instrumental passage in Greg Lake's I Believe in Father Christmas is actually taken from a Prokofiev classical piece!
I love those old music hall type of groups. So humourous the way they sing..
The first 2 things I would think of are the b6 of the major scale infused into or replaced for chords and the precussion element of essentially constant sleigh bells
How have I never noticed sleigh bells in "Gin and Juice"? Omg so odd!
Blame Game by Kanye has em in the drum track too. They're a cool alternative to high hats.
There’s an intense section at the end Charlie Freak by Steely Dan. Amazing band with great use of sleigh bell!
Cry Freedom by Dave Matthews Band has sleigh bells too, and honestly it does have a Christmas feel to it.
Somebody gift this man more noise panels for Christmas! Reverb should be deliberate!
There are many 'Christmas' songs which are only Christmassy by association. Frankie's Power Of Love was released at Xmas with a xmassy video but the song itself has nothing to do with said season. Same for Stay Another Day by East 17 which was about the passing of the songwriter's brother. Also, I have a number of songs which I include on my Xmas playlists which have absolutely nothing to do with the festive season other than I was given a single or album as a Xmas gift and there's the association!
Thanks for all the pleasure your videos give, I really enjoy them. Thank you and merry Christmas DB
And merry Christmas to everyone else too. Let's hope 2021 is slightly better eh?
“Metropolis, Pt 1” - Dream Theater
Turn down for what-DJ snake & lil jon
That was the first thing that came to my mind as well
That Dream Theater masterpiece was the first one to come to mind. It's why I was perusing the comments.
First song that came to my mind, as well
The elf! The hat! The Christmas spirit intensifies.
From now on, I'm only calling Sleigh Ride "Schlittenfahrt"
If sleigh bells feature prominently in Christmas songs (and increasingly so, as highlighted), then they too presumably become associated with Christmas.
"Hazy shade of winter" by the Bangles
Good shout!
I only listen to the Pogues album "If I should fall from grace of god" during christmas. Sure ir includes Fairytale of New York but to me the whole album has become a christmas album. I also only listen to ska on sunny summer days. It's just weird to hear it any other time!
Thanks 🎄Merry Christmas 🎄
Clicked as fast as I could
What is it that you're playing at the end of the video? It's an absolute jam.
"Soul Meets Body" by Death Cab For Cutie uses sleigh bells prominently at the beginning of the song
That trout made me laugh so hard 😂