One
of the best and most intriguing new Christmas
songs this year is Uncle Carl (Came Out on Christmas which
is actually not brand new. Austin based Americana Singer-Songwriter Aaron
LaCombe released it a year ago on the digital album Pictures of Ourselves but
because of its subject—Uncle Carl
comes out to his Texas family at the
Christmas dinner table—it got no traction and little air play. Even the handsomely
and professionally produced video, which was both authentic
and had the feel of a non-Lifetime family holiday movie got only about 5,000 YouTube clicks—pretty much
friends, family, and a small fan base.
But
this year it got “discovered” by
some music writers and a wider LGBTQ community and has created some
serious social media buzz. As of today the YouTube clip has reached more than 73,000 and
is picking up steam.
One
of those spreading the word was Randy
Slovacek on his blog The
Randy Report. He noted that
LaCombe’s Twitter account bio said “I
write the songs that make most people mildly uncomfortable.”
Later
in the article LaCombe explained the song’s origins:
A couple of
years ago I was invited to participate in a Christmas Songwriting Contest. I
maybe take myself a little too seriously as a songwriter, so the idea of
writing a Christmas song just seemed cliché to me and I wanted to sort of see
if there was a way to make it catch people off guard.
I took cues from
some experiences some close friends and family have had, and once I got started
I found myself on a tightrope of making it a little bit funny, a little sad,
and a little sweet. It came in dead last
at the contest, which is when I started to think I might really have something.
Like Randy Slovacek,
I am now a fan myself. I am betting that
many of you will also become one.
No comments:
Post a Comment