The music industry, loudly The New York Times“hopes Halloween can be the new Christmas”: making October a month-long spooky season sales boom, just as it made a seasonal sales boom for everything after November 1st. Marc Hogan writes: “Powered by streaming, Halloween can do this.” It’s meant to be a way for artists tackling darker themes – think Ethel Cain, Travis Scott, Rob Zombie – to tap into the zeitgeist before they’re sleigh-belled be drowned out.”

We’ll let you know that we’ve been there from the beginning. There’s no better way to appreciate the horrors of Halloween than to reflect on the excesses of the following season, which the music industry forces upon audiences each year long before All Saints’ Day. Here are some of this year’s music offerings for those celebrating.

Kelly Clarkson – “You For Christmas”

Clarkson is second only to Mariah Carey in her reign as the modern master of wholesome Christmas ceremonies. She also has a long history as a brassy-voiced Motown performer, so it’s no surprise that “Underneath The Tree,” Clarkson’s 2013 Christmas song, got much of its staying power from a familiar little gem of a Motown tune : The Four Tops’ “I can’t help myself.”

When you’re an artist who records a lot of Christmas songs like Clarkson, you often find yourself in a festive arms race where each song gets bigger and bigger. On “You For Christmas,” Clarkson brings in Mark Ronson, and Ronson does what Ronson does: transform the arrangement into a lush, overstuffed package of all sorts of Motown highlights. The lyrics are a take on the classic holiday theme you know and perhaps love: “All I want for Christmas is you.” There are two variations on this. “All I want for Christmas is you, and that makes me feel festive!” This is the other way: “All I want for Christmas is you, and that makes me sad (but also still festive). )”.

See also: Jennifer Hudson, The gift of love

Vince Gill & Amy Grant – “When I Think Of Christmas”

Vince and Amy have been working as Christmas musicians for even longer; If your holiday nostalgia goes back to the ’80s and ’90s, this song might be aimed directly at you. “When I Think Of Christmas,” from their first Christmas record together, is a cover by Christian contemporary artist Matt Maher. Maher’s song, an orchestral behemoth, could be described as “epic” if you’re charitable and “almost parodic” if you’re not. Gill and Grant relax a lot; Her recording is deeply reminiscent of the 90s, except for the one shooting star glissando effect. And it has to be said – sorry Maher fans – that Grant’s voice is far more iconic than his.

See also: Rod Stewart, Merry Christmas, baby (new edition)

Orville Peck – “Happy Trails”

This title understood the task more than any other task has ever been understood. Other than that, this unique holiday song is simple: a love song to a man with an arpeggiated guitar line that alludes to the aforementioned “Hallelujah,” an old-fashioned choir bridge, and the requisite jingle bells. “Happy Trails” seems like a given for two reasons. First: the title. Second, Peck is exactly the kind of artist you’d expect to hear a Christmas song from at this exact point in his career. Third: The track conjures up a surprising revelation: Peck’s voice, deep and resonant, somehow does similar things to Bing Crosby’s.

See also: Dolly Parton, Billy The Kid comes home for Christmas (a book, not an album, otherwise it would get its own entry)

Kesha – “Holiday Road”

Lindsey Buckingham’s “Holiday Road” appeared in National Lampoon’s Vacation (both the 1983 film and the 2015 sequel), National Lampoon’s European vacationand National Lampoon’s Vegas vacation. It didn’t appear in Christmas holidays. On last year’s Disney Christmas special, country singer Chris Janson tried to evoke a Disney-grown Mandela effect by claiming that this was the case – don’t be fooled!

That should tell you something: Like “Hallelujah,” “Holiday Road” is only faintly a Christmas song. It’s a road trip highway song – which means, like “Hallelujah,” it’s actually good. Even though Kesha is perpetuating the Christmas carol myth with this Spotify Singles entry, we’ll give it a pass. The content-filled chaos of Buckingham’s original video is heavily “Joyride”-coded, and Kesha has recorded many soaring choruses like this in her career: Think “Blow” or “Warrior.” She also reinforces the synthesizer line, similar to the Parentthetical Girls’ cover of “Thank God It’s Not Christmas”.

See also: Steve Perry, The season 3

Ben Folds – “We Could Have This” (feat. Lindsey Kraft)

Ben Folds, being a darn archbishop as always, named his newly released album “Christmas.” Sleigh driver. (No relation to the Slayer tribute project that already exists.) In the first line of “We Could Have This,” he strikes a similar tone: “Gosh, I love the snow, now that we’re both in it.” Folds Fans will find plenty to celebrate here, and the track’s conclusion, the gentle harmonies over swelling strings, would be poignant at any time of year.

See also: Ed Sheeran, “Under The Tree” (from the upcoming Netflix film This Christmasso not out yet)

Jeff Goldblum with Veronica Swift and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra – “Blue Christmas”

If you already knew Jeff Goldblum’s jazz hobby, this won’t surprise you. If not, this artist list probably sounds like a meme. It’s probably not really a bit, but if it is, Goldblum obliges. For years he has been doing a weekly residency with the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra at the Rockwell Table & Stage in Los Angeles, channeling his acting skills into a personality that The Independent described as a “gentle jazz bar in Lech”.

On this cover of “Blue Christmas,” Goldblum is certainly suave, with a reserved, almost spoken-word delivery. He obviously has a lot of fun complementing his bandmate’s solo: “Midnight Blue… Navy…” (low voice) “azure blue.” Bebop singer and star presenter Veronica Swift, meanwhile, plays things more straight.

See also: Jimmy Fallon’s “Holiday Seasoning”

Conan Gray – “Holidays”

Like Troye Sivan before him, Conan Gray has made the lucrative leap from YouTube vlogger to sensitive pop boy. (A representative playlist of nearly 30,000 saved songs on Spotify is called “Conan Gray songs, but they keep getting sadder.”)

Surprisingly (to me; not to you, any stans reading this), “Holidays” might be one of the best tracks here. Produced by Dan Nigro, the song uses the driving “Silver Bells” melody as a starting point; The whistled outro in particular would go well with a cozy Christmas mix. However, the lyrics go beyond the usual seasonal sentimentality; They are a truly moving depiction of a journey home to a city full of fading friendships. The first verse is most clearly defined: “At Kerbey Lane the coffee tastes like gasoline. Could you order something for me? I’m too cold and too tired to talk.”

See also: “I Believe In Father Christmas” by Sixpence None The Richer

Dean & Britta & Sonic Boom – “Pretty Paper”

Luna’s Dean & Britta and Spaceman 3’s Peter Kember have conjured up so much indie-pop bliss over the decades that their Christmas collaboration is already at the top of this list. “Pretty Paper” began as a Willie Nelson demo, an outwardly festive but subtly lonely vignette of a street vendor during peak shopping season. When Roy Orbison recorded it, he played the arrangement in a decidedly traditional way. Dean & Britta and Sonic Boom modernize it to a gentle synthpop pulse, a recurring sequencer line winding around the melody like tinsel.

See also: Sunturns’ Christmas III (billed as “Norway’s Christmas indie pop supergroup”)

Little Big Town – “Evergreen”

Small big city The Christmas record is the first holiday album in the band’s almost 20-year career and accompanies their special Christmas at the Opry. They recorded both standards and original tracks for the record, but two of them best showcase the group. “Santa Claus Is Back In Town,” an Elvis cover with Elvis things, lets Little Big Town go wild like their best singles. And “Evergreen,” a midtempo showcase of roots harmonies, recalls Dolly and, oddly but welcomely, ABBA.

See also: Brett Eldredges Merry Christmas (Welcome to the family) (also with Kelly Clarkson!)

John Waters – “Jingle Bells” (the Singing Dogs version)

It is crucial to clarify that this is the 1971 version of “Jingle Bells” sung by dogs and performed by Dr. Demento was made popular. The cover advises, “Please don’t listen to this record,” a warning no one will heed. Out November 8th on Sub Pop.

See also: None. No one can keep up with his freak.