The Spider-Man Christmas Album is the BEST Christmas Album
Christmas can be one of the most fun or most stressful holidays, and nobody knows a mix of stress and fun like Spider-Man. He constantly faces stressful situations, but still manages to have fun with his life and make constant jokes. In the amazing Into the Spider-Verse that was recently released, Spider-Man makes an offhand joke about his Christmas album. Even further than that, during the end credits the song Spidey Bells plays, which is a Spider-Man update to Jingle Bells. While that song was great on its own, something even better was just released, and that’s A Very Spidey Christmas, a 5 song Christmas album featuring the stars of Into the Spider-Verse. And so today I’m here to tell you why A Very Spidey Christmas is the best Christmas album there is, and an essential listen for everyone.
A Very Spidey Christmas features five tracks, Spideyfiying Joy to the World, Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls, Up on the Housetop, and The Night Before Christmas. They are performed in character by Miles Morales, Peter Parker, Peter B Parker, Peter Parker again, and the 1967 Cartoon Spider-Man. These songs (and story reading) aren’t only great for their new Spider-Man lyrics and performances, but because they all relate to the characters singing them. In fact, the Spider-Man Christmas album is more true to the characters than certain movies have been.
The first track on the album is Joy to the World by Shameik Moore (Miles Morales), and the redone music is a very meta reference to both Miles and Spider-Verse’s score. It has the regular music playing, but it’s remixed and has audio scratches, very similar to the movie. The lyrics are also reflective about how Miles is Spider-Man, but he’s just starting out, like how he took out Kingpin, how he doesn’t get paid, and the problems of making his own webfluid. It’s a fresh new spin on a classic, just like Miles’ origin story.
Spidey Bells (A Hero’s Lament) is the next song on the list, which was also played during Spider-Verse’s credits. This is song by Chris Pine (Peter Parker), and helps show his very jovial side we see in the movie, all while referencing some classic Spider-Man elements like Venom and the Spider-Buggy. However, the parenthetical title shows up about halfway through the song, when Spider-Man has a bit of breakdown about how he’s selling out with this album, as well as the skills he doesn’t get to show off while he’s out saving the day.
After that we get Deck the Halls by Jake Johnson (Peter B. Parker), and before the music starts Peter’s already trying to be finished and get to lunch, just as he would in Spider-Verse. However, he’s also pretty full of himself in the song, from saying the song’s lyrics are better (which they are), and by introducing Mary Jane even when he said he wouldn’t. This isn’t the most changed or well performed, but it definitely fits Peter’s personality. However, Peter doesn’t hate the song or experience, showing the growth he’s had since the end of Spider-Verse.
Next up is Up on the House Top by Chris Pine again. This is a pretty straight forward lyric change about how Spider-Man saves the city from the villains like Doc Ock and the Lizard. This song focuses more on Spidey’s comedy, and it’s actually really funny, especially the line delivery of the Lizard getting solitary confinement. If you’re looking for a fun and standard Spider-Man Christmas song, this is it.
The final track is a reading of The Night Before Christmas by Jorma Taccone (Spider-Man 1967 Cartoon). The poem has stayed almost entirely the same, with a few lines relating to Spider-Man. However, Spider-Man does just skip towards the end once he gets about halfway through the poem. Once the poem ends though, is where the best part arises, with Spider-Man talking about how he got drunk and a kid saw him throw up after a Christmas party. This is also just off mic, so it’s supposed to be unintentional for the album.
Now, obviously the goal of this Christmas album isn’t the deep character reflections, it was just to put out a fun Christmas album for Spider-Man fans. But that’s what makes this album so great. For most people they’ll listen to this once, laugh, and forget about it. However, some people, like me, will love the nerdiness of the album and make it a regular part of their Christmas tradition. Whether you listen to it or not, it’s always nice to have these fun little gifts. So, I hope you all have happy time with whatever you celebrate, and until next time, goodbye!
