Sleigher, Zach

I saw Ben Folds in action on the floor of the Kennedy Center this September. He brings in artists to play their music with the National Symphony Orchestra. Rob Thomas was there that day. Say what you will about Matchbox Twenty, but Rob Thomas knows how to perform, knows how to sing, knows how to write a song. My brother works at the Kennedy Center, so he got me in for the rehearsal on Thursday before the Friday performance. Ben Folds sat in the crowd, observing Thomas, making little suggestions here and there. It was pretty cool to be observing such regular moments and interactions between people whose music I've been listening to pretty much my whole life. "Brick" and "3 AM" are just songs that have been there, in my consciousness, forever. And there were their writers, walking around, chatting, performing, drinking water. It was awesome.

This album is undoubtedly a Christmas album, but I think Folds very much wanted to make an album that didn't beat you over the head with that fact. He tried to lean into what he's good at.

Even so, I can't get into Christmas music. It's something that I'm happy I don't have to forcibly listen to anymore. It's not around everywhere I go over here, even though there are signs in Tel Aviv advertising Christmas activities in Jaffa. There are lots of Christians in Israel, obviously; it's the third-largest religious group. You don't need to be Christian to like Christmas music. I know lots of people who aren't Christian who connect to it. And I do get it. There is something about the snowy vibe, the sweaters, the gifts, the family time, the coziness. It's beautiful. But it's not mine, and that's OK.

This album would rank on the higher end for me if I have to listen Christmas music, for the reasons I mentioned above. It's not overly Christmasy. "Christmas Time Rhyme" is legitimately a good song, and I like the instrumentals too. But the album takes on more and more Christmas schmaltz as it goes on, and therefore gets harder and harder for me to listen to as I get deeper into it. By the time I get to "The Bell That Couldn't Jingle," I'm pretty much ready to turn it off. The AI gimmick at the end is just annoying and tired and that's straight-up a bad song.

I imagine that someone who likes Christmas music could easily slide much of this album into their regular rotation, though. Lots of the music is fine.

I also think part of it is that the first few songs on the album feel like Ben Folds, and the latter songs don't. That lack of authenticity is what makes it less enjoyable at the end, too, aside from the fact that it's Christmas music.