Christmas songs advent calendar Day 4
‘7 O’Clock News / Silent Night’ by Phoebe Bridgers
Yesterday’s song by Simon & Garfunkel was updated in 2019 by Phoebe Bridgers (with Fiona Apple and Matt Berninger). The track was released on 12th December and the news reports (read by Berninger) concern a possible overturning of Roe v Wade, Trump’s betrayal of Ukraine, and police violence. What is clear, five years on, is that we seem stuck in a relentlessly depressing news cycle that shows no signs of ending. And, taking a longer view, 55 years on from the S&G original we have made such little progress in so many respects.
Also on 12th December 2019, the day that this track was released, a cluster of patients in Wuhan, China were found to be experiencing unusual flu-like symptoms. It was the first occurrence of what later was called Covid-19. A grim reminder that, just as the news reports in this track intrude on the placid carol, reality intrudes on us as it will, whether we like it or not.
As we have had a couple of depressing days in the advent calendar, tomorrow will offer something a bit lighter.
I’ll be adding these songs to a Spotify playlist, ‘Christmas songs advent calendar 2024’.