“Christmas at the Zoo”
The Flaming Lips gave animals their own agency in their jangling, woozy 1995 Christmas song
Making a brand new Christmas song that achieves real lasting impact isn’t easy. This is a time when people don’t want the challenge of processing a new melody — they want the familiar, the comforting, the nostalgic, they want music that conjures up the concept of the world being a safe, cosy place. Despite the best efforts of songwriters everywhere, the most recent modern classic is probably still the triumphantly unimpeachable All I Want For Christmas Is You, by Mariah Carey — a song that’s now 25 years old. It’s direct, it’s yearning, it bounces along jubilantly and it sticks to everything it touches — you’ll find yourself humming it in mid-July, entirely without warning.
However, just because a Christmas song doesn’t become an all-encompassing cultural touchstone doesn’t mean it’s a bad song. There are many beautifully-written efforts at capturing the season in musical form that fly under the radar. If you’re looking for something to add to your holiday playlist then Christmas at the Zoo by The Flaming Lips is a truly lovely example — released one year after Mariah Carey’s monolithic hit, from their 1995 album Clouds Taste Metallic, it’s a poignant and thought-provoking story of a lesson learned.
