“The Meaning of Christmas”
Happy holidays everyone!
Last night we released “The Meaning of Christmas” from Tenneson, a Christmas song (duh) of good cheer and righteous faith. We invite you to listen:
View on Bandcamp for words from Tenneson on the song.
Originally recorded at Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility in 2018 as just a guitar and vocal track, Micheal Tenneson wrote the song in an inspired moment of frustration after being asked to perform at the prison’s Christmas concert with the caveat of only secular songs allowed. Reflecting on the true meaning of Christmas, the lyrics came out in a flurry, and the next day Tenneson picked up a guitar and the song was there.
Two years later, in November of this year, Boston-based producer/songwriter Grant Bloom reached out to Die Jim Crow about helping out with the label in whatever capacity might be apropos. When our label head Fury Young checked out Bloom’s tunes, he immediately felt the producer would be a great fit for completing Tenneson’s Christmas song, at the time still untitled and sitting on a hardrive. With Christmas weeks away, it was perfect timing.
Bloom vibed with the song and “got inspired to just give the song a little lift.” In an email to DJC he writes: “The song already had a great uplifting energy as just guitar and vocals. So I tried to tap into that feeling. The first thing I heard was the burst of electric guitars and a brush snare pattern to elevate the joyous mood of the track. Everything else came together pretty quickly after that.”
What Bloom came back with is the full arrangement you hear, including electric guitar, Wurlitzer, trumpet, bass, drums and tambourine. All that was needed was a backing vocal track, something sweet and simple to boost Tenneson’s husky timbre. Young called on Brianna Ibarra, an LA-based singer/songwriter who he had met through one of DJC’s PPE Into Prisons concerts (Vol. 20 to be exact!). Veteran engineer/mixer and cat servant Matthew Cullen laced the track with a big poppy mix and we quickly put it up on Bandcamp on the eve of Christmas Eve. (It will be available on streaming services in a couple weeks).
For Michael, the meaning of Christmas is the antithesis of materialism and trope imagery. In a phone call with Fury, he explained, '“It’s not about Santa Claus — Christmas has become so commercialized over the years.” More so, the song is an exploration of true faith and religious values which Tenneson holds close to his heart. Those values move Michael to question, “[why do we] treat homeless people so wonderful [on Christmas], and we make such a big deal about feeding homeless people for the day [?…] Why don't we do that all year long? And that's really the inspiration for the song, it's that simple."
In the public eye, Michael Tenneson might be the last person you would expect to say these words or compose a song like “The Meaning of Christmas” — a man serving five life sentences, who will likely die in prison. Thirty-three years ago, Michael Tenneson committed two heinous crimes which, according to him, he feels profound remorse for to this day. (To read more about his story, we suggest this Grammy article).
While DJC Records has no intention of glorifying Tenneson nor his crimes, we feel strongly that his words and music deserve to be heard. As the Musical Director of the sessions which comprise our upcoming Territorial LP, there are more powerful songs on the way from Tenneson, and we hope you listen with open ears. Though his story is not a straight-forward one, it is an important one, and this seeps out from his tunes.
We are grateful for your time and support, dear listener/reader.
Wishing everyone a spirited holiday season and be sure to “share this time now as friends,” as the song says.
Text by Fury Young
12/24/20
