Taking a ‘Shine’ to Christmas music

So when does it start to feel like Christmas for you? I heard some people talking recently that it wouldn’t feel like Christmas until there was snow on the ground. Yeah, well, I hope those people are happy. Merry Christmas … I’m going to the Caribbean, thanks.

For other folks, Christmas doesn’t kick in until they start shopping, which means that for a lot of guys, the Christmas season doesn’t begin until after work on December 24.

Some people don’t consider it to really be Christmas until the tree goes up in the living room and the Christmas lights are strung outside. On that front, in our household, we have an unwritten rule that my wife can’t put up the tree until after my late-November birthday. (No, I’m not trolling for late birthday gifts … but if you are so inclined, I’m registered at Future Shop.)

For me, though, the Christmas season kicked off in earnest last Thursday when my favourite radio station, Shine-FM, moved to its all-Christmas-music format, which will continue through the end of Christmas Day.

Yes, if you set your FM radio dial to 105.9 in Edmonton between now and present-opening time, it’s nothing but classic Christmas carols, good old Christmas hymns, and contemporary Christmas music.

I had to admit in talking with Shine-FM program director Malcolm Hunt last week that when the then-fledgling Christian music station started playing only Christmas tunes last December - only a few months after signing on the air - I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. But I gave it a couple of days and discovered that it’s quite the mood lifter. I actually looked forward to those long daily drives on the Whitemud so that I could listen to Christmas songs. And when it ended, honestly, I was a bit bummed out.

This year, I couldn’t wait for the all-Christmas format to start. And I’m sure I’ll been minorly depressed again when it’s over.

But what do listeners think?

“You know what? There are always going to be a few people who will call up saying ‘I can’t believe you’re playing Christmas music so early!’ But if we didn’t play it until the 15th (of December) we’d have more calls saying, ‘How come you’re not playing Christmas music non-stop?’ ” says Hunt with a laugh. “But the majority of the reaction is positive.”

Hunt says moving to an all-Christmas-music format for almost a month seemed like the natural thing to do for a radio station that plays only contemporary Christian music. “We like to think we have Christmas music 24/7 really,” he says. “The majority of what we play is about Christ.

“It’s sort of a given that we’re going to play Christmas music,” he continues. “We’re the natural choice to be a Christmas station.”

This Christmas season, Shine-FM has about 450 songs in rotation, which is about 160 more than last year. The station has also added a few artists that don’t normally make the playlist, such as James Taylor and Clay Aiken, in addition to their regular roster of artists that ranges from Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant to Reliant K and Kutless.

But Hunt says the station is very selective when it comes to adding mainstream artists to their Christmas music roster, saying, “We make sure the song is what we consider to be a Christian Christmas song.”

Needless to say, going to the all-Christmas format, even for a month, is quite the undertaking, says Hunt. “It’s intense … non-stop Christmas music,” he says. I laugh, suggesting to him that might not the best way to sell listeners on the temporary format change - “intense non-stop Christmas music!” like it was some kind of monster truck show.

“It feels that way,” he says. “You become a completely different radio station. Not many go (as far as we do).”

That said, he noted to me that there’s a radio station in Detroit that’s been playing nothing but Christmas music since November 1! “They’re running TV spots - all Christmas, all the time,” he says. “I don’t think I could push myself to listen (to just Christmas music) for two straight months.”

Maybe not. But I’ll happily take 25 days of it on Shine-FM.