The Goo Goo Dolls are an alternative rock band from Buffalo, New York and have been around for over 30 years. They are arguably most known for songs such as "Iris", "Slide", and "Come To Me". On August 24, the group announced on Instagram that they will be releasing their first-ever Christmas album this fall. The album is entitled "It's Christmas All Over" based on the Tom Petty Christmas song, "Christmas All Over Again", which the Goo Goo Dolls cover in this new album.
In an interview with Musicology, Rzeznik provided a lot of exciting information about the album. He said that the goal of the group was to create the feel of the old Christmas albums they had spent their childhoods listening to, like that of Dean Martin and Bing Crosby. Because of this, they recorded a lot of the old classic songs. (Which, unfortunately for me, means they likely will not listen to my request to record "Winter Song" by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson.)
Rzeznik told interviewer Tim Kash, "Ya know, 2020 has been the shittiest year of our lives, ya know, of a lot of people's lives, so, ya know, let's just drop the cool and just make the Christmas record and let's blow it out and have fun with it."
He referred to it as a "party album", but also mentioned that there are intense moments. He explained that the album needs introspective and reflective parts, which is why there are intense moments, but said that ultimately, you have to have a party. And I think that he is spot on.
This year has been unlike any other, so we do need those moments to reflect on what have we lost and what have we gained. But we also need to recognize that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that despite the world feeling like it is ending, it has not. That sounds worthy of a party to me.
Personally, I will be counting down the days to the release date, October 30, and I am grateful to have a good excuse to rock out to some very happy and bopping Christmas music even before Halloween hits.
