This is one of two pieces debating the merits of Christmas music played in public spaces. Find the other here .

The Black Friday sales signs are coming down, the clearest signal that Christmas consumption season is officially upon us. It completes the retail ramp-up that begins about ten minutes after Halloween, first with some discrete tinsel-y decor, then a few seasonal displays, and finally the whole-of-sales-floor onslaught.

As a shopper, you can enjoy or ignore the Christmas come-ons, as necessary. But anyone who ventures into a retail store or a supermarket for the next month has no choice when it comes to the soundtrack: a loop, often extremely repetitive, of cheesy Christmas songs . We all know the staples in that particular hit-parade: “Santa Baby,” “White Christmas,” “Rudo

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