Robert F. Funke

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Listen to Silent Night

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Robert’s thoughts:

I remember growing up, our preacher used to always tell this story about how on Christmas Even during WWII, American soldiers heard, through a break in the violence, German soldiers singing “Stille Nacht” along with them.

Then there’s Ginuwine’s “Silent Night,” which comes fresh off the heels of a song about cunnilingus.

Siiii-silent niyiyighhht.

A lot happens in these first two words. First, Ginuwine doesn’t tease you with a track that isn’t a super great R&B synthesizer track. They let you know with the chimes and the bass note that you’re getting a super great synthesizer track. Second, you’re expecting the second note to be the note from the song Silent Night. IT ISN’T! It’s higher.

Ginuwine continues to WORK IT. Here’s what I mean:

Silent night / Holy night /  all is calm / all is bright

Normal amount of syllables: 12

Ginuwine’s version’s number of syllables: >30

Something great happens at “Round yon virgin mother and child,” which is that Ginuwine backs up his own track with an enthusiastic “Mamaaaa.”

Ginuwine doesn’t come down from a positively Princ-ian falsetto for the last few words of the song.

I give this song a grade of “This is definitely Ginuwine singing Silent Night.”

JP’s thoughts:

This song is a pretty standard R&B bufu-ing of a Christmas classic. I do have to say that the beat is kind of cool and that Ginuwine does a good job on it, but I’m not really sure if Ginuwine “killed” this beat. Can R&B artists kill a beat?  To clarify, killing roughly translates to “doing a very good job with.” I’ve never heard anyone talk about R&B guys killing beats. I’ve never heard “Damn son, Ginuwine just killed that shit!” I hear it constantly and even use it myself with rappers. Seriously, who doesn’t enjoy a nice evening on the message boards arguing if Yelawolf killed this beat (always yes) or if Drake killed that beat (always no). If Ginuwine would’ve dropped a strong verse right in the middle of Silent Night, I think he would’ve reached killed it level. He should’ve dropped something like:

‘Wine on the mic
Sike!
This is actually Zebulon Pike
Take a peek at my Peak
It’s “In Those Jeans”
Playing hide and seek

The only thing else I have to say about this song is that I believe he is saying “zleep in heavenly peace” instead of “sleep.”

Oh, I forgot to mention that Keith Sweat kills every beat. Keith Sweat is the exception to every rule.