A Very Spidey Christmas is a real album that really features Chris Pine singing
By Mia Johnson
Yes, the Christmas album joked about in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is real, and it’s hilariously good. We’ve got a track-by-track breakdown of the 10-minute album.
There are lots of special gifts and reasons for Christmas to come early this year. And part of that includes an extra special gift from the people behind Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. If you’ve seen the movie (and you probably should have before reading on), one of the running gags in the movie was that Spider-Man had a pretty legit Christmas album that he probably (definitely) regrets doing.
Now, thanks to the magic of alternate universes and whatnot (I can only imagine), that Christmas album has found its way to our universe, and it’s available to listen to right now. (You can listen here on Spotify or here on Apple Music.)
The album is kept pretty short, running at about 10 minutes, but has a great tracklisting sung by stars Shameik More, Jake Johnson, Jorma Taccone and, yes, Chris Pine. Here’s a breakdown of the five glorious tracks on the album, because they are all worth mentioning.
“Joy to the World”
This is probably the most wholesome song on the album, only because its sung by Miles Morales (Shameik Moore). He sings, “Joy to the world I keep saving/Maybe I could get paid.” He’s basically doing the best job in the world and is barely getting a dime. Isn’t that the most millennial mood? So instead, at the end of the song, Miles plugs a GoFundMe account he made for himself. Good job, Miles. Go get that bread.
“Spidey Bells: A Hero’s Lament”
Time for the first track by the golden boy Peter Parker played by Chris Pine. This song goes from 0 to 100 real quick. First, Peter’s joyfully singing about fighting bad guys à-la the Batman “Jingle Bells” song. Then, the regret of making that album seriously starts to sink in. Poor Spidey.
“Deck the Halls”
This song definitely brings the Spider-cringe. Jake Johnson as the scruffy, lazy, Adam Sandler-like Peter Parker sings about… well, who knows what? It sounds like he’s in a cocktail lounge, and the audience isn’t feeling the song. Even his then-wife Mary Jane, whom he calls out in the audience, is probably feeling the cringe. As we know, his life is all downhill from the moment we meet him. And I’m pretty sure this song was the catalyst for that.
“Up on the House Top”
Chris Pine’s golden retriever Peter Parker comes back on this upbeat track to sing about saving the day. If you’re ever down and need a little pick-me-up, just listen to this song about Pine/Peter assuring you that Spidey will save the day. Instant stress reliever, no matter what time of year.
“The Night Before Christmas 1967 (Spoken Word)”
The hilarious Jorma Taccone from The Lonely Island lends his voice to this track. He voiced the Green Goblin in Into the Spider-Verse and someone credited as “Last Dude,” who we now know is the cartoon Spider-Man from Earth 67. Here, he does a reading in said character’s voice. And the track isn’t a complete trainwreck compared to the other songs… until the story is over and the recording keeps rolling. Let’s just say 1967 Spider-Man comes with his flaws, too.
If this album was a bit too cringey for you, you might want to listen to the actual soundtrack for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which is much more wholesome. There are still songs about saving the world… but with little to no cringe involved.