The Sonic Melancholy of Home Alone
General Reviews
Do you ever get nostalgic for a time in your childhood that kind of sucked? For me, that’s watching The Simpsons in syndication, circa 2008/ 2009. I was twelve years old. I wasn’t having a great time at school. Teachers said I didn’t apply myself. I didn’t have friends in my homeroom class. Extra-curricular activities evaded me.
I remember riding my bike up and down the cul-de-sac every evening in the spring, listening to music on my iPod Shuffle. Some of my favourite tracks were “Troublemaker” by Weezer, “Thinking of You” by Katy Perry, and “Always Find Your Way Back Home” from Hannah Montana: The Movie. I’d never admit that last one to my classmates. I never could get into Paramore.
It probably looked a little strange, me riding my bike up and down the cul-de-sac for an hour, alone. My parents wouldn’t let me ride around the block alone at twelve. I never complained, but, yeah, the boredom was there. In the background, TV newscasts described The Great Recession.
At 9:00 p.m., I watched The Simpsons on The Comedy Network. I loved the show, but it overscored the feeling of dread for school the next day. My bedtime was 9:30 p.m. It always arrived too soon.
The Simpsons exposed me to many great songs. I wished I could add them to my iPod Shuffle’s cul-de-sac bike ride playlist, but I could never find them on LimeWire. “The Monorail Song”, “See My Vest”, and “Union Strike Folk Song” are masterpieces. The show included some great needle drops, including Tom Petty’s “The Waiting” (you know the scene). One song, however, holds a special place in my heart: “Jazz Man”- Lisa’s vocals accompanied by Bleeding Gums Murphy’s saxophone.
I fell in love with the sax years before I ever watched The Simpsons. When I was around nine years old, I sometimes went for sleepovers at my aunt’s apartment. I asked to watch Home Alone on VHS, no matter what time of year it was. Nine wasn’t a great year for me. I struggled with behavioural issues at school. I worried about things. Like, if we learned about the bubonic plague in history class, I’d worry about getting sick. I cried at school. The teachers called home. I once had a sleepover at my aunt’s after such an incident.
My parents went on a date night that night. My mom told me they walked around a bookstore before going to the movies. She says she flipped through a book about child psychology, trying to understand what I was going through. I know where that bookstore is. It used to be right next to a movie theatre that has since shuttered. I wonder what movie they saw that night (might have been Brokeback Mountain). I remember feeling bad for my mom. I loved going to the movies as a kid, and I thought that I spoiled it for her.
That night, my aunt introduced me to Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. I had seen the first about a dozen times at that point. The sequence where Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) first explores New York City is scored to “All Alone on Christmas” by Darlene Love. The lyrics dictate a letter a woman writes to Santa. She’s living alone in New York City. You get the impression that she’s a career woman. She hasn’t received a gift from Santa in decades. This year, she just wants him to come hang out with her on Christmas Day. Darlene Love performed the song, accompanied by band members from both the Miami Horns and the E Street Band (of Bruce Springsteen fame). That’s E Street’s Clarence Clemons working that tenor sax solo at the bridge of the song. I fell further in love with Clemons’ saxophone work once I discovered Bruce Springsteen in high school, but it started with Kevin McAllister.
Home Alone seemed like a dream for me as a kid- ordering your own pizza, massive ice cream sundaes, jumping on the bed while eating popcorn, watching forbidden movies, and unlimited access to a huge house. The sequel kicks it up a notch with sightseeing, toy stores, and room service ($978 USD worth to be exact). In the end, you’re reunited with your mom.
Looking back, I’m surprised Home Alone didn’t scare me at nine- the parents disappearing, the dangerous booby traps, misunderstood neighbours, pigeon ladies, and cab drivers- could all have been connected to various fears I had as a kid. It wouldn’t have been the first Christmas movie to scare me. I had to be excused from class on account of both Jim Carrey’s Grinch and the “Hobo” from The Polar Express. Really, I have more scared kid stories related to Christmas movies than to Halloween. Somehow, I could suspend disbelief with Home Alone.
The movie does a great job of capturing childhood fear. Kevin turns off the mobster movie during a shootout scene and yells, “Mom!” He avoids his basement furnace. In the sequel, the shadowy face of a cab driver prompts him to run away. Unlike with the scary aspects of the Grinch and The Polar Express, I could see myself in Kevin. Maybe that’s why Home Alone is the only one of these movies that I routinely revisit as an adult.
I think what keeps me coming back to the movie is the cast- Catherine O’Hara, John Candy, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Macaulay Culkin (and Kieran in a small role). They all give great comedic performances that blend the right amount of sadness with the humor. I understand now that the set was far from a dream for Macaulay and Kieran Culkin. Both have talked extensively about their allegedly abusive father. Kit Culkin doubled as Macaulay’s manager in the ‘80s and ’90s and was allegedly “a monster” on set. The Culkins haven’t seen their father since their parents split in 1995 and their mother gained custody. Macaulay Culkin has stated that “not a lot of people” seemed to care about him when he was a child actor. Nobody ought to be alone on Christmas.
Several Home Alone needle drops express dissatisfaction with Christmas. “Christmas All Over Again” plays in the second movie as two planes carrying members of the McAllister family take off for Florida and New York. It’s my second-favourite Tom Petty needle drop of the '90s. The lyrics describe the parts of Christmas that many people dread. My favourite line, at the bridge of the song, is “I hope you have a good one. I hope Mama gets her shopping done.” The song has an adult perspective on the annual drudgeries of Christmas. Tom Petty’s chorus gave me a preview when I was a kid- you live through a lot of Christmases beyond when you stop believing in Santa. Something I appreciate about Home Alone is that Santa isn’t heavily emphasized. The writing is careful to neither confirm nor deny Santa’s existence. It makes the film relatable to people of different ages and relationships to Santa.
Macaulay Culkin has lived through a lot of Christmases since he starred in Home Alone. In August, he tweeted, “Hey guys, wanna feel old? I’m 45. You’re welcome.” He stars in ads that pay homage to Home Alone. He’s shown his sons the movie. They don’t know Kevin is their dad. I’m sure there have been times when he’s struggled to separate the joy those movies have brought so many people from the parental abuse he faced while making them. He’s stated that having his own sons has changed his relationship to Father’s Day. It might be a similar thing with Home Alone.
The main title track from the film, “Somewhere in my Memory” is a rollercoaster. It opens with that iconic handful of piano notes, then dives into a mischievous medley of keys and woodwinds. That’s the portion of the song that plays during the extended opening credits sequence- a product of a time with better attention spans. You picture Kevin setting booby traps to defeat The Wet Bandits. The music has a ballet quality to it. Then, Williams takes you back to those iconic piano notes: somewhere in my mem-ry. Keys. Woodwinds. Brass. Strings. Words.
Back in June, I attended a movie trivia event. The trivia included a music section where the host would play a section of a song and we had to guess what movie it was from. “Somewhere in My Memory” was on the list. My teammate scribbled Home Alone on our answer sheet. The song transported me into a daydream. I was recovering from a back injury at the time and it brought me comfort. I thought back to watching Home Alone in my aunt’s apartment. Even though those nights weren’t always fun, the thought of them comforted me in that moment. I thought about the childhoods and young adulthoods of Macaulay Culkin and his siblings. I thought about Kieran Culkin and how he’d won an Oscar three months prior. A Real Pain is a very good movie. Kieran’s come a long way from “Fuller, go easy on the Pepsi.” “Alison?... Alison?” My teammate’s voice snapped me back into reality. The theme has a quality that makes you feel like it’s transporting you through time.
John Williams took the Home Alone gig because he aspired to write original Christmas carols. Something that sticks out to me is that the lyrics of “Somewhere in my Memory” have little to do with Home Alone’s plot, save for vague notions about family. The narrator thinks back to a Christmas from years ago. Many Christmas movies are framed as stories from decades past. Home Alone is in the present tense. The music choices counter that. The needle drops, including Chuck Berry, span numerous eras. The main theme describes a distant memory. It’s almost as if John Williams wrote the song from the perspective of adult Kevin, looking back on the times he spent alone when he was far too young. Adult Kevin thinks about how those experiences shaped the man he is today. He’s grateful to spend Christmas with his family.
Macaulay Culkin has recently stated that he’d be open to a Home Alone legacy sequel. He has an idea for a plot involving adult Kevin’s son. I know I should be against it, but there’s no way I wouldn’t see it in theatres. I’m sure the camaraderie of a theatre packed with Home Alone fans would be fun, regardless of the movie’s quality. They’d probably get Kieran Culkin to channel Succession’s Roman Roy as Kevin’s slightly younger cousin. Imagine if Kevin McAllister grew up to be a self-serious man like Kendall Roy? I could see a path for that script.
I don’t trust a potential Home Alone sequel to be good, but I do trust that it wouldn’t ruin the original. Our memories and our relationships to them constantly evolve. If Home Alone is beloved now, I suspect it always will be.
Sources:
Aubrey, E. (2025, November 26). Macaulay Culkin has ideas for a “Home Alone” sequel. NME. https://www.nme.com/news/film/macaulay-culkin-has-ideas-for-a-home-alone-sequel-3912910
Crabtree, E. (2025, November 23). Macaulay Culkin’s Kids “Often” Watch “Home Alone” But Still Haven’t Recognized Him [Review of Macaulay Culkin’s Kids “Often” Watch “Home Alone” But Still Haven’t Recognized Him]. Yahoo! Entertainment. https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/celebrity/articles/macaulay-culkin-kids-often-watch-235525533.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAFFW5lqbL4eibNEM__lXxUWYUkFLA_vSbgLwQ3Q4Jag3LCbnoD342ajbcwEtTp7h8S8ltMDos26ogmkY3j3zFzRIgjtBhS-FzzVBRZvR2m4VSlZ9EHFgvze_jmVdxJjMO6B2XHGCckkyJFx-qjwB4sE2QwrS4NecOuQflGlY4RuQ
How John Williams came to the unlikely rescue of the “Home Alone” score | Chicago Symphony Orchestra. (2015). Experience the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. https://cso.org/experience/article/25934/how-john-williams-came-to-the-unlikely-rescue
Oganesyan, N. (2025, September 6). Macaulay Culkin On John Candy Looking Out For Him On “Uncle Buck” Set. Deadline. https://deadline.com/2025/09/macaulay-culkin-john-candy-i-like-me-caring-toronto-tiff-1236510393/
Soteriou, S. (2024, June 6). Macaulay Culkin’s Relationship With His “Abusive” Father Explained. BuzzFeed News. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniesoteriou/macaulay-culkin-dad-abusive-fathers-day/
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