Xmas CD
Given the loathing I feel for most Xmas music, a couple of years ago I decided to see if I could put together an hour or so of seasonally appropriate music to which I could actually listen without feeling my skin falling off and my spine fusing together. Each year, I have tweaked the list a little. Here's this year's collection:
01. Winter Wonderland - Phantom Planet
I'm not a big fan of these guys, but they do a great job delivering this tune.
02. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan
Again, not people I normally find myself listening to. But their take on this song is just plain fun.
03. Silent Night - Johnny Cash
No explanation required.
04. I Hate Christmas - Oscar the Grouch
(Who needs that big red noise?)
05. Frosty the Snowman - Fiona Apple
06. White Christmas - The Drifters
07. Christmastime - Michael Penn and Aimee Mann
(Probably on here more out of love for Mr. Penn. Still quite listenable, though.)
08. Thanks for Christmas - XTC
(This is one of the few on here I tend to hear at malls, but it remains a great holiday song.)
09. Five Christmas Wishes - Steve Martin
(From an old Saturday Night Live monologue.)
10. ¿Donde Esta Santa Claus? - Guster
(Great version of a great song.)
11. Up On The House Top - The Jackson Five
12. Go Power at Christmas Time - James Brown
(The "Hardest Working Man in Show-biz" delivers another of his weird stream-of-consciousness songs. He's mostly talking to his band. Seems only marginally related to Xmas, but then so am I.)
13. Santa's Beard - They Might Be Giants
14. Deck the Halls - Jackie Wilson
15. Make Someone Happy - Seal
16. It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Martina Sorbara
(Very dark, lovely version which appears to be sarcastic. Still beautiful.)
17. The Christmas Song - The Raveonettes
(The melancholy emo section continues.)
18. The Little Drummer Boy - Ringo Starr
(Weird that on an album that includes two Sesame Street songs, one from South Park and other miscellany, this is the one that feels most like a novelty song.)
19. Little Saint Nick - the Beach Boys
20. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town - The Temptations
21. That's What Christmas Means to Me - Stevie Wonder
(The overrepresentation of Motown continues. Assuming it is possible to overrepresent Motown.)
22. Father Christmas - the Kinks
23. Pretty Paper - Roy Orbison
24. Hallelujah - Rufus Wainwright
(This Leonard Cohen song is all over television these days, usually the Jeff Buckley version that leaves me a bit cold. I prefer this one, or the one by John Cale.)
25. (All I Want for Christmas Is) My Two Front Teeth - The Count
(Oh, sure. The vampire wants his teeth only so he can wish you Merry Christmas.)
26. Jew on Christmas - Kyle from South Park
(Beat out "Merry Fuckin' Christmas" by a slim margin.)
27. You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch - Boris Karloff
28. Merry Christmas, Baby (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight) - The Ramones
29. Happy Xmas (War is Over) - John Lennon
(I couldn't have left this one off.)
Honorable mention: The Heat Miser, Christmas Song - Ray Charles, The First Noel - Emmylou Harris, Christmas Song - Weezer, that one by the Waitresses whose name escapes me, Sleigh Ride - The Ronettes, and probably enough other material to make a second disc next year.
Fits on a cd, too!
Feel free to leave a shout-out to your favorite omitted song in the comments.
8 comments:
maht - another great list. I still have an xmas disc of yours from awhile back. I think I like the changes.
IMO - you left off the essential "White Christmas" by Otis Redding. There may be others I manage to think of when I'm at home but you can't go wrong with Otis even if it tangentially but arguably does continue the overrepresentation of Motown.
Ian
CC: No comment.
Ian: I already had "White Christmas," and really didn't want to have it a second time. And the music geek in me is forced to take you to task: Redding didn't record for Motown. He was mostly on Stax.
Hey, nice list. I can't say I've heard any of those songs but maybe I have. Methinks I may have to have a listen to a few of them. I'm always after some appropriate Christmas music.
You did actually leave out Slade's Merry Christmas Everybody. I hope that wasn't on purpose. I know its cheesy and over popular, but I just can't help loving it.
I like you're blog. I think I'll link to it from my blog. Feel free to link me too, but dont get all suicidally guilty if you dont want to.. I'm not going to hunt you down and kill you. Hehehe.
Merry Christmas!
I could only think of three! I suppose I'm not a big fan of Christmas songs.
Hey Hey!
You do Indeed have a great ear for good music.
(I know you'll think I'm kissing up... I may never know why you would think I would feel a need to kiss up...)
Your gift of that Christmas CD years ago still represents some of my favorite holiday listening. It sits right next to the entire "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and the entier Nutcracker Suite by Duke Ellington and gives me pleasure despite basically working in a radio station that plays nothing but it's collection of over 1700 Xmas songs from before Thanksgiving to New Years.
And your posting of this list actually helped me finally find names and artists for a couple of the tunes on that original CD. The only remaining missing info I have would be whose version of "Go Tell it on the Mountain" is that?
Hey Moon Topples, I love Jeff Buckley's version of 'Hallelujah', and Rufus can do no wrong, but Leonard's original has to be the best, though over-exposure could easily ruin it for you . . . hope your Christmas tree's surviving the cats!
Kate: I honestly don't think I know the Slade song.
HWDNS: Nice hint. Subtle.
Anon: I can't recall who did that version of "GTIOTM," but I'll dig around and find out.
NMJ: So far, no cat interference.
i like your christmas tunes list! LOL on your notations.
Kelly Clarkson has a version of "My Grown Up Christmas List," it is a sad song and somewhat not made for the holiday merriment...
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