Wednesday, December 6, 2006

Silly Season Songs that Don't Suck.

I was talking to the Deacon the other day about the various "all Christmas, all the Time" radio station programs that spring up this time of year, and how many time can someone hear Bing belt out "Adeste Fideles", or, worse, choral versions of "Silent Night" without going postal.

Of the ponderous vast array of Christmas songs, it becomes a bit of a challenge to think of Christmas songs that don't suck, that edify the season beyond the cheap cloying of the usual fare, or just express the fact that some of us, however jolly, are just plain sick of the whole thing.

So I ask you: What do you think are Christmas songs that don't suck, in any particular order. The one that springs to mind is the Pogues "Fairytale of New York". What do you think?
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9 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 6, 2006 at 1:40 PM

    fairy tale in new york IS what i was thinking. david bowie does a few, does he not? i need to break out the xmas cd you made for me years ago. (it's a store favorite this time of year)

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  2. CovingtonDecember 6, 2006 at 2:37 PM

    Emerson, Lake and Palmer's "I Believe in Father Christmas."

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  3. The WizardDecember 6, 2006 at 2:51 PM

    "Merry Christmas (WAR IS OVER)" is a good one, as is "Snoopy vs. The Red Baron (Christmas Bells)".

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  4. MarkDecember 6, 2006 at 7:56 PM

    After hearing "Holly Jolly Christmas" for the 800th time, I'd love "Christmas Bells."

    I'd like "Christmas at Ground Zero" or "The Night Santa Went Crazy" even more but that ain't gonna happen.

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  5. The WizardDecember 7, 2006 at 5:33 AM

    Fear's charming "Fuck Christmas" is a good one if you gotta go to the mall.

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  6. JenJenDecember 7, 2006 at 11:32 PM

    "2000 Miles" by Pretenders comes to mind...

    He's gone 2000 miles
    It's very far
    The snow is falling down
    Gets colder day by day
    I miss you

    The children will sing
    He'll be back at Christmas time

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  7. MikeDecember 8, 2006 at 6:05 AM

    Adam Sandler's "The Chanukah Song."

    All you goyim can bite me. :-)

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  8. TravisGDecember 8, 2006 at 7:24 AM

    I'm planning on writing about some Christmas songs that don't suck, if I can ever get my act together and spend some time on it.

    In the meantime, I'll suggest "A Child's Christmas In Wales," by John Cale, and "In the Hot Sun of a Christmas Day," by Caetano Veloso – two of my all-time favorite performers.

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  9. JenJenDecember 9, 2006 at 10:58 PM

    Oh, and Mike Doughty's "I Hear The Bells." Good one.

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