Holiday Music

I love "Wonderful Christmastime" because it makes me nostalgic, and nostalgia is my favorite holiday emotion. If it were a regular song about non-holiday things, I would hate it. But it's Christmas! My mom played it all the time when I was a kid, and hearing it brings back all kinds of little kid Christmas memories. I am a huge freaking sap.

Minnesota Public Radio has activated their Holiday Classics stream - go to http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/services/cms/ and you'll find the link to the stream at the top of the page.

Crowbridge wrote:This is the only good thing about "Christmas Shoes":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq10bz3PxyY

Awww, it isn't that bad!

My favorite Christmas album is Let it Snow Baby ... Let it Reindeer by Reliant K.

Tabby wrote:Minnesota Public Radio has activated their Holiday Classics stream - go to http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/services/cms/ and you'll find the link to the stream at the top of the page.

Yay!

Gillian wrote:I love "Wonderful Christmastime" because it makes me nostalgic, and nostalgia is my favorite holiday emotion. If it were a regular song about non-holiday things, I would hate it. But it's Christmas! My mom played it all the time when I was a kid, and hearing it brings back all kinds of little kid Christmas memories. I am a huge freaking sap.

That's exactly it for me as well. I don't like the song itself, but it played so much during the Christmases of my childhood that I automatically associate it with that.

Besides the truly awful Christmas Shoes song, I also hate all of the Beach Boys holiday stuff. That "Run, Run Reindeer" song makes me stabby and not even the fact that it also played a lot in Christmases past can save it.

bookworm wrote:My favorite Christmas album is Let it Snow Baby ... Let it Reindeer by Reliant K.

I've known the current bassist of this band since elementary school; he would be pleased by your praise! I have heard many good things about this album and should purchase it. Are the songs overly religious? I like the band, but have never been able to get into Christian rock in general.

She & Him's holiday album is adorable, I love it. And because I am weak when it comes to holiday music, I just may buy Michael Bublé's new album soon.

I can't wait to hear Little Saint Nick by the Beach Boys! That is one of the cutest Christmas songs ever, and I love that it's so got such a laidback vibe.

Heard The Christmas Shoes for the first time. Now it's really Christmas. Bleargh.

However, I did hear Snoopy vs. The Red Baron and I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas back-to-back. Hooray!.

I love the Tori Amos seasonal album, Midwinter Graces, as well as Loreena McKennitt's two holiday records (A Midwinter Night's Dream and To Drive the Cold Winter Away). I also have some Charlotte Church Christmas stuff on my iTunes...no shame.

And Christmas With the Puppini Sisters, released last year! Looking forward to enjoying it again this year.

jcpdiesel21 wrote:

bookworm wrote:My favorite Christmas album is Let it Snow Baby ... Let it Reindeer by Reliant K.

I've known the current bassist of this band since elementary school; he would be pleased by your praise! I have heard many good things about this album and should purchase it. Are the songs overly religious? I like the band, but have never been able to get into Christian rock in general.

She & Him's holiday album is adorable, I love it. And because I am weak when it comes to holiday music, I just may buy Michael Bublé's new album soon.

I would say that it has one song that is more oriented towards Christians than the others. I like Merry Christmas Here's to Many More the best off of that album. It isn't a traditional carol, but I think the sentiment is something a lot of people feel around the holidays.

I just bought Pink Martini's Joy to the World and so far I really like it.

I was hoping to avoid Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree this season, but they played it on TV last night. Now I'm dodging Jingle Bell Rock.

Menshevixen wrote:And Christmas With the Puppini Sisters, released last year! Looking forward to enjoying it again this year.

Yes! That one's fun. Also seconding the love for Tori and Pink Martini.

Menshevixen wrote:And Christmas With the Puppini Sisters, released last year! Looking forward to enjoying it again this year.

I love this album! It's bubbly and cute and wonderful and absolutely perfect.

One of the definitive holiday songs for me would have to be Burl Ives' "A Holly Jolly Christmas." I love everything about that song and it just gets me bouncing happily along with it.

April over at Regretsy has posted a ton of truly horrible holiday songs, free for the taking.

That is an impressive list, though I dispute that Dominick the Christmas Donkey sucks. I love that song.

John Valby's Herniated Jingle Balls (Amazon link) are pretty much my standard for disgusting Christmas tunes.

"I just couldn't find the bath-room door, I passed out and woke up with green sleeves...."

Seriously, it's gross.

I've heard maybe five or six different versions of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas in the past week, between Spotify and Christmas shopping, and EVERY version I've heard has had the 'hang a shining light upon the highest bough' lyric. This bugs the hell out of me for some reason. I like 'until then we'll have to muddle through somehow'! I had to seek out the Judy Garland version on youtube to make myself feel better.

Have Yourself A Merry Litte Christmas depresses the ever-living fuck out of me, especially when it's Karen Carpenter's haunting voice singing it out solemnly.

Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer is the worst. The absolute worst. It's the kind of thing that friends of mine used to play whenever they wanted to come across as the life of the party. It's the aural equivalent of a drunk uncle wearing a lampshade on his head and a hula skirt around his waist.

I spent years (I wish I was exaggerating, but I am totally not) searching for the song from Sleepless in Seattle when Meg Ryan's character is driving with the "horses, horses, horses, horses" line. I finally found out that it was Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. It's now one of my favorites. I must share. . I mean, come on... there's yodeling in the middle. What's better than that?

Whoops! Wrong thread.

choubetcha wrote:I've heard maybe five or six different versions of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas in the past week, between Spotify and Christmas shopping, and EVERY version I've heard has had the 'hang a shining light upon the highest bough' lyric. This bugs the hell out of me for some reason. I like 'until then we'll have to muddle through somehow'! I had to seek out the Judy Garland version on youtube to make myself feel better.

I've always preferred Judy's version and the "muddle through somehow" lyric better, too. A few years back, EW did a fascinating article about the history of the song. Apparently, Sinatra's to blame for the alternate line (and also the song's popularity).

For me, the version that matters is Ernie and Bert (starts at 7:37 if the magical YouTube thing doesn't work). "If the fates allaaaaaaaaaaaoooooooowwwwww," bless you, Frank Oz.

I really can't listen to "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" without getting weepy and thinking about family members I've lost. I think the Judy Garland version is beautiful, but I prefer for Christmas songs not to remind me of my own mortality and the mortality of others. "If the fates allow"? Thanks, Christmas song, for pointing out that there's no guarantee that we'll be here next Christmas! Merry Christmas! It could be your last!

I'll Be Home for Christmas is another holiday song thats pretty depressing when you listen to the words.