Every Christmas, I tell myself I will make a mixtape of some good Christmas and New Year's songs to battle the onslaught of terrible covers of classics that inevitably hits the airwaves and department stores starting the day after Thanksgiving. I've maintained this intention, but nevertheless failed to follow up on my goal, even through two years working at a bookstore, where Jessica Simpson covers and Destiny's Child holiday mashups blare from wall to wall for nearly two solid months a year. Now that I have a blog, I guess I don't have a choice anymore. For those of you who read this (anybody?), I will present a list of twelve songs over the last two weeks of this year to make a CD worth listening to between Turkey Day and the fireworks hangover. The list is by no means exhaustive, and I'm aware that not having Bing Crosby and David Bowie's rendition of "Little Drummer Boy" or Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song" seems unforgivable. But this list is fairly unique, and it might have some additions next year anyway. All of these are available on iTunes or at a Best Buy, so feel free to track them down if you like them. We'll start with Christmas songs this week and move to New Year's songs next week.
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Not a Christmas song necessarily, Costa's "Cold December" is still a great start for the holidays. The subject matter is familiar enough: distant loved ones returnining, cold weather and warm hearts. I remember this song being really important to me as I returned from an internship in DC a few Decembers ago. It was playing in my headphones as I walked down the airport terminal to give my girlfiend a long-delayed hug.
This is a relatively popular contemporary Christmas song, but I actually prefer this cover to the original Pretenders' classic. I know that's blasphemy to music snobs, but the stripped-down version presented here -- comprised of just piano and Chris Martin's falsetto -- makes for an intimate listening experience.
Another song about coming home, this one is much, much more depressing than Costa's song, but it's a good depressing, if that makes sense. (Okay, no it doesn't; humor me.) Glasvegas is pure sentimentality, and if you can get past the singer's thick accent -- which I actually find a plus -- you might remember this one come next year.
Starflyer 59 -- basically a front for Jason Martin -- is the best Christian band. Period. They're the most consistent, constantly challenging musical act on a Christian label, and this track highlights what makes the band so good. Fun, effortless music that is deceptively simple and always enjoyable. (Wow, does that sound like a catalog description...)
(Not sure where I got this picture of Liam Gallagher and Bono, but whatever.) This is a holiday classic in Britain, and it was featured in the finale of the original Office. Noel Gallagher's cover is a stripped-down version of the Slade tune (notice a pattern?), and if you read my last post, Oasis is sauce. Sweet, sweet sauce.
Fine, not a Christmas song at all, but it
is about a place called Nazareth. That counts for something, right? The original is much better than this good-intentioned but inferior Travis cover, but I didn't have The Band version when I posted this. You won't here jingle bells, and you can't carol to it, but at least "The Weight" can kind of remind us why we're celebrating.
Really the only must in this list, the minute you hear it, it's clear. Christmas time is here. Charlie Brown and the gang are there to let you know that you have no choice but to get all sentimenta-like for the holidays. I'm sure everyone has heard it a million times, but this Vince Guaraldi classic is a fine wine of sorts and actually does get better with every listen. It's a perfect Christmas song and deserves a spot on any holiday CD.
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