Christmas Songs - 2007 Edition

[DudeAsInCool]

It's that time of year again. The Aquarium Drunkard reminded me that blogwise,

TheRealBigRockCandyMountain

is the first place where any Xmas music shopper should go. BigRock has continued his annual tradition of introducing a new (and not to be repeated) Christmas Song every day in December. No question about it, it'sthe hippest Xmas Music universe on the internet, bar none. In fact, the Clarence Carter cut above comes from BigRock.

Since the songs are not repeated, you might also want to check out what The Aquarium Drunkard has for starters.

[DudeAsInCool]

We put together a pretty good list LAST YEAR, and of course, there was our Redneck Christmas thread, ...but there is always room for improvement.

If you are into traditional Christmas Songs and you want to play along, Chordie's Guitar Tabs, Guitar Chords & Lyrics has a ton of Xmas favorites to call upon.

A fellow member at AskMetafilter has asked to have his Xmas Stocking stuffed with StraightForward Christmas Music and the fine folks there have chimed in with lots of good suggestions.

Darryl Sterden, over at Canoe Jam!, has compiled what he calls The 12 Coolest Christmas Albums Ever!, and I have to agree, his choices looks good and are worth checking out:

12) South Park Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics (1999)

11) Low Christmas (1999)

10) Sufjan Stevens Songs for Christmas (2006)

9) Emmylou Harris Light of the Stable (1979)

8) The Beach Boys The Beach Boys Christmas Album (1964)

7) How the Grinch Stole Christmas Soundtrack (1966)

6) Marah A Christmas Kind of Town

5) Charles Brown Please Come Home for Christmas (1961)

4) Vince Guaraldi A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

3) James Brown Santa's Got a Brand New Bag (1988) Good God!

2) Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin & Sammy Davis Jr. Christmas With the Rat Pack (2002)

1) Phil Spector A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector (1963)

[DudeAsInCool]

I'm all for the spirit of Christmas, but I think sometimes that people get carried away - I would have to drink a fifth of vodka to listen to this song the whole way through:

Christmas Shoes

[DudeAsInCool]

Man, that video was awful. Here's some Christmas cheer which should be a bit more to your liking - Englands's Super Furry Animals - The Gift plan to give away the song on Christmas Day - so bookmark it. (via Stereogum)

[DudeAsInCool]

NPR has a whole page at their website devoted to Xmas music - you can check it out HERE.

[DudeAsInCool]

For those of you Xmassy folks who want to join in the something a bit more energetic, Click Me Sadly, the kids below did not want to partake in all the fun.

[DudeAsInCool]

For the more traditional folks...

12 Days of Christmas

[DudeAsInCool]

News Items:

Keith Richard's Christmas Song Set For Re-Release/Won't Include Dad's Ashes From the Fire Chimney

Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is reissuing his 1978 solo single "Run Rudolph Run" on iTunes just in time for the holidays, his spokeswoman said on Thursday.

The tune, popularized by Chuck Berry, will be sold on a two-for-one basis with Richards' more-recent rendition of Toots and the Maytals' "Pressure Drop."

The arrangement does not include the B-side of "Run Rudolph Run," Richards' cover of Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come."

Read More

***

Goldie Lookin Chain Unveil Sexually Frustrated Christmas Hit

Welsh rappers Goldie Lookin Chain have launched their Christmas song, ‘Sex For Christmas.’

The hip-hop collective, who are currently without a record contract, use the song to express their desire to have sex with Abi Titmuss.

Read More

This is worse than getting coal in your Christmas stockings!

Photo Source

[DudeAsInCool]

LargeHeartedBoy has posted a number of Mountain Goat's Xmas songs over at youtube. I have posted a sample below. But if you follow this

, you will find a complete linup.

[Potato]

I keep hearing Mariah Carey Christmas songs everywhere I go. I wonder how many of that album she sells every year.

[pebulus]

I love this!!

Mad, but the song makes me feel really Christmassy!

[DudeAsInCool]

Nice one, Pebulus!

[DudeAsInCool]

For all the nostalgiac folks out there, Stereogum has posted a list of the last 50+ years of the most popular Christmas hits, along with a video from the Black Xmas Arts, aptly titled "Christmas Number One":

1952: Al Martino - "Here In My Heart"

1953: Frankie Laine - "Answer Me"

1954: Winifred Atwell - "Let's Have Another Party"

1955: Dickie Valentine - "Christmas Alphabet"

1956: Johnnie Ray - "Just Walkin' In The Rain"

1957: Harry Belafonte - "Mary's Boy Child"

1958: Conway Twitty - "It's Only Make Believe"

1959: Emile Ford & The Checkmates - "What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For"

1960: Cliff Richard & The Shadows - "I Love You"

1961: Danny Williams - "Moon River"

1962: Elvis Presley - "Return to Sender"

1963: The Beatles - "I Want to Hold Your Hand"

1964: The Beatles - "I Feel Fine"

1965: The Beatles - "Day Tripper" / "We Can Work It Out"

1966: Tom Jones - "Green Green Grass of Home"

1967: The Beatles - "Hello, Goodbye"

1968: The Scaffold - "Lily The Pink (song)"

1969: Rolf Harris - "Two Little Boys"

1970: Dave Edmunds - "I Hear You Knockin'"

1971: Benny Hill - "Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West)"

1972: Little Jimmy Osmond - "Long Haired Lover From Liverpool"

1973: Slade - "Merry Xmas Everybody"

1974: Mud - "Lonely This Christmas"

1975: Queen - "Bohemian Rhapsody"

1976: Johnny Mathis - "When A Child Is Born (Soleado)"

1977: Wings - "Mull of Kintyre" / "Girls' School"

1978: Boney M - "Mary's Boy Child-Oh My Lord"

1979: Pink Floyd - "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)"

1980: St Winifred's School Choir - "There's No One Quite Like Grandma"

1981: The Human League - "Don't You Want Me"

1982: Renée and Renato - "Save Your Love"

1983: The Flying Pickets - "Only You"

1984: Band Aid - "Do They Know It's Christmas?"

1985: Shakin' Stevens - "Merry Christmas Everyone"

1986: Jackie Wilson - "Reet Petite"

1987: Pet Shop Boys - "Always on My Mind"

1988: Cliff Richard - "Mistletoe & Wine"

1989: Band Aid II -" Do They Know It's Christmas?"

1990: Cliff Richard - "Saviour's Day"

1991: Queen - "Bohemian Rhapsody" / "These Are the Days of Our Lives"

1992: Whitney Houston - "I Will Always Love You"

1993: Mr Blobby - "Mr Blobby"

1994: East 17 - "Stay Another Day"

1995: Michael Jackson - "Earth Song"

1996: Spice Girls - "2 Become 1"

1997: Spice Girls - "Too Much"

1998: Spice Girls - "Goodbye"

1999: Westlife - "I Have A Dream" / "Seasons In The Sun"

2000: Bob The Builder - "Can We Fix It?"

2001: Robbie Williams & Nicole Kidman - "Somethin' Stupid"

2002: Girls Aloud - "Sound Of The Underground"

2003: Michael Andrews featuring Gary Jules - "Mad World"

2004: Band Aid 20 - "Do They Know It's Christmas?"

2005: Shayne Ward - "That's My Goal"

2006: Leona Lewis - "A Moment Like This"

[DudeAsInCool]

Mike's radio world has aggregated all the Xmas radio stations streaming live on the web:

Find them HERE.

Now if only he could serve up some eggnog and brandy while the music streams...

Thank you, Mike

[DudeAsInCool]

The Seattle Spi Blog recommends the following songs, along with the appropriate links, so you can listen to them:

The Long Winters

"Sometimes You Have to Work on Christmas"

Great Lake Swimmers

"Gonna Make it Through This Year"

Belle & Sebastian

"Christmas Time is Here"

I also recommend checking out Rosie Thomas's version, another local act you might soon fall in love with.

Copeland

"Do You Hear What I Hear"

Death Cab for Cutie

"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"

[Redneck4sure]

Earlier I was playing:

Marie Osmond - Magic Of Christmas

Track List:

01 - The Christmas Song

02 - When Christmas Comes This Year

03 - Angels We Have Heard On Highaway In A Manger

04 - Season Of Seasons

05 - Christmas Lullaby

06 - The Gift Of Love

07 - Hark, The Herald Angels Singo' Come All Ye Faithful

08 - The Locket

09 - Christmas In The Country

10 - It's Christmas Once Again

11 - O Holy Night

12 - The Secret Of Christmas

13 - The Lord's Prayer

14 - True Love

15 - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

2007 release by Marie. She gets lots of help from her brothers on this album.

Now I am playing:

Neil Diamond - The Christmas Album (1992)

I like Marie's album better.

[DudeAsInCool]

Mariah Carey - All I Want For Xmas Is You (Thanx, to BadMintonStamps for the find)

[DudeAsInCool]

The Baltimore Sun explores the dark side of Christmas - bad Xmas music!

This is the season of peace and joy and good will toward men, yet it's also a time when we experience the dark side of the holidays: bad Christmas music.

You hear it in malls, airports, supermarkets, elevators and restaurants. You hear it at office parties and holiday get-togethers, and no amount of spiked eggnog can blot it from your consciousness. It unnerves you. It drains you. You want to run away.

Read their two page horro review right HERE.

[DudeAsInCool]

From Fay To Z has published the '10 Worst Xmas Songs'

1 Feliz Navidad.

2 Wonderful Christmastime by Paul McCartney.

3 The entire Christina Aguilera Christmas album.

4 Christmas Shoes by Newsong

5 A Spaceman Came Traveling. Chris DeBurgh i

6 Little Saint Nick. The Beach Boys

7 Alvin & The Chipmunks. I’

8 Please Daddy, Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas by John Denver.

9 Carol of the Bells.

10 You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.

[Redneck4sure]

Number 2 should be moved up a notch......

[DudeAsInCool]

Stereogum has posted a number of Xmas songs that are being given away by artists, including:

Evangelicals - "The Last Christmas On Earth" (MP3)

Danielson - "Christmas Eve Nite" (MP3)

Robbers On High Street - "Seasons Greetings" (MP3)

Frightened Rabbit - "It's Christmas So We'll Stop" (MP3)

Holiday songs always go well with Scotch. "It's Christmas So We'll Stop" is being released as a digital single in the US and a 7" in Europe, via FatCat UK. The B-side is a choral take on the above. Don't play this song when you take the kids to pick out a tree:

Nellie McKay - "A Christmas Dirge" (MP3)

The Polyphonic Spree - "Carol Of The Bells" (MP3)

Snowden - "White Christmas" (MP3)

Sally Shapiro - "Anorak Christmas (Piano Mix)" (MP3)

You can download J. Gale Kilgore's five-song country Christmas EP complete with artwork at Dovecote Records.

More mixes can be found here

[DudeAsInCool]

Here are the Top 10 songs on Billboard's Hot Holiday Songs chart:

1. Brenda Lee, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"

2. Bobby Helms, "Jingle Bell Rock"

3. John Lennon and Yoko Ono, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)"

4. Burl Ives, "A Holly Jolly Christmas"

5. Mariah Carey, "All I Want for Christmas Is You"

6. Nat King Cole, "The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)"

7. Eagles, "Please Come Home for Christmas"

8. Jose Feliciano, "Feliz Navidad"

9. Bing Crosby, "White Christmas"

10. Andy Williams, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"

Source: Newsday

[DudeAsInCool]

Randy Lewis at the LA Times takes a look at this year's holiday releases:

HOLIDAY MUSIC

An earful of glad tidings. This year, several artists have brought something special to a genre that's usually stocked with only the same old chestnuts.

Johnny Cash

"The Johnny Cash Christmas Special 1977" (Shout! Factory)

The Dan Band

"HO: A Dan Band Christmas," (Reincarnate)

Josh Groban

"Noel" (143/Reprise)

Jewmongous

"Taller Than Jesus" (Chow Fun)

Darlene Love

"It's Christmas, of Course" (Shout! Factory)

Raul Malo

"Marshmallow World & Other Holiday Favorites" (New Door/Universal)

Barry Manilow

"In the Swing of Christmas" (Hallmark)

Over the Rhine "Snow Angels" (GSD)

Relient K

"Let It Snow Baby . . . Let It Reindeer" (Capitol)

Mindy Smith

"My Holiday" (Vanguard)

The Staple Singers "The 25th Day of December" (Riverside)

Keith Sweat

"A Christmas of Love" (Rhino)

Taylor Swift

"Sounds of the Season"

(Big Machine/NBC)

Various Artists

"A Very Special Christmas -- the 20th Anniversary Music Video Collection" (A&M)

The dozen videos on this DVD spanning the two decades of this holiday fundraiser for the Special Olympics run from the lo-fi, DIY vibe of Run-DMC's 1987 "Christmas in Hollis" to the artful Impressionism of Sting's "Gabriel's Message" to several Very Special live performances recorded at the Clinton White House. It would be nice to have the years noted for each video, but the clothes and hairstyles often give it away.

Various Artists

Monster Ballads Xmas" (Razor & Tie)

On the heels of last year's Twisted Sister Christmas album comes this collection of holiday standards sprinkled with a few originals as shredded by Queensryche, L.A. Guns, Dokken and other '80s and '90s hair bands. The funny thing is how ideally suited the utterly unself-conscious pomposity of heavy metal is to the grandiosity of these frequently overblown carols.

Read the full review HERE

[DudeAsInCool]

AskMetafilter has posted a nice selection of Classical Christmas Music Suggestions

[DudeAsInCool]

SoundFamilyRe has posted an octogon of Xmas tunes to download, including a new song by Sufjan Stevens.

1: ‘Christmas Eve Nite’ - Danielson

2: ‘For There Is Born A Child’ - Lenny Smith

3: ‘Plant A Little Fir Tree’ - Half-handed Cloud

4: ‘Dayspring From On High’ - Soul-Junk

5: ‘Pat-A-Pan’ - Leopulde

6: ‘In The Bleak Midwinter’ - Dan Zimmerman

7: ‘Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming’ - The Singing Mechanic

8: ‘We Wish You A Merry Christmas’ - Sufjan Stevens*