Nov
28
First: I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, if you were celebrating.
Second: I’m currently obsessed with making an epically awesome holiday mix of festive ass-kickery. Here’s what I’ve got so far:
No Christmas for Me, Zee Avi • This Warm December: Brushfire Holiday’s, Vol. 1
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Joshua James • Fields & Floods
Winter Song, Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson • The Hotel Café Presents Winter Songs
Little Drummer Boy, Pink Martini • Joy to the World
Holy, Holy, Holy, Sufjan Stevens • Songs for Christmas
We Three Kings, The Roches • We Three Kings
Ave Maria + Intro, Chris Cornell & Eleven • A Very Special Christmas, Vol. 3
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, Mason Jennings • This Warm December: Brushfire Holiday’s, Vol. 1
O Come All Ye Faithful, Weezer • Christmas With Weezer
God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman, Barenaked Ladies & Sarah McLachlan • A Winter’s Night
Frosty the Snowman, Fiona Apple • The Hotel Café Presents Winter Songs
Christmas in Prison (Live), John Prine • A John Prine Christmas
Happy Xmas (War Is Over), Billy Bob Thornton & The Boxmasters • My Dreams of Christmas – Single
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, Over the Rhine • The Darkest Night of the Year
Winter Wonderland (Single Version), The Andrews Sisters • Christmas
Blue Christmas, Elvis Presley • Elvis Christmas
Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town (Q-Burns Abstract Message Remix), Johnny Mercer & The Pied Pipers • Merry Mixmas: Christmas Classics Remix (Digital Version)
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Ella Fitzgerald • Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas
Please Come Home for Christmas, Willie Nelson • A Very Special Acoustic Christmas
A Holly Jolly Christmas, Burl Ives • Have a Holly Jolly Christmas
We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Weezer • Christmas With Weezer
I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm (Stuhr Remix), Kay Starr • Christmas Remixed – Holiday Classics Re-Grooved
Christmas Canon, Trans-Siberian Orchestra • The Christmas Attic
We Three Kings, The Reverend Horton Heat • We Three Kings
Calling On Mary, Aimee Mann • One More Drifter In the Snow
Oiche Chiun (Silent Night) Enya • A Very Special Christmas, Vol. 3
Gabriel’s Message, Sting • A Very Special Christmas, Vol. 1
Carol of the Bells, Mormon Tabernacle Choir • Joy to the World
Wizards In Winter (Instrumental), Trans-Siberian Orchestra • The Lost Christmas Eve
Link to the iMix of all these songs.
Some kind of widget exported by iTunes that may or may not work in your browser:
Aaaaaand a bunch of mostly-crappy YouTube videos of the songs:
“No Christmas For Me” — Zee Avi
“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” — Joshua James
“Winter Song” — Sara Bareilles/Ingrid Michaelson
“Little Drummer Boy” — Pink Martini
“Holy, Holy, Holy” — Sufjan Stevens
“Ave Maria” — Chris Cornell
“Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town” — Mason Jennings
“O Come All Ye Faithful” — Weezer
“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” — Barenaked Ladies
“Frosty the Snowman” — Fiona Apple
“Christmas in Prison” — John Prine
“Hallelujah” — Over the Rhine
“Winter Wonderland” — The Andrews Sisters
“Blue Christmas” — Elvis
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” — Ella Fitzgerald
“Please Come Home for Christmas” — Willie Nelson
“Holly Jolly Christmas” — Burl Ives
“I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” — Kay Starr
“Christmas Canon” — Trans-Siberian Orchestra
“Calling on Mary” — Aimee Mann
“Gabriel’s Message” — Sting
“Carol of the Bells” — Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Hope you enjoy these as much as I have been. Got any additional song suggestions?
Comments
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Now really. H ow could you forget Snow! AL
If you ever get a chance to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in person, holy crap DO IT. Overwhelming.
I LOVE Christmas music, traditional and otherwise. I would second the addition of The Pogues/Kirsty MacColl’s “Fairytale of New York,” but I think I’ll have to settle for “fifth-ing” it.
Also, thanks for including Sting’s cover of Gabriel’s Message. I’ve only heard it done by Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band.
Great list! Death Cab for Cutie – Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) and Rob Thomas – A New York Christmas
Hard Candy Christmas, Dolly Parton. From The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.
Robert Earl Keen’s Merry Christmas from the Family is pretty good, too!
“Winter Song” is one of those songs I can listen to over & over & over, and love it a little more each time.
Also, as the momma of a little boy, I love “Little Toy Trains”. Either the Roger Miller one or the Toby Keith redux one.
Oh! And “Merry Christmas Eve” from Better than Ezra. Always makes me weepy.
Great mix! I was just thinking this afternoon about creating a new Christmas playlist… This is a great start!
I love “O Holy Night” and have been searching for the “perfect” performance of it online, with no luck.
The Halleluia Chorus by The Roaches – acappella wonderful!
I love Angela McCluskey’s gloomy take on Frosty the Snowman.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsRY_cfb9Og
Thank you for suggesting that version of Ave Maria. It was my grandmother’s favorite song of all time and I am half parts sad/happy whenever I hear it. So nice there’s a version out there NOT done by Celine Dion.
Oh, I LOVE!!!!! Winter Song. So beautiful. I actually love that whole album from Hotel Cafe. Also, Love Sufjan! He has got some awesome stuff in his christmas collection.
I second the Weepies and Pomplamoose!
Here’s what I’d add:
Carol of the Bells- The Bird and the Bee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwMU18KlF0g
Maybe This Christmas- Leigh Nash
(hmmm, can only find this video with a partial version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ITLO7xxAHw )
Seven Joys of Mary- Great Big Sea
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnPgq7QV-c4
I have… eclectic music tastes! :)
Ooh, I forgot Deer Crossing- Elk City (Can’t find it on youtube…)
One of the last Christmas CDs I bought and really love is “Christmas Songs” (various artists). I got it for the Sarah McLachlan/Bare Naked Ladies version of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, but the rest of it is pretty good too (and different from the usual). There’s even a ~20-minute track of a Christmas-themed comedy routine which is pretty funny. For some reason Amazon isn’t showing the right track list, so here’s another link: http://tinyurl.com/33soqp6.
Oh, you might want to skip the cat song.
Forgot “Dominick the Donkey”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQrdxtWgHbE
Somehow I never discovered this song until a couple years ago. It’s genius.
Linda, I gotta tell you. It’s been a year. It’s been a week. It’s been a night. And I got to your blog, which I check out pretty regularly…and got immersed in your musical christmas extravaganza…
Thank you.
Definitely Fairytale of New York (though perhaps not entirely child-appropriate). Here’s the video on youtube if you haven’t seen it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwHyuraau4Q
Louis Armstrong – Zat You, Santa Claus?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQQU2ykEQqo