I recently read a post from last year in which nhfalcon shared his thoughts, and it looked like fun. So here’s what I have to say about Christmas music.
When I was a little boy, Dad sang in our church choir, and they performed Handel’s Messiah every year during Advent. The choir was a serious one as church choirs go, and our church had a large pipe organ, and the performance was just glorious. I didn’t realize how spoiled I was. Messiah will always be special to me.
My favorite Christmas album is Winter Wonderland by The Mexicali Brass. It’s all instrumental, and full of spectacular horn and bell work. It’s also a piece of the soundtrack to Christmas before my parents divorced, and I appreciate it for that too. There are a few well-known Christmas songs—”Winter Wonderland,” “Let It Snow,” “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” and “Sleigh Ride” are all present—but it also has gems like “Skater’s Waltz,” “Winter Carnival,” and “The Snowman Polka.” It finally made it to iTunes, so I don’t have to baby my dad’s vinyl anymore when I want to hear it.
A few other thoughts:
- It’s difficult to enjoy Christmas music at all when you work with the public, so I really detested all of it for five years and change (during bookstore and Acura dealership stints). It’s nice to have had it back since 1994.
- My other, non-arrangement-specific favorites include “Little Drummer Boy” and “Silent Night.”
- There are a few songs for which I know hardly any of the lyrics, but really enjoy the melody. “Good King Wenceslas” and “Carol of the Bells” are in this category.
- For the most part, I like the carols-on-steroids approach of artists like Mannheim Steamroller and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
- I really dislike “Jingle Bell Rock.” Probably, the Hall and Oates video did it in for me. In fact, I don’t care for a lot of relatively recent Christmas songs. I don’t like “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” either. I mentioned in an earlier post that “Silver Bells” (1951) might be the most recent one I really like. I have little use for anything by a modern artist unless it’s a fairly faithful version of a traditional song, though I do enjoy The Pretenders’ “2000 Miles.”
- Novelty songs—”Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer,” “Christmas at Ground Zero,” and the like? Pass.
What are your favorites? Least favorites? Any song-specific traditions?
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I can’t really think of a song I like which falls into the “Christmas Song” category. I may have liked one or more of them when young, but, as with other species of songs I do remember liking, after hearing a song thirty or forty million times, I usually would rather hear that dentist’s drill as it approaches my face (like, say, “Satisfaction”).
Of course, some Christmas songs grated on my when I first heard them, “jingle Bell Rock” and “Holly Golly Christmas” come to mind.
For my birfday, we are going to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Can’t wait. I like most Christmas music as long as they don’t sneak in songs that aren’t really all that Christmas-y. (My Favorite Things and Another Auld Lang Syne are two cringe-worthy offerings.)
My dad had a record of Christmas instrumentals that warm my heart whenever I hear them on the radio. I have no idea who performs them, probably some orchestra. I always hear the Sleigh Ride from that album during December.
I worked a holiday or two at a Christmas store for extra cash (and the discount). I still like Christmas music even after that experience. The one exception was a folksy / bluegrass instrumental CD (Smoky Mountain Christmas?)that our manager loved. Every song was twangy and had been sped up. It was awful. It was like audio caffeine. After about an hour of it, your hands would shake and you did everything at a frenetic pace. It was weird. Did I mention our manager loved it? Played that S.O.B. all the damn time.
I’ll have to think about what my favorites are. I know the soundtrack from the Peanuts Christmas Special rates pretty high. I like the Boston Pops version of Sleigh Ride. I like the Bing Crosby and David Bowie duet. I don’t know what it’s called exactly (The Little Drummer Boy and Peace on Earth?). “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” can make me cry almost everytime I hear it now. Guess that would be more of a love / hate relationship, though.
I just saw TSO in Greenville, and the show was fantastic! I’ve been a fan for years. Christmas Canon is, IMHO, one of the most beautifully rendered pieces of music ever.
Lea,last year somebody gave me a bluegrass Christmass CD. I listened to exactly two songs before taking it out of the player and putting it away. Ew.
However, my least favorite Christmas song is Feliz Navidad. I curse myself for even typing those words, for they will running through my head for the rest of the day now.
Gerry: My affection for Burl Ives has waned quite a bit, though I still enjoy “Suzy Snowflake” when I hear it.
‘seester: Enjoy! That’ll be fun.
Lea: Now see, I’d read “Smoky Mountain Christmas” and think Dolly Parton, so I’d probably think “hey, I bet that’s pretty good.” 🙂
The Crosby/Bowie duet started out just being “Little Drummer Boy” for Bing Crosby’s 1977 Christmas special, but Bowie complained that he didn’t like that song, so a handful of writers on set quickly came up with “Peace on Earth” for him to sing. The duet is generally identified as “Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy.” I like it too.
Incidentally, this was (almost literally) the last thing Bing Crosby ever did. He died just over a month after this was filmed, and had already been gone for a month when it first aired.
Cheryl: I meant to throw shit at “Feliz Navidad” too and forgot. Heartily agreed.
My favorites are the Winter Solstice Set
http://www.amazon.com/A-Winters-Solstice-%28Series%29/e/B000AQ0G44/ref=ntt_mus_dp_pel
The worst has to be
http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate/v6/default.aspx?ln=en-us
Lea: “A Charlie Brown Christmas” by the Vince Guaraldi Trio is my all time favorite Christmas music “album”. “Have yourself a very merry Christmas” is probably my favorite single. Both have a melancholy feel that suit my mood around the holidays.
Microsoft update is Christmas music?
I second Lea’s “Charlie Brown Christmas” nomination – it is definitely the best.
One of our favorites when we’re entertaining at Christmas is a 2-disc Jazz compilation we found called “Martinis and Mistletoe”.
I’m a fan of “Little Drummer Boy”. Although I have heard a version or two that I wasn’t too wild about.
My favorite artist specific is “God Bless Ye Merry Gentlemen” by Brother Cane/Damon Johnson. Damon had it posted on his website a few years ago. Not sure where you can get it now, but it’s definitely a good rendition.
Whoops, That link was suppose to be to Twisted Sister’s Twisted Chrismas:
http://www.amazon.com/Twisted-Christmas-Sister/dp/B000ICLTKK
I forgot to mention the Peter, Paul, and Mary Christmas concert. I caught it on ETV one year and it was really a great show. That was 8 years ago and I’ve been looking for the video ever since. If anyone knows where I can get it please let me know.