I have been tasked my putting together a xmas playlist.... but i admit the thought of endless xmas music leaves me cold (like anyone who has ever worked in retail or a bar)..
So suggestions for songs that are actually OK, so far i have:
Christmas in Harlem - Louis Armstrong
Christmas in Hollis - Run DMC
Little Drummer Boy - Johnny Cash?
Tenebrae - In The Bleak Midwinter
These for starters
Bob Dylan - Must be Santa
LCD Soundsystem - Christmas will break your heart
Not a Christmas song per se but
Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal
Do search on Spotify for Alternative or even Indie Christmas playlist that'll get you away from the usual dross.
‘Jesus Christ’ by Big Star
’Close Your Mouth’ by The Free Design
’Fuselage’ by Centro-matic
Anything by the Muppets
Anything Phil Spector, there are a few compilations
Any Elvis christmas song
Some alt ones on my list not mentioned above:
(obvious one, its a modern classic now) Just Like Christmas - Low
Christmas at the Zoo - Flaming Lips
I Was Born on Christmas Day - St Etienne (and Tim Burgess)
Little drummer boy by king and country
walking in the air by Nightwish
Both are preferable to the originals imho
Shakura S'Aida - Be My Santa Claus (nsfw)
merry christmas (i dont want to fight tonight) by the ramones
Some more:
Its Cliched To Be Cynical at Christmas - Half Man Half Biscuit
I Wish It Was Christmas Today - Julian Casablancas
The whole of the Jethro Tull Xmas Album.
Goat - Let It Burn
Just about acceptable
[url=
chk chk - & Anyway its Christmas[/url]
[url=
& The Test Tubes Babies - I'm getting pissed for Christmas[/url]
[url= https://youtu.be/_4s76oLcPTo ]The Long Blondes - Christmas is Cancelled[/url]
Please check out the Dualers. They have a Christmas cd and it's brilliant.
Sheffield carols anyone?
Bruce Springsteen - Santa Claus is coming to town
The Run DMC one from Die Hard
Jonah Lewie - Stop the Cavalry
The jazz piano stuff from the Charlie Brown Christmas special
Eels have done a couple that are quite good fun.
Jim White has done one that might appeal if you like bleak alt-country songs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szFeWXTp9Vk
And if you like the Flaming Lips then they have one too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3mRC-foSZs
Though in general with Christmas songs it's probably as much about overfamiliarity and overexposure as it is about how good they are, so provided you get a varied list without any repetition and don't go for the most well known songs you're probably going to do OK.
another from my childhood
Smashing Pumpkins - Christmas time
And as per Stevenmuir, the Sharon Jones album is always on at chez 4130 over xmas.
No mention of Kevin "Bloody" Wilson and Santa Clause you Count? maybe not the best for offices and young families though
2,000 miles by the Pretenders
This is the one. More than acceptable.
I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas
Dominik the Donkey
Tar Barrel in Dale by the Unthanks. They performed it on the Rad Mac show on 6 music at the weekend. Beautiful.
and the black metal epic that is
The cold winter moon
Eclipsing all light
Our master of the northern sky
From the frost, he rides
I am castle
Frozen snow pavilion
He comes but once a year
Do not blaspheme before him
The wolves of night we ride
My domain is filled with chocolate
I hope I've been a good boy this year
Who's eaten half of Stus chocolate orange?
Santa is my master
My stocking filled is present
The lord of kristmas
The lord of the snow
Castle of toys
Frostbitten beard
I have burnt my tongue
On a mince pie
Mum, it's too hot
Reindeer blood
He shall return next year
1987 Christmas was decent due to this Album
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Very_Special_Christmas_(album)
walking in the air by Nightwish
Had to go look for that as they are a bit of a guilty pleasure. And definitely better than the original!
Though Apple also revealed to me that McFly had done a version as well, which was also way better than the original
This one that my sister wrote & performed 🙂
Studio 1 Christmas album:
https://www.discogs.com/release/3499378-Various-Christmas-Greetings-From-Studio-One
It’s on Apple Music and bandcamp.
In fact **** Christmas, just play Studio 1
Carol of the Bells:
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?&q=carol+of+the+bells+boys+choir&&mid=CFA53953648C07161E55CFA53953648C07161E55&&mcid=95A4771799F64FE2ABFD3AE4A84587A9&FORM=VRDGAR
Winter from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons
Phil Spector, as many have already suggested
More Studio 1
That'll Be Christmas by Thea Gilmore.
Carol of the Bells.
River by Joni Mitchell
Little St. Nick by the Beachboys
Hark the Herald Angels…..
The Fall
This from the man that will find you!
Oi To The World by the Vandals
I noticed this year that the half-joke christmas album that Tim Wheeler (from Ash) and Emmy The Great (from, ur, Emmy The Great) seems to have gone legit and made it into supermarket rotation and normie christmas albums and suchlike, it made me laugh in Tesco
Winter Song Alan Hull and Lindisfarne.
Only At Christmas Time - Sufjan Stephens
Used in a Christmas episode of This Is Us, I think, so inevitably turns me into sn emotional wreck, as much of that show does. It always has great music, IMO.
Two pages in and this hasn't cropped up yet?
Here's my playlist -
The Linda Lindas - Groovy Xmas
The Magnetic Fields - Everything Is One Big Christmas Tree
Emmy The Great - Zombie Christmas
Grandaddy - Alan Parsons In A Winter Wonderland
The Dandy Warhols - Little Drummer Boy
The Webb Brothers - Every Day Is Christmas
Eels - Everything's Gonna Be Cool This Christmas
El Vez - Feliz Navidad
Morgan - Christmas in Waikiki
Drugstore - Maybe At Christmas Time
Belle and Sebastian - O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Giant Sand - Thank You Dreaded Black, Thank You
The Flaming Lips - White Christmas - Demo For Tom Waits
Saint Etienne - My Christmas Prayer
Titán - Spiritual Guidance
Departure Lounge - Christmas Downer
Six by Seven - I Believe In Father Christmas
Snow Patrol - When I Get Home for Christmas
Big Boss Man - Christmas Boogaloo
Teenage Fanclub - Christmas Eve
Calexico - Gift X-Change
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - Hwiangerdd Mair
Low - Just Like Christmas
Lauren Laverne - In The Bleak Midwinter
Badly Drawn Boy - Donna And Blitzen
Fountains Of Wayne - I Want An Alien For Christmas
Chuck Berry - Run Rudolph Run - Single Version
Eels - Christmas Is Going To The Dogs
El Vez - Feliz Navidad
They Might Be Giants - Santa's Beard
No Doubt - Oi To The World
Booker T. & the M.G.'s - Winter Wonderland
The Waitresses - Christmas Wrapping
Run–D.M.C. - Christmas In Hollis
The Ronettes - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
The Pogues - Fairytale of New York (feat. Kirsty MacColl)
Kurtis Blow - Christmas Rappin'
Frank Turner - Last Christmas
Ella Fitzgerald - Sleigh Ride
Kermit - One More Sleep ’til Christmas
Marley and Marley - Marley and Marley
Run–D.M.C. - Christmas Is
Frank Sidebottom - Christmas Is Really Fantastic
Weezer - O Come All Ye Faithful
Reel Big Fish - Auld Lang Syne
Reel Big Fish - Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer
Bad Religion - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Bad Religion - White Christmas
Misfits - Blue Christmas
Run The Jewels - A Christmas ****ing Miracle
Amy Winehouse - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - Live At Union Chapel / BBC Radio 2
Pretenders - 2000 Miles - 2007 Remaster
Luscious Jackson - Let It Snow
Burl Ives - A Holly Jolly Christmas
Robert Gordon Saker - You And Me And Santa Claus
Toni Stante - Donde Esta Santa Claus? (Where Is Santa Claus?)
Lee "Scratch" Perry - Merry Christmas, Happy New Year - 12" Mix
The Futureheads - Christmas Was Better In The 80's
Emmy The Great - This is Christmas Intro
Emmy The Great - Marshmallow World
Emmy The Great - Snowflakes
Emmy The Great - Christmas Moon
Emmy The Great - Christmas Day (I Wish I Was Surfing)
Emmy The Great - (Don't Call Me) Mrs. Christmas
Emmy The Great - Home for the Holidays
Emmy The Great - Sleigh Me
Emmy The Great - Jesus the Reindeer
Emmy The Great - See You Next Year
Bob Dylan - Must Be Santa
Relient K's 12 days of Christmas.
You're welcome
No mention of Bob Harris' favourite yet (which he seems to play at the end of his Christmas show every year).
Mary Gauthier - Christmas In Paradise
Christmas Card from A Hooker in Minneapolis - John Waits
God Rest You Merry Gentlemen - August Burns Red
Domenic the Donkey - To encourage the stragglers to leave!!
Had to take Dom the Donkey off our playlist after a child had a Christmas breakup with boyfriend called Dom. Theres lyrics for a Christmas song there somewhere.
Peat & Diesel - Fairytale of Stornoway
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu8W7tKOHso&pp=ygUWZmFpcnl0YWxlIG9mIHN0b3Jub3dheQ%3D%3D
Smith & Burrows, When The Thames Froze.
Simply wonderful.
This one is sweary but excellent
Christmas Card from A Hooker in Minneapolis – John Waits
Shouldn’t that be Tom Waits?
I’ve never bothered with a Christmas playlist, but Shawn Colvin has an album called ‘Holiday Songs and Lullabies’ which is rather lovely, she has a superb voice, and there’s lots of seasonal songs by various artists, like Fleet Foxes, The Staves, Laura Marling, which I can happily listen to any time of year.
dont think its been suggested yet.....
the damned - there aint no sanity clause
Mud - Lonely this Christmas.
Julien casablancas - I wish it was christmas today.
Badly drawn boy - donna and blitzen.
Forgot about this one. Did I say overlords? I meant protectors.
Forgot this one til my NAS played it the other day.
Oh You (Christmas Blues)
I know it's not cool, but I love the crappy Christmas songs. Especially the ones that were on my dads Christmas compilations when I was little in the mid 80s.
Wizzard, Slade, Greg Lake, Shakin Stevens, Step into Christmas - Elton, Darlene Love. Basically any Christmas compilation CD from 1982-1990ish.
My dad used to have them on non-stop in the run up to Christmas, its the one thing I miss from Christmas as a that I don't get to do now, my wife and kids get wound up by Christmas music so I have to listen on my own other than the day we put the decs up.
I do sneak some piano jazz Christmas classics on during Christmas dinner though, that goes down pretty well.
Alternative wise, Bad Religion did some no nonsense versions of very traditional songs a few years ago, and Reel Big Fish and new Found Glory have both put out Xmas EPs, but I'd rather here Wizzard again personally.
Caveat - I don't work in retail
No-one suggested Christmas Steps yet?
There’s a Calexico Christmas album that’s good
Back Door Santa by Clarence Carter
I could really get behind (fnarr fnarr) a campaign to make this the Christmas No 1.
First heard it on a Coldcut show on Kiss back in the late 90s, and I may have inhaled - because it really tickled me.
This one is sweary but excellent
And blocked by YouTube 😀
I suspect this may be a song about an Australian boy, who is deeply disappointed by the fact that Santa did not, in fact, bring him the bike that he desired for Christmas and is enquiring where it might be?
I've not seen it on page 2, I hope All I want for Christmas is a Dukla Prague away kit by Half Man Half Biscuit was high up on page 1.
Does Thank you Jack White for that Fibre Optic Jesus you gave me count?
Boot Off! (rudolph the funky-soul reindeer) by Bootsy Collins and Snoop Dogg is a P-funk classic year round!
That whole Bootsy Christmas album is pretty awesome
Jona Lewie- stop the calvary
Sounds more like an Easter song.
Just noticed what you did there! Sir, I doff my cap, and genuflect in your general direction!
A number of people have mentioned Carol of the Bells, which is particularly pertinent at the moment, because the Ukrainian city where the composer of the modern version lived is under almost constant shelling by the Russian fascist government. Here’s a version in Ukrainian and English by Eileen.
There’s no Xmas song I would choose to listen to
I actually don’t believe that. I’m almost certain that there are Christmas songs that you’ve heard and not even realised they’re seasonal, and also that there’s loads you’ve never heard, and wouldn’t have any issues with. For starters, what possible issue can you have with Carol of the Bells? Which is actually a children’s song about the return of Spring.
@CountZero That is very special. Happy Christmas
@prawny I can recommend A Dave Brubeck Christmas if you don't all ready own it.
