Just in time for the big day, here's the best of the holiday tunes. Hopefully you're not already sick of them. And yes, I chose the "12 Day" format because I couldn't narrow it down to ten.
11. "Carol of The Bells" by Family Force 5 - There have been billions of different takes on this yuletide standard, but somehow FF5 manages to make it fresh. Maybe it's the club feel and the auto-tune rapping (wrapping?). Yeah, that's probably it.
10. "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid - It took a supergroup effort to churn out this now-classic (Ahem: Bono, Freddie Mercury, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Sting, just to name a few). Sure the "Tonight thank God it's them instead of you" lyric is somewhat questionable, but hey, look at that lineup [drool].
9. "Donde Esta Santa Claus?" by Guster - Maybe I just have a thing for Spanish songs that I can understand, but who doesn't love a holiday song with castanets that isn't "Feliz Navidad"?
8. "Last Christmas" by Wham! - Sure it's probably been hammered into your head since Halloween, but this song is just so damn catchy. Also, whenever I think of George Michael, I think of Arrested Development, and that makes me extremely happy.
7. "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town" by Bruce Springsteen - The Boss's personality just makes this song. His questioning of the crowd's spot on the nice list, his cracking up mid-verse at Clarence's ho ho hos and, most importantly, his voice add spirit to this holiday song.
6. "A Great Big Sled" by The Killers - The Killers' Christmas tunes have become an annual tradition, and it all started with this one. And frankly, it's the best (sorry, "Don't Shoot Me Santa"). The Killers' sound plus Christmas. What could be better (besides the next five songs)?
5. "Father Christmas" by The Kinks - Ahhh... Forget peace on earth and goodwill toward men. Finally a song about kids stealing from the street corner Santa. Suck it, Charlie Brown. This is what Christmas is really all about.
4. "Wonderful Christmastime" by Paul McCartney - Paul may never have been able to match The Beatles' success in his solo career, but this track single-handedly defeated the Fab Four's Christmas output. And don't give me any of that John and Yoko's "Happy Christmas" crap. War is not over. But who cares? "We're simply having a wonderful Christmastime."
3. "I Wish It Was Christmas Today" by Julian Casablancas - Originally a song written by Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz for SNL. Casablancas (the dude from The Strokes) covered it, taking an already awesome song and making it sound like a lost track from "Is This It" (instead it's a bonus track on "Phrazes For The Young").
2. "Christmas Wrapping" by The Waitresses - You gotta love a Christmas romance. Okay, maybe meeting "that guy I've been chasing down all year" at the grocery store isn't exactly George Bailey lassoing the moon for Mary, but still. What a good song. The bah humbug bitchiness. The trumpet line. The Christmas spirit. Ah...
1. "White Christmas" by The Drifters - This doo-wop classic is just the best. Hands down. The James Earl Jones-esque low to helium falsetto high range make this song simply awesome. And fun. Especially to sing along to, as evidenced by Macaulay Culkin's lip syncing in Home Alone. It just doesn't get any better than this in December.
The "How The Ebenezer Did I Forget That Song" Song: "Celebrate Me Home" by Kenny Loggins - It might just be because I grew up with Kenny Loggins, but this song just sounds like Christmas is supposed to sound.
I'm impressed with your restraint in placing The Killers at number 5. And Julian at three(which is also my lucky number so I'm very pleased).
ReplyDeleteI also restrained myself from listing multiple Killers songs. And both of the songs you mentioned probably would've been lower had I remembered "Celebrate Me Home." But hey, it was Christmas eve and steak was calling so I wasn't about to screw with it.
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