Christmas Music Hit and Miss lists

[Jetfire]

Was going to derail another thread, but decided to bring it out directly.

When the season starts, the XMas tapes start looping endlessly. But some songs will stand the test of time (and the test of repetition).

So what songs are on your list for the season? As in what songs are the start of the season for you? The ones that say "The season is here". Do you have a check list of songs that the season isn't complete until you hear them?

For me, I have a half dozen songs that I have to hear for Christmas. (There are more that I love hearing; but the season isn't complete without hearing these at least once).

They include:

* Snoopy and the Red Baron
* Anything by TSO; especially Christmas Eve Sarajevo
* Bob and Doug's 12 Days (but after a few runs they wear out quick. )
* "Taking Care of Christmas" (Radio didn't play that until last Friday; they were running late this year)
* Grandma. (Local Radio Station hates to play it, but it usually gets a few runs at least due to requests. )

and I think I'm going to add Dominic The Donkey as of this year. Never heard it before last year, and while it will wear out quickly, it's fun enough I want to hear it a few times at least.

I didn't put Weird Al's XMas songs on the list, since while I love them, I usually have to dig them out to listen; the radio doesn't play them here.

On the flip side, the songs I don't want to hear in the season (but will usually hear anyway *sigh*)

* Anything slow and depressing; I know it's part of the season; but I prefer something with a good beat to it. I think "Christmas Shoes" would top the list in this respect.
* Adam Sandler's Hanukkah song. Luckily I think I've mostly avoided it this year. Nothing against the song itself and it is fairly fun. I just don't like his 'singing' (or comedy style in general)

So what songs are on people's Hit (like) list and what ones are on their Miss (hate) lists?

[Bright_Star]

1. Merry Christmas Darling by the Carpenters
2. It's the most wonderfull time of the year by Andy Williams
3. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas by the Carpenters
4. Little St. Nick by the Beach Boys
5. All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey
6. Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms
7. Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee
8. Do They Know It's Christmas? by Band Aid
9. Blue Christmas by Porky Pig
10. Last Christmas by Wham

[Seanette]

Christmas Time Is Here - Ray Parker Jr.

[EricKei]

Bing Crosby's rendition of White Christmas. Handel's Messiah Chorus. Carol of the Bells (a capella or otherwise).

I'm partial to Benny Grunch and the Bunch's XMAS stuff -- although, most of the references would mean nothing if yer not familiar with New Orleans and its cultcha (Dawwwlin'!), so it's kinda a niche product.

I do like Pentatonix's XMAS albums.

[XCashier]

The ones I like and don't often hear on the radio:

Anything by TSO
Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth by David Bowie and Bing Crosby
Winter Wonderland by Eurythmics (the only version I like, actually)
Go Tell It On The Mountain by Simon and Garfunkel
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by U2
Santa Claus and his Old Lady by Cheech and Chong
Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses
Father Christmas by The Kinks

ETA: How could I forget? Thurl Ravenscroft's version of You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch! Nobody but the original singer can do it justice!

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Three words for the miss list:

The.

Christmas.

Shoes.

There is a special place in hell for the person who wrote that song. Right down the hall is another place for the person who decided it should be part of our Christmas music rotation the past few days.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Growing up, our family tradition was to break out our one Christmas album that we enjoyed . . .

Merry Christmas From Brenda Lee (the entire album)

Other Christmas Hits for my list include:

Christmas Eve - Celine Dion

All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey

Hey Santa - Carnie & Wendy Wilson

Please Come Home For Christmas - The Eagles

All I Want For Christmas Is You - Vince Vance & The Valiants

Rosie Christmas - Donna Summer

Christmas In Dixie - Alabama

And for the Misses . . ..

Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer . . . played to death. That song isn't even allowed to be mentioned at my Dad's house.

The Christmas Shoes gets my vote for most sappy, unrealistic crappy song EVER. A total barfest, right down there with

It's The Most Wonderful Time of The Year . . . I hope whoever wrote that is in that special place in Hell right along w/whomever wrote The Christmas Shoes.

Feliz Navidad . . . another overplayed song. Just yuck.

Just as a side note: NOT every singer can sing Christmas music, BTW. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, all of them could sing the telephone directory so they get a pass in my book. But for a lot of these newer artists, just NO. We do NOT NEED a Christmas album from every singer known to mankind. Is it some sort of unwritten rule or such? It's like every artist is obligated to record a Christmas album and it's all the same two or three dozen songs recorded how many different ways now?

[firecat88]

My hits:
- Jingle Bell Rock. It has to be the original Bobby Helms version, though.
- Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. Again, it must be the original one by Brenda Lee.
- Eartha Kitt's version of Santa Baby.
- Minecraft Christmas by Area 11
- The entire 'Hark! T'is What Thou Refers to as Yogsmas!' album
- The Nutcracker
- Christmas Can-Can and 12 Days of Christmas by Straight No Chaser
- Rhett and Link's Christmas Carol Caption Fail
- Also, for me, it is not Christmas until there is gaita music blaring in the kitchen while my mom and I make hallacas.

My misses:
- Hip hop remixes, techno remixes...parodies are ok. Remixes that occasionally leave me unable to guess what freaking song it was originally are not.
- 'Do They Know It's Christmas'
- 'Merry Christmas (War is Over)'
- 'Little Saint Nick'
- Any version of 'Baby It's Cold Outside'. I don't care what the supposed historical context is, the song is skeezy as hell.
- Silver Bells.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

- Any version of 'Baby It's Cold Outside'. I don't care what the supposed historical context is, the song is skeezy as hell.

Every time I hear that song, I mentally add an "If it wasn't for date rape, I wouldn't get laid. DATE RAPE*!!!" to the end of it.

*song lyric from the band Sublime, who was popular for about 30 minutes with the gangster crowd when I was high school. I'm dating myself, aren't I?

[MoonCat]

Hate, hate, hate:

Hey Santa. (HEY WILSONS!! THERE'S A "T" IN THAT WORD!)
Last Christmas. "...you gave it away." What does that even mean??
Anything hip hop. Just not my style.
Any comical version of the religious songs. I'm not Christian but I shudder when I hear some of these things. Keep the yuks for the songs that are intended to be funny.

Ones I actually want to listen to:
I Believe in Father Christmas by Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Christmas Can-Can by Straight No Chaser
Santa Baby by Eartha Kitt
Any Mitch Miller Christmas song; I grew up listening to these.
Anything from the Charlie Brown Christmas special.
Snoopy's Christmas
I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas (don't care who does it). Not too often, though.
O Holy Night by Josh Groban. His version beats literally every other one I've ever heard.
Any Christmas song by Loreena McKennitt.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

K, time for my list:

HITS:
Christmas Canon by TSO
Generally any Christmas song by Mannheim Steamroller
Step Into Christmas--Elton John version is good, Puppini Sisters version is better
Christmas Won't Be the Same Without You by Plain White Tees
Jingle Bell Rock, but only the original by Bobby Helms. All others are misses
Santa Claus's Party by some group
Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth by Bing Crosby and David Bowie
Hell, any song by Bing Crosby. He is the Voice of Christmas to me.
I'm Getting Nuttin' For Christmas
Santa Claus and his Old Lady by Cheech & Chong.
Merry Christmas Baby and Santa Claus is Coming to Town by Bruce Springsteen. Oddly these are the only songs of his I like
Last Christmas, but only because I've come up with my own version, which goes as follows:

Last Christmas, I gave you the clap,
But the very next day, you gave it right back.

The rest is a work in progress
Fuck Christmas by Fear or Eric Idle. Great way to wrap up the season.

Misses:

All versions of Santa Baby. Future ones also. Includes all versions made by male vocalists and changed to Santa Buddy or some such.
Do They Know It's Christmas, just the original, the Barenaked Ladies version is more tolerable
Happy Xmas (War is Over)
I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas
This version of All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth by some squeaky-voiced, eardrum-sodomizing kid
The Christmas Shoes. Just in case I haven't already made my feelings about that song abundantly clear

[MoonCat]

Many years ago when MoonCat was a kitten, there was a local D.J. by the name of Don Berns. He recorded a Christmas poem called "The Night Before the Morning After." I don't remember all of it, but it began:

" 'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house,
There were empties and butts left by some drunken louse.
And the fifth that I hid by the chimney with care,
Had been snatched by a clod who discovered it there."

It goes on to talk about Santa pulling up in his sleigh. All the reindeer had the names of different kinds of booze and Santa was totally crocked. He leaves more bottles of hooch for the narrator and then takes off, still drunk.

I can't remember all of it but we used to get a big kick out of it. My brother used to have a recording of it that he taped off the radio, but I have no idea whatever happened to those cassettes, and anyway it would be about 30 years old by now.

[strawbabies]

Hits:
Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home) by Michael Buble
All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey
All I Want For Christmas Is You by Vince Vance and the Valiants
Holy S**t, It's Christmas by Red Peters
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee

Misses:
Happy Christmas
Wonderful Christmastime
Last Christmas
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Oh yeah, "Wonderful Christmas Time" is another miss.

Query: The choir of children practiced all year long. All I hear them sing is "ding dong." Is this, perchance, the choir of unusually stupid children?

[MoonCat]

Oh yeah, "Wonderful Christmas Time" is another miss.

Query: The choir of children practiced all year long. All I hear them sing is "ding dong." Is this, perchance, the choir of unusually stupid children?

Probably my neighbors.