'Tis the Season: Christmas Music Essentials

So I uploaded my Christmas music to my iPod. Yay, it is the Christmas season!

1. "Carol of the Bells" performed by the American Boychoir. I didn't pick this version for any special reason (although it's quite good) I think it was just the first version of the song that happened to come up when I plugged it into iTunes.

2. "Mr. Heat Miser" performed by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. This is not exactly a Christmas classic, but it is a lot of fun.

3. "I Won't Be Home for Christmas" by Blink-182. I like a little punk rock in my stocking, you know. Besides, I WON'T be home for Christmas, so it's apt.

4. "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" performed by Bruce Springsteen. This is a live performance, and Bruce and the E Street band rock the roof off.

5. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee. As far as this goes the original (or, at least I think it's the original) is best.

6. "Most Wonderful Time of the Year" performed by In Memory. This is another raucous cover of a Christmas classic.

7. "Christmas Baby, Please Come Home" performed by Jon Bon Jovi. This is another one you just can't escape on holiday radio. It's not a favorite, but it doesn't feel right not to include it.

8. "Last Christmas" performed by Wham! Oh, come on now. How can you have a holiday playlist and NOT have a little Wham!?

9. "Run Rudolph Run" by Chuck Berry. This is old time rock and roll, and Chuck just does not let up on poor Rudolph.

10. "Silver Bells" performed by Bing Crosby. I would honestly prefer to have the Crosby/Bowie version of "The Little Drummer Boy" but unfortunately it doesn't seem to have been released to iTunes. Stupid Bowie.

11. "Merry F#%$in Christmas" by Denis Leary. This makes me laugh EVERY SINGLE TIME I hear it.

12. "Blue Christmas" by Elvis Presley. This one always makes me think of Nerd Queen's mom, who hates it. And when Nerd Queen and I would howl along to the background vocals. "Ooowooohooowoohoo..."

13. "The Christmas Waltz" performed by Harry Connick Jr. I'm not generally big on HC2, but he's certainly got his niche. (I also enjoy his cover of "The Bare Necessities" for the little known Simply Mad About the Mouse video.) He does this in sort of a cocktail lounge style, but doesn't slow it down to a point where it's unrecognisable, which happens all too often with this style.

14. "Feliz Navidad" by Jose Feliciano. No, you can't escape it. Resistance is futile.

15. "All I Want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey. Ordinarily, I cannot STAND Mariah Carey...however, this song is a notable exception. It's simply a glorious and sugary way for Ms. Carey to show off her stunning pipes. Say what you will about her, but the woman really could sing.

16. "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Madge Ure and a bunch of British popstars. I really don't want to like this song. It's kind of patronizing and insulting, despite being for a good cause. No, they don't know it's Christmastime in Africa because I don't think most Africans CELEBRATE Christmas. However, it's still damn catchy and I find myself listening for it around the holidays. Stupid Bob Geldof.

17. "The Christmas Song" performed by Nat King Cole. There's not much to say about this. It's just GOOD.

18. "Snoopy's Christmas" performed by Rich Little. I'm very annoyed because I was forced to accept this substandard version of this song, due to the fact that the original (by The Kingsmen, I believe) is not available on iTunes. This is particularly galling because this is one of my very very favorite Christmas songs. Stupid iTunes.

19. "Little St. Nick" by the Beach Boys. Nothing says Christmas like the Beach Boys. Okay, so that's not really true, but this is still a fun song in classic Beach Boys style.

20. "The Chipmunk Song" perfomed by Alvin & the Chipmunks. Anyone of my generation who doesn't like this song is a communist. Or maybe a terrorist. It's just that simple.

21. "Welcome Christmas" performed by the MGM Studio Orchestra (original movie version). "Da-who-dor-ay da-who-dor-ay Welcome Christmas one and all..." Oh, those Whos down in Whoville...

22. "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" by John Lennon. This was only recently released on iTunes, and I'm so glad because the covers that were available last Christmas were simply appalling in their horribleness. And as much as I dislike Yoko, this is such a good song, especially now.

23. "Santa Baby" performed by Eartha Kitt. You can take your Madonna and your Marilyn Monroe (ETA: A watchful reader has informed me that Monroe did not record this song, and the version I'm thinking of was done by actress Cynthia Basinet.)--THIS is the defining version of this song. All others are pale imitations.

24. "The Christians and the Pagans" by Dar Williams. This isn't a traditional Christmas song, but it's a sweet little tune about people of different faiths coming together at this time of year to remember what's important.


If there's anything you think I MUST HAVE, let me know. Although it has to be available on iTunes for me to get it.

iPod/uPod: "Come as You Are" by Nirvana (from Live in New York)

This is the song that finally got me into Nirvana. Up until this point, I didn't really get it. I mean, I'd heard of the band, and understood that they were popular, but I didn't understand why. Then I went to nerd camp for the first time, and this kid in my class sung this song constantly. I thought it was kind of interesting and asked him about it, and he informed me that when I got home, I needed to go out and buy In Utero immediately, because it would change my life. I did as he suggested, and though it didn't change my life, it certainly did change my perspective some. Frankly, it wasn't until the Beautiful Loser burned me a copy of Nirvana: Live in New York that I REALLY GOT IT. Listening to Kurt wail "Come as you are, as you were, as I want you to be..." hit a part of me--the teenage angst part?--I didn't even know I had. This song led me to listen to the entire album, which was of course mind-blowing. The lyrics aren't entirely logical or sensical, but they're deeply emotional, particularly with Kurt's delivery. Same thing with the melody. I just remember thinking that I'd never heard anything like it before, and was unlikely to hear anything quite like it again.

Today's iPod/uPod winner is: "Birdhouse in Your Soul" by They Might Be Giants

This song holds a special place in my heart, as it was a mandatory part of every nerd camp dance. When this song would come on, everyone would join hands and then run, in a long chain, all around the cafeteria where the dance was being held. It's one of those songs that whenever I hear it immediately takes me back to a particular time and place where I had some of the best times of my life. Musically, it's got some nice harmonies but isn't really anything special. The lyrics, as in most TMBG songs, are very clever. The image of keeping the "nightlight on inside the birdhouse in your soul" is an appealing one. Even the idea that there's a birdhouse in your soul is charming. My favorite lines are, of course, as follows, "There's a picture opposite me / of my primitive ancestry / who stood on rocky shores / and kept the beaches shipwreck free. / Though I respect that a lot / I'd be fired if that were my job / after killing Jason off / and countless screaming argonauts!" I suppose my reason for loving this song is more based on sentimentality than on true merit, but that's okay. This IS my opinion, after all.

Today's iPod/uPod winner is: "Age Six Racer" by Dashboard Confessional

I think part of the reason I like this is because it's a bit more cheerful than most DC songs. It's about loss, but it's more a wistful longing for childhood times past. Not so much the "You left me, so I'm going to roll in broken glass until you come home, you whore" that they often seem fixated on. It's also got some really stunning harmonies, which are complimented (in my opinion) by the fact that the song is instrumentally so simple. The other reason I like this is because it takes me back to dorm life. Every time I hear it, I can imagine myself at my desk in 309D, facing the window, listening to this song and playing Snood. It's kind of funny how a certain song can slingshot you into a particular moment in the past. The only other sense that seems hooked up that way is smell (the only problem with scent-related memories is that sometimes I'll smell something and it's tied very strongly with a particular emotion, but I can't figure out WHY. Song-related memories can often be put into context by their artist or their era of popularity. Smells, it'll be like "Okay, the smell of this specific stairway causes me to feel really happy and hopeful, like something awesome is going on and I am part of it. Unfortunately, I have no idea why." [In that instance, it took me weeks to realize that for some reason the smell of that stairway--the combination of paint and rubber stair tops--reminded me of the first time I went to nerd camp and my class was held in a classroom in the college's gym.]) Also, the lyrics are so...sweet, but not exactly in a cheesy way. "It's cold where you're going, I hope that your heart's always warm" indeed.