Mixtape: Christmas

Significant Other has been getting on me to write something about music for awhile, so I present a Christmas mixtape: 10 great songs (not a best of list, because there are too many songs to sift through), and 5 awful songs. In no particular order:


10 Great Christmas Songs

1.  Donde Esta Santa Claus? --Guster

I like to think of myself as a Gusterrhoid. I've seen six shows; the fifth show involved me spending a whole day camped in front of the radio so I could call in every hour to try to win tickets (successfully, I may add, though I won through Facebook and NOT the radio). All of this aside, this is a great Christmas song for a few reasons. One, it has a pretty groovy Latin flair and two, who wouldn't love a Christmas song by a bunch of Jewish guys?

2.  Es Ist Ein Ros' Entsprungen --Vienna Boys' Choir

For those of you who read that title and almost had a coronary, this song is known in English as "Lo! How a Rose E'er Blooming" (Sufjan Stevens' version is pretty phenomenal as well). Legend has it that there was a monk in Germany back in the day who went for a stroll in the woods at Christmastime and found a single rose blooming despite the cold weather. I don't know how accurate the story is, but it's a pretty song (yes, it's German, and yes, I assure you it is not harsh).

3.  Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairies --Lester Lanin & His Orchestra

...because more Christmas songs should be syncopated.

4.  Get Behind Me, Santa! --Sufjan Stevens

I love the entire "Songs for Christmas" box set, crafted by the musician as gifts for his friends and family but made available to the general public. It was hard to narrow it down to one song for this list, but I chose this one because sometimes Santa needs to be taken down a peg.

5.  Once In Royal David's City

A few years ago there was a commercial for a men's store that featured this song. In the commercial the song looped over and over, and played at such a frenzied speed that it sounded like it was coming from a cassette that had been jammed in the tape deck incorrectly. If I ever write a Christmas movie (which I won't), I know it would involve some sort of gag with this song playing repeatedly at very high speeds.

6.  The Twelve Days Of Christmas --The Chipmunks

Alvin facetiously states at one point in the song that he is getting tired, and I felt the same way singing this song in elementary school. And for telling the truth at the expense of the actual lyrics, I salute you, Alvin.

7.  What Child Is This?

Greensleeves with holiday themed lyrics. Fun with chromatics.

8.  Dominic The Donkey --Lou Monte

I love any song about an Italian Christmas donkey that drives my proud, meatball-eating, Christmas-loving, Italian goombah boyfriend insane. Enough said.

9.  Snoopy's Christmas --The Royal Guardsmen

For you history lovers out there. Snoopy (yes, the beagle) and the Red Baron are engaged in a dogfight on Christmas Eve during World War I. The Red Baron, at an advantage, mercifully lets Snoopy go. This is reminiscent of the soccer games that were played peacefully in No Man's Land between the Allied and Central powers.

10. Angels We Have Heard On High

...because it is so fun to belt out "GLO-OO-OO-OO-OO-OO-OO-OO-OO-OO-OO-OO-OO-OO-OO-OO-OOOOOORIA" as loudly and obnoxiously as possible. Which I may or may not have done as a small child during otherwise respectable church services.


5 Awful Christmas Songs

1.  Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer

Trash, trash trash trash.

2.  I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

...because no kid should ever be put in the position of telling Daddy about Mommy's infidelity.

3.  All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth

I actually lost my two front teeth at Christmas time, and my father never let me forget it.

4.  Baby, It's Cold Outside

I sang it in the school choir, and there was choreography involved. I just cringed a little.

5.  Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

Santa never seemed so creepy until I spent some time in the car with my friend's daughter (who was three at the time). Her rendition went something like this: "You better watch out/you better watch out/SANTA IS COMING!" Plus, he watches you in your sleep.