Patrick's Top 10 Christmas Songs

Patrick’s 

Top 10 Christmas Songs

Christmas is an interesting time of year for me.  While I can never get into the marketing or religious roots of the holiday, the concept of showing love and appreciation to those around you or less fortunate does a little to warm my little  shriveled black seed of a heart.  It's similar to the kind of feeling I get riding up and down the elevators at Macy’s, I can’t really explain it, its just nice.  Christmas music however has always been hit or miss with me.  That being said the following ten songs are MY favorite Christmas related songs that I think might explain that holiday feeling better than I ever could.  Also I needed to do an obligatory holiday list to attract readers and no one writes songs about Hanukkah.  Enjoy!

10. Julian Casablancas- “I Wish It was Christmas”

There’s the undeniable charm factor of having the lead singer of one of your favorite childhood bands sing a cover of a song featured in one of your favorite SNL sketches ever, but I assure you this song is golden all on its own.  I mean look at the single art!  This is pure cheesy holiday goodness done right, with the music perfectly capturing that special holiday cheer.  What could have been a half assed joke track becomes a fully fledged modern day Christmas classic. 

9. Low- “Just Like Christmas” 

Low aren’t exactly on the top of my list of bands I want to hear a cheery holiday tune from.  A depressing “rum in you eggnog” kind of holiday tune maybe, but the bands eerie harmonies and aching vocal delivery don’t particularly lend themselves well to Christmas cheer. So it was to my surprise that not only do Low have a Christmas song, but that it didn’t make me quietly weep into my Christmas stocking.  Like Julian, Low do a great job of capturing the Christmas sound, and while it still might not sound like candy canes and cookies, its a nice holiday jaunt to warm up to.

8. TLC- “Sleigh Ride” 

It was actually pretty tough deciding which version of this song to put on the list, the fantastic Phil Spector produced original, or TLC’s amazing reimagining.  Ultimately TLC won out because there's just one thing The Ronettes will never have, and thats “Left Eye” Lopez.  TLC bring the holiday classic kicking and screaming into the 90’s, inadvertently creating another classic in the process.  I mean if you don’t want to hear a christmas song with Santa “trying to mack in his cadillac”, I honestly feel sorry for you.

7. John Lennon- “Happy Xmas (War is Over)”

When I was little, I remember riding back home from my grandma’s house in Milwaukee on Christmas.  It was dark, snowing lightly, my gameboy was out of batteries, and this song was on the car radio.  For some reason looking out the snowy window onto the dark highway as children chanted “War is ooooover!” has always stuck with me.  Nothing amazing happened, and I can’t remember anything else about that christmas (I think I got an ant farm…woo) but that tired, quiet car ride home against the dark and peaceful open road is my idea of holiday magic.

6. The Fall- “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”

I’ll be honest, I didn’t even know this little gem, taken from a long forgotten John Peel session, existed until about 2 weeks ago, but I am so glad that I do now!  This was one of my least favorite songs to sit through at Christmas mass as a kid, but if they did this version at St. Bernard's I might still go.  I just like the way Mark E. Smith sings it, it's practically dripping with sarcasm through that classic punk sneer.  If you like your holidays snotty, there's no better tune. 

5. Big Star- “Jesus Christ”

There's no irony or sarcasm in this tune, as you might expect from a track off its jaded and dark parent album: Third/Sister Lovers.  Big Star opt to play it straight and the result is an awesome little pop rock tune about, well, Jesus Christ.  People often ask me if there are any albums i’d give a perfect ten to, and Third/Sister Lovers usually comes to mind.  While its not the highlight of the album by any means, any track on this wonderful LP is worthy of my affections. 

4. Shonen Knife- “Space Christmas” 

Sometimes it takes an all girl Japanese punk pop group to really show you what Christmas is all about.  Well, not really but this song is awesome and I wish I had a Japanese all girl punk group to follow me around all the time and soundtrack my horrible horrible life.  If this song doesn’t fill you with sheer holiday happiness, you just might be a total scrooge.  Shame on you.

3. Tom Waits- “Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis”

Ok it may not have the catchiest title in the world, but I believe this song perfectly captures the real Christmas spirit.  Tom Waits delivers a charmingly dark narrative from the point of view of the eponymous prostitute, with a funny and touching story as the woman details her current surroundings and recent encounters.  The ending is stellar, the vocals contrast beautifully with the narration, and the tone is near perfect.  This isn’t just a great Christmas song, its a great song period. 

2. The Pogues- “Fairytale of New York”

For many people, including my mother, this is the best christmas song ever written. I think its the second best.  Shane MacGowen’s (did I mention this is an Irish band) gritty drunken drawl perfectly compliments Kirsty Macoll’s pretty irish croon.  Performed in the same style as a typical Irish folk duet, the song paints a touching picture of a couple’s conversation set in, you guessed it, New York City on Christmas.  The tune flows like an actual conversation and the atmosphere is just beautiful in a distinctly genuine kind of way.  This one comes highly recommended.

1. Mariah Carey- "All I Want For Christmas Is You"

I tried to justify not giving this the number one spot but I just couldn’t.  For me this song perfectly encapsulates that Macy’s escalator feel I was rambling about earlier.  Everything about this song screams Christmas, the harmonies, the instruments, it's just perfect!  If you're like me, you look like a dweeb for always joining in the “…and iiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIII” part.  This song just always makes me feel happy, I have no idea why and I really don’t care.  Personally this will always be THE definitive christmas song.