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You are here: Home / Music / Another Christmas music thread

Another Christmas music thread

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I was going to write about Darlene Love’s final performance of Christmas Baby Please Come Home, but Anne Laurie beat me to it. I always loved how Dave had that as his only Christmas song. That was just the kind of thing that distinguished him from wankers like Jay Leno, IMHO.

So instead I’m going to go with my very favorite Christmas song, though it’s never on the radio, from the same album (by far the best Christmas album) as that and Sleigh Ride.

Earlier we did your favorite Christmas song that’s on the radio, what’s your favorite that’s on the radio or not?

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Reader Interactions

101Comments

  1. 1.

    James Gary

    what’s your favorite that’s on the radio or not?

    David Bowie and Bing Crosby’s duet on “Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy,” if it’s on the radio; if not, then not. :P

  3. 3.

    ruemara

    The whole Om For The Holidays album is my go to fave, even during summer. It’s just that good, but out of all that, Kaskade’s version of “Still, Still, Still”

    Love it. The only tolerable Christmas music that isn’t classical or celtic.

  4. 4.

    srv

    This season has been a disasterous setback for the War On Christmas. I feel like a Hessian under the boot of Gen. Washington.

    I hope Idris Elba starts wearing bowties all the time.

  5. 5.

    different-church-lady

    @James Gary: When you hear it, it’s wonderful.

    When you see it’s hard to keep your head from imploding from the sheer impossibility of the juxtaposition.

  9. 9.

    different-church-lady

    Comprehensive list of Christmas Songs DCL can tolerate:

    * The Christmas Song, performed by Nat King Cole. (Written by Mel Torme, which few people seem to know.)
    * Carol of the Bells
    * Christmastime is Here, (Vince Guaraldi)
    * Sleigh Ride (orchestral versions only)

    All the others could disappear from the time-space continuum and I wouldn’t do anything but rejoice.

  12. 12.

    gbear

    I’ve been avoiding all things Christmas this year (my sisters and I don’t get together until early January), but I do have an original copy of that LP at home so maybe I’ll give it a spin this evening.

    It’s been an incredibly gloomy December in the Twin Cities. I think we’ve only had one day of sunshine this month, and there is zero snow on the ground because we’ve been above freezing for at least a week. It’s been absolutely dismal.

    And the lack of snow is all my fault; I bought my first snowblower on Veteran’s Day.

  15. 15.

    Bystander

    Meant to add you can find that gem on John Water’s Christmas CD.

    The website operacast.com provides daily links to streaming webcasts of, well, operas, if you must know. But at this time of the year, there’s a number sacred Christmas music broadcasts. Heard a beautiful live Bach Christmas Oratorio today conducted by Rene Jacobs.

  22. 22.

    WereBear

    Chorale stuff I can deal with. Pop standards are second worst, with those jazzed up medley-type things suitable for burning to keep old people warm in the winter.

  23. 23.

    Gian

    not music, but a nice Christmastime story:

    Josh made the video, which has received more than 11 million hits by Wednesday morning, with the idea to give a random homeless person $100 and secretly follow him to see how he spends it.

    He meets an elderly man with gray hair, a mustache and dark jacket named Thomas holding up a sign along a highway. He tells Josh he’s just trying to get enough to buy something to eat and Josh shocks him with the $100.

    “Oh goodness. Oh no way,” he says as Josh pulls five $20 bills from his wallet. “Oh brother, are you sure? I’m starting to tear up over here. That’s like incredible.”

    Josh reassures him it’s totally fine as they hug. Thomas says he never had something like this happen before in his life.

    The next part of the video seemed to be expected by many viewers but Thomas surprised them all.

    You thought I was going to get all smacked up drunk, huh?

    He packed up his stuff and began walking down the road to a liquor store. The video records him exit the store with several bags, but he didn’t buy alcohol.

    He purchased food that he then delivered to other needy people in a nearby park

  25. 25.

    Suzanne

    @Mustang Bobby: My mom loves that one and sings it every year. She is also a Pogo fan.

    I like “Here We Go A-Wassailing”, because it’s about Christmas + a few, getting drunk and singing. Which is my idea of fun. “Still, Still, Still” is my favorite carol.

  28. 28.

    Bruuuuce

    Short list:

    Christmas in the Trenches – John McCutcheon
    Christians and the Pagans – Dar Williams
    Dona Nobis Pacem – version taken from the M*A*S*H Christmas episode

  31. 31.

    HeartlandLiberal

    I had never heard that cover, but what a perfect illustration of the Phil Spector “Wall of Sound” approach to music.Just google that concept and you can read up on it.

  36. 36.

    Mike E

    @James Gary: This duet was originally televised on a Crosby Xmas special… the bit was a Philly radio tradition for years when I heard it about 30 years ago. Phila is David Bowie’s adopted home town after locals embraced the fledgling glam rocker; he often kicked off his US tours there.

  38. 38.

    SiubhanDuinne

    I admit to loving most of the old traditional Christmas carols and hymns as long as they’re not mucked up too badly. I pretty much detest the majority of “secular” Christmas songs, starting with “White Christmas” and “Rudolph.” I completely endorse the Christmas Oratorio and Messiah, to which I would add Corelli’s Christmas Concerto.

    But there is a whole slew of (mostly traditional) Christmas music that, in my opinion, should be much better known. Here are just a few:

    Quelle est cette odeur agréable? (What is that lovely aroma?)

    Un flambeau (Bring a torch)

    Whence comes this rush of wings afar?

    Still, still, still

    Tomorrow will be my dancing day

    The cherry-tree carol (When Joseph was an old man)

    Mary had a baby
    The Virgin Mary had a baby boy
    Mary’s boy-child

    Betelehemu

    The Huron carol (‘Twas in the moon of wintertime)

    Come ye lofty, come ye lowly

    Wishing all Juicers a Merry Christmas, however you choose to celebrate it (assuming you do), and a very musical 2015.

  39. 39.

    raven

    Typical nutty trip up to Virginia. It was raining like hell all through our packing and the drive. About an hour out of town I asked the girl if she had packed Lil Bit’s anemia meds? She though I did but maybe it was in the back. We stopped and it wasn’t. What to do, it’s 10:30 and we knew most Vets closed at noon. She called our vet to find out how bad it would be to skip her meds until Saturday and he told her if she started scratching to give her benadryl. That was great except she doesn’t get Atopica (cyclosporine) for scratching, she gets it for anemia. I called him back and he remembered and said we shouldn’t chance it and he’d help however he could. We thought over our options and decided to call her SIL and see if their vet had it and they could get it. No go, their vet is 45 minutes away. We then called the vet school and Virginia Tech and an emergency vet up here. They both said they had it but it would require an exam $$$. We then started looking at vets in Greenville,SC. She called a couple close to the interstate with no luck. She found one 15 miles off the highway and they were super. Just have our vet fax a prescription and they’d be happy to let us have some. We busted ass to get there and they were just as nice in person as they were on the phone. All three vets were UGA Vet School grads and we were happy about that too. So we are an hour behind and it’s still pouring! We headed up through the mountains and could barely see our noses in front of our faces! Now we’re here. Merry Christmas!

  41. 41.

    Gian

    Do I have the only kid who worries that Santa will get Ebola while delivering presents in parts of Africa?

  42. 42.

    dexwood

    Not a favorite, but well liked – Christmas in Jail, Asleep At the Wheel.

    Merry Christmas to all here, our front pagers, and John.

  44. 44.

    Steeplejack

    I like “What Child Is This?”/“Greensleeves,” which I haven’t heard this season. But I am almost but not quite avoiding Christmas music. Couldn’t find a good vocal version on YouTube, since there seems to be an industry-insider contest to do it either as slow as possible or as Celtic twee as possible (or both!). So I’ll go with Coltrane’s instrumental and let you fill in the lyrics.

  45. 45.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @raven: Wow! That’s a story for the ages!! Glad you made it safely and with all meds (eventually) acquired!

    Merry Christmas, Raven (and the Princess, and the Bhodi, and Little Bit)

  47. 47.

    Tree With Water

    @James Gary: Maybe you had to be there, at that moment in time. But as weird as that duet pairing seems now, it seemed 10 times weirder back then. Still, as der Bingster mentions to Bowie at the carol’s conclusion, it is lovely song, and those two performed it well.

  49. 49.

    raven

    @SiubhanDuinne: Thanks, I just opened my email and got a note from my ex that her 92 year old mom passed away. She and I struggled over the years but she had a good heart.

  54. 54.

    Steeplejack

    If anyone has a pathetically empty evening ahead—or just a lull—Ski Party (1965) just started on ThisTV. It’s part of the beach-movie franchise, with Frankie Avalon and all the usual idiots (no Annette, though), but the musical acts are really good. This is the one with James Brown in full ski-lodge attire, which practically makes the whole movie, but it also has the Animals and Stan Getz (and I think even Astrud Gilberto). This is ’60s cheese in the “golden slacks” zone. (Certain Juicers will get the reference.)

    ETA: James Brown in Ski Party, “I Feel Good.”

  56. 56.

    gogol's wife

    @Steeplejack:

    Oh yes.

    But I never turn the TV on before 8:00 PM, although I made an exception this afternoon for Shirley T. in I’ll Be Seeing You. But it was too depressing so I turned it off after 20 min.

  57. 57.

    Steeplejack

    @NotMax:

    [. . .] a sequel planned which never came to fruition.

    Thank God! That way lies madness and/or Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Bomb.

  59. 59.

    Steeplejack

    @gogol’s wife:

    I recorded The Shop Around the Corner this afternoon to maybe get me in the Christmas mood later tonight. There are also two good Montalbano episodes tonight, although I am under a self-imposed gag order about that.

  63. 63.

    NotMax

    Link fix.

    @gogol’s wife

    Sydney Greenstreet’s guffaw and S. Z. Sakall’s jowls make it worthwhile.

    Stanwyck always seemed a bit lost at sea or uncomfortable in the part (to me). Had Lombard lived, she would have nailed it.

  64. 64.

    Mustang Bobby

    I’m listening to the rebroadcast of the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from Kings College in Cambridge. The storyline has plot holes aplenty (did they make Mary get an ultrasound or what?) but the music is great.

  69. 69.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @raven:

    It’s always sad when someone dies around the holidays. My ex actually predeceased his mother.

    Good friend of mine in Canada has been caring for her mom for the past four or five months. Her mom died on the Solstice earlier this week, and because she was Ojibway it was seen to be a significant time for her to transition to Spirit. My friend Chantal said the First Nations part of her wanted to dance when she realized the date, but the disapproving Southern Baptist part of her wouldn’t let her. I basically said (in more diplomatic language), “Fuck the SBs, go ahead and dance!” And I hope she did.

    Condolences to your ex.

  70. 70.

    Mnemosyne (iPad Mini)

    @NotMax:

    We don’t always agree on movies, but I’m with you on this one. Stanwyck does her best, but she’s not good at acting incompetent. And I would add Una O’Connor to the cavalcade of great supporting actors on display.

    Plus, for a 1940s movie, the black actors are only minimally stereotyped. It’s one of the bussers at Felix’s restaurant who explains to his boss what “calamity” means. I also love the woman who delivers Stanwyck’s fur coat — I’ll have to see if IMDb tells me who she is.

  72. 72.

    NotMax

    @gogol’s wife

    Diff’rent strokes and all that. The romantic chemistry never seemed to click.

    Wondering if anyone ever took a look at whether (and if so, by how much) paprika sales increased after Sakall hit the big screen.

  74. 74.

    Kathleen

    @Roger Moore: Yes! Also, too, the Kingston Trio made my all time favorite Christmas record called “Last Month of the Year” back in the late 50’s. Unique folk songs beautifully performed. I pretty much detest “commercial” Christmas music with a few exceptions (see Love, Darlene).

  80. 80.

    opiejeanne

    @Steeplejack: I remember seeing that in the theater when it came out, but the memory is dim. Can’t remember which boyfriend I went with, or even if I was with one or a bunch of girls. It’s James Brown and the Animals that I remember.

  83. 83.

    schrodinger's cat

    Not hearing any Christmas music right now but listening to Rahat Fateh Ali Khan CD thatI had bought from Rhythm House in Bombay, when I was there in May.

    ETA: Rhythm House is an independent music store in South Bombay. Tiny store with an amazing variety of music.

    One of my favorite Rahat Fateh Ali Khan songs. Its from a Hindi movie, that I haven’t seen
    youtube.com/watch?v=U3AfQsHvZVA

  86. 86.

    GHayduke (formerly lojasmo)

    Still my favorite album is an EP called “Cup Of Kindness Yet” by Hey Rosetta!

    I really like the RDJ cover of River by Jonie Mitchell from Alley McBiel. (jingle bells melody)

  88. 88.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    Listening to people chew drives me fucking insane. This pretty much ruins every movie I ever see thanks to anyone eating popcorn within 20 feet of me. Not to mention the crazy lady who brought in her own bag of giant Doritos and ravaged the bag for an hour an a half directly behind me.

  91. 91.

    billb

    Someone here posted James Brown, so here is my JB xmas story…
    one year while interning in DC I went to this big hotel with my friends for a sunday brunch, and after we were stagering out down a sumptuous hall
    and I was last in line, at the brass revolving door, I saw some guy coming into the building coming around in the door, and so I paused to wait for him to ingress, and then started into the space in the moving door, and the bonehead did not get off on the inside, but kept going around, and I could not stop without getting crushed in the moving revolving door, so I just pushed forward into the same space as him, dumbazz, and I was immediately overwhelmed with the smell of wisky and the tiny guy looks up over his shoulder at me and I am like ‘shhhhit it is James Brown’

    S o … we push around to the outside without incident and we explode outside and I nudge him out and then see 2 of the biggest mean blk dudes you ever saw, pissed off…. my friends were also there laughing there tails off, so the bodyguards just pulled JB away….

  92. 92.

    Commenting at Balloon Juice since 1937

    Kemper Crabb A Medieval Christmas
    Bruce Cockburn ‘Christmas’
    McGarrigle Christmas Hour
    Sweet back Sisters Christmas Spectacular

  93. 93.

    Tree With Water

    “Christmas time is here again,
    Ain’t been ’round since you know when”.

    I enjoy all the Xmas records the Beatles made for their fan club, but especially the one featuring a fractured Magical Mystery Tour (1967, I guess). Ringo [mid-song]: “When a man buys a ticket on the magical mystery tour, he knows what to expect…we promise him the trip of a lifetime, and that’s exactly what he gets.. on the incredible, magical mystery tour”.

  94. 94.

    Steeplejack

    Well, I watched Christmas in Connecticut on DVR delay, and it was a pleasant confection. Key word confection; it makes It’s a Wonderful Life look like gritty film noir.

    To address the point above about Stanwyck not doing “incompetent” well: Her character is clearly a competent writer/editor in the film. But she is taken aback when she suddenly has to inhabit the whole fake Martha Stewart persona that she has created for the magazine. She is put on the defensive and isn’t very good at it, which is not quite the same as incompetence. But that’s the movie’s whole hook: Stanwyck’s character being ambushed by the plot twists and being saved by ever more improbable plot twists.

    Where it gets bumpy for Stanwyck is that this isn’t a natural fit for her; she is better at—and usually plays—characters who are not on the defensive; they’re in on the game and they’re manipulating the situation and/or the male lead. Even in Remember the Night, where Stanwyck’s character is vulnerable, she still knows what’s what. The writer character in this movie is two steps behind the whole way, and that doesn’t play to Stanwyck’s strengths. I think it just sticks out more visibly looking back over the whole of her career. She’s all right in it. It’s just not a very “Stanwyckian” performance.

  95. 95.

    Greg

    Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant by Siouxsie and The Banshees, with guest star Robert Smith…..You can see it on You Tube, but they can’t play it here on the radio because it is in French and Murkins don’t like furriner talk.

  96. 96.

    opiejeanne

    “Here Comes Santy Claus” sung by Gene Autry. I love that for some reason, probably because it was fairly new when I was little.

    And “On Yoolis Night” by Anonymous Four. That is an amazing CD.

    youtu.be/lveDluMx1Jg

  98. 98.

    jacob mc

    O Come Emmanuel. The StevenSufjans version. Not really a christmas song, but my favorite seasonal song. As a night nurse who always works xmas eve and xmas I find myself singing “and death’s dark shadow will be put to flight” randomly.

  99. 99.

    gogol's wife

    @Steeplejack:

    I hang my head in disappointment if you can say that Stanwyck is just “all right” in Christmas in Connecticut! It’s one of my favorite of her performances. Her dreaminess when she’s trimming the tree and Morgan is singing “Silent Night,” her comic timing with the cow, her interplay with Sakall, etc., etc., etc.

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