the quest for tolerable christmas music

[Eric P]

i hate christmas music.  absolutely despise it.  hearing the same goddamn handful of records over and over year in and year out sends me into an apoplectic rage.

So I am curious if there's anything out there which I may not be aware of.

I found Jimmy Smith's Christmas 64 which is soul jazz versions of standards.  done really quite well.

I also like the Peanuts Christmas album by Vince Guaraldi.

The issue with most jazz christmas albums are the need to take it to kenny g territory, whereas the aforementioned albums just don't do that.

[Greatness Gone]

Christmas as a whole is pretty distinguished mentally-challenged.

[GilloD]

My pastor played on the Sufjan Christmas albums which are not awful.

[cool breeze]

Let it Snow + Eurotrash Terrorists is a combo that can't go wrong

[TakingBackSunday]

Charlie Brown Christmas.

[huckleberry]

WHITE CHRISTMAS by WHAM!
ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS by MARIAH CARREY.
XMAS FOR NIXXAS by P DIDDY.

 

Tell me that is not real.

[cloudwalking]

i play this shit every year

[Brehvolution]

Trans Siberian Orchestra is cool if your like you xmas songs metalified.

[MrAngryFace]

I have one christmas album and its just Bing Crosby, mostly cause I find the sound of him singing all those classics horribly ironic as I rage at the wheel every holiday season

[Eric P]

(Image removed from quote.)



i play this shit every year

ha ha

can you upload that by anychance?

i've got to hear that.

Flying Rhino records used to do Xmas Prog House tracks.  Very strange (as befits the label) but very good.

[GilloD]

Trans Siberian Orchestra is cool if your like you xmas songs gay

[Beardo]

Christmas wrapping by the Waitresses

[patrickula]

Sufjan's Christmas stuff is pretty good.  The Peanuts stuff is great.
I need to get that jazz recommendation, sounds good.

[T234]

Didn't Simon & Garfunkel make a Christmas record?

[Howard Alan Treesong]

I heartily recommend Sufjan's Christmas albums, I've been listening to them for the past few years and will be for probably the rest of my life.

http://www.amazon.com/Songs-Christmas-Sufjan-Stevens/dp/B000HLDF0O/

[patrickula]

Oh man, how could I forget about Jingle Cats 

(my girlfriend actually has the Meowy Christmas cd from when she was a kid  )

[Eric P]

Didn't Simon & Garfunkel make a Christmas record?

hello wal-mart my old friend
i've come to shop in you again
Because a season's greetings,
reminded me i needed shopping,
And the tree that was planted in the plain
no longer remains
and is in my living room.

[T234]

OH MY GAWD HAHAHA

[tiesto]

(Image removed from quote.)



i play this shit every year

ha ha

can you upload that by anychance?

i've got to hear that.

Flying Rhino records used to do Xmas Prog House tracks.  Very strange (as befits the label) but very good.

Can you link to one? That sounds interesting...

[Human Snorenado]

It's a known fact that the best Christmas song of all time ever is "Fairy Tale of New York" by the Pogues.  KNOWN FACT, I said.





One of my friends and I would do a killer karaoke version of that every December.  I mean, how can you go wrong with a song about fighting on Christmas eve and getting thrown in jail?  You can't.  Simple fact of life.

[Eric P]

i like the song but i am sick of it as well

[Human Snorenado]

i like the song but i am sick of it as well

Well, Rufus Wainwright did a pretty good Christmas song a couple years ago called "Spotlight on Christmas".  Personally after working in retail for so long (and MUSIC retail for much of that) I want to claw my own ears off everytime I hear ANY Christmas music, though.

[MyNameIsMethodis]

Feliz Navidad
Simply Having a Wonderfull Christmastime
Do You Hear What I Hear

are the best.

[TakingBackSunday]

haha

[Phoenix Dark]

Trans Siberian Orchestra is great. I really want to see them live one day.

[recursivelyenumerable]

I like the Joni Mitchell Christmas-related song.  also the Parasite Eve OST has some good tracks

[drohne]

low did a christmas record. not that i want to hear christmas music under any circumstances

[MyNameIsMethodis]

Here's a stream of christmas music that has all the best:

http://www.x-entertainment.com/christmasjukebox.html


also a great website dedicated to retro culture

http://www.x-entertainment.com/

[Madrun Badrun]

oi to the world!

[Brehvolution]

You could check out the extremist muslin renditions too:

Jihad Bells
Silent Knifing
Allah want for xmas is my 2 front teeth
Little Bomber Boy
Blown Away in a Manger

There is many more out there.

[Mr. Gundam]

I heartily recommend Sufjan's Christmas albums, I've been listening to them for the past few years and will be for probably the rest of my life.

http://www.amazon.com/Songs-Christmas-Sufjan-Stevens/dp/B000HLDF0O/

I was going to suggest the Sufjan Christmas box set. Sister Winter is awesome.

[Eel O'Brian]

Ella Fitzgerald Wishes You a Swinging Christmas

[Howard Alan Treesong]

Seriously, the Sufjan sets are awesome. They started out as "Christmas cards" to his friends and he made them because he fucking hated Christmas music and wanted to try to remind himself what was so great about the season. They really work!

[Propagandhim]

Oh - it was mentioned already. : /

[Great Rumbler]

Trans-Siberian Orchestra is an obvious choice. Also, Mannheim Steamroller put out some good Christmas tunes, like this one:

[patrickula]

I enjoy the Walkmen Christmas song, Christmas Party: http://obscuresound.com/info/walkmen-chr.mp3
Intro/narration is super corny 

edit: This is a bit shittier than I remember.  Not enough of a real song, 'cause what's there is pretty good!

[littlemathletics]

i hate christmas music.  absolutely despise it.  hearing the same goddamn handful of records over and over year in and year out sends me into an apoplectic rage.

So I am curious if there's anything out there which I may not be aware of.

I found Jimmy Smith's Christmas 64 which is soul jazz versions of standards.  done really quite well.

I also like the Peanuts Christmas album by Vince Guaraldi.

The issue with most jazz christmas albums are the need to take it to kenny g territory, whereas the aforementioned albums just don't do that.

  Jimmy Smith

[ch1nchilla]

You already mentioned the Vince Guaraldi album, which is what I was going to suggest. I'm pretty sure the 2046 album has some pretty good Christmas jamz on it, but it's not a proper Christmas album.

[Eric P]

i hate christmas music.  absolutely despise it.  hearing the same goddamn handful of records over and over year in and year out sends me into an apoplectic rage.

So I am curious if there's anything out there which I may not be aware of.

I found Jimmy Smith's Christmas 64 which is soul jazz versions of standards.  done really quite well.

I also like the Peanuts Christmas album by Vince Guaraldi.

The issue with most jazz christmas albums are the need to take it to kenny g territory, whereas the aforementioned albums just don't do that.

  Jimmy Smith

i've never really been huge into soul or gospel jazz but listening to The Sermon is amazing so i have begun to dig out more of his stuff.

Back to the Chicken Shack and House Party are good as well.

[littlemathletics]

Yeah, they're both cool albums. Root Down Live is a real killer too, as well as Jimmy and Wes - The Dynamic Duo.

[Eric P]

you familiar with any other artists in the same vein?  hammond organ or otherwise?

my soul jazz knowledge is really limited but i can talk all day about Hard Bop and Post Bop

[littlemathletics]

Not a great deal, to be honest. I'm listening to a lot of funk and soul at the moment, but still trying to build a proper collection. I probably know more about prog than I do soul jazz.

[Eric P]

ok well if you ever decide to check out the hard bop world of Dexter Gordon, Art Blakey and Lee Morgan's various intricate interweavings, check out the book Cookin'

http://www.amazon.com/Cookin-Hard-1954-65-Michael-Neugebauer/dp/1841952397

buy used if you can, but be careful about ordering used over the internet because the binding is kind of horrid.

[Powerslave]

[Cormacaroni]

Trans Siberian Orchestra is cool if your like you xmas songs metalified.

[littlemathletics]

ok well if you ever decide to check out the hard bop world of Dexter Gordon, Art Blakey and Lee Morgan's various intricate interweavings, check out the book Cookin'

http://www.amazon.com/Cookin-Hard-1954-65-Michael-Neugebauer/dp/1841952397

buy used if you can, but be careful about ordering used over the internet because the binding is kind of horrid.

Looks interesting - I'll give it a look sometime. Thanks man.

[Robo]

This was on Stereogum this morning: http://cdn.stereogum.com/mp3/The%20Raveonettes%20-%20Come%20On%20Santa.mp3

Not too bad.  Sounds like every other Raveonettes song, but with Christmas-y words and sleigh bells.

[border]

If you love cats, The Cat Carol will make you cry everytime you hear it (listen without watching the video, plz):



If you don't love cats, it will probably strike you as very cheesy and manipulative.