Christmas songs!

Post your favourites

Been listening alot to The Killers' Christmas album, Don't Waste Your Wishes. A very different collection of Christmas songs, but I like it Christmas in LA sort of hits home since I've been working on the other side of the country for three of the last four holidays, and will do do this year too.

https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBxvB1ne7L_b-ZN0RpWKXErjFn9qyeiaq

The funny thing about christmas songs in America, is most of the 20th century ones were written by Jews! (either composer or lyricist)

White Christmas - Irving Berlin
Christmas Song (chestnuts roasting...) - Mel Torme
I'll be home for christmas - Walter Kent

etc, etc.

A lot of Christmas music has been ruined for me by working in retail. I can't fucking stand a lot of the classic songs anymore after hearing them so many times on loop on the sound system at work. That said, Trans-Siberian Orchestra's variation on "Carol of the Bells" is really great.



There are a few vaguely Christmas-related songs from some of my favorite groups that I can still enjoy, but that probably don't meet the standard definition of Christmas music.

"White Winter Hymnal" by Fleet Foxes, and the various covers that have been done by groups like Pentatonix, are nice. This little junior-high student (13-14) sang a cover of it a capella for my niece's high school choir recital this year.

While I'm on the subject, I also kind of like this one.



It's by the Killers, and while it's pretty much just alright, I like how they have that bit at the beginning with Harry Dean Stanton. If you know much about him, you'll know that he does hold some rather nihilistic beliefs about his own life and is rather jaded about his film career. He's been in tv or movies since 1954, and is credited on his IMDB page for 198 projects as an Actor.

I'm not in the least attracted to that cynical school of thought, but it was interesting for me to hear that in this context after having watched this youtube short documentary about him:

{{Talking Stanton, he is in Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me and the line, and his delivery of it right at the end of this scene, is one of my all time favourites in all of cinema! }}}

Forest Shepherd wrote:While I'm on the subject, I also kind of like this one.



It's by the Killers, and while it's pretty much just alright, I like how they have that bit at the beginning with Harry Dean Stanton. If you know much about him, you'll know that he does hold some rather nihilistic beliefs about his own life and is rather jaded about his film career. He's been in tv or movies since 1954, and is credited on his IMDB page for 198 projects as an Actor.

That's the one I was talking about in the first post The reason I discovered it is because it has a couple of references to Warren Zevon in it (one in the lyrics and one in the vid - the guy in the church has to be Warren). Anyway, while I'm not that cynical about life, it does very much appeal to me because of the mood/tone of the lyrics. I don't know why (and I have tried to understand it) but I am a fundamentally pessimistic person, so this kind of songs are usually easier to find in my playlists than White Christmas The rest of the album is great too, some great black humour in it at Santa's expense

Well yeah, "Don't Shoot Me Santa" is one of my favourites of theirs.

Ive been listening to this album a lot lately

https://www.facebook.com/MrStevieRiks/videos/10154211909752057/

Background to this: the girl featured has been diagnosed as semi-autistic and ADD.  She wouldn't read in front of classmates at first, but music brought her out.  I love the contrast between her earnestness and the fidgeting of her backup choir of 10-year-olds.