Christmas Music that doesn't suck

December 24, 2002 11:01 PM

Christmas Music that Doesn't suck. I know I get tired of all that Christmas music, but I have one CD by Mojo Nixon that I really enjoy all year. Horny Holidays is a fantastic CD with versions of many classic Christmas songs like "Happy Birthday", and "The Grinch", and who really does know all the words to "Good King Wenceslas"?
posted by Eekacat (11 comments total)

More Christmas Music that Doesn't Suck:
Maybe This Christmas featuring Barenaked Ladies, Coldplay, Jimmy Eat Wold, Jack Johnson and more.
posted by tomorama at 11:37 PM on December 24, 2002

"Happy Birthday" is a classic Christmas song? I suppose, for Our Lord and Savior...
posted by jonson at 11:45 PM on December 24, 2002

My favorite this year: The Carol Of the Old Ones (Embeded mp3)
posted by Tenuki at 12:44 AM on December 25, 2002

before anyone else can be snarky about it, here's last years christmas music thread...
posted by boogah at 1:30 AM on December 25, 2002

The Low christmas album is the only album I own of holiday songs. The GAP used their version of "Little Drummer Boy" in their holiday campaign two years ago.
posted by robotrock at 5:51 AM on December 25, 2002

I have some not-so-traditional mp3s on my site until the end of Christmas day. Also highly recommended - the Dr. Demento 2001 Christmas show - 2 hours of oddball stuff as only the good doctor can do it.

My favorite Christmas song is, boringly, Nat King Cole's verison of The Christmas Song, and pretty much any holiday tune by Frank Sinatra, but I do love the twisted stuff too.
posted by iconomy at 6:31 AM on December 25, 2002

Progressive rock label Magna Carta released an album of Christmas songs done in the style of various progressive and album rock artists. It's called "Sounds Like Christmas" and is by "The December People," who are basically Robert Berry and some studio musicians. The album features "Carol of the Bells" in the style of Yes, and "Silent Night" in the style of Pink Floyd circa DSOtM. There are also pastiches of Queen, King Crimson, ELP, Kansas, Led Zeppelin, and, incongruously, Sting. (Without his voice, Sting's style is so generic you can't even really tell who they're trying to "do" for that track, although it's not a bad piece of music apart from that. Still, they would have done better to attempt a full-bore Police imitation, I think -- it'd be much more recognizable that way.) There's also an original Christmas song by the real reconstituted Kansas. It's not high art by any means, and some of the renditions are only middling in quality, it's a lot of fun anyway. I quite enjoyed it.
posted by kindall at 7:38 AM on December 25, 2002

and who really does know all the words to "Good King Wenceslas"?

I do! I do!

Good King Wence's car backed out,
On a piece of Stephen!

erm...

Can we sing that one about everyone's favorite fatman, Round John Virgin? The one with Holy Vincent (tender and mild) too?
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:20 PM on December 26, 2002

BTW, mad shout outs to mifi-er Hannah Miller and her MiFi CD Swap entry --- 9 hours of nothing but Xmas music that didn't suck.
posted by DenOfSizer at 5:14 AM on December 27, 2002

I got your Xmas music, right here!
posted by Wet Spot at 3:58 PM on December 27, 2002

The Ventures Christmas Album, it rules!

Let's not forget also Booker T & the MG's and Ramsey Lewis. Good stuff too, you can find that @ Amazon.com
posted by falameufilho at 8:20 PM on December 28, 2002