dale
December 13, 2011 / 19:24

ALL songs except 1 are crap. Fairytale in NY is only OK. I'm more of a traditionalist - where is O Holy Night, Silent Night, etc sung by proper singers like Morman Tabernacle Choir or others alike who promote what Christmas is all about.

Talk about commercialism of Christmas, this music is at the top, musicians trying to make a "buck" on a religious day.

Sammi
December 13, 2011 / 19:30

You had to ruin the list by putting Pearl Jam in there.

Cheryl
December 13, 2011 / 20:25

Bah humbug. There actually is a way to avoid Christmas music. That is just listen to your MP3s. Avoid the radio until December 26 which is less than two weeks from now. Go Habs. They're winning 2 to 1 after a period.

dale
December 13, 2011 / 21:02

@ Mike

I'm sure the hooker made more than Tom did.

Buffalo Boy Mike
December 13, 2011 / 21:19

I have always liked:
The Beach Boys: Little Saint Nick, The Man With All the Toys and Santas Beard
Also:
Paul McCartney- Wonderful Christmas Time
Billy Squire- Christmas is a time to say I love you
And
The Royal Guardsman- The Story of Snoopys Christmas Great tuness on there
U2- Baby Please Come Home

pat
December 13, 2011 / 21:44

sometimes you have to work on christmas - harvey danger. its almost as good as flagpole sitta

elvis
December 13, 2011 / 21:58

Every year you forget Mike - Mistress for Christmas by AC/DC!

CQ
December 13, 2011 / 22:47

The two Xmas songs I like most are:
Payolas - Christmas is Coming
Chris Rea - Driving home for Christmas
I can't stand that Fairytale of NY song, although its not quite the worst. That would be Lennon's Happy Xmas. And I hear each during every single holidays. (:

elvis
December 13, 2011 / 22:56

@Mike

Better than Shit Jam.

pete
December 13, 2011 / 23:06

Often overlooked is a song from the late 80's
All I Want for Christmas is You
by Vince Valiant and the Valiants
Lisa Layne is the lead singer and she nails it.
This was the original version of the song.

McNulty
December 14, 2011 / 07:13

I'm just glad you mentioned the Tom Waits song. No one ever mentions that song.

You really need to write about the Christmas Shoes. I promote Christmas on my site and my love for almost all things Christmas but I draw that line at that piece of crap song.

Piece. Of. Crap.

Pigeon Toed Dave
December 14, 2011 / 08:42

The Three Stooges sing christmas carols from an igloo in the artic. Warms my hackles when they sing Manger Madness

Mississauga Phil
December 14, 2011 / 09:02

@ Mike - I like pearl jam, but AC/DC is far superior...

Also, Weezer put out an album of Christmas Standards...pretty good actually.

dlauthor
December 14, 2011 / 09:45

"Talk about commercialism of Christmas, this music is at the top, musicians trying to make a 'buck' on a religious day."

Yes, Dale, all that money those greedy singers raked in with Do They Know It's Christmas. Why can't they be more like Bing Crosby, who gave all the proceeds from White Christmas to starving children in Africa?

Mississauga Phil
December 14, 2011 / 09:55

@ dlauthor - The proceeds from band aid went to africa. Weezer is donating proceeds from their album to various childrens charities.

Bing Crosby on the other hand used to beat and torment his sons.....I love the old Crosby chirstmas movies, but the guys was a monster - see below an exerpt from his son's book-

"We had to keep a close watch on our actions... When one of us left a sneaker or pair of underpants lying around, he had to tie the offending object on a string and wear it around his neck until he went off to bed that night. Dad called it "the Crosby lavalier." At the time the humor of the name escaped me...
"Satchel Ass" or "Bucket Butt" or "My Fat-assed Kid." That's how he introduced me to his cronies when he dragged me along to the studio or racetrack... By the time I was ten or eleven he had stepped up his campaign by adding lickings to the regimen. Each Tuesday afternoon he weighed me in, and if the scale read more than it should have, he ordered me into his office and had me drop my trousers... I dropped my pants, pulled down my undershorts and bent over. Then he went at it with the belt dotted with metal studs he kept reserved for the occasion. Quite dispassionately, without the least display of emotion or loss of self-control, he whacked away until he drew the first drop of blood, and then he stopped. It normally took between twelve and fifteen strokes. As they came down I counted them off one by one and hoped I would bleed early...
When I saw Going My Way I was as moved as they were by the character he played. Father O'Malley handled that gang of young hooligans in his parish with such kindness and wisdom that I thought he was wonderful too. Instead of coming down hard on the kids and withdrawing his affection, he forgave them their misdeeds, took them to the ball game and picture show, taught them how to sing. By the last reel, the sheer persistence of his goodness had transformed even the worst of them into solid citizens. Then the lights came on and the movie was over. All the way back to the house I thought about the difference between the person up there on the screen and the one I knew at home."[41]

Mike Kic
December 14, 2011 / 10:03

I agree with Buffalo Boy Mike

PK
December 14, 2011 / 10:28

Mike,

Thanks for putting the Waits on there. One of my faves.

PK

Cheryl
December 14, 2011 / 16:31

Well, it seems like the commercialization of Christmas starts earlier every year. Anyway, just 12 days to go and Christmas will be over. Go Habs.

Doug
December 14, 2011 / 19:45

What, no Boney M!!!

Buffalo Boy Mike
December 14, 2011 / 21:11

Bryan Adams, not my favorite artist on the planet but Something about Christmas Time and I rediscovered The Eurythmics version of Winter wonderland and Sting does Gabriels Message and I saw Three Ships that are very artfully done and to me some of Stings best vocally too.

Mississauga Phil
December 15, 2011 / 08:23

I was always partial to the Chipmunks Christmas Song...

...me I want a hula hoop...

Paul
December 15, 2011 / 10:30

Neko Case does a version of "..Hooker.." on the New Coat Of Paint tribute record that is a reverb tsunami of feelings.
Also this just in...Fubar's No Place like Christmas!

Rob
December 15, 2011 / 10:48

The first 'a very special Christmas' is pretty good on a whole (except that shitty Madonna song).

I know Bing is a pretty big douche (that exerpt was his book was hard to read), but no Christmas is complete without Bing and Bowie doing Little Drummer Boy / Peace On Earth.

Mississauga Phil
December 15, 2011 / 12:32

@ Rob-- Great Song...Love Crosby's work (my mom and I watch White Christms together every year)...I just had an issue with dlauthor holding him up as an example of a good person..he was not

Teena in Toronto
December 16, 2011 / 14:41

John Prine's "Christmas in Prison" is cool ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1uIFs-pNdc

Marie
December 16, 2011 / 21:09

Audio not so great on my laptop especially on Feed the World my favourite chills up the spine Christmas song.

Tash
December 22, 2011 / 05:41

Hey there - you totally need to check out Tim Minchin's White Wine In The Sun. Best (and only good) Xmas song ever!

CQ
December 28, 2011 / 18:54

For the Bing bashers out there:
http://www.thespec.com/whatson/article/645606--life-wasn-t-rosy-for-bing-s-kids

- Bing had seven children: Gary, twins Dennis and Philip, and Lindsay from his first marriage to Dixie Lee Crosby (who died of cancer in 1952), and Harry, Mary and Nathaniel from his second marriage
- Gary wrote a memoir claiming that Bing had been an excessively strict parent but, according to the website, he did so to improve sales and later recanted “large portions” of the book. Gary was hoping to revive his career by overdubbing some of Bing’s recordings when he discovered he had cancer and died in 1995. By that time, both Lindsay and Dennis had committed suicide, in 1989 and 1991 respectively; Philip died in 2004 at the age of 69.

Perhaps this thread topic needs to filed alongside an earlier "Negro electronics" packaging entry. And some people online are already calling [now deceased via sucide] Bololai a racist given his International-US political stance on Isreal and specific disagreements with individual Jews from his career.