Reptastic

Keeping with the recent Reptastic trend of lists and in the spirit of the season, we couldn’t resist counting down 10 of our favorite Christmas songs of all-time. From old-timey classics to new-school hits, here’s your definitive guide to the best Christmas songs out there.

10. “Winter Wonderland” by Phantom Planet
A lesser known track, Phantom Planet’s “Winter Wonderland” is my favorite version of the song and one of the better modern-rock Christmas carols out there.

9. “Little Drummer Boy” by Bing Crosby and David Bowie
Making for the most unlikely Christmas duet ever, Ziggy Stardust himself, David Bowie, sings an endearing version of “Little Drummer Boy” with one the great American crooners, Bing Crosby. Outstandingness (is that a word?) ensues.

8. “Merry Christmas” by Oasis (Slade Cover)
In England, Slade’s “Merry Christmas” is as much a tradition as a tree and presents. So take one of the great British rock Christmas songs and have one of the greatest British bands of all-time, Oasis, cover it and you’ve got the quintessential Christmas party anthem.

7. “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch” by Dr. Seuss
In terms of clever lines in a Christmas song, it’s hard to beat the many contained within “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch.” Fantastically sung by Thurl Ravenscroft, the man who’s also the voice of Tony the Tiger, this song is what makes Dr. Suess’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” great. Listening to Ravenscroft opine that the Grinch “has all the tenderness of a seasick crocodile and given the choice I’d chose the seasick crocodile!” over the jaunty score of Albert Hague is a delight that’s endured brilliantly in the 41 years since its release.

6. “The Christmas Song” by Nat King Cole
Few Christmas songs truly capture the ideal yuletide setting quite like Nat King Cole’s rendition of “The Christmas Song.” The song sounds like the perfect soundtrack to easing into one’s favorite overstuffed chair in a smoking jacket with a pipe in one hand and a snifter of brandy in the other, while a fire crackles gently in the background. As you kick back and relax, you take a sip of your libation and peer longingly out the window as snowflakes begin to descend from the heavens, all the while Nat’s voice smoothly flows out of the speakers and envelopes you like a warm blanket.

5. “Good King Wenceslas” by Bing Crosby
This is my favorite traditional Christmas Carol, based on the life of the Duke of Bohemia Wenceslas I, the purportedly benevolent 10th Century ruler who is now canonized as patron saint of the Czech state. The song tells the story of the Good King providing alms to his people at Christmas time and it’s a song whose deliberate pacing makes it quite beautiful.

4. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” by Coldplay
I first heard Chris Martin perform “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” live at Seattle’s Paramount Theater in December 2001. The Coldplay frontman’s rendition is simple, beautiful, emotive and effective. Together, Martin and his piano create a track that feels like you’re sitting around a piano with friends in the wee-hours as Christmas Eve becomes Christmas Day.

3. “Do They Know it’s Christmas?” by Band Aid
In 1984 Bob Geldof rounded up some of the biggest names in the British music scene and gave birth to the idea of the mega-star charity song. Geldof, Bono, Phil Collins, George Michael, Sting and a host of others formed Band Aid to record “Do They Know It’s Christmas,” a single created to raise money to fight hunger in Africa. Eventually Geldof morphed the concept into Live Aid, a worldwide concert event that featured a magnificent performance by Freddy Mercury and Queen. Twenty years after its original recording, at the prompting of Coldplay’s Chris Martin, a second Band Aid came together to produce an updated version “Do They Know It’s Christmas”. It’s up to you which version you prefer Band Aid or Band Aid 20’s; I’ve posted both of the videos below.

2. “It’s Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Death Cab for Cutie
It’s a song that’s been done many, many times; perhaps the Christmas carol most favored by alt-rock musicians everywhere, over the years getting treatments from The Ramones, U2 and Death Cab for Cutie, to name a few. No matter who does it, “It’s Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” will remain a sure-fire classic. Eschewing the more upbeat versions by U2 and The Ramones, I prefer the melancholic rendition recorded by Death Cab a couple Christmases ago. They really capture the feeling of the song’s sad proposition of a Christmas without your lady. Great stuff.

1. “So this is Christmas” by John Lennon
John Lennon. Christmas. War is over if you want it. Nuff said.

Filed under: Music | Tagged: Band Aid, Christmas, Christmas Songs, Coldplay, David Bowie, Death Cab for Cutie, Dr. Seuss, John Lennon, Nat King Cole, Oasis, Phantom Planet |