[MUSIC] My Most Favourite Christmas Songs

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Or so I’m told, but it’s hard to disagree when I’ve been listening to such joyful Christmas tunage. Don’t get me wrong, some seasonal music is just awful, overplayed rubbish, and after six hours of Christmas shopping one might consider stabbing oneself in the eardrum in order to escape the repetitive chiming madness. I like to save my delicate aural sensibilities for my most favourite of the jolly offerings. 

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We’ll kick off proceedings with Carol Of The Bells. This is a beautiful piece of choral music. I’m a sucker for a decent choir, but apart from that this piece conjures up wonderful, almost magical images of Christmas as I listen. It’s based on an old Ukrainian folk chant and its four-note motif is simple but extremely effective.

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No Christmas song playlist is complete without a bit of Mariah. All I Want For Christmas Is You has become one of the most played festive songs of my generation, and for good reason. It’s instantly recognisable and always succeeds in making me twirl around, singing into a roll of wrapping paper while I decorate the house and make all of the Christmas goodies pretty with bows and ribbons and all of that girly crap. Whatever else you may say about Ms. Carey, she certainly had a fine set of pipes back in the day.

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When I hear Chris Rea’s Driving Home For Christmas I get an instant happy. I know Chris Rea isn’t everyone’s cup of eggnog, but this is one of my Dad’s favourite Christmas tunes and whenever I hear it I think of him. I get the warm and fuzzies. It also makes me think of all of my many friends who travel over the holiday period, excited to spend some time with their families and loved ones.

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It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas; the cutest entry on my list. My fondness for this song most likely comes from its placement in Home Alone (which has the most wonderfully Christmassy soundtrack of all). During the days leading up to Christmas I’ll bounce around singing this song, but only the first line, I never get passed that because I don’t know the rest of it.

Many of the great crooners have done versions of this song, and a particular favourite of mine is Bing Crosby’s, but for today I have Johnny Mathis for your listening pleasure.

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Speaking of crooning gents, it’s time for an entry from the best of them. Dean Martin with Let It Snow, another of my Dad’s favourites (and mine!). “Oh the weather outside is frightful…“ It sure is Deano, but your voice will warm us up.

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I was just about to open this segment with an apology for including Wham’s Last Christmas, but I just can’t do it. I love it. I know what you’re saying to me now, you’re mentally yelling, “How can you include this after spouting out of your hole about musical standards?” To you I reply, “How can I NOT include this cheesy poptastic treasure!?” I have this wonderful memory of leaving my Grandmother’s house with my Mam, this song coming on the radio and her singing along to it at the top of her lungs, loving every second of it, every note. Little four year old me was sitting in the back of the car trying to figure out what the lyrics meant. I just could not wrap my head around the literal meaning of removing your own heart to give to someone else. I was a weirdo even as a child.

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In yet another memory inspired entry, I first heard Do You Hear What I Hear? in Gremlins. For years I found the song seriously creepy because of the association but there’s no denying how brilliant this is. Johnny Mathis again singing it beautifully, but it is always ruined by my father who insists on performing a rather special rendition of it in his “Gremlins voice” whenever it comes on.

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No Christmas party or night out here is complete without the DJ playing The Pogues’ Fairytale of New York at least half a dozen times in quick succession. It’s probably the most overplayed song here on the radio EVER during the month of December, but that doesn’t take anything away from the fact that Shane MacGowan and Kirsty MacColl do a fabulously magnificent job on a song that would become the drunken Christmas anthem for Irish people throughout the world. And let’s face it, only in Ireland would you get away with singing lines like, “You’re a bum, you’re a punk. You’re an old slut on junk”, at the top of your voice in celebration of Christmas. And that is why this thoroughly “Irish” carol is my favourite of them all.

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And there you have it my festive friends; my own special Christmas playlist, comprised of all of my merry listening for today and tomorrow. Be sure to let me know what your favourites are in the comments below!

I’ve been on the missing list for the latter part of this week as the party season kicked off big style, but I promise to catch up on everyone’s special posts today and will return tomorrow with The Christmas Spew. Peace out, little lambs!

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The Christmas Spew ›

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Categories: List ALL The Things!, Music, Review

Tags: Carol of the Bells, Chris Rea, Christmas, Christmas Music, Dean Martin, Fairytale of New York, Gremlins, Home Alone, Johnny Mathic, List ALL The Things!, Mariah Carey, Music, Review, Wham

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