Saturday, December 24, 2011

A Little Christmas Music

It's almost Christmas Eve y'all!  I'm always a little bummed when the Christmas season comes to an end because it means that the new radio stations that popped up to celebrate the holiday 24/7 will be no more.  For a Jewish girl, I'm oddly attached to my Christmas music.  So before we big adieu to the season, here's a mini tribute to my top ten Christmas songs.


10. Linus And Lucy


This would have made it higher on the list if I actually felt it was a Christmas song.  The radio stations seem to, but I consider it more of a Charlie Brown thing.  Either way, I've always been obsessed with the  jazzy easiness of this song (if I ever learn to play the piano, THIS is what I want to learn to bang out).


9. Silent Night 

One of the slower songs of the holiday, Silent Night is that song that you play at the end of a movie when families have reunited, learned a lesson and finally understood the true meaning of Christmas.  It has a soul that resonates and is a quiet force.




8. Rockin Around The Christmas Tree

This song makes me think of Home Alone.  Home Alone makes me happy.  Thus, Rockin Around The Christmas Tree makes me happy.  Enough said.




7. White Christmas


White Christmas is one of my mothers favorite movies and as a kid we watched it every year.  When the song comes on, I'm reminded of my childhood and my mom so it resonates on a pretty personal level.  Also, who doesn't want a White Christmas?  It's a lovely little song from a lovely little film.




6. Jingle Bell Rock


Okay, so my attachment to this song is totally personal.  When my little brother was five, he was in a junior glee club that performed Jingle Bell Rock.  They sang the song and did an adorable little dance.  The problem was, my brother's pants were waaayyyy too big on him so as he did the moves, almost on cue, he would grab his belt loops and do a hike/jump thing every time the song said "rock".  It cracked us up and I can't help but lift my own pants every time this song comes on.  Seriously.  It was adorable.



5. Little Drummer Boy

This is one of those songs that I discovered late in life.  I guess because it tends to fall under a more religious umbrella, Little Drummer Boy is not something that we sang in school.  Maybe I like it because it still seems sort of new, but I tend to just think it is a really pretty song.




4. Santa Baby

The "sexy" Christmas song, Santa Baby is fun and playful and is that song that every female artist seems to want to cover.  I prefer the original Ertha Kitt cover, which somehow still has a little bit of a coy chasteness about it.  





3. Baby It's Cold Outside


There is a reason that everyone wants to do a duet of this and its because it is kind of awesome.  It's a fun back and forth (although I've never been certain that the person who thinks that they really can't stay actually wants to go) and is sweetly romantic.  I adore the version that Glee did last year with Kurt and Blaine, although any rendition will bring a smile to my face.



2. All I Want For Christmas is You


Truly the one successful Christmas song of modern times (sorry 'N SYNC), All I Want For Christmas Is You is just a good fun song that embraces the playfulness of Baby Its Cold Outside in a whole new way.  It always makes me think of Love Actually, but you have to give Mariah Carey props for being the original voice of this song.





1. Carol of the Bells


I simply love this.  I did it in Glee club man years ago and can appreciate the difficulty of the various parts and the swiftness of the tempo.   I adore that various orchestrations bring whole new directions and dimensions to the tune and feel that it is the one holiday song that has a certain sense of tension.  It's kind of the bad ass Christmas Song.  And for that, it gets the glory.


No comments:

Post a Comment