If you never noticed how melancholy many Christmas songs are, you'll notice it here...
- "Valley Winter Song" Fountains of Wayne, a bittersweet wintertime travelling song.
- "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" U2's soundcheck recording, from the first A Very Special Christmas charity album, is my favorite version of this sad Christmas song.
- "Baby It's Cold Outside" Ray Charles & Betty Carter, or, as my wife calls it, the almost date-rape song? No means no, Ray!
- "Christmas Wrapping" The Waitresses' charming New Wave white-girl rap. Why hasn't there been a romantic comedy movie based on this song?
- "Sleigh Ride" Ella Fitzgerald, a terrific Christmas record.
- "Have Yourself Christmas Trouble" Mr Fab & The RIAA rearrange all the words of Bing Crosby's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" to tell a bleaker story: "Hang yourself up upon the highest bough", "Faithful friends who are dear to us, will be far away"...
- "Do They Know It's Christmas?" Band Aid was the ideal post New Wave supergroup for me, 12 years old, going on 13, for Christmas 1984.
- "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" Judy Garland sings it with the original, super melancholy lyrics.
- "I'll Be Home For Christmas" Aimee Mann, another hopeful Christmas song.
- "Winter Wonderland" Ray Charles' version, as heard in When Harry Met Sally...
- "White Christmas" Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters, maybe my favorite recording of this song.
- "Evil Santa" Bill Murray & Gilda Radner, from the National Lampoon Radio Hour.
- "Santa Claus is Coming To Town"[live] One of my all-time favorite Bruce Springsteen performances. Electric!
- "Christmas Song" [live] Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds
- "Let It Snow" Vaughn Monroe, as heard at the end of Die Hard.
- "Auld Lang Syne" [live] Guy Lombardo
- "Skating" Vince Guaraldi Trio
(I assembled this mix in 2010 but never posted it to the blog until 2011. That's why it's backdated to 12/25/2010.)
