Christmas Music, Part I: Non-Traditional Holiday Songs

It's been a while, hasn't it? Well, I have been listening to plenty of Christmas tunes as of late, and I decided I should share them with the Internet. This is part one of my Christmas music write-up:

Patrick's Favorite Contemporary/Non-Traditional Holiday Songs! (after the jump)



1. "Come On! Let's Boogey To The Elf Dance!" - Sufjan Stevens

Chestnuts and fire
Holly and hay
Jesus and Mary
What a great day!

This is the very first song on my Christmas playlist without fail, no matter how many songs I add or how much I rearrange them. The little countdown at the beginning might be a part of it - that's just too perfect to use it as anything but an intro - but it's far from the only reason. The song has a peppy and downright indefatigable playfulness that really does call up images of elves making merry. Plus, I find it hard not to smile at a song that exalts the birth of Christ, then goes straight to singing about Santa at the North Pole or Christmas Eve activities in small-town Michigan. And somehow it does so without downplaying the significance of Jesus or alienating non-Christian listeners!

2. "Just Like Christmas" - Low

On our way from Stockholm
It started to snow
You said it was like Christmas
You were wrong
It wasn't like Christmas at all

By the time we got to Oslo
The snow was gone
And we got lost
The beds were small
But we felt so young
It was just like Christmas

This song is just...simple. A reminiscence about some long-past trip through Europe, sung softly over jingling bells and warm synthesized organ. In two short verses, it evokes the kind of nostalgia that I have come to identify with the Christmas season. And it reminds us of the importance of sticking with our loved ones no matter how stressful the season may get...even if it means sharing a bed in a cramped hostel in the middle of nowhere.

Depending on your tastes, there are plenty of covers to be had - a surprising amount, for such a relatively-new song. The most interesting of these is Aberdeen City's folk version, lyrics changed to feel more like an American cross-country road trip than a Scandinavian backpacking tour. Livelier, less wistful, more exuberant!

2. "Fairytale of New York" - Pilate (orig. The Pogues)

Aaah, Christmas in New York city: one of the most romanticized tropes ever. How many films and TV shows have shown us the tree at Rockefeller Center, or ice skating in Central Park? This song - perhaps the only truly honest love song I've ever heard - gives us a bit of perspective, without making things depressing. What better exemplifies the Christmas spirit than a pair of young lovers making each other furious, then realizing how much they need one another, regardless of whatever flaws they have?

Though this one is a cover, it's my personal favorite version by far.

5. "The Christians and the Pagans" - Dar Williams

So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table,
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able,
And just before the meal was served, hands were held and prayers were said,
Sending hope for peace on Earth to all their gods and goddesses. 

Dar Williams somehow took a concept that could have easily been offensive to someone or other, and turned it into a fun and truly sweet song about family and togetherness. I happen to like Darryl Purpose's cover - it's a bit mellower, and his voice is much smoother than Dar's.

4. "Countdown To Christmas" - Glam Chops (couldn't find a good YouTube, so here's a HypeMachine - just click the "Play" triangle to the right of the song's title on this page)

What we want a piece of?

Peace on Earth!

What do we believe in?

The Virgin Birth!

...

 Who we gonna hang with?

The Israelites!

What we gonna sing?

Silent Night!! 

It's always good to cut your Christmas music with something a little more light-hearted. Glam Chops are a band (with an excellent name) that clearly have a great love for the season, but know how not to take it too seriously. Here, they offer the funniest lyrics I've ever heard in a holiday tune, in the form of a lively call-and-response that could get anyone psyched about the holiday.

3. "The Ice Storm" - The Go! Team

Entirely instrumental, and so definitely more of a "winter" song than a "Christmas" song, but my goodness is it lovely. It's not often that a band manages to capture a certain atmosphere so successfully that you hardly need the title to build a mental image. (The next part will be way better if the song is playing while you read!)

It's a blizzard, all right, but we're not listening to it while it dims the sun and presses in on your windows. No, this song is about children who just learned that they got a snow day, rushing outside after the storm has passed. The best kind of ice storm leaves everything feeling fresh, like the world has been saturated with color and sunlight. Everything glistens under a thin candy coating of icicles, tree branches turning into prisms every now and then when the angles are right. Sure, the air bites at your face and maybe even draws tears, but the sky has never been this clear and blue, not once in history (as far as you care).

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Come back in a day or two for my favorite versions of some of the more "classic" Christmas carols!