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A Cool Christmas Mix CD

Here’s a challenge: I want to create a mix CD of genuinely cool Christmas music. In my book, ‘cool’ and ‘Christmas music’ rarely occur in the same sentence, so we can’t set our expectations too high. Here’s what I’ve got so far:

  • River – Travis – Thanks to Todd for reminding
    me     about this song. Kind of an anti-Christmas song. Just lead singer Fran Healy and a piano.
  • Mary Had a Baby – Bruce Cockburn – I know, Bruce is hardly cool. Still, this
    is a decent gospel-influenced rocker.
  • Merry Christmas from the Family – Jill Sobule – How can you not like a song that starts "Mom got drunk and Dad got drunk"?
  • The Christmas Song – Dave Matthews Band – A lovely, original take on Jesus’s
    life. "When Jesus Christ was nailed to his tree,
    He said ‘Oh Daddy-o I can see how it all soon will be’".’
  • Little Drummer Boy – Tori Amos – I’ve never actually heard this song. Is
    it cool? I somehow doubt it.

That’s as far as I’ve gotten. Any suggestions?

While searching for some lyrics, I discovered that A Small Victory has been gathering alternative Christmas song suggestions for four years. Theirs is way cooler than mine. I mean, how could I forget that caroling classic “Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto” by Snoop Doggy Dogg?

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Darren Barefoot is an author, speaker and digital strategist. He’s the co-founder of Capulet Communications, and co-author of “Friends With Benefits: A Social Media Marketing Handbook”.

28 comments

  2. oops.. i don’t know how to make that a link you don’t have to cut and paste — sorry. 🙂

  4. Try the impromptu ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” by Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLaughlan. I think it’s pretty cool.

  5. There’s Merry Christmas Everybody by Slade, which is kinda cool in a kitch way (though maybe only if you’re British, it seems to be unknown everywhere else). Google tells me Oasis did a cover of it. I’ve never heard their version, but, well, it is Oasis…

    I’m distressed to report I can think of no others.

  6. How about “Christmas is All Around Us” from the movie Love Actually (starring Hugh Grant), sung to the tune of Love is All Around Us. I don’t know if it’s cool, but it’s pretty funny 🙂

  7. I’ll second Ross’s nomination for Merry Xmas Everybody by Slade – and add a few more:

    Another Rock & Roll Christmas – Gary Glitter
    Ring Out Solstice Bells – Jethro Tull
    A Spaceman Came Travelling – Chris DeBurgh
    A Winter’s Tale – David Essex

  10. I’m afraid someone is going to say “He hasn’t been cool since 1979”.

    Ah well, he still makes great records (or he is again).

  12. I second the nomination for the Barenaked Ladies’ rendition of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”, and on the same album is “Elf’s Lament”, which is typical BNL funny.
    Harry Connick Jr. has a New-Orleans-brass-style “Frosty the Snowman”, as well as a peppy “The Happy Elf” original peice.
    And it doesn’t get any cooler than Diana Krall – she has a nice version of “Christmastime is Here”, of ‘Charlie Brown’s Christmas Special’ fame.
    And last but not least, Jars of Clay has an awesome rendition of “Little Drummer Boy”.

  14. I like Dar Williams song “The Christians and the Pagans”. (A little bit Christmassy, but not too much).

    My favourite Christmas album is Vince Guaraldi’s Charlie Brown Christmas. It’s the only one I can hear a billion times and still like.

  15. Fairytale of New York – Pogues

    It’s not the happiest of songs, but it’s one of those that I love anyway… at least as a reminder that for some people, christmas really sucks. it’s very bittersweet to me.

  16. – My very fave Xmas song of all time is Fairytale of New York by the Pogues, even though it’s not technically a Christmas song.
    – I agree with the comment about Slade, it’s my fave British Xmas number (and there are many, stay away from Cliff Richard and most of the British stuff is ok))
    – The Peanuts Christmas album, Vince Gulardi Trio, can’t get better than that
    – Anything by Stevie Wonder, the man’s a genius
    – For laughs, and not very family appropriate Christmas music, check out Christmas with the Vandals, including classics like ‘my first Christmas as a woman’ and ‘Christmas time for my penis’
    – The singing cats or dogs Christmas albums, always good to include a number from each
    – Bob and Doug McKenzie’s 12 days of Christmas, just to be a patriot

    If you’re looking for a great local recording, Mint Records just put out It’s a team Mint Xmas Vol.2 and it has lots of good stuff, including a group cover of Do They Know it’s Christmas by some of Vancouver’s finest indies.
    http://www.mintrecs.com/mall/index.html

    The ones below are on a compilation called Cool, Cool Christmas. I wasn’t able to find all of them, but I think you would quite like Calexico, so that would be probably the best out of these.

    Grandaddy ‘Alan Parsons In A Winter Wonderland’ The Dandy Warhols ‘Little Drummer Boy’
    Eels ‘Everything’s Gonna Be Cool This Christmas’
    El Vez ‘Feliz Navidad’
    Belle & Sebastian ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’
    Giant Sand ‘Thank You Dreaded Black Ice, Thank You’
    Flaming Lips ‘White Christmas (demo for Tom Waits)’
    Saint Etienne ‘My Christmas Prayer’
    Departure Lounge ‘Christmas Downer’
    Six By Seven ‘I Believe In Father Christmas’
    Snow Patrol ‘When I Get Home For Christmas’
    Calexico ‘Gift X-change’
    Low ‘Just Like Christmas’

  17. Absolute best is ‘Deck the Halls with Boston Charlie’ by Lambert, Hendricks, Ross with lyrics by Walt Kelly (via Pogo) no less. You can find it on a nifty CD compilation “A Jazz Christmas”.

  18. I don’t know if the international scene is your bag, but I dig Ainbusk for Christmas (Yule) music. They put out an album in 2001 called “I Midvintertid.” Check out “En Julsaga.” Listen to the whole thing and see if you like it.

  20. “Merry Christmas From the Family” by Jill Sobule is a cover of Robert Earl Kean’s original, which actually has a sequel that’s even better.

    Likewise Snoop Doggg’s “Santa Claus Goes Straight to the Ghetto” is a cover of the incredible edible James Brown. You should catch James Brown’s Christmas album, it’s chock full of goodies.

    We should give credit on The Pogues “Fairytale of New York” to the added vocal genius of the late great Kirsty Maccoll (RIP). Her rendition of “You Scumbag, you Maggot, you cheap lousy f*ggot” really warms the cockles. 🙂

    I should add some of my holiday faves for this list:
    Fear – F*ck Christmas (From Fear The Album)
    The Kinks – Father Christmas
    -S

  21. Spotlight on Christmas by Rufus Wainwright is pretty neat. Also, The Winter Song by Eisley, very sublime. They’re both on Nettwerk’s compilation “Maybe This Christmas Too”.

  22. Just got around to this. I’d suggest something from Booker T and the MG’s groovy 1966 R&B Christmas album:

    amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000034CL

    There are some further interesting and unusual links in this article (the Otis Redding “White Christmas”, also with the MGs backing him up, is particularly good):

    tidbits.com/tb-issues/TidBITS-709.html#lnk6

    I’m also partial to Leo Kottke’s acoustic-guitar version of “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” from his 1969 debut, “6- and 12-String Guitar”:

    amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000003Z91

    It’s not really a Christmas song, but Ray Charles and Betty Carter performing “It’s Cold Outside” is seasonally appropriate, and a great number:

    amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000063EW/

    The stodgy old Mills Brothers do a surprisingly swingin’ “Here Comes Santa Claus” you might enjoy:

    mp3.com/albums/20732/summary.html

  23. I don’t know if you like rap, but check out Christams in Hollis by Run DMC. Also, another kinda anti-Xmas song is Father Christmas, by the Kinks.

  24. I got a few for you that are really cool. I used t be a radio DJ and had hunted down some cool Xmas racks. Here you go!!

    1. Lois Armstrong – ‘Zat you Santa Claus?
    2. Bob Seger – Sock t to me Santa
    3. Jimi Hendrix – Little Drummer Boy/Silent Night
    4. moe. – Linus and Lucy

  26. there’s a monster ballads christmas that’s pretty rockin’. the faster pussycat version of silent night is the only thing on the cd that sucks, as far as christmas music is concerned

  27. Bela Fleck & the Flecktones – Jingle All The Way
    Kitka – Wintersongs
    Putumayo Presents – A Jazz & Blues Christmas
    Putumayo Presents – New Orleans Christmas
    Die Roten Rosen – Wir warten auf’s Christkind

    All “findable” in internet… enjoy

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