Why is so much of the Christmas music we hear so lame?

[SamAdams76]

I have been listening to and collecting Christmas music for over 30 years now. During this time, I have collected well over 3,000 songs. I consider practically every song in my collection to be of high quality and in the spirit of the Christmas season.

My point is that there is a huge library out there of excellent Christmas music. My question is, why is so much of what we hear on the radio, at the shopping malls, and even in the movies, so horribly lame?

Already there are many radio stations (including two on Sirius satellite radio) playing Christas music around the clock through December 25th. Yet despite having weeks and weeks to play all the Christmas music that is out there, they insist upon playing over and over the same couple hundred or so Christmas songs.

Even that wouldn't be so intolerable if they at least played the couple hundred of the BEST Christmas song. But instead, we are hearing a couple hundred of the very WORST Christmas songs.

I had a long drive today and was caught without my iPod so I was forced to listen to what Christmas music was on the radio. It was basically a steady diet of horribly uninspired singers (i.e. Michael Buble, Barry Manilow, Beyonce, Carrie Underwood, Josh Groban, Backstreet Boys, Mariah Carey, Madonna, etc.) playing endless variations the most inspid, Christmas songs out there (Sleigh Ride, Silver Bells, Happy Xmas, Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer, Do They Know It's Christmas?, Let It Snow, etc.).

By the time I got home, I wanted to turn the calendar forward to Dec 26 and get this season over with! Fortunately, I was able to delve into my vast collection of REAL Christmas music and get back into the spirit again.

I even picked up a few new Christmas albums that came out for the first time this year that you will likely NEVER hear on the radio. One of them was "Christmas In The Heart" by Bob Dylan that has been made fun of by virtually every record critic out there. But despite what the "too-cool-for-school" critics have to say (the same people I might add who think President Obama is a swell idea), this is a breathtaking Christmas album by one of the greatest singer/songwriters of our time.

Now before I go on, allow me to get the inevitable "Bob Dylan gargles with razor blades and smokes five cartons of Camels a day" comment out of the way. Yes, it is true, Bob Dylan does not have a "smooth and polished" studio-friendly voice like Whitney Houston or Neil Diamond but so what? Bob's gritty takes on such Christmas classics as "Do You Hear What I Hear," "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" and even the playful "Must Be Santa" are all heartfelt, genuine and these renditions absolutely blow the pop stars of today out of the water. You can guarantee that Bob Dylan's astonishing Christmas album will become a part of my permanent Christmas collection for many years to come, even though you are unlikely to hear so much as one track on the radio.

I would like to list some of the 3,000+ tracks in my Christmas collection here but I have no idea where to even start. So in no effort to start with the best, I will hit shuffle on my iPod and post the first 25 songs that come up. This should give you an indication as to just how vast and diverse my Christmas collection is. I encourage fellow fans of Christmas music to post some of their collection so that I can compare and maybe find some new tracks to add to mine, as I'm certainly not finding any new music on the radio!

Here are the first 25 Christmas songs that came up on my iPod in shuffle mode:

Aimee Mann - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Gabriel's Message - Sting
Lo How A Rose E'er Blooming - Mannheim Steamroller
When Southern Bells Ring - The Judybats
Tennessee Christmas - Amy Grant
Come On Christmas - Dwight Yoakam
Donna & Blitzen - Badly Drawn Boy
Terra Firma - Delirium
Light Of The Stable - Emmylou Harris
Joy Is Within Reach - Adrienne Pierce
Winter's Night - Nox Arcana
Pearly Dew Drops Drops - Cocteau Twins
O Come All Ye Faithful - Bing Crosby
I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day - Jars Of Clay
Lachrimae Antiquae - London Symphony (w/Chip Davis)
Winter's Carol - Tori Amos
Make It Home - Juliana Hatfield
Christmas In The Jungle - Derrik Roberts
Winter Wonderland - Reverend Horton Heat
I Believe In Father Christmas - Greg Lake
The Christmas Song - Angel
December Will Be Magic Again - Kate Bush
O Little Town Of Bethlehem - Crash Test Dummies
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Judy Garland
Good King Wencelaus - Melanie

And about 3,218 more gems that you will probably never hear on the radio or in your shopping mall, which is a real tragedy....

[Kommodor]

Actually, this has been re-issued on CD, 25th anniversary edition. Available via Amazon. (I think I’ll pick one up myself...)

While not exactly traditional, I’d have to say it’s my favorite Christmas album.

[SamAdams76]

Downloading the Jon Anderson album right now on iTunes. I had forgotten about that album, had it on cassette tape in the 1980s and never updated it to CD. Now I'm getting it straight to MP3!

10 more songs from my collection (at random)

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Frank Sinatra
Angels We Have Heard On High - Duvall
Santa Claus Is Back In Town - My Morning Jacket
Little Drummer Boy - Emmylou Harris
Somebody Stole My Santa Claus Suit - The Christmas Jug Band
Santa's Beard - They Might Be Giants
Final Waltz and Apotheosis - London Symphony Orchestra
Christmas Cake - Rilo Kiley
Welcome Christmas - The Clumsy Lovers
My Favorite Things - Tony Bennett

[left that other site]

Beat me to it!

I am currently producing a pianist whose CHRISTmas Album leans heavily to Vince LOL

[winstonwolf33]

That song's available on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smzFAtyABE0

[SamAdams76]

"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" by Loreena McKennitt is one of my alltime favorite Christmas songs. Simply haunting and perfect for late at night on Christmas Eve by the fireplace. For those not familiar with this rendition, they can check it out here.

10 more songs from my collection (at random):
Merle Haggard - If We Make It Through December
Big Star - Jesus Christ
Hark! The Herald Trumpets Sing - Mannheim Steamroller
Oiche Chiuin - Enya
Christmas - Dillon Fence
Come On Santa - The Raveonettes
Miss Sarajevo - U2 and Paravotti
Silver and Gold - Burl Ives
Santa Claus - Throwing Muses
O Holy Night - Weezer

[A.A. Cunningham]

You obviously suffer from cranial rectumitis to come up with such a pathetic review.

Fogelberg passed away on 16 December 2007 after battling prostate cancer for over three years, you cretin.

[GLDNGUN]

"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" by Loreena McKennitt is one of my alltime favorite Christmas songs. Simply haunting and perfect for late at night on Christmas Eve by the fireplace.

Absolutely. Get in a quiet spot, relax, close your eyes, and let that song do its thing. It sounds like an odd combination - an Irish girl doing a Middle Eastern take an old English carol, but it works. Makes you feel like you are there - in Bethlehem at the time of Christ's birth. The rest of that 5-song album is very good as well, but her "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" is something special - in its own class.

[pa_dweller]

I’ve grown to like:

Winter Carols - Blackmore’s Night (never heard that on the radio)

To drive the Cold Winter Away - Loreena Mckennitt (some I’d never heard before)

[Stonewall Jackson]

Have you tried any of their other music?

I just picked up Night Castle and absolutely love it. The trumpet solo of The Minstrel Boy on Track 10 is hauntingly beautiful.

[ThE_RiPpEr.]

On our local radio stations we only hear instrumental versions of songs that if sung would have the name Jesus or Christ in them.

Otherwise they are playing other songs that are sung, like Frosty the snowman, Rudolph red nosed reindeer, grandma got run over by a reindeer, etc.

Anyone else notice this in their town?

[paulycy]

when you have over 3,000 songs, it might take a while for him to come up...

Glad to hear you have Burl Ives, and I see Bing on there, or course.

Here's a couple tricky ones (maybe): Jim Nabors and Tennessee Ernie Ford. They both do a great O Holy Night.

[paulycy]

The most beautiful rendition of O Holy Night I’ve ever heard.

Very powerful.

[paulycy]

If you like a capella music, check out http://www.singers.com/christmas/

I did. Great site. I had to install real player first but then I listened to the Blenders. They are very much like Take 6. The Take 6 He Is Christmas album is excellent, too.

[MayflowerMadam]

No kidding! I’ve been looking for it for years. Thanks so much for the info!

[Chickensoup]

Sorry, thought he suicided.

[ThomasSawyer]

You lost me on Dillon. I just can’t get beyond the voice and what he stood for in the ‘60s. There are possibly a few Christmas songs that sit me teeth on edge. One that comes to mind that you mentioned is “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reigndeer”.

Two of my favorite Christmas Albums are Bing Crosby’s “Merry Christmas” and “Firestone Presents Your Favorite Christmas Music, Volume 6”. Both were albums I grew up listening to at Christmas. Another of my favorites (and it’s only been out a year) is David Phelps’ “O Holy Night”. “The Singer” is my favorite song on this album. “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is a favorite as well. I would highly recommend checking out a snippet on Amazon or I-Tunes.

[MayflowerMadam]

Just ordered the CD — from Best Buy (I have a gift card). It’s also available through Amazon. No need to go through the UK website. I’m a happy camper.

[aruanan]

There are two WOW Christmas CDs, one yellow, one green from several years ago that have a lot of very interesting recordings of traditional Christmas music, including some of the secular Christmas songs. O Holy Night by Point of Grace is quite beautiful. Both Angels We Have Heard on High by ZOEgirl and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing by Rebecca St. James convey excitement and joy about the Advent. There are others, such as The Christmas Shoes, that seem a bit sappy, but the musicianship is really high.

[phredo53]

It would be tolerable if people didn’t do a slow slide up the third on “heavenly peeeeee-eeeeeace”

LOL. I 'bout busted a gut on that one! That's funny right there. I don't care who you are, that's funny.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Nothing from Alabama?

"Joesph and Mary's Boy" is a must at the Bear Cave.