This is topic Holiday Music You Can/Can't Deal With in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Mark Ogden (Member # 43) on 12-23-2002, 03:27 PM:
 
Was driving around doing some last minute shopping and listening to the car radio when it occurred to me that if I heard "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" one more time that someone was just going to have to bleed. And while there is a lot of lovely Xmas music out there, a lot of it is just awful. So what are your favorites, best and least?

Me: still like all the classics, especially sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Gotta hear John and Yoko sing “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” at least once or twice. Love The Roche’s Xmas Album, and the Phil Spector Christmas Album still rules. Still like der Bingle, except for his duet with David Bowie, and the Harry Simeone Choir.

Can’t stomach the Singing Dogs, Elmo & Patsy, Paul McCartney “Simply Having a Wonderful Xmas. . .” or the Chipmunks, and it's time for someone to tell the Mannheim Steamroller guy that while it was a great idea twenty years ago, it's time to stop now.

And you?
 

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Posted by Barry Floyd (Member # 385) on 12-23-2002, 03:36 PM:
 
Although most Film-Tech'ers hated Glitter, I really like "All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey. Bobby Helms - Jingle Bell Rock is good, and my two year old really digs Andy Williams' "Holiday Season".

Here's a listing of a CD I burned to listen to in my car this month...

Holiday Season—Andy Williams
Christmas Vacation—Mavis Staples
Baby It’s Cold Outside—Bing Crosby
Winter Wonderland— Bing Crosby
Let It Snow—Aaron Neville
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas—Amy Grant
The Christmas Waltz—Andy Williams
It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas—Bing Crosby
Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree—Brenda Lee
What Child Is This—Charlotte Church
Santa Claus Is Back In Town—Elvis Presley
Rudolph The Red Reindeer—Harry Connick, Jr.
Jingle Bell Rock— Bobby Helms
O Holy Night—Martina McBride
Please Come Home Christmas—Bon Jovi
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town—Bruce Springsteen
We Wish You A Merry Christmas—John Denver & The Muppets
Santa Looked A Lot Like Daddy—Travis Tritt
Holly Jolly Christmas—Alan Jackson
An Angel Gets It’s Wings—Vince Gill & Trisha Yearwood
Where Are You Christmas—Faith Hill
All I Want I Want For Christmas Is You—Mariah Carey
Mele Kalikimaka—Bing Crosby
Spirit of Christmas—Ray Charles
The First Noel— Boney James
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas— Mel Torme

Everyone should have a good variety!!!
 

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 12-23-2002, 04:20 PM:
 
Who could not like the barking dogs version of Jingle Bells??!!

Barking Dogs Jingle Bells
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 12-23-2002, 04:51 PM:
 
I hate "The 12 days of Christmas" with almost equal passion as "Frosty the Snowman."

In general the novelty and kiddie songs are out for me, except I am a fan of Cheech & Chong's "Santa Claus and His Old Lady." (You can tell I don't have any kids!)

The first Mannheim Steamroller Christmas album is a winner. The rest have increasingly sucked, with a few bright moments tossed in on each (I made a compilation of the best moments from all four disks that is excellent.)

The 1968 "Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass Christmas Album" is a fave.

The original Leroy Anderson arrangment of "Sleigh Ride," as played by any large orchestra, is excellent.

The Arthur Fiedler Boston Pops choral recording of "Carol of the Bells" is definitive.

And Vince Guaraldi's "Charlie Brown Christmas" music is a treat.

And for e-z listening, the Carpenters two Christmas albums are very nice.

There are others, but those are my standouts.
 

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Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 12-23-2002, 05:42 PM:
 
Re the Phil Spector Xmas album: The 1977 re-release on Warner-Spector Records sounds fabulous because it's in true stereo! The CD on Phil Spector Records has a monaural mix that sounds muddied.

As for "Wonderful Xmastime" by Paul McCartney: The flip side of the 45 is even more obnoxious -- "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reggae".
 

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Posted by Hillary Charles (Member # 769) on 12-23-2002, 06:32 PM:
 
The Phil Spector album really is a classic! Darlene Love singing "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" is a fave. I always look forward to her singing that song on Letterman. The Ventures Christmas Album is great too, especially their version of "Sleigh Ride."

"Grandma..." is played out. Time for a new novelty song. The barking dogs reminds me of that scene in "Roger & Me" when they used that song to images of shut-down Flint (gone to the dogs?). And Alan Sherman's "Twelve Days of Christmas" always makes me laugh.
 

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Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 12-24-2002, 12:45 AM:
 
"All I want for Christmas is You" is an old Carla Thomas song; Mariah Carey is doing pretty much a karaoke remake.

I cannot STAND the droning "Little Drummer Boy" or mindless "Feliz Navidad". The Spector Christmas album is excellent. Every remake of "Please Come Home for Christams" & "Merry Christmas Baby" is reeking poop. Charles Brown is a genius. Otherworldly light emanates from his CD's in the music store. Denise LaSalle's "Santa Claus Got the Blues" is BRILLIANT! I LOVE IT!

James Brown's "Let's Make Christmas Mean Something This Year" is wonderful. Solomon Burke's "Presents at Christmas" is one of the best (mostly unknown) songs ever recorded, it's a perfect little gem.

Ave Maria & O Holy night are beautiful, but practically the same song.

A bunch of old new wave songs like "Christmas on Riverside Drive" & Christmas at K-Mart are great, but "Christmas Rapping" by the Waitresses is just mindbogglingly monotonous, dumb, underachieving poo. Still not as bad as Little Drummer Boy & Feliz Navidad though, BECAUSE NOTHING IS!

Back in the days of 45 rpm records, nothing was as gratifying as putting the droning, endless Little Drummer Boy or Bing Crosby's crawling White Christmas on the turntable, lift out the little 45 rpm adapter, nudge the 45 about 1/8 inch off center with your fingernail, and listen to the wow bring to full flower the lurching nausea of those Sominex nightmares.
 

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Posted by Matt Close (Member # 996) on 12-24-2002, 01:01 AM:
 
I still have a real soft spot for the 'Peppermint Candy Kids' records I grew up with in the 70's/80's ...... Still have them actually!

... But the best christmas tune these days has to be Bruce Springsteen's version of 'Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town' ... It Rocks!
 

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Posted by John Scott (Member # 520) on 12-24-2002, 01:26 AM:
 
Christmas music I just can't handle:

Any Christmas music by Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston.
Anything by Manheim Steamroller.
Anything by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

I've always been a sucker for a strong female Alto singing "Oh Holy Night"
 

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Posted by Christopher Duvall (Member # 284) on 12-24-2002, 01:39 AM:
 
Generally Christmas music just plain gets on my nerves mainly due to the fact that all the malls and stores are shoving it down your throat by mid November. On that note, I truly dig the soundtrack for A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS by the Vince Guaraldi Trio. It always takes me back to my childhood which was quite a happy time for me.
 

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Posted by Barry Floyd (Member # 385) on 12-24-2002, 08:42 AM:
 
John Scott had mentioned

quote:

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I've always been a sucker for a strong female Alto singing "Oh Holy Night"

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quote:

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I hate "The 12 days of Christmas" with almost equal passion as "Frosty the Snowman."

In general the novelty and kiddie songs are out for me, except I am a fan of Cheech & Chong's "Santa Claus and His Old Lady." (You can tell I don't have any kids!)

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If you hate the 12 days but love Cheech and Chong, perhaps check out the comedy version of twelve days as sung by "Bob and Doug MacKenzie". Everytime I hear it (which I had multiple requests for during some christmas parties I DJ'd this year) I just had to chuckle.

When it comes to music I am generally pretty open to anything. For Christmas I love the classics (Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Burl Ives, and the like) along with some newer stuff such as TransSiberian Orchestra's version of "Carol of the Bells". Mariah Carey's Christmas album from a few years ago is actually pretty good, though I can't stand her "regular" music anymore. Jewel also has a great album, and Kenny G never hurts. Also like to laugh at "Dominick the Donkey".

I must say I much prefer carollers to CDs though. My friends and I used to go out every year on Christmas Eve and just walk around singing, stopping if anyone opened their door to have a better listen. Unfortunately, I only have contact with one person from that group nowadays and we are both far to busy, especially now that I have a whole other family to visit, to go around having aimless fun.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 12-24-2002, 02:54 PM:
 
Yeah! I forgot about the Bob & Doug McKenzie "12 Days." That one, I can handle. "...two turtlenecks and a beer ...in a tree."

I also forgot "Breath of Heaven" which is on one of the Amy Grant Christmas albums. Very good for a contemporary song. I was at a church service last year where they had a male singer doing this song with a choir backing it up, and it was awesome.
 

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Posted by Robb Johnston (Member # 239) on 12-24-2002, 08:04 PM:
 
I recently got a new computer, and the only MP# files I saved were my Xmas songs.

Bob and Doug McKenzie's 12 days
The 12 things at Christmas that are such a Pain to me
Cheech and Chong's Santa Claus and his Old Lady Commune
Eric Cartman O holy night (Both versions with the electrocution and not)
Vince Guaraldi Trio
Oh and don't forget my novelty album:
Tales from the Crypt's Have yourself a Scary Little Christmas including
We Wish you'd Bury the Missus
Juggle Bills
Moe Titlebaum
etc.
 

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 12-24-2002, 11:06 PM:
 
I too cannot stand the "12 Days Of Christmas", but what is more annoying is the version on the Andy Williams Christmas Album.

"...four colored lights, three boughs of holly, two candy canes, and a song for the Christmas tree!"

Sounds like a cheap-ass'ed Christmas

=TMP=
 

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Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 12-25-2002, 01:24 AM:
 
The first Twisted Christmas album from Bob Rivers is great- best song is the "12 PAINS of Christmas". I've got a CD called Bummed Out Christmas with songs like "Christmas in Jail" and "Santa Came Home Drunk".
Everyone must hear the Brady Bunch Christmas album at least once in their lives, even though it's one of the most unlistenable albums next to Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music. It was conceived and recorded in less than a month, and it shows.
 

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 12-25-2002, 11:41 AM:
 

quote:

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Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music

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My brother bought this album during his teenage experimental years. To show his "might" towards our parents when they denied him some permission or something, he put the CD in, turned it way up, locked his door, and left out the window.

=TMP=
 

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Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 12-25-2002, 12:23 PM:
 
And did his show of might impress your parents at all or did they just pull the fuse for his room?
 

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 12-25-2002, 01:11 PM:
 
Well, they had the key to the door, so it was no problem. He didn't get the CD back, though.

=TMP=
 

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