![]() The asceticism of the British folk tradition can be a useful astringent amid the sleigh bells and tinsel. Two of the greatest British folk voices combine for a drinking song that, if we’re honest, is unlikely to be ringing out in pubs this Christmas. Shirley & Dolly Collins The Gower Wassail Run decides its best to post it back he is rewarded for his honesty. What would you do if you found Santa’s wallet on Hollis Avenue? It’s a perennial question. Hip-hop hasn’t been a huge source of Christmas songs, but Run-DMC were on top of it back in the first golden age. Thank goodness, then, for the twangy guitars of Brooklyn duo Santo & Johnny, the gaudy, overlit shop window that contrasts with the stark loneliness of the Everly Brothers. ![]() Santo & Johnny Twistin’ Bellsĭo we need cheering up? I think we do. Organ and pedal steel sound like the wind whistling through the trees as our hero trudges on: “The sound of one man walkin’ through the snow can break your heart.” 37. The Man in the Santa Suit is a laughfest compared to this Everly Brothers number from 1972, about a hitcher alone the night before Christmas. The Everly Brothers Christmas Eve Can Kill You But what a perfect, sad song: “And he’s a big red cherry / But it’s hard to be merry / When the kids are all laughing / Saying: ‘Hey, it’s Jerry Garcia.’” 38. Truthfully, this version is only here because the Fountains of Wayne original – an homage to the Kinks’ Father Christmas – isn’t on Spotify. Kevin Shields and David Holmes produced, and you can bet Beach House were listening. Joy Zipper Christmas Songīlank-faced and affectless, here’s Christmas for the shoegazers from the duo briefly toasted at the start of the last decade. One of the few artists whose spoken sections routinely rival the songs (track down a copy of Soul Alive! if you don’t believe me). The king of rock’n’soul pitches himself somewhere between a revivalist preacher and Santa Claus: “We want to give out a present to everybody this Christmas! All around the world for every man, woman, boy and girl!” he exclaims in the intro. But will she end up by herself “or in the perfect kiss”? 41. Sally falls in love on a Tuesday before Christmas, “at a gig with a band that we both liked”. Sally Shapiro Anorak ChristmasĪ gorgeous bauble from the mid-00s wave of Scandinavian music that crossed electropop with the feyest indie. “You might like them.” Draper knocks back a whisky, raises an eyebrow and shakes his head. “Get to know the people in your house,” they sing. Probably the song that goes on in Don Draper’s apartment after Lou Rawls, when the hip young kids have arrived. The Free Design Close Your Mouth (It’s Christmas) ![]() Saint Etienne I Was Born on Christmas Dayįrom fire and brimstone to prosecco and chocolate, bursting with optimism for the winter: “Getting groovy after Halloween / Mid-November, got back on the scene / I’m so glad that I just got my pay / I was born on Christmas Day!” A song as sweet as a selection box. And it helps, naturally, that it contains a reference to “Satan’s power”. The most oddly foreboding of all the big Christmas songs suits the grinding and roaring. How would Christmas sound reimagined by Black Sabbath? Almost exactly as you would imagine, to be honest. Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Rudy Sarzo & Simon Wright God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen ![]() ![]() Rawls made a ton of Christmas albums, but his first from 1967 is the best. One imagines this would be the soundtrack to Don Draper’s Christmas – as creamy as eggnog, with a supple swing that’s nagging but not unobtrusive, it’s exactly the sound of an idealised Christmas from the 60s. So, given Christmas is all about the kids, bless their souls, let’s have a song by an actual kid who promptly disappeared from the pop world. Rock’n’roll and rockabilly are a treasure trove of Christmas novelty numbers (try Marlene Paula’s I Want To Spend Xmas with Elvis), but we’ve only got room for one. Sounding much more like Ash than Emmy the Great – and the loudest, most raucous thing on their 2011 Christmas album – this is a song that sounds joyous, but is really about the desire to escape, to anywhere that isn’t cold. ![]()
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