Thursday, December 15, 2005

Christmas Carols


Each year, the songs of the season permeate our days and nights. You catch yourself humming "Little Drummer Boy" ( complete with hearty "ruh pah pah pum's") along with the Muzak at your local grocery store. At home, both radio and TV sprinkle snippets of "Carol of the Bells" to hock everything from obligatory diamonds, new cars and Crisco. And if you are lucky enough to work in retail or restaurant, your hard labor can feel more like Gitmo torture after the bazilllionth playing of "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree" pierces your ears. Christmas carols, like December snow, are first embraced with welcoming arms. As the holiday draws nearer, those friendly arms are shoving the unwanted guests out the door as quickly as possible.

I am still listening to carols daily, thanks to DirecTV and XM Radio's collaboration. Dan, working retail 12-14 hours a day, I fear is finished with his seasonal songs. We both have our picks and our pans when it comes to holiday music.

I absolutely love "O Holy Night" unless some washed up pop icon is butchering it. The song I can do without for many Yuletides to come is the Chipmunk's rendition of whatever crap holiday song they made. Nails on a chalkboard for me. Long, scraggly nails on an infinite chalkboard.

My question to you is what, of all the Christmas songs, is your favorite? At which song do you shudder with distaste?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

A Blue Christmass by Elvis...A Well ah...

Christina said...

I love "Santa Baby" - sure, it's not traditional in any way, but it's so cute. I also like "O Come, O Come Emanuel" as sung acapella by monks. Beautiful.

I don't like "Grandma got run over by a reindeer". Used to love it as a kid, but now I'm just sick of it.

Jamie said...

I like many carols, my fav...???? Walkin in a winter Wonderland. I know all the words. Cheyanna loves it too. Her fav is Deck the Halls.Most unliked... I agree on the Chipmonk music. Ughhh hated it.

Jamie said...

It's Joel...love O'Holy Night too and many others. Christmas music rocks!

Sparkling said...

Even after years in the hotel industry when Christmas started mid July (with the planning), I never row tired of Christmas carols and snow.

I will always be a kid at heart.

Em said...

As a kid I absolutely loved it when I could start hearing Christmas songs - but it was always in moderation. It seems like the new trend is to drown the world with a Christmas song only diet starting about November 5th, so everyone's positively sick of it by Thanksgiving. What's the deal?

I've always been partial to the REALLY old songs - Bring your Torch Jeanette Isabella and Oh come oh come Immanuel - anything that was around before recorded music even exists, it seems weightier with so much history behind it.

Uncle Crappy said...

My favorite is anything from Vince Guaraldi's soundtrack for A Charlie Brown Christmas. His trio perfectly captures both the joy of the season and the touch of melancholy everyone can feel at this time of year.

My least favorite is any Christmas song played by the guy who used to stand outside the Hallmark store where I worked in Columbus years ago. He was collecting for the Salvation Army, and played Christmas songs. Solo. On a trumpet. For hours at a time. Every day. For six weeks. Oh, the horror.