Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine Least Favorite Christmas Song/Favorite Christmas Song

I detest the Shoe song. Christmas, or any holiday songs should be there to help lift your spirits during this time of the year...I get depressed if I hear that song.

Love Chestnuts Roasting by Nat "King" Cole. That man could sing. Close second would be the Little Drummer Boy by Bing/Bowie.

Then don't think about how "I'm dreaming of a white christmas" started...pretty depressing for a christmas song, when you know the backstory.

My favorite christmas song is Carol of the Bells, but I've always loved the whole of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker suite.

?

All I've found was that Berlin was asked to write a song for each holiday and that he drew on the experiences of his neighbors growing up (Berlin himself being Jewish).

Well with no guarenteed on my catagorization.

Silly
Santa Claus and His Old Lady: Cheech and Chong

Romantic
Merry Christmas Baby: Otis Redding

Instrumental
Carol of the Bells: Chip Davis


Secular
Peace on Earth: Bowie/Crosby

Spiritual
Ave Maria


My favorite CD's are Soulful Christmas and Rockepella Christmas

i have to agree with Dev-em that shoes song is really depressing.

now when it comes fave X-mas songs i gotta go with "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" by Elmo & Patsy, "little Drummer boy/Peace on Earth" by Bowie & Crosby, "Merry Christmas, Darling" by The Carpenters, "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra

It's no surprise to me that even Christmas songs are intended to touch on sad feelings. "Blue Christmas" is a prime example. Somehow, Elvis' version of it is pretty fun. I love Elvis' Christmas songs.

I also love almost every version of "Ave Maria" that I've heard. There are lots of kind of experimental versions out there, but my favorites tend to be the ones done traditionally. Jewel actually does a beautiful version of it on her Christmas cd from a few years ago. Pavarotti's simple rendition is a long time favorite.

I tend to get annoyed by the versions of Christmas songs that add too much saxophone or jazzy improv; when the songs get too noisy. Also, grossly oversung renditions annoy me. I think Destiny's Child did a horrible version of "Silent Night" and I normally love Beyonce.

My favorites are "Little Drummer Boy" by Crosby/Bowie, and Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You."

The funny thing is, I still remember when the Crosby/Bowie song first aired on TV back in the 70s. Must be gettin' old...

Like BB, I'll categorize mine:

Favorite/silly:

"It\'s Christmas and I Wonder Where I Am"

Favorite/energetic:

"Deck the Halls"

Favorite/slow:

"Stille Nacht"(German version of "Silent Night"; the German adds something to it.)

Least favorite:

No vote--though I get tired of hearing some songs, I can't say I dislike them.

Least Fave: "All I Want For Christmas is Your Two Front Teeth"... a favorite of the Roadhouse crew...

Now for realreal-- I loooooved Hugh Laurie's piano rendition of Silent Night at the end of a Christmas-themed episode of House M.D.... just beautiful.

Can't stand the whiny little kid's voice on 'I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus.'

I like the Little Drummer Boy. It's catchy, but not annoyingly so.

umm....all uv'em? Seriously. Its in my things you should like but hate thread. Honest.

It's alright Rick, everyone is entitled to their own things.

I love Weird Al's "The night Santa went crazy" as well.

"Sleigh Ride" is my all-time nominee for worst. Hate it. Always have. Even Ella Fitzgerald can't make me like it, which I think just about says it all.

My favorite would be something that's pleasant but not played into the ground. Maybe, "I Saw Three Ships A-Sailing." Even "Ring, Christmas Bells" is good when it's done without a truckload of syrup. I have a pretty Hawaiian version of that stashed on iTunes somewhere.

I still enjoy the Nutcracker music from time to time. I'll listen to Duke Ellington's version of the Suite regardless of whether it's holiday time or not.

Also, mr_cleome and I both have a terrible weakness for the tasteless, snide "carols" such as the South Park stuff, "You Ain't Gettin' Sh#t For Christams" and so on.

There used to be a local group called The Fallen Angel Choir that had the parody shtick down to a science. Lost the tapes years ago but still remember most of their mean-spirited and thoroughly enjoyable work.

I always throw in "A Charlie Brown Christmas" soundtrack when guests come over. Great holiday music without hitting you over the head.

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas was written during WWII about soldiers who knew they were going to die and were thinking about the christmases they already had, not the ones they were going to mis by being dead.

...perfect Christmas nostalgia...

Very true...but the lyrics of the song itself are not pound you over the head depressing.

It's very hard for me to pick favorites.

Favorites:
Traditional sacred carols and hymns:
"O Come, All Ye Faithful" (especially with the David Willcocks descant on the "Sing Choirs of Angels" verse)
"In the Bleak Midwinter"
"O Little Town of Bethlehem" (preferably to "Forest Green")
Many, many more. These are some of my very favorite pieces of music. Our choir sang "Riu, Riu, Chiu" and "Ding Ding Merrily on High" at multiple services this year and I still can't shake them.

Choral works:
Benjamin Britten's "A Ceremony of Carols"

Among works by contemporary composers, my favorite is probably John Rutter's "Candlelight Carol".

Non-religious:
"White Christmas", especially as sung by Bing Crosby.
"The Christmas Song", especially as sung by Nat King Cole.

Album:
"A Charlie Brown Christmas" soundtrack. I connect to it on so many levels: I'm a big Peanuts fan; the Christmas special was always my favorite; and the Vince Guaraldi score is just so good!

Least favorite:

"I Saw Three Ships" I can't take any song with the line "The ships sailed into Bethlehem" seriously.

When he was a little boy, many years ago, my nephew received a cassette player for Christmas and a tape of "Frosty the Snowman". He played it all Christmas Day that year. He killed that song for me.

Where did you get that from? Seems to contradict what I read, quoted from Berlin. Maybe I ought to read it a bit closer?

That doesn't really go with the verse that Berlin wrote to start the song originally:

The sun is shining, the grass is green,
The orange and palm trees sway.
There's never been such a day
in Beverly Hills, L.A.
But it's December the twenty-fourth,—
And I am longing to be up North—

My three favs:
- Fairytale of New York by the Pogues
- Little Drummer Boy by Joan Jett
- that Feels Like Christmas song from "Muppets Christmas Carol"

My 2 favorites have always been 'Angels We Have Heard on High' and 'Hark! The Herald Angels Sing'. Both can be mashed together quite well, as Mariah Carey did on her Christmas cd awhile back.

Both.

Always been my favorite:

I don't have any least-favorite Christmas songs, but then I'm a sentimental fool (the biggest cynics tend to be contradictory that way.)

My 3 favorites:

1. "'Zat you, Santy Claus?" - Louis Armstrong

2. "Run, Run, Rudolph" - Chuck Berry (I think that Bryan Adams and Sheryl Crow should both burn in hell for their respective versions)

3. "Blue Christmas" - (The version by Porky Pig)