Hoping you have yourself a merry little Christmas. Cheers, and thanks for reading.

MP3: Coldplay - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
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It's just about here! This is my favorite Christmas Eve song. Every time I hear it, I feel like I'm in church, it's dark, I'm holding a candle, and we're all swaying back and forth singing this classic, wistful carol in unison. When it's performed right--as Scene & Heard favs As Tall As Lions do here--the melody and mood bares this heavy, ancient feel to it that just sails through you. It's chilling, and like sitting by a fireplace, all at the same time. A magnificent feat for any piece of music. Merry Christmas, everyone.

MP3: As Tall As Lions - O Holy Night
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Well, the ground is frozen, the wind is chilled, the stockings are hung, the presents are wrapped, the cocoa is steaming, the logs are stacked by the fireplace, the tree lots are emptying out, and the procrastinators are out there whipping around for last minute gifts. Christmastime, is inevitably here, once again. But what is Christmastime without this classic, stirring staple? Vince Guaraldi's soft, steamy soundtrack to the Peanuts gang's holiday masterfully wraps up all the joy, zaniness, romance, frustration, and goodwill of the season under one big gleaming red bow. And this classic song in particular, isn't just a song for the season. It's what Christmas sounds like. Merry Christmas Eve Eve, from me and my favorite Christmas songs to you. Only two more days, and two more songs left!

MP3: Vince Guaraldi Trio - Christmastime Is Here (With Vocal)
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It's hard to find a more definitive Christmas song of modern times than John Lennon's "Happy Christmas (War is Over)." It's even harder to find an artist who can take the song on and do something special with it. Believe me, I have heard barrels and barrels of covers of this song, but only one has impressed me, and it's this cut from the Irish soul-wrenching songwriter, Damien Rice. I'm not saying he one-ups Lennon, but he does something sort of lonely and soulful with it, kicking it into a whole other range of emotion. Rice gets the spirit out of this song, just as Lennon did, and that is no easy task. And if you really spend some time with this song this holiday season, you'll find Rice's version has a lot of potency for the times we're living in and immersed in. A fantastic holiday listen for 2009.

MP3: Damien Rice - Happy Christmas (War Is Over) [John Lennon Cover]
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Not only is this one of my favorite Christmas songs, I also feel it's one of the greatest love songs ever written. The Pogues masterfully wove a gigantic love story into a sweet, snarling Irish romp of a four-and-a-half-minute song. It's framed by old men sitting around the fire, looking back on life at Christmas time and then it dives into a sweeping tale of young love's fire and brimstone in the middle of New York City. On this cut from Dustin Kensrue (frontman for heavy art rockers Thrice), he rips the classic up from it's roots and turns it into his own animal. He drains the Irish snot from the verses as well as the call the response male/female dynamic, but he carries the weight of the song's sweeter side.

MP3: Dustin Kensrue - Fairytale of New York (Pogues cover)
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Some of the best Christmas music is soul music. And this little gemstone by gospel soulsters The Staple Singers (song was originally performed by Deanie Parker, but whatevs) will melt any icicles you got hanging off your heart this holiday. Of course, if you listen to the lyrics, it's about putting the MARY back in Christmas, which in turn, brings the "merry." Great soulful gospel number for your Christmas tunes. You might also know one of the Staples from cranking out that awesome theme song from the movie Christmas Vacation--Mavis Staples.

Clark: Tis the season to be Merry.
Mary: "Well, that's my name!"

MP3: The Staple Singers - Who Took The Merry Out Of Christmas
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The Pretenders wrote a great Christmas song when they wrote "2000 Miles." But Coldplay's wistful version on the piano takes it to a whole other level that really opens up the emotion of Chrissie Hynde's original. One of the best Christmas love songs I've ever heard. Because of how many people come together and get close with one another, Christmas is a time of the year when people really think about the distance between themselves and their loved ones. That's what makes the imagery and soul of this Christmas song so pertinent, and special.

MP3: Coldplay - 2000 Miles (Pretenders cover)
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Just cause you're on Santa's naughty list doesn't mean you can't have a Christmas song. And this one is it, where Swedish rockers The Hives square off with Cyndi Lauper for a Christmas duel! In it, singer Pelle Almqvist and Lauper are married and confess all the awful things they did to each other this year, like getting married, sleeping with each other's family members, and burning each other's record collections (oh so, so low). But amidst it all, they realize all the filth and fury and naughty they wrought this year means nothing, because it's Christmas and it's time to love and share and be merry. A brilliant Christmas song if you ask me. It'll shoot your eye out!

MP3: The Hives Vs. Cyndi Lauper - A Christmas Duel
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Some gifts take a bit more time to bear their fruit. Wham's "Last Christmas," for instance. When Jimmy Eat World polished this tune off with a more jarring and heartfelt (and danceable!) delivery a few years back, it became an instant favorite for anyone who wanted to hear something new for the holidays besides the same ol' Bing, Mathis, Frank, and The King. But it also reached out to those of us reeling from a bad breakup at the time of year when everyone is together and giving and loving and caroling, which is typically where scrooges and grinches come from. While most Christmas songs say "give, give, give, be merry, and love," this one says "take back what's yours." Then wrap it up for someone else. That's pretty much what Jimmy Eat World did with this song. And just think--eco friendly fanatics will dig your recycling habits too! Everyone wins.

MP3: Jimmy Eat World - Last Christmas
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There's lots of fantastic versions of this gem in circulation, but I think Charles Brown and Bonnie Raitt are the ones who got it right--bluesy and mellow. I particularly dig this track for the "I got good music on my radioooO" line, which is usually the case when I'm picking the Christmas tunes. And besides, what simpler holiday sentiment can you express than "Merry Christmas, baby." That's all anyone needs to hear this time of year.

MP3: Charles Brown & Bonnie Raitt - Merry Christmas, Baby
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What I really want for Christmas is the voice of Jim James, but I'll settle for this My Morning Jacket cover of The King's "Santa Claus Is Back In Town." It's my favorite "Christmas is coming boys and girls" song of the season. And like I said, there ain't no voice with more gift than Mr. James', so download it and revel in it.

MP3: My Morning Jacket - Santa Claus Is Back In Town (Live radio show performance from 2001)
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I don't want to be visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future this holiday, so for the next 12 days (ending on good ol' December 25), I'll post one holiday mp3 for your downloading pleasure to make up Scene & Heard's 12 songs of Christmas mix. The holidays and music are my 2 favorite things in the world, so Christmas music is where I truly get to shine. I hope you enjoy and share some of these songs with your friends and family this holiday season. Stay tuned for more merry tunes each day.

Let's kick it off right with Daniel Johnson's "Christmas Music" -- a song about why Christmas music has it's own special little corner in the musical galaxy. Beautiful song, and highly recommended.

MP3: Daniel Johnson - Christmas Music

And now that we're talking about it, what are some of your fav. Christmas songs? Chat it up in the replies enough and it might make the 12 songs of Christmas.