If there are two things I enjoy in this world, it's music and Christmastime. Marry the two together, and you get one extremely happy blonde dude for about a month. And since you've been such good readers this year, I wanted to share some of my favorite holiday jingles this year with you. Consider it an early Christmas gift, without any annoying gift wrap or tape or bows. Just some good sentimental holiday jams. Enjoy it, friends.
Scene & Heard's Top 5 Christmas Songs: the mix
1. Jimmy Eat World - Last ChristmasWho knew anyone could make a Wham song sound absolutely incredible? Well, Jimmy Eat World came along, and did. It makes you shake your hips, tap your feet, curse the girl you were crushing on last year, and realize that the greatest gift you can give on Christmas, is your heart (and mixes with this song on it).
I've looked and looked, trying to find out where this song actually came from, which is what anyone does when they stumble across a Sex Pistols jam that isn't off their only real album, "Nevermind The Bollocks." But screw it, it doesn't matter where it came from. Point is, this song completely decks the halls. And oddly enough, it's not really that harsh, snarling, or punk. It's just a good rock song with a big hip-swinging beat...and Johnny Rotten. Ok, well maybe there's a LITTLE snarl..
Jumping to the other end of the holiday music spectrum, this bruising ballad is for the lonely hearts out there. Let's face it; Christmas makes the sad and lonely folks feel even worse than Valentines Day does. With all the togetherness whirling around, it's easy to dig up some of your saddest ghosts. And there is no voice more hauntingly gorgeous and fractured than Daniel Nigro's when it comes to such.
This stinking John Lennon song has probably been covered more than any contemporary Christmas song. And that's fine, but no one has ever came close to doing it as well or making it their own. Until this delicate cut by Damien Rice began circulating around the net this year, that is.
5. Coldplay - Have Yourself A Merry Little ChristmasWe've heard this song over and over throughout our lives. Almost as much as those dang Chipmunk songs. But when I first heard this song last year swelling through the speakers with Chris Martin's lovely voice holding the reigns, the song ventured off into a whole other place for me. I'm convinced there is no more perfect encapsulation of Christmas into a 3-minute song anywhere in the history of music. Seriously. Wait till midnight rolls around on Christmas Eve night, listen to this through a pair of headphones outside in the cold, looking up at the sky. I promise, you'll have yourself a merry little Christmas, right then and there. I'll be doing the same at my house.
***These songs are for promotional purposes only. Please purchase the music from these artists if you like what you hear. If you represent one of these bands and wish to see the song removed, please email me and it will be taken down immediately***
Labels: As Tall As Lions, Chrismakkuh Mix, Christmas songs, coldplay, Damien Rice, Jimmy Eat World
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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.
