Thursday, December 21, 2006

So This Is Christmas...

Nothing happening today, so...

...my list of best and worst Christmas carols of all time.

Best:

Carol of the Bells: You don't hear this one nearly often enough. Purists would appreciate the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's rendition, while those of us who like to rock should appreciate the version done by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Sleigh Ride: This is one of the more challenging carols to sing, not to mention play. The more modern covers tend to move at quite a clip. I like the jazzy chord progression here.

The Christmas Song ("Chestnuts roasting...") Next time you hear this old chestnut, try to really listen to it. Evocative in the way so few carols really are, it brings back a time when Christmas meant respite from the hustle and bustle, not a redoubling of it.

When Christmas Comes To Town: If anything deserves instant classic status, it's this moving tune from the soundtrack to The Polar Express. Slow and bittersweet, it's not your standard cheery carol. But it's lovely.

Christmas in the Trenches: This isn't a carol at all...and yet it's the essence of carol, the true story of a "reverent pause" in the Great War (World War One: the number, sadly, came later). Just reading the lyrics moves me almost to tears: hearing the song sung by a master such as John McDermott will make your soul weep

Worst:
Ack, so many to choose from here.

Jingle Bells: Sigh. This has been played to death, and each note of the chorus is akin to a hammersmash to the ear. What's more, nobody ever seems to sing the second verse anymore. Just as well: the idea that anybody could be named Fanny Bright is a tad ridiculous. (Oh, and by the bye, this song was actually written for Thanksgiving, not Christmas.)

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus: Humph. Wonder what Daddy thought of that. Unless, of course, this carol was meant as a clue to the discerning child listener that Santa was Daddy....Either way, I hate it.

Little Drummer Boy: Pa-rump-a-pum-pum indeed. I know it's supposed to be a drum, but no drum I've ever heard made a sound anything like that.

Feed The World (Do They Know It's Christmas?) I appreciate the sentiment, but, you know, people starve all year. And most of them don't know or care that it's Christmas because they're not Christian!

The Twelve Days of Christmas: It's Groundhog Day five weeks early! By the time we get to twelve, all I can think of is a car engine, battery almost dead, turning over...and over...and over...






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