Best Modern Original Christmas Songs

Chris Rea - Driving home for Christmas.....

 

Originally a fan-club-only single, this first appeared commercially on Elton John's Christmas Party (2005).... the original version of "It Doesn't Often Snow on Christmas" by Pet Shop Boys (1997):

 

Cliff Richard has released more than his fair share of Christmas clunkers. This one of I rather like, and it falls within the remit of the time frame for this thread.

 

This one for sure -

 

Dale Watson — You Can Call Me Nick

 

Love this album and this song. I know he doesn't have a lot of fans on here, but I don't care.....

 

Blink 182 - I won't be home for Christmas

Went number 1 in Canada for 5 weeks .

 

Wrote it in '87 (while...driving home for Christmas, as I recall), and recorded it in '92 or '93. Still, "one of the best modern Christmas songs you're not hearing". My Danish muse Tina Dico did a quieter version similar to St. Etienne's, a couple years ago:

 

(On George Michael's "I Dreamed Of Christmas"):

Imagine what a less-irritating world it would be, if instead of "Last Christmas" one more damn time, this one got played instead.

 

There is only one answer to this question: From the incomparable Fountains of Wayne in 2005:

 

"I Bought You a Plastic Star for your Aluminum Tree" - Michael Franks

 

"Mistletoe Mambo" - Swingerhead

 

"Just to Be With You" - Mighty Blue Kings

 

This pretty, Brian Wilson-ish tune by the Heavy Blinkers gets a lot of play in my household during the season.

 

All of the originals on Dan Fogelberg's First Christmas Morning is excellent

Tran-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas albums are full of great songs.

last year's single by Big Big Train, Merry Christmas, was lovely.

 

Surprised no one mentioned Tom Petty's "Christmas All Over Again" from the Very Special Christmas 2 album and the Pretenders "2000 Miles" from Learning to Crawl album. Great songs!

 

Released in '92 and '83, respectively.

 

Yea, I took "modern" Christmas songs not necessarily by year but songs that are not Traditional Christmas songs. More original songs in the Rock or Jazz Genre and not traditional hymns or carols.

 

The Tom Petty track is one of my favorites, but we're shooting for '95-present day, just to narrow things down. Otherwise the definition of modern gets hazy.

 

Ok. Post 1995:

Winter Song - Ingrid Michaelson & Sara Bareilles
Peace - Norah Jones

 

Well I double-checked with Wiki but 1995 may have been when it was released as part of a Christmas album.

 

Check out The Ohio City Singers. It’s a “supergroup” of musicians from the Northeast Ohio music scene. With the help of Don Dixon, they put out original holiday tunes and play great live shows!

 

Sufjan Stevens has released 2 box sets worth of Xmas music & while the covers are as fave a set of holiday/seasonal covers as I have, it's the amazing originals that are the part I live best of all.

I couldn't begin to post them all, or even scratch the surface... I will just say go check the material out (youtube/spotify) & consider getting them both. Those 2 box sets & his work there, had ended up my favorite seasonal music of all time!!