It just isn't Christmas without...

Chieftains Xmas lp is a must play for us once or twice.
First song is always We Wish You The Merriest by Frank and Bing.
First full cd is Phil Spector lp in stereo

 

Not dark enough! Think Nick Cave's version of Stagger Lee and get darker from there on in.

 

.....Patton Oswalt's NSFW take on the one of the worst Holiday songs ever recorded:

 

RE: The Night Santa Went Crazy:

Pairs nicely with:

 

Elvis Costello's "The Juliet Letters", which I routinely listen to every Christmas Eve.

 

While it never got officially released, Leonard Cohen sang Silent Night live in concert back in the 1970s.

 

Mud
Greg Lake

 

Those introduced me to so many fantastic Christmas songs. I still remember the infomercial they'd run back in the 1980s selling it.

 

The only christmas album that will get played at my house is Dylan's. That is punk rock in its truest sense.

 

Slade!

 

You're damn right...

 

Ebenezer Electric by Bruce Haack and Ted Pandel. Featuring the unbearably depressing song that Bob Cratchit sings to Tiny Tim the night before he dies while the future ghost of Scrooge listens in. Fun stuff.

 

Chis Isaak Christmas

 

"Little Drummer Boy" Arumpha Phump Phump!!

 

Andy Williams and his bear.

 

...without my wife playing Christmas music on the tuner 24/7 for a month.

 

The Ventures Christmas Album!!!!! in STEREO.....

 

The first that comes to mind about the holidays isn't music related, so...

 

My fav - another Charlie Brown special; Christmas Time is Here (Instrumental).

I play this at the close of Christmas day. Happy & wistful; makes me smile with a sublime mixing of joy and sadness (that the day is now over).

 

Elvis
Andy Williams
Johnny Mathis
Perry Como
Nat King Cole
Christmas With The Rat Pack
Charlie Brown Christmas

And some other standards I am forgetting.


On the more modern side, I still enjoy She & Him's first Christmas album and Rod Stewart's Christmas album from a few years ago. Still pull out Andrea Bocelli's My Christmas every year too.

On the hard rock/metal side of things, I still enjoy listening to Halford's Halford III: Winter Songs every year, despite the awful original album cover (reissues have a better album cover now) and I still enjoy listening to the compilation album We Wish You A Metal Xmas & A Headbanging New Year (Ronnie Jame Dio, Tony Iommi, Alice Cooper, Chuck Billy, Scott Ian, Tommy Shaw, Lemmy, Tim Ripper Owens, Billy F. Gibbons, Dave Grohl, Stephen Pearcy, Joe Lynn Turner, et al.)

 

Believe it or not I did, maybe that's why I'm so allergic to these songs. I worked in Macy's during the holiday season and they had all the songs in a loop, so eventually you know which one is coming next. All of about probably 10-15 songs over and over again