Sing Along

As threatened, today I will list my favorite holiday songs, as well as a few that are not amongst the preferred list of highlights. Let's start with the bad, shall we? Since everyone agrees that Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmas Time" is the epitome of bad, I shall leave it off the list.

3. The Lord's Prayer - Barbra Streisand (Superstar Christmas Album)
Bab's sings the Lord's Prayer. I mean, do I really need to say more?

2. Happy Christmas - John Lennon
Yes, It's John Lennon, and the message of the song is peace, but it is without a doubt, the second most pretentious load of crap I've heard connected to the Holidays, topped only by ---

1. Do They Know It's Christmas? - Band Aid
Possibly the biggest load of self absorbed schlock recorded. Again, I know the message is nice. But here's the thing, if these people took just a portion of their earnings, they could make a difference. Instead, they ask poor schmucks like us to dole out $ to buy this dreck, then, after taking their cut, they send a little over. The answer to the question - probably not, they're more concerned about finding some fucking food.


Now, onto the good, both actually good, and funny feel good

10. The Hanukkah Song - Adam Sandler.
It's not classic great music, but this song has to bring a smile to anyone's face. Sandler's list is quite humorous, and while he makes some changes every couple of years, the fact that "OJ Simpson, still not a Jew" remains, warms my heart.

9. Soulful Christmas - James Brown (Hi-Fi Holidays, from Old Navy)
The Godfather of soul goes from singing about Christmas to thanking his fans for buying his albums and coming to his shows. Just funny as all hell.

8. Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer - Elmo and Patsy
Not played that much any longer, but still the best parody song.

7. Santa Claus and his Old Lady - Cheech and Chong
Another that is not played often, but good comedy, as Cheech tries to tell Chong about Santa Claus, trying to name all of the reindeer. Good stuff, and you do not need to be baked to enjoy. Though the boys obviously were.

6. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer - Dean Martin (Christmas with the Rat Pack)
Dean starts the song off right, but quickly starts calling Rudolph "Rudy" and throws in a little German. I can picture the scene when he was done:
Producer - uh, Dean, what was with "Rudy"
Dean - C'mon, I'm trying to make it hip. Give me another drink
Producer - and what about the German, I mean, people may not like this
Dean - I'm Dean Fucking Martin, I can do what I want. Now, where's my eggnog.

5. Jingle Bells - Sammy Davis Jr. (Christmas with the Rat Pack)
Sammy nails this one. Fine job, jazzes it up nicely.

4. Twelve Days of Christmas - Bob & Doug McKenzie
Four pounds of backbacon, three french toast, two turtlenecks, and a Beer in a tree.

3. Baby It's Cold Outside - Dean Martin (Christmas with the Rat Pack)
Dean seducing a woman during a snowstorm. Nice message.

2. Getting 'In the Mood (For Christmas)- The Brian Setzer Orchestra (Dig that Crazy Christmas)
It was hard to only pick one song from this CD (I know, that didn't stop me with the Rat Pack, but I only wanted to list 10). Setzer does the swing thing with Christmas classics, and comes up with some others. This song gets the blood pumping, you can picture him having a blast performing it.

1. The Chipmunks Song (Christmas Don't Be Late) - Alvin and the Chipmunks
This song was first released in 1958. That's nearly 50 years ago. It holds up quite well. Hearing a single note is liable to get anyone swaying like the little rodents and singing along. C'mon, you know you all do it. It's not just me right? Right? Shit.

So, that's my list. I did not check it twice. Let me know what you think, and if I missed any of your favorites.

Omar and the gang are going to California tonight. Let's keep our fingers crossed. Reports have it that Zito is going to wait until January to make a decision. We shall see.

Oh, and thank Peyton Manning for beating the Bengals last night. Now, I have to root for Belichecken to beat the Jags, and Denver to beat Cincinnati. Please Santa, Please?