The Christmas Song -or- Flaming Nuts

I'm with most people in believing the Christmas Season officially begins the day after Thanksgiving. I love everything about Christmas and want as much opportunity as possible to celebrate. One of the best things about this time of year is the music. I pulled out all my Christmas music on Friday, and I've been listening to it non-stop. Here's a rundown of my Yuletide favourites:

One of the classic Currt-Dawg Christmas albums is "A Christmas Together" by John Denver & The Muppets. This is basically the soundtrack for their holiday special back in 1979. I don't remember the special, but my Mom had the vinyl, and I used to sit in front of the record player and listen to it all the time. I kinda forgot about it during my adolescence, and then one day in 1997, I was at getting gas at a 7-Eleven in Vegas. They had some random tapes at the counter, and among them was my beloved JD&TM Christmas Album...for 99 cents! Unfortunately, my car was stolen a few months later and my tapes were never recovered. Luckily, a few years later, my good friend Jean-Marie, who also appreciated it, felt my pain and purchased this album for me in compact disc form. Now I bring it out every year and laugh hysterically when Miss Piggy adds her "Da-dum-dum-dum" part on "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and get a little choked up when John Denver and Rowlf sing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."

Another great is Vince Guaraldi. You may not know him by name, but if you've ever watched a Charlie Brown cartoon, then I'm sure you know his distinctive jazz tunes. Definitely one of the best Christmas specials of all time has to be A Charlie Brown Christmas. I always made it a point to watch this every year when I was a kid. I always thought it peculiar that they showed commercials for Dolly Madison brand pastries only during Charlie Brown specials. That's probably why, to this day, I still associate Zingers with Christmas. Anyway, this album is the soundtrack to said special, and is the perfect album to which to listen while it's snowing. So mellow and beautiful, it brings back such sweet memories.

A series of albums I highly recommend are the "Happy Christmas" albums available from BEC Recordings. It's a bunch of Christmas songs recorded by Christian rock bands. If you're thinking that sounds dull, then you haven't heard these albums. Highlighs include "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" by Viva Voce, "Peace Child" by The Normals, and a super version of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" by Sixpence None the Richer. Some songs are amazingly fun, while others are so touching.

Also, I got on iTunes and (legally) downloaded a few new songs, including a wonderful version of "Frosty the Snowman" by Fiona Apple that just about brings a tear to my eye. (Was there ever a sadder line than "...and he waved good-bye saying, "Don't you cry. I'll be back again, someday"?) Other cool tunes I found were "Yule Shoot Your Eye Out" by Fall Out Boy and "The Little Drum Machine Boy" by Beck. I also downloaded the new Diana Krall "Christmas Songs" album. If you haven't ever heard of Diana Krall, she's probably one of the most amazing jazz singers out there. This album is gorgeous, and contains some classics, including "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," probably my all-time favourite secular Christmas song, thanks to John Denver and Rowlf.

Anyway, that's just some of the stuff to which I'm listening this month. There's such a build-up for Christmas, and listening to the tunes is just one of the things that puts me in the Christmas Spirit. If anyone has any suggestions for other holiday tunes, let me know. And, in case you're wondering, my favourite Christmas Carol of all time would have to be "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." A beautiful tune with such meaningful words.
Ah, Christmas. Only 24 more days.