It's that time of year when some radio stations change format to be all holiday music, all the time. Which songs do you love? Which ones give you a stomachache? Are you humming along as you deck the halls and chug the wassail or do you say humbug and wish all the programmers would get run over by reindeer just like grandma was?

I'm not religious, but I'm more fond of religious tunes, or Christian-themed ones. "Do You Hear What I Hear" and "The Little Drummer Boy" are touching, and I really love "Angles We Have Heard On High," especially the incredible chorus.

For the most part, I'm on the "humbug" side when it comes to being bombarded by Christmas tunes. I will admit, though, that for some reason I love Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" (probably because it doesn't sound very Christmas-y).

I do love my TSO. (I'm holding out until friday before I start linking videos and clips from concerts. 4 days before Thanksgiving is just too early.)

Where I live there is a station that's already switched formats to 24/7 Holiday music. I am surprised they didn't wait till past Thanksgiving.

My favorite Christmas album is Bing Crosby's White Christmas. I remember playing it on my record player when I was young and helping my mother decorate and bake cookies. I keep the tradition alive in my own home now.

I don't like being bombarded by them in shops because it's all part of that "BUY BUY BUY" experience which starts in about September. However, come mid December I like hearing Christmas carols - especially if they're from a Salvation Army band on a street corner.

My absolute favourite Christmas song is Fairytale of New York by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl. It's just maudlin and true and lovely enough for mid-winter.

I'm the exact opposite. I'm religious and prefer the pop/rock Christmas music. I think I may have overdosed on the carols when I was little. I have three burned cds worth of Christmas songs I love and every year I buy at least three more so I keep finding more to love.

I personally believe firmly in holding off on all aspects of Christmas until the official season begins the day after Thanksgiving, but tonight I broke down and cheated. I pulled out my favorite Christmas song (Baby It's Cold Outside, the Tom Jones and Celtic singer whose name I forget version) and listened to it over and over. It scratched an itch.

This Harry Connick Jr cd is our go to Christmas album mostly because the kids loved it when they were little.

(It Must've Been) Ol' Santa Claus is the cutest song ever.

<br>That is far and away my favorite, too. It's too early to start thinking about Christmas, though.

I always trot out the same five CDs. Should probably broaden the selection, maybe pick up that Motowny album Mike pointed out.



Sinatra's "I'll Be Home For Christmas" is pretty killer. It moved a coworker to tears, and she's Jewish.

It's one of my favourites, too, and I agree, it's too early for Christmas music. I love Christmas, but like, for a month. I have a coworker who wanted to start decorating and playing Xmas music at the beginning of November, then I got called a grinch for laughing in her face and refusing to listen to two months of Christmas music. Coworker then showed me a bunch of pictures of her sister's apartment, which was already fully decorated, including the tree. That doesn't prove anything except that your sister is crazy.

I think my absolute favourite Christmas song is "O Holy Night". I love the Tracy Chapman version. I also love Chris Cornell doing "Ave Maria".

We were also talking about this in the Holiday thread, but I will repeat my top choice here. Jewel's Holiday Collection album. So very good.

I love all Sinatra too.

I tend to like the religious songs too, and I think my very favorite is Noel.

For pop, I like "Grandma got run over by a reindeer" and Elvis's "Why can't every day be like Christmas" which make me sentiimental and mushy.

a.j., you must have the "A Very Special Christmas 3" CD. I was just telling buffy the other night how good it is (especially Chris Cornell).

I did own that CD at one point, Magpie, but they're on my iPod now, and I'd forgotten that both those songs are on the same CD. I like all the Very Special Christmas CDs, but the third one is particularly good.

I haven't met a Christmas song that I didn't like yet. I love Christmas music, but not before the day after Thanksgiving. I love the local radio station that plays Christmas music 24/7.

I'm also an atheist who likes a lot of the religious songs. Mainly because I like the choral group sound and a lot of the religious songs use large groups of people to sing a song. My favorite religious ones, I guess, are "Little Drummer Boy" and "Do You Hear What I Hear?"

In my family, it is not truly Christmas until you've pulled out the Partridge Family Christmas Album. We all have a couple of copies of the CD because of that awful time between albums and CDs where our one and only album got scratched and we spent the next 11 months searching for a new copy. My sister-in-law found a used record store that had five copies of the album and bought them all. The guy thought she was nuts.

For pop, my favorite is Elvis' "Blue Christmas" and the Eagles "Please Come Home for Christmas."

I almost forgot, it isn't Christmas until you break out the record player and Andy Williams Merry christmas.

Yes, I am Nelson Muntz.

I love all the religious songs out there. We were raised in a home with a big Catholic influence and were taught to always remember what Christmas really means so all of the religious songs really get to me. But Silent Night is probably my all time favorite Christmas song. I can not listen to that song and not bawl like a baby.

And even though I usually can't stand Mariah Carey I love "All I Want for Chritsmas is You".

I just got this, and the rest of the office convinced me that it's okay to jump the gun by a few days, so we're listening to it, and so far I'm loving it. There's a lot of religious Christmas music on it, for those of you who like that, and the 'O Holy Night' is first rate.

I like seeing how many un-religious people here also love the religious holiday music. I'm an untroubled atheist, and I really like some of the most holy of the carols. Sars once wrote a piece on her site about "O, Holy Night," and it was exactly how I felt about it (one time, it only happened one time!) I've got the Mormon Tabernacle Choir CD, and when they sing it, the soprano section sings alone until the "Fall on your knees" line when the entire choir comes in. It's absolutely chilling.

I also love "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" which has the lines, "God is not dead, nor doth he sleep." That line figured prominently into Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes, so my love for that story has made me love the carol too. Plus, Longfellow wrote it in a moment of great sadness, but it's ultimately a very optimistic song.

Most of all, the playing of Johnny Mathis' version of the "Hallelujah" chorus signals the arrival of the Christmas season. Yes, it's even cheesier than you think it is. But, Johnny's Christmas album is one of the greatest.

I like Christmas music, but there's a ton of it out there I hate, as well. The CD that gets by far the most play by me this time of year is Celtic Christmas, but that's a bit of a misnomer. It's not strictly Christmas music. It evokes more of a winter/snow/seasonal feeling. There's a lot of instrumentation even on the cuts that have vocals, so it can easily be left on for background mood. The link above has 30 second snippets of each song, if you want to get a feel for it. Personal favorites are Nightnoise's "Snow On High Ground" and "When The Snow Melts" by Phil Cunningham & Manus Lunny. Loreena McKennitt is here as well, with "Snow." And she has a new album out today, too! Yay!

I love all Christmas music. The religious, the secular, the pop, the classical, the swing, the celtic. Love it all. Though I absolutely prefer Dean Martin over Frank Sinatra.

Oh, goodie, I found it: My all-time favorite Christmas song with bonus video!

Pretty much everyone has seen this, from the "Duets That Shouldn't Work But Somehow Do" file.

The bad news about Christmas music is that every bad singer ever has made a Christmas album. The good news is that every good singer has too.
My no. 1 favorite - John Lennon's So This Is Christmas.

I love the John Lennon song, too. Also my favorites: Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song" and "A Holly Jolly Christmas” by Burl Ives (I think).

Least favorite: Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime". There was a Longs drugstore in my old hometown that used to play this ad infinitum around the holidays. It drove me and my mother crazy when we'd shop there. I swear, they must have had it on a loop.

Favorites
"Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
"Jingle Bell Rock" - Daryl Hall and John Oates

Least Favorites
"Feliz Navidad" - José Feliciano
That Porky Pig version of "Blue Christmas"

Aw, I love "Feliz Navidad", but I'll heartily agree with your dislike of the Porky Pig song.

Does the song from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" count as a holiday tune?

I was at a store earlier today, looking for the Jewel Hliday album that I love (for someone else) and as usual, it wasn't there. (!?)

Anyway, on a whim I picked up Johnny Cash's double CD set Christmas album. I haven't listened to it yet, but I was thinking that his voice might be pretty interesting on some of the songs. Anyone ever listen to it?

P.S. I am in Christmas present wrapping hell. I also have 6 birthdays in January or early February. My new kitten (9 pounds now!) Trouble is "helping" by opening the boxes, opening the back bedroom door, taking off the ribbons and bells and tearing through the house with them, leaping tall tables in a single bound, stealing the cat treats for his cousin cats in Utah, eating my peace plant, and attacking his big brother in his spare time. Joy.

I just bought Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration from iTunes - my brother tells me it's good - so far I've only listened to samples but I'm liking it.

They had that on sale at Walmart today for $9. I should have picked it up!

You can buy it right now from iTunes for $9.99 and burn a CD - the only thing missing will be the Walmart greeter.

Ha!

If I try to download on dial up, I will be here all night. I just happened to see it while looking for the Jewel CD. I should have picked it up~!

I'll be home for Christmas-
Christmas Song- Nat King Cole
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas-

I just remembered another one I like: "Merry Christmas, Darling" by the Carpenters. Cheesy, but Karen had the best voice ever.

It occured to me that when Christmas is involved, nothing beats 1970s Midlanders with ridiculous hair. With that in mind, I present:
Slade - Merry Christmas Everybody That's it really. Family, food, this song, so cheesy it's good telly - the whole Christmas experience.
Wizzard - I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday The second best yuletide tune by people from Birmingham wearing ill-advised make up and platforms.

Ok, I admit it, I'm starting to feel festive.

The only Christmas album you'll ever need...

Damn right. Mine got lost in a move, sadly enough.

"Miss Piggy?"

"What?"

"The song's over"

"Oh...I knew that"

Oh man, I wore out my tape of that when I was a kid! That was the one where they sing "12 Days of Christmas" and Miss Piggy goes "FIIIIIVE GOLDEN RRRRRINGS!!!", right?

My personal favorites are "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" (but only when sung the RIGHT way, which is the way I was taught in NY) and "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" (always preceded by "MERRY CHRISTMAS CHARLIE BROWN!")

My favorite Christmas album is the Muppets and John Denver one. Being tone deaf has it's advantages
My husband loves his Christmas music and the day after Thanksgiving begins playing them almost non stop. If it wasn't for him I'd most likely only hear them when I wander into the store. I did listen to the Christmas stations when I drove and enjoyed getting to sing along where I didn't inflict my singing on the innocent. I like all kinds as long as there are words.

My favorite Christmas CD is one by Fred Penner. Christmastime

When my sons were small, his show Fred Penner's Place was on at some ungodly time of the morning on Nickelodeon and I could catch an extra half hour of sleep while they watched it. He has a nice folksy sound, and on long car trips both the boys and I enjoyed listening to his music.

I love the variety of songs on the CD, and I find that the songs I enjoy the most are ones I wasn't real familiar with to begin with.

I will be cheesy and admit I love "Last Christmas" by Wham.

I was looking for Joan Jett doing Little Drummer Boy and found this version by The Dandy Warhols. The music is great, but someone needs a wax.

My favorite holiday CD of all time (well, next to my childhood favorite, Sing Along with Mitch Miller) is SheDaisy's Brand New Year - cuz they country-fried-funk up some oldtime favorites and add a few new catchy tunes. Sure, it's a complete cheesefest - but campy fun is truly a necessity to get through these dysfunctional family holidays.

I just found this video of a home with lights sync'd to "Deck the Halls". Someone has way too much time on their hands - but I love it.

Here's a very amateur slideshow set to "Santa's Got a Brand New Bag". Have it play in a background window to check out the tune.

Lastly, here is another homemade video which features "Hark, The Herald Angels Sing/Carol of the Bells". Where else can you going to enjoy a bit of rap on a "Country Christmas CD"??

We inaugurated the season the other night by playing this while hanging stockings and bringing out other decorations. Sure, you may complain that it was wrong, to which I can only say, "Shut up, TURDS!"

I like The Lindsay Lights. They've got their house and their whole yard covered in lights that are computer-synched to Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Wizards in Winter. Very cool.