Myrhaf Posted December 12, 2007 Report Share Posted December 12, 2007 By Myrhaf from Myrhaf,cross-posted by MetaBlog In my day job listening to FM radio stations, 'tis the season for Christmas songs. It's the only time of year commercial stations get to play recordings from the '40s (this ain't Radio Dismuke), by artists such as Bing Crosby and Gene Autry. In this post, however, we'll look at the best rock era songs. This is a list of my personal favorites, not a list that pretends to be objective by using record sales or number of spins as criteria. These are the songs I like best. A lot of songs did not make the cut, especially novelty songs such as "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas" by Gayla Peevey (recorded in 1953, so it's actually pre-rock). Anything by the Jackson Five is not making my list. The songs on this list are mostly from the '50s and '60s. The Classic Rock era has failed dismally at Christmas songs. Bruce Springsteen has covered a few standards and the Eagles' "Please Come Home For Christmas" gets a lot of play because it sounds like a '50s song. 10. by the Kinks. The only hard rocker on this list. Ray Davies makes it work -- barely. (To be honest, it's only on the list because I couldn't find a 10th song that was better.) 9. by U2. It works because it is retro. 8. "Blue Christmas" by Elvis Presley. Like most of the songs on this list, this recording sounds like a song Elvis Presley would do, but it happens to have a Christmas theme. That authenticity is the secret to a great Christmas song. Dig the sideburns and his lopsided grin in the video linked to here. He was the King -- for awhile. 7. "Run Rudolph Run" by Chuck Berry. Chuck Berry's lyrics are often clever: Out of all the reindeers you know you're the mastermind Run, run Rudolph, Randalph ain't too far behind Run, run Rudolph, Santa's got to make it to town Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down Run, run Rudolph cause I'm reelin' like a merry-go-round Said Santa to a boy child What have you been longing for? All I want for Christmas is a Rock and Roll electric guitar And then away went Rudolph a whizzing like a shooting star 6. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee. Great melody, great voice, upbeat fun. 5. "Jingle Bell Rock" by Bobby Helms. After 50 years, this and "My Special Angel" are the only songs by Bobby Helms that still get much airplay. It's a Christmas classic now. 4. by John Lennon. This antiwar song will be unbearable to many readers. That's the John Lennon package deal: he's half genius and half moonbat. The songwriting is the real thing here. Now, if you want a Christmas song that is truly bad, try Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime." You listen to that treacle and wonder why John was the one who got shot. (Okay, I'm sorry. I crossed the line with that last joke.) 3. "Little Saint Nick" by the Beach Boys. It's a first-rate Beach Boys song, and pop-rock does not get better than that. 2. "Sleigh Ride" by the Ronettes. This and the number one song have the Phil Spector "wall of sound" style. These songs are the pinnacle of melodic rock. If you want more Ronettes, check out this video of them performing the pop-rock classic, 1. "Winter Wonderland" by Darlene Love. There are a lot of versions of this song, but this is the best. It's got beautiful voices singing a great melody to a driving rock beat. (Avoid the Eurythmics' cover, as they do my pet peeve: they slow the tempo down.) UPDATE: Holy cow, I forgot about "2000 Miles" by the Pretenders. I didn't even realize it was a Christmas song, but it is. It's certainly better than "Father Christmas" by the Kinks. View the full article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fletch Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 I would add: I Believe in Father Christmas by Greg Lake And Christmas Time by Brian Adams And it just wouldnt be Christmas without Feliz Navidad by Jose Feliciano Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEgoist Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 Oi! To The World, by The Vandals Fairy Tale of New York, by Pogues Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thales Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 1. "Winter Wonderland" by Darlene Love. There are a lot of versions of this song, but this is the best. It's got beautiful voices singing a great melody to a driving rock beat. (Avoid the Eurythmics' cover, as they do my pet peeve: they slow the tempo down.) The song is okay, but the pictures in that video are fantastic! Very warm, very colorful, very much the Christmas spirit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aequalsa Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 "I wanna rock you hard this christmas" by the Dan Band Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.West Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 (edited) "The Most Offensive Song Ever" by Trey Parker The Most Offensive Song Ever Indeed it is pretty offensive, most especially to Christians. But a good way to give the finger to the religious side of Christmas. Edited December 13, 2007 by A.West Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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