As I type this, my just-arrived Christmas CD is loading onto iTunes.
I haven’t looked for modern Christmas music, so…
There’s always this classic.
At the risk of becoming very unpopular, I’m giving some leaked songs from the Justin Bieber xmas album a listen (both new songs and standards.) And to be frank, there are a few real turds. (The jaw-droppingly bad rap version of “Little Drummer Boy” must be heard to be believed.)
However his original song “Mistletoe” is very pleasant (with an adorable video) and the reworking of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” as a Jackson 5-flavored homage is ASTOUNDING!
Best of all, it’s going to have a Rankin/Bass style music video which will premiere either before or after the actual airing of the classic.
(Sneak peek) https://twitter.com/justinbieber/status/128958880771358720/photo/1 (Hope the link works - looks a little flaky.)
His “Silent Night” is very, very well done as well. (He can really hit the low notes now that his voice has changed.)
That having been said, my favorite of the classics is Andy Williams’ “Happy Holidays” - so deliciously corny!
LOL!
I will see you that and raise you Stephen Colbert’s “Another Christmas Song.”
If you’re looking for real old-school, my favorite Christmas album is one called “An American Christmas”. Basically, a professor at some music department thought that America of the 18th and 19th centuries had a very rich and vibrant musical tradition that’s now being mostly ignored, and thought that the best way to remedy this would be an album of Christmas music from that period. Most of the songs on it I’d never heard of before, but they are indeed beautiful.