Christmas Tunes You Can Listen To All Year

So it’s the third week of Advent, where the “rose” (which looks like pink to me, but what do I know?) colored candle is lit up. As we remembered yesterday on Gaudete Sunday, guadete means “rejoice.” And certainly we want to do that at this time of year. But you know, the Musak has been driving us bonkers since Thanksgiving, playing the same old tired Christmas selections that the baby boomers love and remember. See the photograph above? Bullseye!

Well, I’m from the tiny generation between the Boomers and the Gen-X er’s. Call me a “tweener.” And the “tweener” likes my real Christmas music in a religious setting, like at Mass. Everywhere else though, I’d like to hear some different stuff than what you see in the graph above. And that’s what I’ll share with you today. More bluesy and rockabilly than your standard fare, and with rock n’ roll to spare.

Here’s another promise: minimal liner notes, and a just a wall of sound. Christmas songs that you can like anytime of the year.

Rejoice!

Chris Isaak, Hey Santa. This is what I’m talkin’ ’bout. The kind of toe tappin’ “ghost of Elvis” sound that Chris Isaak is famous for.

Paul Simon, Getting Ready for Christmas. Paul strikes a few cords here, folks, with truths that hit close to the mark.

Weezer, The Christmas Song. Weezer did a Christmas Album! Weezer did a Chrismas Album! Check it out!

Bare Naked Ladies, Elf’s Lament. This sounds like the elves suspiciously decided to Occupy the North Pole. Timely!

Saffire and the Uppity Blues Women, One Parent Christmas I’ve never heard of Saffire or the Uppity Blues Women, but as a child of divorce, I think my mother was singing something like this at times.

Eric Clapton, Cryin’ Christmas Tears. Clapton? Yeah, I can listen to him 24/7 for 365 days a year, regardless of what he is playing/singing about.

Brian Setzer Orchestra, Dig That Crazy Santa Claus.Dancing! Christmas is about rejoicing so much that you get wacky on the dance floor. Tunes like this one have an effect on me that only my wife can appreciate.

That’s all for this week, dear readers. Keep a smile on your face, and find another radio station to listen to until the Birth of Our King arrives.

Image Credit.