Christmas songs that irritate you

[Milestones]

Thought it would be interesting to see what people say on this one. By and large I enjoy Christmas music, and I also like a fair amount of the jazz stuff (and, to be fair, jazz is not all that suited).

I do mean songs that always sound irritating/annoying. We all know that a good song can be butchered by various singers/musicians.

Here are some I really can't stand anymore (pretty much always could not stand them):

"Rockin' around the Christmas Tree"

"Jingle Bell Rock"

"Grandma got Run over by a Reindeer"

"Santa Baby"

[GA Russell]

I'm gettin' nuttin' for Christmas

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas

Baby It's Cold Outside

[Milestones]

Good choices.

I suspect we'll have a lot of pop songs from the last 60-70 years. There are a lot of bad ones and a few good ones: "The Christmas Song," some of Vince Guaraldi's stuff.

Edited December 11, 2014 by Milestones

[BillF]

The only ones I like are Bird playing "White Christmas" and Bill Evans' "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town".

P.S. Roland Kirk's "We Free Kings" is OK too.

Edited December 11, 2014 by BillF

[BeBop]

Pretty much all of them, if we're talking about jazz-ified versions.

[Milestones]

Jazz to the World is pretty good as jazz collections go, most especially John McLaughlin's rendition of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" and Chick Corea's "What Child is This?"

Edited December 11, 2014 by Milestones

[jlhoots]

The only ones I like are Bird playing "White Christmas" and Bill Evans' "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town".

P.S. Roland Kirk's "We Free Kings" is OK too.

Correct - + God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (MJQ)

[Larry Kart]

"Silver Bells" is the soundtrack for Armageddon.

[gmonahan]

I was always fond of Miles's and Bob Dorough's very cynical "Blue Xmas." I think we've had threads before on Christmas albums by jazz artists. There's a slew of them. As for aggravating ones, "Twelve Days of Christmas" tops my list. The only version I've ever been able to listen to, oddly enough, is Stan Kenton's.

gregmo

[Milestones]

Yeah, "Twelve Days" is somewhat annoying, though nearly as bad as many others.

I also must add "Feliz Navidad," although there is a version by Michel Camilo that is not bad.

[jeffcrom]

"Unser Mund sei voll Lachens," BWV 110 by Bach. Every time I go to the mall, there it is - over and over again....

[Jim R]

Here are some I really can't stand anymore (pretty much always could not stand them):

"Rockin' around the Christmas Tree"

"Jingle Bell Rock"

"Grandma got Run over by a Reindeer"

"Santa Baby"

I haven't heard "Grandma..." for awhile, but the other three seem to be played about once every half hour on 24-hour Christmas stations. Another one that they beat to death is Elvis' "Blue Christmas".

Yesterday while doing some decorating, I was shuffle-playing the Christmas material I have in iTunes, and I heard something that I really hated (hadn't heard it for a long time): "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)" from The Beatles "Artifacts" collection. I'm a Beatles fan, but this is so monotonous (and it's nearly six minutes long!) that I couldn't take it. It's like they were intentionally trying to annoy people with this song.

[A Lark Ascending]

Little Donkey, We Will Rock You (not the Queen song thought that is annoying too) and any of those manger songs.

Most of the 'classic' things on endless repeat - not that they are necessarily bad songs, just that they reappear on autopilot. I remember really liking the Slade song in the early 70s but it makes me run for the hills now every time I hear it ( every 23 mins on average in public places).

Edited December 12, 2014 by A Lark Ascending

[mikelz777]

Some of mine have already been mentioned. The songs that make my list:

-Happy Christmas War Is Over (John Lennon)

-Wonderful Christmas Time (Paul McCartney)

-Santa Baby (by anyone)

-Do They Know It's Christmas (Band Aid)

-The Christmas Shoes (This song should be a justifiable basis for prosecution.)

-Anything by Mannheim Steamroller

-Carol Of The Bells (Trans-Siberian Orchestra) About 30 seconds in it sounds like background music for a giant hoard of Huns riding horseback as they attack an unsuspecting village. Maybe they wish the villagers happy holidays as they slay, rape and pillage...)

-I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas

-All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth

-Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer

-Snoopy's Christmas

-Mary Did You Know? (Yes, she did...)

Edited December 11, 2014 by mikelz777

[duaneiac]

I, for one, actually love Christmas music. I hate Christmas and all the commercialism that it has come to represent, but I LOVE Christmas music. I must have over 100 Christmas albums in my collection, many of them jazz, but also pop, rock, country, blues, cajun, Hawaiian, etc. The one song I could best do without is "The Litte Drummer Boy". There have been a couple of interesting interpretations of it, but by and large it is a song that goes nowhere. Also, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" never did anything for me. To me, the concepts of "happy" and "Yoko Ono" are mutually exclusive.

There are a few songs that I enjoy hearing maybe once or twice during the holiday season -- beyond that and they wear out their welcome. "Santa Baby", "I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas", and Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime" fall in that category.

One of my very favorite songs seems to get relegated to the one week between Christmas and New Year's Day, as far as radio airplay goes. "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" is such a well written song. The lyrics sound convincingly conversational and the melody is just right for the tentative tone of the lyrics. In my mind, I picture a person practicing this speech in front of a mirror as they work up the courage to actually try it out on the person on whom they have long held a secret crush. The song is a love song -- a longing song -- more than a holiday song and could easily be played other times of the year.

[Milestones]

Much as I love Lennon and McCartney, they added nothing truly truly great to the Christmas canon.

[Van Basten II]

All of them

[Bill Nelson]

This one's so cloying, I'll bastardize it as: 'Do You Smell What I Smell?'

[xybert]

Some of mine have already been mentioned. The songs that make my list:

-Happy Christmas War Is Over (John Lennon)

Haaaate this song. All it takes is that opening line "So this is Christmas..." and the cringe instantly sets in. All those kind of seventies/eighties Christmas songs (i feel like there is a George Michael song about a ruined christmas... ah, Last Christmas!) that they would play on the type of 'classic hits' stations that were the default background music for places that i worked.

[duaneiac]

I surprised no one has mentioned "The Chipmunks Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" yet. It wears out its welcome very fast.

For those who say they hate all Christmas songs, I am assuming (hoping) that a distinction is being made between commercial/pop songs written for the holiday and the hymns that are associated with the holiday. I'm an atheist, but I still find "Silent Night" and "O Holy Night" to be incredibly moving pieces of music (the former almost solely because of its simplicity and sincerity) and each is ideally suited to its purpose as sacred music reflecting upon the essential meaning of the holiday/holy day. "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear" -- also very beautiful. One of my favorite parts of Advent from my Catholic boyhood was "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" , since that was the only time of year we sang it. I can understand being sick and tired of the constantly cheery and upbeat Christmas songs which assault one at the malls of America from the day after Halloween onwards, but it's hard for me to fathom some one viscerally disliking, say, "O Holy Night".

Edited December 12, 2014 by duaneiac

[B. Clugston]

Much as I love Lennon and McCartney, they added nothing truly truly great to the Christmas canon.

I agree. I don't know what's more annoying, the warbling background vocal (Yoko?) on "Happy Xmas" or the farting synthesizers on the McCartney number.

[Larry Kart]

I surprised no one has mentioned "The Chipmunks Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" yet. It wears out its welcome very fast.

For those who say they hate all Christmas songs, I am assuming (hoping) that a distinction is being made between commercial/pop songs written for the holiday and the hymns that are associated with the holiday. I'm an atheist, but I still find "Silent Night" and "O Holy Night" to be incredibly moving pieces of music (the former almost solely because of its simplicity and sincerity) and each is ideally suited to its purpose as sacred music reflecting upon the essential meaning of the holiday/holy day. "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear" -- also very beautiful. One of my favorite parts of Advent from my Catholic boyhood was "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" , since that was the only time of year we sang it. I can understand being sick and tired of the constantly cheery and upbeat Christmas songs which assault one at the malls of America from the day after Halloween onwards, but it's hard for me to fathom some one viscerally disliking, say, "O Holy Night".

I viscerally dislike "O Holy Night" -- an utterly spineless piece. How about something with a bit of sinew to it?:

[Steve Reynolds]

I despise Christmas music

[JSngry]

. How about something with a bit of sinew to it?:

We can do that!

[duaneiac]

I surprised no one has mentioned "The Chipmunks Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" yet. It wears out its welcome very fast.

For those who say they hate all Christmas songs, I am assuming (hoping) that a distinction is being made between commercial/pop songs written for the holiday and the hymns that are associated with the holiday. I'm an atheist, but I still find "Silent Night" and "O Holy Night" to be incredibly moving pieces of music (the former almost solely because of its simplicity and sincerity) and each is ideally suited to its purpose as sacred music reflecting upon the essential meaning of the holiday/holy day. "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear" -- also very beautiful. One of my favorite parts of Advent from my Catholic boyhood was "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" , since that was the only time of year we sang it. I can understand being sick and tired of the constantly cheery and upbeat Christmas songs which assault one at the malls of America from the day after Halloween onwards, but it's hard for me to fathom some one viscerally disliking, say, "O Holy Night".

I viscerally dislike "O Holy Night" -- an utterly spineless piece. How about something with a bit of sinew to it?:

"Spineless"? Huh -- never would have thought of using that particular word to describe "O Holy Night".

And now Christmas has to have some "sinew" to it? I guess Christmas just isn't manly enuff fer us 'Mericuns.

Here's a song with some sinew to it . . .

Gilda Radner:

There's a little guy in Utah with a single Christmas wish

For one special thing that can't be substituted

Doesn't want to get electric trains, get toys or get pet fish

All he really wants to get is executed

Cast:

So let's kill Gary Gilmore for Christmas

Let's hang him from atop the Christmas tree

Let's give to him the only gift that money can't buy

Put poison in his egg nog, let him drink it, watch him die

[Dan Aykroyd talks while the others hum softly:]

Dan Aykroyd:

Let's throw another yule log on the fire

And then let's throw Gary Gilmore on there too

With a ribbon so gay and a card that will say

"Dear Gary, Merry Christmas to you"

Jane, Laraine, Gilda:

In the meadow, we can build a snowman

One with Gary Gilmore packed inside

John, Garrett, Dan:

We'll say "Are you dead yet?" He'll say "No, man"

Cast:

But we'll wait out the frostbite till he dies

Gilda:

I've one Christmas wish

Jane, Laraine, John, Garrett, Dan:

Just ask it

Gilda:

Please put Gary in a casket

Cast:

So let's toll the silver bells for him

While he can still hear what they say

Ding dong ding dong

You're dead, so long

We can thrill Gary Gilmore

If we kill Gary Gilmore

On this Christmas Day