Dawn's about Christmas movies was a good one. From her list, my personal favs are , , and . I would add two more; , and (not an especially "happy" tale, but a good one, just the same!
).
I admit to never having seen (much to eternal consternation), and to not feeling any desire to (I often feel this way about movies that have a nearly cult-like following, and for that reason, haven't seen such classics as the movies, the movies, , , or ). Shooting myself in the foot, am I?
Perhaps, but that's the way it is with these movies in Stacyland.
Now I'm pretty much the same way about music--the more someone touts an album as being fabulous, the less inclined I am to listen.
And what this has to do with Christmas music is simply this: I am so completely over the classics.
If I could have just one Christmas without hearing a single bit of Perry Como, Burl Ives, Bing, or Nat, I'd be one happy camper. It's not that I don't appreciate the traditional Christmas fare..
. it's that I'm tired of it, and it's everywhere you go. Ugh.
Give me, instead, traditional songs sung by different artists, with fresh arrangements. Give me new(er) songs to learn and grow to love. Give me something to add to the traditions--to move the holiday forward, in a musical sense.
This is what I explore at Christmas. And in case you, too, yearn for something different, here are some recommendations:
Cool Yule, by Bette Midler
Wintersong, by Sarah McLaughlin
Christmas Offerings, by Third Day
CDs: Not so new, but hardly "traditional" fare:
Silver and Gold, by Vanessa Williams
Mistletoe and Wine, by Mediaeval Babes
Brand New Year, by SHeDAISY
CDs: Not so new, but lovely instrumentals (with some vocals):
Star of Wonder, by Tingstad and Rumbel
December, by George Winston
Songs (all available on —it's so easy to create a custom CD!):
Carol of the Bells, by Destiny's Child
Christmas Means Love, by Joan Osborne
Don't Save It All for Christmas Day, by Celine Dion
For Unto Us, by Point of Grace
Gabriel's Message, by Sting
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, by Bethany Dillon (or Mercy Me)
Grown Up Christmas List, by Kelly Clarkson
Hark, The Herald Angels Sing, by Rebecca St.
James
Joy, by George Winston
This Christmas, by Boney James
Spirit of the Season, by Alan Silvestri
Born This Day, by Yolanda Adams
Soulful Christmas, by James Brown
Father Christmas, by the Kinks
Run, Rudolph, Run, by Lynyrd Skynrd
I'm Your Santa, by Lil Ed and the Blue Imperials
Christmas Lights, by Donna Lewis
Merry Christmas Baby, by Otis Redding
Away In a Manger, by The Alabama Blind Boys and George Clinton
Christmas Love, by Minnie Riperton
The Christ Song, by The Alabama Blind Boys and Shelby Lynne
Coventry Carol, by Loreena McKennitt
Do You Hear What I Hear, by Destiny's Child
Trepate, by Modern Mandelin
Angelicus, by Delerium
Shades of White, by Jim Brickman
Veni Emmanuel, by Turtle Island Strings
Cherry Tree Carol, by Various Artists and George Winston
I'll Be Home For Christmas, by Roch Voisine
Sainte Nuit, by Roch Voisine
Let It Snow, by Take 6
These Are The Special Times, by Christina Aguilera
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Me, by the Supremes
I Want An Alien For Christmas, by Fountains of Wayne
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, by Diana Krall
Silent Night, by Sister Lucille Pope
Frosty's Rag, by Anita Baker
The Chanukah Song, by Adam Sandler
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, by Natalie Grant
Jesus, Oh, What a Wonderful Child, by Gladys Knight and The Saints Unified Voices
Only You Can Bring Me Cheer, by Alison Krauss
Mary Did You Know, by Hayley Westenra, or Acappella, or Mark Harris, or Kathy Mattea, or Clay Aiken, or Natalie Cole
What Do Bad Girls Get, by Joan Osborne
Some Children See Him, by James Taylor
Angels We Have Heard On High, by Sonicflood
Who Would Imagine a King, by Whitney Houston
In a comment for this post, Dawn asked me for my top five selections. I told her I couldn't choose just five, and went on to make some recommendations. I'm back, though, to offer you my #1 pick for 2006.
It's from a TV show on NBC called --from their holiday episode to be exact. It's done by a group of displaced (by ) musicians from New Orleans who are part of the (a group working to rebuild New Orleans' music culture). Their rendition of O Holy Night had me in tears.
Listen or download the song (right click the link to download it, left click to listen). And if you don't watch the show but would like to see the performance of the song, you can watch that . (sit through the silly ad--the clip is worth seeing)
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