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My Christmas Playlist

It’s that time of year again where everywhere you go there’s Christmas music playing. I don’t mind, mostly, but some of it is infinitely overplayed. A few years ago I made my own playlist of Christmas favourites and I love listening to it every year from December 1 to 25. I have tried inserting other songs but I’ve become too accustomed to this set by now and can’t think what other songs would work. Maybe it’s time for a volume two….

The following is my perfect Christmas playlist in the order they appear.

  1. “I Wish it was Christmas Today” by Julian Casablancas – I open with this slick rock production of a jokey song that was part of a Saturday Night Live skit in 2000 featuring Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz. I like it because it’s fun, not serious at all, yet this version is a big production. It’s got a lot of positive energy, always makes me smile and it just rocks. And who doesn’t wish it was Christmas today?
  2. “Christmas Wrapping” by The Waitresses – I love the beat and the bar-room simplicity of the rock and roll track over which a story of unrequited love finally resolving on Christmas Eve is told in an almost conversational tone. Fun, fun song about missed opportunities ending on a happy note. What better Christmas present than love?
  3. “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney – Another fluffy, fun song that playfully evokes good cheer for the holiday season. It always conjures images of people in Santa hats having a good time as the snow comes down against a backdrop of Christmas Eve.
  4. “Last Christmas” by Wham – I understand how cheesy this one is, but this is as close to schmaltz as I get. It’s a fun-sounding song but it’s actually about a break-up, so there’s a bizarre melancholy undertone to the glitteringly-80’s pop hit. It’s also hard not to listen to, for some reason.
  5. “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love – Possibly my favourite Christmas-rock song. I love the swing and the sound, big and brash, full of the emotion of someone pining for nothing more than their loved one at Christmastime.  
  6. “Little Dealer Boy” by Willie Nelson and Stephen Colbert – Always brings a smile to my face. I like the weird riff on Bing Crosby and David Bowie’s Little Drummer Boy, with a story about sharing.
  7. “Fairytale of New York” by The Pogues featuring Kristy McColl – Maybe it’s the Irish in me, but this song is irresistible. I love how it starts slow and then gets going big-time. It’s got a story with an immigrant angle about dreams, love and disillusionment against the backdrop of New York, giving personal choices a fatalistic slant in the greater scheme of things. It’s got swing, it’s got melancholy and I really love it.
  8. “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono – This is my all-time favourite Christmas song. It always gives me shivers if not outright tears, especially when they bring in the strains of Silent Night for the final chorus. But what I really respond to is the simple message of love and inclusion and the challenge to be a better person, living without fear. All the world’s possibilities are contained within each of us and anything can be achieved if you really want it, but what are you willing to do? The opening refrain of this song (“So this is Christmas, and what have you done?”) is a yearly check-in.
  9. “Silent Night” by Sinead O’Connor – I discovered this version of the timeless classic by pure chance on the radio one night years ago and it struck nerve with its simplicity, just a voice over a heavy synth playing ambiently. Breathtaking in its solemnity, I can’t help but turn inward and feel soothed for a few minutes whenever I hear it.
  10. “The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)” by Nat King Cole – Plays us out on a positive note of warmth and cheer. This is one brings it back to Earth with a beautifully rendered word-picture of Christmastime played with warm strings and the inimitable voice of Nat King Cole. This one always feels like it should play over a montage at the end of some multi-layered Christmas movie where the story ends with everyone reunited in time for Christmas Eve and all is well.

On that note, being a movie buff: fade to black.

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