Playlist #137: Weather, Frightful, Etc.

Happy Monday, folks! It’s the last week before Winter Break, so it’s time for a Holiday-themed playlist! I promise there’s no Wham! on here. I’m not a monster.

  1. Paul McCartney, “Wonderful Christmastime”: Okay, I’m a little bit of a monster.
  2. Darlene Love, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”: Simply the best Christmas song ever written. I will hear no arguments.
  3. The Beach Boys, “Little Saint Nick”: Beach Boys harmonies just sound better when they’re telling reindeer to run.
  4. Bing Crosby, “Winter Wonderland”: I’m not against old-fashioned Christmas songs. I like a lot of ’em. Bing Crosby’s stuff is always a swingin’ good time, for instance.
  5. Elton John, “Step Into Christmas”: I’ve never fully understood the premise of this song. Is Christmas a physical location into which one can step? What are the boundaries of Christmas? Enquiring minds want to know.
  6. Robert Earl Keen, “Merry Christmas From the Family”: REK takes a slightly more cynical approach to the holidays than a lot of these others, but it’s still a good time to get together with family members and drink lots of spiked eggnog.
  7. Gayla Peevey, “I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas”: Who doesn’t, honestly? They’re way cooler than a puppy and they can eat a watermelon whole.
  8. Ringo Starr, “Come On Christmas, Christmas Come On”: If there’s one Beatle who seems well-suited to singing Christmas songs, which are inherently kinda cheesy and goofy, it’s the dude who sang “Yellow Submarine” and “Octopus’s Garden.”
  9. Frank Sinatra, “Mistletoe and Holly”: Another holiday classic, I think we can all agree.
  10. Chuck Berry, “Run Rudolph Run”: You need more Chuck Berry in your life, admit it.

Playlist #86 – Merry Christmas!

Happy Monday before Christmas, everyone. I have a brand-new playlist for your enjoyment.

  1. Shirley Temple, “I’m Gettin’ Nuttin’ For Christmas”: This song tells me that Shirley Temple knows that old adage: snitches get stitches. Don’t mess with Shirley T.
  2. Gayla Peevey, “I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas”: And only a hippopotamus will do, you know.
  3. Frank Sinatra, “Mistletoe And Holly”: It’s a classic for a reason.
  4. Darlene Love, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”: The best Christmas song ever recorded. I will be taking no questions at this time.
  5. She & Him, “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree”: I have a soft spot for Zoey Deschanel and M. Ward’s warm ‘n’ fuzzy pop.
  6. Jeremy Messersmith, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”: Apparently about a nuclear apocalypse? Who knew?
  7. Jackson Browne, “The Rebel Jesus”: It’s always interesting to hear a non-Christian’s point of view on Christianity, even if what he points out is way less comfortable and far more accurate than you’d care to admit.
  8. Run-DMC, “Christmas In Hollis”: Tell Argyle to bring the car around, we’re goin’ clubbin’.
  9. Elton John, “Step Into Christmas”: Figured out how to play this one on the guitar just last week. Loads of fun.
  10. The Both, “Nothing Left To Do (Let’s Make This Christmas Blue)”: I’m a sucker for Aimee Mann. And Ted Leo. Together, they can do no wrong, as far as I’m concerned.