Photo courtesy of jsolovely.wordpress.com.
It’s that time of year again: the time of inescapable Christmas music and holiday cheer, forced onto all regardless of whether you celebrate the holiday or not.
This holiday season, instead of slowly going insane as the same three Christmas songs off of Dean Martin’s Dino’s Christmas play on a loop, try listening to some more unique Christmas music. Here’s a great holiday album and two EPs to try. There are also two laughably horrible albums, because sometimes listening to an album ironically is better than listening to one you’ve heard a million times.
THE BEST
8 Days of Christmas by Destiny’s Child
When Destiny’s Child released 8 Days of Christmas in 2001, they blessed the world with an album that’s vocally beautiful, soulful and hilariously creative.
In the album’s first track, which shares a name with the album’s title, the women sing “On the eighth day of Christmas my baby gave to me / A pair of Chloe shades and a diamond belly ring.” They also go on to request “A crop jacket and dirty denim jeans.”
The group somehow combines the bling-filled charm of being an early 2000’s girl group with the joy of Christmas. Not only that, but the album also features more serious tracks such as a rendition of “Silent Night” with verses from Beyoncé sure to comfort anyone on a wintry evening.
Christmas With Weezer by Weezer
Ever wanted to hear Christmas music that sounds as though it was made by moody boys in a garage? Look no further than Weezer’s 2008 classic, Christmas with Weezer.
The EP, comprising only six songs, puts an alternative rock spin on holiday classics such as “O Holy Night,” “The First Noel” and “Silent Night.” Plus, there’s a great cover of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” with a drum beat and guitar solo sure to appeal to Santa’s pop-punk side.
My Morning Jacket Does Xmas Fiasco Style by My Morning Jacket
My Morning Jacket, famous for their sometimes experimental alternative music, put out My Morning Jacket Does Xmas Fiasco Style in 2000. This EP provides a calmer guitar-heavy holiday sound and proves that folksier tunes have their place in the Christmas genre.
The EP, which includes six songs plus a bonus instrumental track, involves three original Christmas songs. The album also includes a strong cover of Elvis Presley’s “Santa Claus is Back in Town,” as well as a cover of “New Morning” by Nick Cave.
THE WORST
The Night Before Christmas by David Hasselhoff
Let’s get one thing straight: David Hasselhoff was never meant to release an album of himself singing. Period. Yet somehow, Hasselhoff’s The Night Before Christmas was still released back in 2004.
The Night Before Christmas features two of the worst things to happen to Christmas music: Celebrities who try to sing and can’t and too many songs backed by children’s choirs. It’s as though they thought the children would distract from the fact that Hasselhoff’s voice sounds like a broken ship horn. The album includes 14 of the worst covers of Christmas classics, including “Deck the Halls” and “Joy to the World.”
All I Want For Christmas Is A Real Good Tan by Kenny Chesney
Kenny Chesney just wants to be drinking a margarita on a beach high up in a palm tree — or something like that — this Christmas.
In the first track on Chesney’s Christmas album, Chesney sings, “Well if you’re thinkin’ ’bout gettin’ me a present this year/ Let me put a bug in your cute little ear/ How about two tickets to a tropical show,” and then proceeds to croon about how all he needs this for the holidays is to be in a beautiful tropical location while looking gorgeous, which, all things considered, is a pretty lofty Christmas wish. The rest of the album follows similarly, with a mix of original songs and Christmas covers done the country way.
