It's officially Christmastime, which means its officially time to break out the Christmas playlist! Now, while there are some classics that everyone listens to every year, here are some Christmas songs that are different (and maybe even a little weird).
1. "Don't Shoot Me Santa" - The Killers & Ryan Pardey
Yeah, I'm delving into the weird ones a bit early.
This song is about a boy who was made fun of, snaps, and starts killing the kids who made fun of him. When Christmas comes around, Santa comes to the boy not with coal, but with a bullet in his gun.
While the song is just as weird as it sounds, it's fun, catchy, and has no clear resolution as far as whether or not Santa kills the boy. This is by far my favorite Christmas song.
2. "Happy Birthday Guadalupe!" -The Killers, Wild Light, & Mariachi El Bronx
Another Killers' Christmas song, this one is sadder than it is weird, and more of a love song than a holiday song.
The song focuses on a man who wakes up with a woman on Christmas, and when he goes to leave, she begs him to stay because it's her birthday. Throughout the day, he falls in love with her and asks her to marry him. Shortly after, he gets overwhelmed and leaves her in the middle of the night. He is then haunted by the memory of his Guadalupe.
This song isn't blatantly a Christmas song, and the holiday really only plays a minute part of the song, but for me, it really does feel like Christmas. The musical style is heavily influenced by traditional Mexican mariachi music, because the girl is portrayed as a "Mexican Angel" in the song.
3. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" - Twisted Sister
You may be asking yourself, "Is this 80's heavy metal band REALLY singing a traditional holiday carol?" Yep, and it's glorious.
The song starts with the band trying to sing the carol the way it's typically sung -- soft, with gentle guitar, and it just puts love in your heart. But that doesn't last long. The song is interrupted by an objection that the song isn't Twisted Sister because "they don't play songs nice and easy". They play songs "nice and Twisted".
The entire Twisted Sister Christmas Album is great, but this song is the highlight of it for me.
4. "Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher" - Elton John
I bet you didn't think that there was a political Christmas song out there.
"Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher" is a song about Maggie Thatcher, who was a past Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and leader of the Conservative Party in Parliment. The whole song is basically Elton bashing Maggie and her political views.
The song was written by Lee Hall for his movie "Billy Elliot", which is now a musical.
5. "Sleigh Ride" - TLC
"Sleigh Ride" is my favorite traditional Christmas song, and I love every rendition it, but there's just something about it being performed by TLC.
The song really just sounds like a TLC song. It doesn't really sound like Christmas at all it's just really cool to listen to, but my God, it's beautiful.
6. "Cool Yule" - Kurt Elling
Ya like Jazz? I do.
This song is essentially a jazzy version of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". The instrumentation along with the interesting words and phrases make it a fun song for friends and family alike. I really think this is one of those songs that could become a classic, and the thought of that makes me happy.
If you want to play something at the Christmas party that may or may not impress your guests and their children, this song is for you. And remember, if you've been cool, Santa'll treat you right.
7. "The Night Santa Went Crazy"-"Weird Al" Yankovic
I'm gonna end this list where I started it: with a murderous Santa Claus.
In this song, Santa Claus went crazy and murdered all the elves, ate all the reindeer, and blew up his workshop. Tons of fun, right?
This song is not for kids. Not at all. This shatters Santa Claus for someone of any age, but it's also really funny. And when all is said and done, it's Weird Al. Weird Al makes everything better.
