One of the more annoying things about Christmas is that it seems like the radio only plays the same six songs, over and over. So, in the spirit of trying something new, here's a list of 10 Christmas songs that are fun, original, and bound to get you rockin' around the Christmas tree.
1. "His Favorite Christmas Story" (Capital Lights)
This song always manages to make at least one person in my family cry. It's the tale of a guy who meets a beautiful girl one Christmas and falls in love with her. He doesn't catch her name, but he always tells people the story of how they met. And eventually, several years later, he finds her again.
2. "Santa Claus Is Thumbing To Town" (Relient K)
This song is a fun twist on an old classic: when Santa's stuck without his sleigh in the middle of a disastrous Christmas Eve, he ends up having to hitchhike. Fair warning, though: this catchy tune gets stuck in your head almost instantly.
3. "Another Christmas Song" (Stephen Colbert)
In order to earn a fortune, Stephen Colbert decides to write a Christmas song, figuring that since they never seem to die, it'll earn him millions. This song is jazzy, catchy, and made up of ridiculous, nonsensical sentences that come from other Christmas lyrics mashed together.
4. Wizards in Winter (Trans-Siberian Orchestra)
This song may be entirely instrumental, but it's still extremely rockin'. There's even a great video of someone synchronizing their lights to blink in time with the music.
5. "Merry Christmas, Here's To Many More" (Relient K)
Yes, it's another Relient K song. So sue me. Their Christmas album ("Let It Snow, Baby, Let It Reindeer") is amazing. This song is a little more serious than "Santa Claus is Thumbing to Town", though. It relates to the tired feeling we all have as we push ourselves through the year, and the joy that comes from being around the friends and family we care about.
6. "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)" (U2 Version)
I only have one thing to say about this song:
THEY'RE SINGIN' DECK THE HALLS/BUT IT'S NOT LIKE CHRISTMAS AT ALL/I REMEMBER WHEN YOU WERE HERE/AND ALL THE FUN WE HAD LAST YEEEEAR!
7. "Get Dressed You Merry Gentlemen" (John Finnemore)
For those of you who don't know, "Cabin Pressure" is a hilariously brilliant radio sitcom written by John Finnemore, who also stars as one of its characters. The show revolves around the employees of a small charter airplane. In this song, the ever-cheerful Arthur belts out what he thinks are the correct lyrics to "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", only to be corrected by his coworkers.
8. "Christmas Is Starting Now" (Big Bad Voodoo Daddy)
One of my favorite things about "Phineas and Ferb's" Christmas special is that it includes the musical talents of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, my favorite modern jazz/swing band. This song, included in the special, is fun to sing along to and dance with.
9. "Can I Interest You In Hanukkah" (Stephen Colbert ft. Jon Stewart)
Unfortunately, there is not an online video of the original version, but there are several covers. In this odd song, Jon Stewart tries to convince Stephen Colbert to celebrate Hanukkah along with Christmas, which leads to a hilarious comparison of the two holidays.
"We have latkes."
"What are they?"
" Potato pancakes. We have dreidels."
"What are they?"
"Wooden tops. We have candles."
"What are they?"
"THEY. ARE. CANDLES!"
10. "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (Straight No Chaser)
Don't be fooled by the titled; this song is anything but traditional. As the men sing, they get the days out of order, and end up mixing in other Christmas songs as they go. The real coup de grace is when they incorporate Toto's "Africa" into the medley.
