Unconventional X-mas Favorites

Here in Boston, we received our very first snowfall. And although it didn't amount to much at all, it was quite beautiful to see looking out from my little booth in Faneuil Hall today. All told, it's the perfect capstone to our X-mas week...

I'm a little ashamed to admit it, but I've been listening to X-mas carols lately. TW broke the seal, so to speak, on our drive down to Long Island for Thanksgiving, and now I've got 2 separate radio stations programmed in my car that only play X-mas music. In that spirit, I'd like to proffer some of my favorite unconventional X-mas favorites:

In the number three slot, we've got quite a surprise decision. I'll admit it: every time I hear this song, I don't immediately think of X-mas--I think of Kiera Knightly. But TW likes the song, so in my tediously slow bid to get her involved in this blog, I'm including Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You."*



Like I said, unconventional is the name of this particular list, so in the number-two slot we have The Beach Boys and their X-mas classic "Little Saint Nick." I'm not sure why, but I just dig this piece--it always gets me in the spirit.



And finally, my all-time favorite (conventional or not) X-mas song is The Drifters "White Christmas." I first heard this song in the movie Home Alone, and I think it imprinted on my brain in a big way. The MoTown backups, and the very funky bridge solo (see when the backup reindeer is spotlit) make it particulary easy to love. Enjoy!



Other runner ups include: "Baby It's Cold Outside," "Santa Baby" and "Happy X-mas (War is Over)" by John Lennon, which only missed this list because of Yoko's vocal presence...ugh.

* Sorry for the youtube vids, but I haven't quite figured out how to post mp3s...