Snow Patrol will be releasing their follow-up to 2008′s A Hundred Million Suns later this year. Not sure if an official release date has been set for the new album, Fallen Empires, but on September 4th they will be releasing the first single from the album, “Called Out in the Dark.” Not sure if we’ll ever hear anything as solid as Final Straw, but this song is more than tolerable.
I need to preface this post with four simple words.
I HATE CHRISTMAS MUSIC
Why do I hate it? Well, in recent years it has just become a platform for crappy pop stars to keep re-covering the same christmas songs over and over. I don’t need to hear Carrie Underwood sing White Christmas, or Wynonna singing Silent Night, or any big shot artist covering a christmas classic to get me into the spirit.
I think I should stop being such a grinch, and just let the infographic do that talking. So here are some of my favorite original Christmas songs:
Alan Parsons In A Winter Wonderland by Grandaddy
Another Christmas Song by Stephen Colbert
Christmas Time Is Here by Vince Guaraldi Trio
Did I Make You Cry On Christmas Day (Well, You Deserved It!) by Sufjan Stevens
Don’t Shoot Me Santa by The Killers
I Hate Christmas Parties – by Relient K
Love Came Down At Christmas by Jars of Clay
When I Get Home for Christmas by Snow Patrol
Xmas Party by Middle Distance Runner
I love Grandaddy‘s rendition of “Walking In a Winter Wonderland,” but that may also be because I’m a fan of The Alan Parson Project. The song features some subtle humor about Parsons, but knowing a thing about him is not required to enjoy the track. Stephen Colbert is getting exactly what he wants with the next song, he has become part of my holiday listening tradition, and it is hilarious. Fans of Arrested Development, Peanuts Cartoons, and The Royal Tennenbaums will recognize the next little gem by the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Sufjan Stevensput out his giant box set of Christmas music a few years ago, and song #4 is probably my favorite from that whole collection. The Killers’s song about a guy potentially getting murdered by Santa is interesting to say the least, watching the music video is a must. If Christmas time just gets you down, then be sure to listen to the track by Relient K. I love the next song by Jars of Clay, who took an awesome beat and made an enjoyable new Christmas classic. Snow Patrol fans should not be without song #8. I’m a huge fan, and that song is just awesome. And finally, song #9 is by Middle Distance Runner. If you’ve never checked them out, I hope this song drives you to do so.
Okay. I was a bit of a Grinch earlier, but if you examine the chart you will see that there does exist a small sliver of well done covers. So here’s three Christmas covers I do enjoy, and are part of my holiday canon:
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by Death Cab for Cutie
Holly Jolly Christmas covered by The Format
O Come, O Come Emmanuel covered by Belle & Sebastian
These songs may not be original compositions, but I much prefer these to the originals. Death Cab’s version of “Baby Please Come Home” is just great. And a classic from Belle & Sebastian.
I hope you’ve found some new additions to your holiday listening list, and we here at IHYEB wish you a very Merry Christmas!
Well in the world of tech stuff, which as the administrator and web designer of this site I spend a lot of time in, the newest version of firefox came out today. Our site is best viewed in Firefox, just so ya know.
Why should you switch to firefox instead of using internet explorer? Because the newest version of Internet Explorer is bundled with a nickleback song
