Marc's 25 Days of Christmas Music

[The Letter M]

So I started a thing on my Facebook today where I figured I'd share 25 Christmas songs that I really like, or think are pretty good and would like to share, and I figured I'd share those here too. Every day I'll (try to keep up with) post(ing) a new Christmas(-related) song and maybe my thoughts on it, and then you guys can discuss that song, tell stories about how you came to know it or anything related to that song, etc. etc.

This first one is a classic in terms of both Christmas and rock music - "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

I heard this one a few years ago, although I am sure I've heard many times before that, and only a couple years ago did I get into TSO. They're a great band and are mostly well known for their Christmas music albums, but this song in particular is probably their greatest "hit", and it's one of the more well-known covers of the "Carol of the Bells" theme (which may or may not pop up again on this list/countdown).

Anyways, hope this will generate some spirited discussion among you all! Hopefully I can think of 24 other GOOD songs to share with everyone here.

-Marc.

[TAC]

Awesome way to start.

[jjrock88]

This would be my all time favorite Christmas song.

Second would be "Christmas with the Devil" by Spinal Tap

[King Postwhore]

Love that song.

[TAC]

Second would be "Christmas with the Devil" by Spinal Tap

I have a feeling that will not make this list!

[jjrock88]

Second would be "Christmas with the Devil" by Spinal Tap

I have a feeling that will not make this list!

Fingers crossed lol. Hopefully Marc can check it out

[bl5150]

Might have to crack out a few Xmas albums myself soon...........there's the Merry Axemas stuff.  And I stumbled across this one in my stuff the other day - too busy with 1984 so not sure if it was any good,



Track List:

"We Wish You A Merry Xmas" ( Jeff Scott Soto / Bruce Kulick / Bob Kulick / Chris Wyse / Ray Luzier )
"Santa Claws is Coming to Town" ( Alice Cooper / John 5 / Billy Sheehan / Vinny Appice )
"Run Rudolph Run" ( Lemmy / Billy F. Gibbons / Dave Grohl )
"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" ( Ronnie James Dio / Tony Iommi / Rudy Sarzo / Simon Wright )
"Little Drummer Boy" ( Doug Pinnick / George Lynch / Billy Sheehan / Simon Phillips )
"Santa Claus Is Back in Town" ( Tim "Ripper" Owens / Steve Morse / Juan Garcia / Marco Mendoza / Vinny Appice )
"Silent Night" ( Chuck Billy / Scott Ian / Jon Donais / Chris Wyse / John Tempesta )
"Silver Bells" ( Geoff Tate / Carlos Cavazo / James Lomenzo / Ray Luzier )
"Deck the Halls" ( Oni Logan / Craig Goldy / Tony Franklin / John Tempesta )
"Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" ( Stephen Pearcy / Tracii Guns / Bob Kulick / Billy Sheehan / Greg Bissonette )
"Rocking Around the Xmas Tree" ( Joe Lynn Turner / Bruce Kulick / Bob Kulick / Rudy Sarzo / Simon Wright )
"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" ( Tommy Shaw / Steve Lukather / Marco Mendoza / Kenny Aronoff )

Oh...................and a very merry scary Christmas to you all from Tony Blair and his missus 




Another decent Xmas song by Lillian Axe:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-8NJ93eNHk

[wolfking]

This would be my all time favorite Christmas song.

This.  Although I'm not that big into XMas music.

[jjrock88]

That "We Wish You a Metal Xmas"album is pretty decent.  Same with the Twisted Sister xmas disc

[Jaq]

That "We Wish You a Metal Xmas"album is pretty decent.  Same with the Twisted Sister xmas disc

The year that came out I played Twisted Sister's cover of O Come All Ye Faithful like 200 times in a month. Fuckin' addictive.

[The Letter M]

Just so you guys know, I'm not really putting this together *seriously*, and by no means is this really in any order. When I said "countdown" before in the OP, I meant a countdown towards Christmas, really.

But yes, I decided to start off with a well-known Christmas rock song, and I'm glad everyone here is familiar enough with it! I was sure most people here would know that song.

I'll have to dig around and find some really good ones as the days go on, but as I start, the first week or so might be me picking random favorites from some predictable (for me) artists. We'll see...

-Marc.

[BlobVanDam]

Might have to crack out a few Xmas albums myself soon...........there's the Merry Axemas stuff.  And I stumbled across this one in my stuff the other day - too busy with 1984 so not sure if it was any good,



Track List:

"We Wish You A Merry Xmas" ( Jeff Scott Soto / Bruce Kulick / Bob Kulick / Chris Wyse / Ray Luzier )
"Santa Claws is Coming to Town" ( Alice Cooper / John 5 / Billy Sheehan / Vinny Appice )
"Run Rudolph Run" ( Lemmy / Billy F. Gibbons / Dave Grohl )
"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" ( Ronnie James Dio / Tony Iommi / Rudy Sarzo / Simon Wright )
"Little Drummer Boy" ( Doug Pinnick / George Lynch / Billy Sheehan / Simon Phillips )
"Santa Claus Is Back in Town" ( Tim "Ripper" Owens / Steve Morse / Juan Garcia / Marco Mendoza / Vinny Appice )
"Silent Night" ( Chuck Billy / Scott Ian / Jon Donais / Chris Wyse / John Tempesta )
"Silver Bells" ( Geoff Tate / Carlos Cavazo / James Lomenzo / Ray Luzier )
"Deck the Halls" ( Oni Logan / Craig Goldy / Tony Franklin / John Tempesta )
"Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" ( Stephen Pearcy / Tracii Guns / Bob Kulick / Billy Sheehan / Greg Bissonette )
"Rocking Around the Xmas Tree" ( Joe Lynn Turner / Bruce Kulick / Bob Kulick / Rudy Sarzo / Simon Wright )
"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" ( Tommy Shaw / Steve Lukather / Marco Mendoza / Kenny Aronoff )

I give that one a spin every year. Some Christmas songs are beyond salvation, but those versions of "We Wish You A Merry Christmas", "Silent Night", and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" are Christmas staples for me. A newer version also has Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer as a bonus track, which is also very cool. The rest are a mixed bag, some are pretty good, others aren't so good.
There are a few other similarly styled Christmas albums with old rockers on them, but this is the best of the bunch imo.

[Zook]

Santa Claus is Back in Town is the best them.

[hefdaddy42]

Santa Claus is Back in Town is the best them.

The version by Elvis Presley is the best.

[Zydar]

Santa Claus is Back in Town is the best them.

The version by Elvis Presley is the best.

My favourite version is by Bruce Springsteen.

Edit: Damn, I thought you meant Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.

[The Letter M]

Day 2 - "Twas The Night Before Christmas" by The December People

If you've never heard of The December People, you're missing out. A project by Robert Berry, most known for his Magna Carta Tribute albums and working with Emerson and Palmer on 3, he takes Christmas songs and their lyrics and applies them to really well-matched songs in the style of old prog and rock songs/artists, often mixing two songs by an artists into a new song with Christmas lyrics. It's quite genius IMO and they make for some of the most enjoyable Christmas songs I listen to!

The above selection is done in the style of Led Zeppelin, but I'll let you guys listen to it and figure out the (really obvious) song homages. The link is a music video of sorts, so if you want to skip right to the music, go to about the 1:55 minute mark, but if you want to watch it, it's actually quite a touching video.

-Marc.

[hefdaddy42]

I've got the first December People album, with this selection.  It's fun.

[The Letter M]

Day 3 - "Wonderful Christmas Time" by Paul McCartney

Yes, it's THIS song. Whether you like it or hate it, it's very infectious and that chorus gets stuck in your head for DAYS, and just when you think it's out of your head, it comes back and you hum at work, at school, at church, anywhere you go and others will either join in (seriously or sarcastically), and passersby will catch the infection.

Still, it's Paul, so it can't be ALL that bad. If anything, he knows how to write a catchy chorus. There will be other Beatles and Beatles-related songs on this list in the future, I'm sure.

-Marc.

[TAC]

Definitely a classic!

[hefdaddy42]

I fucking hate that song.

[jjrock88]

I fucking hate that song.

 

[The Letter M]

I fucking hate that song.

 

The worst is when you're in public, like at the mall or whatever, and it's on the overhead speakers playing, and you catch other people humming or singing to it, or they catch you, there's that moment of shared-shame and awkwardness that probably results nervous smiles and laughter later on.

-Marc.

[Prog Snob]

I fucking hate that song.

Yeah, it makes my ears bleed. 

Great start otherwise M.   

[The Letter M]

I fucking hate that song.

Yeah, it makes my ears bleed. 

Great start otherwise M.   

 

Yeah, I guess I should apologize, but I won't. I will be posting different and possibly random stuff, but just music that I (may or may not) like or music that I want to share. I do encourage others to talk about the songs I post, but also share their own if they'd like. I figure I'd generate some Christmas(-related) Music discussion here since I hadn't seen much of it before, so I figured a song-a-day type thing would be fun to do (and challenging for me to come up with 25 songs to share! lol).

-Marc.

[Prog Snob]

It's a really cool idea. I've always enjoyed Christmas music and I was just wondering how long it would take someone to put up Dream Theater doing O Holy Night.  To alleviate any further curiosity, here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NavgL2L57C4

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Heard Bad Religions christmas album last year. It's awesomly addictive! 

Bad Religion - "Hark The Herald Angels Sing"

[The Letter M]

Day 4 - "Joy To The World" by The Prog World Orchestra

Neal does what he does best and added his own proggy-flavor to Christmas music with the help of his prog-friends from all over the world, including a roaring solo by Steve Hackett!

This whole album is full of fun and quirky Neal music, and while most of it is prog, some of it is Neal being silly as he does. I may post one or two more from this album as it has been one of my favorites in the last few years and I spin it every December.

-Marc.

[The Letter M]

Days 5 & 6 - "Christmas Time" and "Linus & Lucy" as performed by Bela Fleck & The Flecktones

Sorry for the lack of updates the last couple of days, work has been killing me. Anyways, I tried finding these two from their studio versions but the album (as a whole) is not on YT, but I will say, do yourself a favor and buy this album. One of the best Christmas music albums I've ever heard (not that I've heard many, but it's great if you love music). It's progressive bluegrass, if you think such a thing can exist, but these guys are top-notch virtuoso musicians. They give Christmas music new life by transforming it into something alive with their instruments. I'll likely have a couple more from that album on this list further along.

As for these songs, who can't think of Christmas without thinking of the Charlie Brown Christmas Special?!? These two songs are pretty much embedded into my mind as being Christmas-y, along with the movie, and the music is just spectacular.

-Marc.

[Prog Snob]

There's always room for Peanuts!

[The Letter M]

There's always room for Peanuts!

  Yes there is!

Day 7 - "I Believe In Father Christmas" by ELP/Greg Lake

Here's a 'sort-of' Christmas tune but one of the classic prog bands of the 70's. It's a fun little tune that has some great moments thanks to Greg Lake. I can't think of Christmas in prog without this popping up right away.

-Marc.

[Prog Snob]

I was hoping this song would make an appearance. There's still another Christmas song by another band that I can't seem to find anywhere. I don't want to say it yet because you might put it up eventually, so I'm holding out a bit longer. 

[MoraWintersoul]

My favorite Christmas music is on the Finnish Raskasta Joulua CDs (the project with like 10-15 of best Finnish metal singers who tour the country each year and sing metal hits).

[hefdaddy42]

Days 5 & 6 - "Christmas Time" and "Linus & Lucy" as performed by Bela Fleck & The Flecktones

Sorry for the lack of updates the last couple of days, work has been killing me. Anyways, I tried finding these two from their studio versions but the album (as a whole) is not on YT, but I will say, do yourself a favor and buy this album. One of the best Christmas music albums I've ever heard (not that I've heard many, but it's great if you love music). It's progressive bluegrass, if you think such a thing can exist, but these guys are top-notch virtuoso musicians. They give Christmas music new life by transforming it into something alive with their instruments. I'll likely have a couple more from that album on this list further along.

As for these songs, who can't think of Christmas without thinking of the Charlie Brown Christmas Special?!? These two songs are pretty much embedded into my mind as being Christmas-y, along with the movie, and the music is just spectacular.

-Marc.

I love Bela Fleck, but I much prefer the originals by the Vince Guaraldi Trio.

There's always room for Peanuts!

  Yes there is!

Day 7 - "I Believe In Father Christmas" by ELP/Greg Lake

Here's a 'sort-of' Christmas tune but one of the classic prog bands of the 70's. It's a fun little tune that has some great moments thanks to Greg Lake. I can't think of Christmas in prog without this popping up right away.

-Marc.

See my comment from Wonderful Christmas Time.

[The Letter M]

Day 8 - "Nut Rocker" (by a  lot of various artists, take your pick...)

Today's selection is a piece that has been covered by several well-known rock acts, particularly the already-featured Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The original by Tchaikovsky is a classic and well-known piece greatly associated with Christmas music, so I present this song as well as it's two more well-known rock covers:
Performed by ELP
Performed by TSO

-Marc.

[The Letter M]

Day 9 - "Happy X-Mas (War Is Over)" by John Lennon

Being that John had an affinity for the number 9, and his death anniversary was recently, I figured I'd put this one up for the 9th day. A bit more touching and relevant than Paul's well-known Christmas-time tune, and the music video is very illuminating.

-Marc.