Category Archives: Caroldies (parodies of carols)

Tree-Mendous Holiday Fun: Hey Yew

Who’s that tree over there. I’m going to talk to it. I’m going to sing to it.

Singing a Christmas tree song in second person, Liz Madden wishes “Happy Christmas, Christmas Tree” with pretty antique folk–for the kids.

Praying to the thing, some little kid in some Kenny Rogers movie (‘Christmas from the Heart’) asks “Hey, Little Christmas Tree” in song for a better holiday.

Parry Gripp also wants to just call out compliments to the centerpiece. “Hey Christmas Tree” shouts out to the rafters, to the heavens, to the aliens–how beautiful YOU are! Alt pop.

Making this point the parody of ‘Tannenbaum’ John Miller, Lyle Stutzman, Eldo Miller, and Willard Mast sing to the youth groups of the three Amish-Mennonite sister churches in the Huchinson, KS area with a lovely “Oh Christmas Tree Parody.” Good fun.

Ghost of Christmas Pastiche: Miley Cyrus

Key of Awesome is so cool they get a mention with “12 Days of Miley.” It’s not funny. It’s mean. If you can’t stand her, here.

Venetian Princess gets fanny funny with “A Miley Cyrus Christmas.” It’s only a silly minute.

The “Miley Christmas/Parody of ‘The Christmas Song'” from our friends at FuMP: Robert Lund and Spaff.com. It replays over the credits if you don’t get it the first minute and a half.

Ghost of Christmas Pastiche: Metallica

Albums by less than Christian artists ironically covering Xmas are 1$ a dozen. It’s them playing bourgeoise. (Ha!) Many do that. (For $$$) Which makes it hard to find guitartists willing to put the musical stamp of some one greater on their own little holiday project. But, Youtube is endless…

So here’s “What If… Metallica Played Christmas Songs!” cobbled together by Creble Star with no little talent.

Ghost of Christmas Pastiche: Jim Morrison (the Doors)

vito106 has posted some foolishness that sparked a wee bit o’ controversy. “Back Door Santa” has no provenance, but it has some melty fun to it.

Mark Pitta has an exercise in imitation that pits Doors music to J Bells so let’s call it “Jim Morrison Jingle Bells Imitation.”

Since it’s fun i have to share Mr. Mojo’s “Lost Doors Christmas Song?” It’s out and out parody, but nom nom nom.

Masterful comic actor you’ve seen in something somewhere Mario Cantone has the bit we’re looking for. “Jim Morrison Christmas Special” makes merry with melody. The jokes don’t always land, but the effort is consciousness raising.

Ghost of Christmas Pastiche: Pink Floyd

Rooster Slayer noodles on his guitar with “Fa La La Floyd Christmas Song.” Mesmerizing, if a bit show offy.

Moneyshot Cosmonauts (od FuMP fame) melt it in a minute with “The North Side of the Pole, Part 4: Red and Green.” Top o’ the charts, baby! (Don’t forget “Parts 5 and 6“–cool, cool, cool.) (These are parodies, gang, but I couldn’t reisist, hee hee hee.)

Ghost of Christmas Pastiche: The Beatles

Michael Hall echoes the mid-’60s Fab 4 with “Fab 4 Christmas.”

Cover band The Rubber Band makes a living being The Beatles. They have a Christmas album Xmas! The Beatmas!

Their “Last Christmas” isn’t too bad, opening as it does with the ‘Mr. Postman’ intro. (Probably got the idea from The Ventures’ Christmas album from 1965 featuring “Sleigh Ride” with one of their own numbers morphing into a rocking interp of the moldy traditional. Moderne!)

Let’s feature “A Bairn is Born in Beatlehome” as an epic (minute and a half) tribute to the boys. It’s not terribly Christmassy, but hope you enjoyed the audition.

Ghost of Christmas Pastiche: Bach/Mozart

While delving into my fave-aroo phylum of novelty carol (the straight up parody of pop music into holiday humor) ANOTHER extra-nerdy subgenre presented itself: the traditional carol ‘in the style of’ someone famous. Please don’t misunderstand, i know nearly anyone can sing an old Xmas song in the strangled vocal impressions of Arnold, or Gollum, or Yoko Ono et al. But that’s not terribly funny. In fact it’s schtick best consumed impaired. What i’m getting at here is the masterful homage to an iconic style of music, a real treat that blends and bends, fuses and abuses the senses into an elevated state of yule-ocity.

(Honestly, this is a super weird sub-sub-genre and i’m not gonna find much… i’m going to pad out this month with actual parodies, cuz: LUVVUM! So enjoy these few and tip me to more, pls.)

Try this on:

A couple forward-thinking chamber orchestras (at least) have performed What If Baroque Masters composed those seasonal standards we hear annually.

Kjell Magne Robak kills it with”What If Bach Wrote ‘Last Christmas’?” (with a little help from Mozart). Points for acting it out.

Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia play the Caribbean spiritual “The Virign Mary Had a Baby Boy” like Handel (or something… i don’t get the nuances of the 17th – 18th Centuries). Points for oddness.

The Northern Lights Orchestra have a nice album with entitled What if Mozart wrote “White Christmas“? with “Let it Snow,” and–wait for it–“The Chipmunk Song.” This might be better than you think it is.

The mashup dearest to my heart (had it for twenty years) is The Hampton String Quartet’s “Frosty the Snowman” if Mozart had written it. Although, “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth” ain’t too bad.

Behold a “Star”: “Jor-El”

Perhaps the greatest icons in our culture take their cue from Christianity. You get how Superman is Christlike and all, right. Perfect for a Merry Christmas song, no?

Michelle Osorio has it boiled down to Ted Talk precision with her “Jor-El: Superman Christmas Carol.” Listen and learn, culture-philes. This is educational, amusing, and pretty.