I Want to BELIEVE:I

Seeing Santa is all well and good for kids who gotsa, but most of us closed our eyes and just KNEW he was on his way. Our faith moved mountains of presents. Seek not to understand that you may be getting, but be getting that you may understand. Altogether now: F-A-I-T-H.

The New Anxiety slog through their struggles in epistemology with their indie “When We Believed.” It goes as well as could be expected.

The Ohio City Singers folk rock “A Season for Believing” with a touch of Motown. It’s a call to transforms.

Santa & There Toymakers make a meal out of the (not exactly light-hearted) plea “You’ve Got to Believe in Me.” Santa seems hair metal desperate. I’d do it, if i were you.

Look Alive Christmas

I had hoped from the cool title that “Wake Me Up When Christmas Ends” would flip our concept on it’s stocking toe, but Luke McMaster plies lounge easy listening pop to a lovelorn letter all about missing you.

Ketchy Shuby funks up “Santa Better Not Wake My Girl Up” with all the ooohs and unhs you could ever want. I dig it, but wazza matter with a woken girlfriend?

“Don’t Wake Me Up (On Christmas)” from Don Fish tortures the vocals into, well not chipmunks, but some other varmint–only intoxicated. Warped folk.

Mars makes “Don’t Wake Me Up (For Christmas)” much more lively with their ’70s exotic instrument popology. Hand jive, Moog, cuckoo clocks… go cat go.

Up and at ‘Em Christmas

Status Quo wants you to wake up wake up because “It’s Christmas Time.” Old timey rock of the pop persuasion.

Train wants you to wake up, since that rhymes with “Shake Up Christmas.” Rage pop.

Tasha Layton gets big band diva with “Wake Up It’s Christmas.” It’s big, it’s loud, it’s sexy–but when she’s right, she’s right. Wait, 3 A.M.?!

Somebody “Wake Me Up On Christmas Day” folks Andrew Clark (w/J.P. Cormier). This is a cry for help. He’s not just lonely, he’s grieving. Hello?

Hard country from Matt Woods calls on you to “Wake Me on Christmas.” It’s not a booty call if you do it. He(and the whiskey)’s standing by… (or lying down).

Get Going Christmas

Annie & Ben trample ‘Jingle Bells’ to sketch an amusing descent into chaos at the North Pole. “Wake Up Santa” they hail, hoping Daddy will set things straight. Kidsong blight.

Bud Kirsch’s lugubrious “Wake Up Santa” slows the roll call with country crawling pop. Neither the angel Gabriel nor the elves can do it. Threats are made.

Grampa rock from Ashford calls out “Santa Wake Up!! Wake Up Santa!” Off key shot calling from some armchair Claus.

“Wake Up Santa Claus” is equally atonal, but the big band backing Clarence Daniels covers for a lot of warbling.

Another diamond-in-the-rough novelty gem, “Santa’s Funky Wake-Up Call” by Rick Quarles (The Singing Science Teacher) does indeed get funky. He may have saved Christmas. Uh-oh, he didn’t!

Come ‘Round Christmas

Bruce and Carl bang the drum and cry out garage-style for “Christmas Awake! It’s Christmas!” Mostly they want to wake you up.

“You Gotta Get Awake This Christmas Break” is a symbolic gesture from Robby Grant suggesting achieving layers of consciousness from enlightenment to helping with the laundry. Peppy indie.

VanVan, Heiress Harris rap you up with their cute as pie “CHRISTMAS WAKE UP.” Presents rhyme with blessings in this house.

Forest Blakk returns with “Wake Up! (It’s Christmas Time),” a party pop of R+B intention. More belly rubbin’ than eye rubbin’ here, y’all.

“Wake Up, It’s Christmas Morning” is on the spiritual side from Rob Mathes. Broken hearts get helped as well. Spiritual blues.

Open Those Eyes Christmas

BooneDocs raps in a round with “Christmas Morning.” When boys become gangsta, Santa better watch out.

Rap takes the form of “Wake Up Kids, Santa Is Here” from Tha D Boyz. It’s not a good form for the hip hop culture.

Kristian Noel Pedersen returns to exhort Emily “Wake Up! Its Time For Christmas!” But this pop strummer is about her First Christmas. Way to scare her.

Then he’s back again with “Waking Up (On Christmas Day)” which inserts jazzy underlays to highlight the chaos of the merriment. Better than a glass of water in the face (barely).

Reanimate Christmas

Bill Chiklakis appears to call us out of hibernation with his loudly orchestrated soft-pop “Wake Up.” Beautifully done, but not inspirational.

David Lazar winds up “Wake Up, Let’s Go” until the funk starts pouring out of the punch bowl. Strangely, this is a nattering reminder alarm to get the chores done Christmas Day and not so much about the fun times.

Better than average retro pop “Wake Me Up When It’s Christmas Time” makes Australian Michael Carpenter the leader of the package unwrapping.

Greet the Day Christmas

Fountain Dew keeps on waking up in the middle of the night with “That Christmas Feeling.” Shredding punk that suddenly stops. Who knows why.

“Wake Me Up When Christmas Comes” is New Age voice tricks by CHEMICAL ROMANCE LOUIS EARN LUMBER. It’s dream in a coma.

Exceptional melding of genres occurs in Noodle Noggin’s “Ding Dong, Wake Me Up.” From Barney Gumble to The Wiggles to Korn: it’s a boisterous buffet that’s Advent adjacent. (It’s little better than the Wham! mashup “Wake Me Up on the Rooftop.”)

Reindeer Tribe telescopes the focus to a singularity with “Wake Up Jacob.” Made it rhyme there, you see. Time to shake those chains, goes the alt rock lyrics.

Surface Surface Surface Christmas

“Wake Me Up: The Christmas Song” is Parliament Brawl piling punk atop goth garage until spittle covers everything. This is the seasonal variant of their hit.

Amo Joy’s “Wake Up (To the Christmas Spirit)” is goofy brass noodling all over a rich Tin Pan Alley mug’s worth of rich musings. I mean, you tell me.

“When I Wake Up It Will Be Christmas” by Megan and Tom Carnell is an etiquette guide to Xmas Eve behavior. Heavy rock over toddler song makes for an interesting mashup. Off to bed I go!