Month: March 2026

“One Day We’ll Look Back on This and [Meeting Smile After] Smile”

Junior Walsh covers Elvis’s “It Won’t Seem Like Christmas (Without You)” with significantly more country and less throaty misery. (It’s nasal here.)

Similarly titled, “It Won’t Seem Like Christmas Without You” tasks Stan Davis and Friends with making a 1920s style bomb. They succeed.

Dissolving all the aspects of Xmas one at a time, like he was wearing the Infinity Gauntlet, Barry Keenan takes us through “It Wouldn’t Be Christmas Without You” with a powered monotone. Disaffected easy listening kinda nails it.

Brooks & Dunn do that shaggy country shinging to convince you of their woe in “It Won’t be Christmas Without You.”

Dr. BLT is antsy looking at you packing a suitcase. “What Have You Got Up Your Sleeve (This Christmas Eve)” he folk/demands. Baby, please don’t go.

Dan + Shay cry over the “Break Up On Christmas” because of all the money already spent on presents. Snide pop country with just a skoosh of reggae.

“There’s Plenty of Frankincense in the Sea”

Leroy Sanchez rolls all over octaves with his R+B lovelorn letter “It Ain’t Christmas Without You“. It’s a mating call of prodigious proportions.

Dr. BLT demonstrates how country can make “It Ain’t Christmas Without You” a real downer. More of a bar howl.

Desi and Cody apply cowboy blues to “It Just Ain’t Christmas Without You“. Now it’s a mopey singalong.

It’s “One Long, Silent Night” without you yowls Mike Bryant with rarefied honky tonk backgrounds. That’s a sad one.

Doug Stone croons country weakly bc he’s missing you so much. Like all the time. But especially “When December Comes Around“. Symphonic.

Retro rock transforms “It Just Can’t Be Christmas Without You” by Kung Fu Monkeys into a dance party game of maybes.

“I Feel Like Our Lives are Moving in Different [Rein]Deer-ections” BLUE ALERT

Jordan leads The Ready Set song “I Don’t Wanna Spend Another Christmas Without You” with a cooking lesson. It’s a messy, spoofy pop take on heartbreak.

That’s a sharp contrast to Nsync’s “I Don’t Wanna Spend One More Chistmas Without You“, an over earnest boyband cheesefest of pop bologna.

At least “I’ll Be Missing You Come Christmas (A Letter To Santa)” by New Kids On The Block is more R+B sad in order to make the tweens sob.

Powerful distress from Tamela Mann asks in nearly fluent English “What is Christmas Without You?” Lots of answers to that question here.

Cute Aesthetics disco R+Bs “Snow Globe“–oddly enough about being without Mr. Melody. Then it starts skipping. And doesn’t stop. Now it’s weird.

One of my fave-o BLUE ALERT dumped songs is Landon Tewers’s “I Hope You Have A Shitty Christmas“. He hopes you’re eaten by a shark. And yes, there’s a last laugh. Rock.

“This Too Shall P[M]ass”

Jerry Lee Lewis is perhaps not so serious when he warbles “I Can’t Have A Merry Christmas Mary (Without You)” in his honkytonk boogie woogie way. But it’s a good time.

Using retro pop to sing the blues, Make Like Monkeys seem not to be “Getting Over Xmas Without U“. Any other holiday….

Saint Etienne covers Claudine Longet’s “I Don’t Intend to Spend Christmas Without You” with slightly less accented English. Sounds like a threat in this punchy pop.

It’s a group effort in GamjaMusic’s “Christmas Without You“. Sultry pop with an uncanny valley of emotion.

Bri Kaye ASMRs “At the Same Time” about the contradictions of a world without you. New Age indie with dynamite vocals.

I enjoyed the hell out of Mark Arnett’s “I Miss You Most at Christmas (Now That You Are Dead)” without sharing the whole skit. It’s not as asskicking as the slow country ballad, but there’s a punk outro i love.

“I Don’t Feel the Spark [to Light the Menorah] Any Longer”

“Hanukkah Without Ya” is Micah E. Wood (feat. Britt Olsen-Ecker & Jon Birkholz) flailing soul all over the shtetl missing you, boychik.

“Eight Nights Without You (On Hanukkah)” starts with a text. But Sheryl Braunstein is running out of folk pop patience after several nights. Be honest, Hebrew.

Olivia Mori goes cowboy for “8 Lonely Nights (A Blue Hanukkah)“. I’m not sure what to feel.

They Might be Giants take on “Feast of Lights” with a callout to the one who avoids. Don’t fight. Light. Toy piano pop.

“What Doesn’t [Kris]K[r]i[ng]ll[e] You, Makes You Stronger”

Jill Johnson is carrying a country torch in her “First Christmas Without You“. It’s slow, thoughtful, though the vocal trill gives it away. She’ll be fine.

“First Christmas Without” by War Pony Dos clashes tinkly xylophone notes with hollowed out vocals for ironic folk pop understatement. They get me.

hiShAndsRmiLk (ft. Hashter) mock their sentiment with “have christmas without me” with movie clips and garage insouciance. If you can’t laugh, boo hoo.

“An Awful Christmas and a Lousy New Year” is the name of the blues from Swamp Dogg with Jerry Williams Jr. and Bob Jones. Without their baby, who will fetch their drink?

Angry Johnny and the Killbillies was once a happy sort, now his “Christmas Cheer” is cussing, drinking, and hoping a flammable Xmas tree will carry his cares away. ‘Cuz you left. Raunchy country rock.

Clever alt rock, “Holiday Without You” has Reindeer Tribe holler out their dissatisfaction to some blue grass-like breakdowning.

“You’re Great, But I Don’t See[H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S] This Working Out”

The “Countdown to Christmas Without You (Remix)” by Naika Oko & Oshy R+Bs the isolation pretty hard, as well as just prettily.

For Linhy “December Without You” is too long, cold, and empty. Sweet R+B-ish pop.

For Amy Grant “December” without you is blurry, trembly, and wrestle-y. Pop country-ish limpness.

“Christmas Without You” pushes Tommy Page to sing louder than the pop music. Guess he’s too broken up about your absence to be heard.

Bruce Smith rallies with “Christmiss“, a jazzy rock number about fighting the wrongs and hoping to pick up her trail.

Make Like Monkeys save the roster (again) with a peppy “Don’t Let Christmas Come Without You“. Boss retro pop ballideering.

“I’ll Always Cherish the Good [Christmas]Times We had Together”

Plain White T’s make a pop party out of “Christmas Won’t be the Same without You“. We all grieve in different ways. Pass the chips.

Martin Nievera, instead, tortures us with ponderous easy listening in “Christmas won’t be the Same Without You“. Now i feel so bad.

You promised you’d come back “Come December” crows chump of the year Gary Roberts. Plodding country, like it’s a donkey ride.

Shouting the punk, MxPx declare “You’re the Only One I Miss (This Christmas)” and dare any of you to forswear them.

Waylan St. Palan & The Magic Elves agree not to tell the parents that this’ll be “My Last Christmas With You“. Dixieland hip hooraying.

You’ve been stringing August Lay along for too long, so here’s the ask: “Break up for Christmas“. Soaring soul for a sore soul.

“There’s No [Christmas] Magic Anymore”

OneRepublic wishes for a “Christmas Without You“. But they don’t mean it; you can tell with the subtext of how many times the word ‘you’ is used. Waltzy alt rock.

Bud Martin describes all the happy couples around him in “Christmas Without You“. Then the mandolin trills and it’s all gone country. Heavy sigh.

Al Walser missteps when he croons pop about “Christmas Without You (Live)” with a bevy of backup girl singers. You’re fine, kwicher bitchin’.

Trixie Mattel inventories burnt cookies, cold fireplaces, leaning trees… but it’s only due to “Christmas Without You“. Fine folk with a twisty Semitic punchline.

Stuck feeling like Edgar Allan Poe, Barnes and Barnes get crazy when “It’s Christmas Time and I Am Not with You“. Comedy pop with ironic amateurism.

“Navidad Sin Ti” from Triggers rocks below the border for a mighty ‘billy celebration of Soledad. I’m dancing here (stag)!

“It’s for the Best [Time of the Year]”

Charles Brown is lonely for you despite the choirs, toys, and bells. In “Christmas with No One to Love” he’s slinging the blues.

Unless I’m with my girl, said, I wanna be, I wanna be left alone, wails Gerald Levert in “Christmas Without My Girl“. Despite the first notes sounding like the Star Trek intro, this R+B gets lugubrious.

Jacquees is more casual with his “Christmas Without You“. I really shouldn’t be this sad, he tosses aside in this protesting too much R+B.

Measured and miserable Dan + Shay pop up some R+B to note that “Christmas isn’t Christmas” (if it’s not with you, you see).

Bobby Helms And Johnny Paycheck twang the strum slowly with “I’ll Place My Order Early“. See, Santa needs to get him back with his dear one. Definitely country.

Even if you were here now, I’d still be through with you, sniffs Griffin Zoar in the soul stitched together with easy listening diatribe “Christmas Time to Get Lost“. He don’t care, kiddo. And you can’t make him.