“Tinsel Town” by SHeDAISY is more straightforward irony smushing Hollywood’s values with Christmas’s morals. Sprightly country pop.
“Karaoke In a Bar” seems to be the antidote for those Christmas movies playing over the taps. Tara Thompson girlies her way through this depressed country bummer. Anti-Christmas?
Juke joints were centers of trouble, thus the coin operated music machine therein was the eye of the strumming. It’s okay to associate them with rednecks. And sad, lonely souls.
‘Pretty Paper’ is playing on the jukebox, for Alan Jackson’s broke-hearted “Honky Tonk Christmas.” This country western may not wax poetic, but it saxes up the joint.
Also moon-eyed, Scout Speer honkies the tonk for “Coming Over For Christmas.” She’s got a plan of action, not the expected from barflies hearkening to the jukebox.
Broken almost beyond belief, The Fades sound off their indie about your cruelty “Last Christmas (On the Beach).” Their only solace was a jukebox in a bar full of racist homophobes. Yowza.
Put a coin in the jukebox won’t you dear? drawls John Pedigo’s Magic Pilsner for the slow dancing “Counting Back Down (To Next Christmas Time).” More despair that the next quarter mayn’t cure.
Calmer, Bronwen’s “Christmas After All” sets The jukeboxplays,/We’ll sing til morn, but in a civilized Celtic way.
Sometimes the jukebox is unavoidable. “Already Home” is the ironic CW indie from Destin, where she tells of the long drive after the missed flight, and the dive they hit for coffee. They’re together, if not home, so… home. Pretty.
It’s Nat King Cole on the jukebox when “Mrs. Christmas” and Charge the Atlantic are the only ones bobbing over beers. Oddly pop indie.
It’s ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ on the jukebox when Adam Tomcat hits “Christmas in the Country.” Smooth, if not charismatic for country music.
Same tune on the box for “Neon Christmas” wherein Mitchell Tenpenny brings the twang. Pop country can work as music, dammit.
Now it’s ‘Islands in the Stream’ (??) on the jukebox for “State with Bear on Flag” with James Mean strumming for all he’s worth on this folk rock indie. More sorrow drowning.
And so it’s now ‘Blue Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain’ on the jukebox for the truly novel “Chinese Cowboy Hat.” KC Glynn features a trucker with an existential crisis to a metronomic country beat.
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).
“Daddy, Is Santa Really Six Foot Four?” Kay Brown wants to know, when reporting the scene she dug the night before. There may have been Mommy-kissing and Daddy-threatening, so i dunno what’s going on in this household, but that ain’t him, babe. American Song-Poem R+B.
Funkdoobiest raps some BLUE ALERT name dropping in “Superheroes.” Did I see Santa? No, it’s the Green Lantern. Understandable.
Royce D. Sean takes a country minute to point out “That wasn’t Santa Claus” in the manger. You’re seeing someone else. White beard, judging good/bad, giving… mistaken identity.
Cary Grant’s “Christmas Lullaby” (1967) begins as a spoken confession to the sleeping child about hopes and dreams (and Jesus, too!). Then he–sorta–sings!
Barbra Streisand presides over the ethereal “Christmas Lullaby” with stately grace. She da Queen.
Joliet4 shovels on the suffering and bleeding for her string-heavyily orchestrated “The Christmas Lullaby.” Yet, this is indie, so depressing? Or just accurate??
Balsam Range hits the bluegrass monotone nicely with their “Christmas Hymn.” (Which i have other versions of as “Cradle Hymn” here sweetly harmonized by Elizabeth Mitchell for your taste test comparisons.)
It’s time to inject some romance into the snark. Let’s ship Santa and, well… you! Or me. Or someone else.
Perhaps most notoriously, Eartha Kitt owned “Santa Baby” as a (quid pro quo?) love song to Mr. Spendy. She even followed it up with a sequel the next year: “This Year’s Santa Baby” updating the gold-digging. For novelty purposes, i approve of the punk update by The Dirty Panties. But let’s close this squirmy throwback with a modernist view from Miley Cyrus on The Jimmy Kimmel Show. Me too, Santa!
Kylie Minogue stirs pop into the jazz with her extensive list of wants, but “Oh Santa” she really wants a kiss from inside that big beard.
While we’re country, y’all, Angela Watson belts out the family friendly “We Love Santa Claus.” Love CAN be bought!
Brandon M.C. points out that with new love it doesn’t matter that “Santa Brought Me Nothing.” A guitar exercise, more than an indie love song.
Any Given Sin seconds the emotion with the country-pop anthem “Nothing for Christmas.” Santa’s just kinda irrelevant here.
The Clarence Williams’ Blue Five ragtime the beejeepers out of “Santa Claus Blues.” No money means no honey, Red.
“Ho! Ho! Oh Nooo!” is insistent punk from The Bad Engrish. This is a BLUE ALERT level of complaint.
Somebody adored small children Emerson & Cassidy enough to cut an album of their lisping and spitting. “Santa Clause Is Not Coming to Town” may be social commentary on the capitalistic corporate scheme, or it may be dumb kids who can’t remember lyrics.
Jonwayne DJs old carols/movies to give us the mashup “No Santa.” BLUE ALERT!
Worth repeating: And i’ve repeated this before… Adolphe Adam slow blues the story of how Mr. Christmas began in the incomparable “Santa Had a Dream.” Nonstop on repeat, please.
Maybe Santa started as a baby, a “Baby Santa“! Kevin! rocks the idea when this whiskerless, reindeer-milk-drinking infant would bungee down chimneys on his unbmilical cord. Listen to believe.
Joel Kopischke returns with his “Santa Claus Saint Nicholas” (Alexander Hamilton parody). Rap, and yeah. That. Well, a taste of it.
Nicole C Mullen features a spoken word story about the origin of The Winter Presenter in “St. Nick’s Groove.” Tossing gold coins through the window? A miracle!
Nick and Jenny Maciaszek’s “Christmas Legend” begins in the coal mine and follows the dream with lilting folk country. Riding the Harley through the sky… that’s new.
Gary Fjellgaard cowboys up for the time “Santa Put a Saddle on a Reindeer.” That was the moment he got strange enough to become myth. Simple country.
