Christmas tunes to mark the season
The holidays are a time to blend the old with the new.
The holiday Christmas catalog grows every year, but here are eight holiday songs — four newer takes and four classic renditions — to enjoy this holiday season.
Go to www.8tracks.com/listenin25 to listen to this mix.
“Getting Ready for Christmas Day” by Paul Simon
The opening track of Simon’s most recent album, 2011’s “So Beautiful or So What,” isn’t the typical Christmas track, but the catchy holiday tune subtly weaves in a political theme without being too blunt.
“Run Rudolph Run” by Chuck Berry
The godfather of rock ‘n’ roll doesn’t hold back on this toe-tapping classic.
“Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helms
It’s hard to believe Helms released the original version of this Christmas classic in 1957. Despite countless covers, none can quite come close to the original.
“Baby It’s Cold Outside” by She & Him
This version of the holiday classic reverses the male and female roles in the duet, and though Zooey Deschanel is the more public face of the duo, M. Ward’s subdued croon balances out Deschanel’s pep.
“Christmas Time is Here” by the Vince Guaraldi Trio
The famous jazz track from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is synonymous with the bitter-sweet nature of the season.
“The Christmas Song” by Nat King Cole
Perhaps one of the most famous Christmas classics, the track was made famous by Nat King Cole, but he wasn’t the writer. According to the story, co-writer Bob Wells has written four lines in the blistering summer of 1944 in an effort to stay cool.
Mel Tormé saw the words and the two turned into a song in about 40 minutes.
“Happy Christmas (War is Over)” by Damien Rice
This cover of the famous John Lennon Christmas cuts out Yoko’s backing, the backing choir and simplifies it to vocals and an acoustic guitar, but the song still exudes
“New Year’s Eve” by Tom Waits
It’s the holidays, and not just Christmas, and the softer side of Tom Waits and his husky voice provide a fitting twist to the New Year’s mainstay “Auld Land Syne.” Waits mixes in his own vocals on the verses, which aren’t all that holiday, but he brings it home with the best of them on the chorus.