Five Non-Traditional Christmas Songs by Artists not Named Mariah Carey or Michael Bublé
- Justin Emmerton
- Dec 1, 2017
- 3 min read
It’s that special time of year once again! That magical time where every store, café, and radio station assaults your eardrums with the same four repetitive Christmas songs until all you can think is, “Hey, being dead might be neat!” But what if I told you it doesn’t have to be that way? Narrativity is here to turn that seasonal depression into seasonal grudging tolerance. Here are five of my favorite Christmas (or winter) related songs to help inject some variety into your holiday playlist.
5. "A Christmas Fucking Miracle," Run the Jewels
You’ll notice a trend on this list: I enjoy my Christmas songs light on the cheer and heavy on the “real”. I love this song because while it has an overall dark tone, it’s about staying positive in the face of adversity. It’s a song about realizing that your life is what you make of it. I especially admire El-P’s line, “Don’t fret little man, don’t cry / They can never take the energy inside you were born with / Knowing that, understand you can never be poor / You already won the war, you were born rich.”
4. "Carry Me Home," Hey Rosetta!
Moving swiftly along from a gritty hip-hop song, here’s a feel-good indie rock tune! This song strikes a great balance between indie-rock and a contemporary Christmas song (throw some tubular bells in there, baby, you got a Christmas song goin’). Lyrically, the song is relatable to anybody who’s been away from home on Christmas. Maybe you were forced to work the graveyard shift at a fast food joint; maybe you’re a touring musician thousands of miles from home. Nothing sucks more than being away from your loved ones on Christmas, but hopefully you’ll find solace knowing that you’re not the only one. Hey Rosetta! is here to alleviate your blue Christmas.
3. "Snow Falls in November," Julie Doiron
Okay, yes, this isn’t a Christmas song, but this is my list and I'm a loose cannon who plays by my own rules. I tend to make a playlist for every season, and this has been on my winter list since I first discovered it back in 2010. It’s a very simple song, but extremely accessible, and beautiful in its simplicity. This song reminds me of my favorite thing to do on a snowy day: sit on the couch, put a record on, and stare at the drifting snow outside. It’s one of the most serene, calming sensations I’ll ever have. At least until reality sets in and I think, “Well fuck, I'd better grab the goddamn shovel.”
2. "Fairytale of New York," The Pogues
"Fairytale of New York" will always have a special place in my heart. I grew up in a very musical household. My father has played in bands since he was about 14, and the radio was only ever turned off when we watched TV or went to bed. I remember my dad playing this song on Christmas Eve when I was in elementary school. My mother sighed and said, “Don’t show him this song,” but I was captivated. The fact that my mom didn’t want me listening to it somehow made it feel like I was getting away with something that I would normally get in trouble for. On top of all that, it’s a perfect song, a real and gritty anti-Christmas song that has somehow become a holiday classic.
1. "Listening to Otis Redding at Home During Christmas," Okkervil River
Full disclosure: Okkervil River is one of my favorite bands of all time. Top five for sure. With that being said, this is by far my favorite non-traditional Christmas song. It’s a song that I connect with on multiple levels. It reminds me a lot of my first Christmas home from college. That feeling of coming home and feeling like you’ve resumed a video game that you left on pause for a few months. You fall into old habits and talk to old friends as though you just saw them yesterday. While it's still a Christmas song, it’s also a classic story about “the one that got away,” as Okkervil River’s frontman Will Sheff laments about an ex-girlfriend and thinks of the time they spent together in his childhood home. It's the kind of wistful nostalgia that's perfect for Christmas.
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