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Our BetterMost Community => The Holiday Forum => Topic started by: Jeff Wrangler on December 19, 2011, 10:03:13 am

Title: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on December 19, 2011, 10:03:13 am
I can't believe this hasn't been discussed, if not here, then in the polling place,  but I just did a general search of the site for "most annoying christmas songs" and nothing turned up.  ???

Anyway, I have three songs that I dislike intensely: The Beatles' "Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time," Jose Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad," and "The Little Drummer Boy," no matter who sings it!

I think the reason I dislike these songs so intensely is that once I hear one of them, it's stuck in my brain for hours and hours!  :laugh:

If anybody can find a preexisting thread on this topic, kindly bump it? Thanks!  ;D
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Sheriff Roland on December 19, 2011, 03:03:26 pm
Good subject for a thread Jeff...

but I must say, your choices are not prime 'annoying' fodder for me; I actually like "The Little Drummer Boy" and I really really like "Feliz Navidad".

My most hated (can't just call it annoying) holiday tune is, hands down, "Grandma Got Run over by a Reindeer". It was odd the first time I heard it, but each subsequent hearing just makes me dislike it more.

BTW, that's a Paul McCartney recording, not a Beatles's  song.
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Lynne on December 19, 2011, 03:24:47 pm
...
My most hated (can't just call it annoying) holiday tune is, hands down, "Grandma Got Run over by a Reindeer". It was odd the first time I heard it, but each subsequent hearing just makes me dislike it more.
...

That is a vile song and is just one more redneck embarrassment, IMO.  Not at all like 'Tender Tennessee Christmas' or 'Christmas in Dixie', not that I can get anyone else interested in hearing them.   :P

On the other hand, I've decided I actually like 'Santa Baby' - repetition will do that as well, it turns out.  :)

I like almost all of the carols - 'Good King Wenceslas' has terrific lyrics.
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on December 19, 2011, 03:43:00 pm
BTW, that's a Paul McCartney recording, not a Beatles's  song.

Thanks for setting me straight on that one. Now I can just blame Sir Paul and not all of the Beatles.  ;D
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on December 19, 2011, 03:51:04 pm
That is a vile song and is just one more redneck embarrassment, IMO.  Not at all like 'Tender Tennessee Christmas' or 'Christmas in Dixie', not that I can get anyone else interested in hearing them.   :P

Never heard of them, much less heard them.  :(

I confess I find "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" still good for laughs and something of an antidote to all the saccharine one hears this time of year.

Quote
On the other hand, I've decided I actually like 'Santa Baby' - repetition will do that as well, it turns out.  :)

Check the "Glee" thread; did I read somewhere that the gay boys do that one? I know I've read that Michael Buble does an interesting version. But I can't imagine that anyone outdoes the great Eartha Kitt.

Quote
I like almost all of the carols - 'Good King Wenceslas' has terrific lyrics.

That one, along with "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." is one of John Mason Neale's Victorian fake medieval carols. Sounds good when played by a brass ensemble, I think.  :)
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Lynne on December 19, 2011, 03:56:22 pm
Never heard of them, much less heard them.  :(

I confess I find "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" still good for laughs and something of an antidote to all the saccharine one hears this time of year.

Check the "Glee" thread; did I read somewhere that the gay boys do that one? I know I've read that Michael Buble does an interesting version. But I can't imagine that anyone outdoes the great Eartha Kitt.

That one, along with "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." is one of John Mason Neale's Victorian fake medieval carols. Sounds good when played by a brass ensemble, I think.  :)

I will dig them up later tonight, Jeff, when I can get to youtube.

In the meanwhile, YES, the boys on Glee did a fab version of 'Santa Baby' I posted in my blog over the weekend:

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgdLdl60EMA&ob=av3e[/youtube]

I will need to review the Eartha Kitt version - Paul played about 12 takes and I'm not even sure he got to that one.  ;)  :-*
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Sheriff Roland on December 19, 2011, 04:10:13 pm
Got another really offensive suggestion, with proof ...

Two years ago, Neil Diamond released a third Christmas album including the awfully self promoting "Cherry Cherry Christmas". Only just heard it a couple of times (thank god).

Cherry Cherry Christmas


Wish you a very merry, cherry cherry Christmas
and a holly holy holiday, too.
Underneath your tree may there always be
sounds of harmony, not a song sung blue .
Just a very merry, cherry cherry Christmas.
 
And if all of those who love you gather near,
you'll have a very merry, cherry cherry, holly holy,
rock and rolly Christmas this year.
 
When the snow drops on the treetops
it's a pretty amazing scene.
Hear the choir, light the fire.
Feels like pretty amazing grace if you know what I mean.
 
Oh yeah, it's Christmas time
In a world of make-believe I'm a believer,
and I believe in things not always understood,
but the things you feel make believing real.
That's why Christmas feels so good, so good, so good.

When you imagine all the world as one great chorus,
you're gonna learn that every voice has got a song.
Let's raise a Christmas toast of red, red wine,
we'll even sing Sweet Caroline while the whole world sings along.
 
I hear music in the sound of children laughing.
It's a beautiful noise that fits you like a song.
Makes you wanna have a very merry, holly holy,
cherry cherry Christmas time the whole year long.
The whole year long...sing your Christmas song...the whole year long.
 
Cherry Christmas, Everyone!!!

Oh, and, by the way, the album contains yet another, not really humorous (and annoying) Adam Sandler composition, "The Chanukah Song"
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: southendmd on December 19, 2011, 04:17:43 pm
I have TONS of xmess CDs, and very few songs actually annoy me.  However, "Little Drummer Boy" does not need to be heard more than once a year.  

"Santa Baby" is a lot of fun.  Eartha Kitt's is the classic version.  I also like Madonna's "Betty Boop" version.  Jane Krakowski does an awesome, sexy version.  Not sure I like Michael Bublé's though.  Try RuPaul's!

While we're at it, RuPaul does an awesome "I Saw Daddy Kissing Santa Claus".

I bored Lynne with sixteen versions of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" on youtube this weekend.  The "Glee" version is quite good, but check out the version with Margaret Whiting and Johnny Mercer, the composer.  

I hear there are a few southern xmess songs too...

Roland, I'm with you:  don't even need to hear that one; anything by Neil Diamond is guaranteed to be annoying.
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: CellarDweller on December 19, 2011, 04:25:52 pm
My three most hated Christmas Songs!!!


#3.  "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer."  It wasn't funny the first time I heard it, and it hasn't ever been funny any other time I've heard it.  Now there's even a 30 minute animated cartoon based on the song.  

::)

#2.  "Dominick The Donkey."  Recorded by Lou Monte, the song is about a donkey that helps Santa give out gifts in Italy.  Lou sings it with an Italian accent, saying things like "jingity jing, hee haw hee haw"  

::)

#1.  "The Christmas Shoes."  I understand that not everyone has a happy Christmas, but I don't think you'll hear a more depressing song.  This song chronicles a man who is tired of Christmas and standing in line in stores.  He's behind a child who doesn't have enough money to pay for a pair of shoes, and he overhears the child tell the cashier that his mommy is sick and needs to have these shoes "in case she meets Jesus tonight."

Heard it once, I was in tears halfway through the song, and I turn it off anytime I hear it start.  I know many people who tell me they do the same thing.
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Lynne on December 19, 2011, 04:36:06 pm
Wasn't bored - I was getting educated!  8)

And Chuckie - about those Christmas shoes - I had to sit through the *play*.  Never never never again.  Manipulative.
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: milomorris on December 19, 2011, 04:37:14 pm
Any pop/country singer who does a rendition of "Oh Holy Night" makes me grind my teeth.
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: CellarDweller on December 19, 2011, 04:37:30 pm
"Santa Baby" is a lot of fun.  Eartha Kitt's is the classic version.  I also like Madonna's "Betty Boop" version.

As everyone knows, I'm a huge Madonna fan, but I really don't listen to her version very often, I almost find her style of singing it annoying.  She took all of Eartha's sexiness and vampiness out of it.

Apparently Eartha once said at a concert before performing the song:

"I used to have a lot of fun with this song............... and then madonna recorded it."  

 :laugh:
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: CellarDweller on December 19, 2011, 04:39:17 pm
Any pop/country singer who does a rendition of "Oh Holy Night" makes me grind my teeth.

Does that include Josh Groban?  I really like his version.
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on December 19, 2011, 04:41:49 pm
I bored Lynne with sixteen versions of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" on youtube this weekend.

Consecutively?  :o

At one sitting?  :o

What was that? Aversion therapy?  :o

(Heard there was snow in Bahnstable this weekend--or, as the woman on the Weather Channel said it, Barn-stable.  ::) )
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on December 19, 2011, 04:44:21 pm
As everyone knows, I'm a huge Madonna fan, but I really don't listen to her version very often, I almost find her style of singing it annoying.  She took all of Eartha's sexiness and vampiness out of it.

Apparently Eartha once said at a concert before performing the song:

"I used to have a lot of fun with this song............... and then madonna recorded it."  

 :laugh:

 :laugh:  :laugh:  :laugh:
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: milomorris on December 19, 2011, 04:51:17 pm
Does that include Josh Groban?  I really like his version.

Yep. His version is choppy, and he breathes in illogical places. "It is the night," (breath), "of our dear Savior's birth," and "Oh night," (breath), "divine" are just 2 examples. More than that, he sings everything at the same level of intensity...or lack thereof.

Even Nat King Cole butchers this song, and I LOVE his voice. Pop, country, jazz, etc. singers have no idea how to handle the music.

Pavarotti's version(s) are quite musical, but its hard to get past the horrendous English. Even when he sang it in the original French, he made sounds that are unnatural to the language.

One of the best versions I've heard is by Plácido Domingo. He's good in both English, and the original French.


[youtube=425,350]
 
[/youtube]
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Luvlylittlewing on December 19, 2011, 04:55:01 pm
For some reason "What Child is This?" works my last nerve!  Maybe it's because of the Greensleeves thing!
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Lynne on December 19, 2011, 04:58:56 pm
Consecutively?  :o

At one sitting?  :o

What was that? Aversion therapy?  :o

(Heard there was snow in Bahnstable this weekend--or, as the woman on the Weather Channel said it, Barn-stable.  ::) )

I'm exaggerating - it was wonderful!  And there was a dusting of snow on the ground Sunday morning.

 :-*

I just realized I actually have Michael Buble' on my iPhone - "Cold December Night" - it was one of those Starbucks freebies, which I rely on to ever hear new music.  I really like it!
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: CellarDweller on December 19, 2011, 05:05:39 pm
This version of Jingle Bells by Barbara Streisand annoys the crap out of me.


[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2lRSk0MWAY[/youtube]
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: southendmd on December 19, 2011, 05:15:54 pm
This version of Jingle Bells by Barbara Streisand annoys the crap out of me.

Don't you go hatin' on Barbra!  At least she makes fun of the line:  "...misfortune seemed his lot; he got into a drifting bank, and then we got upsot.  Upsot?"
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: CellarDweller on December 19, 2011, 05:51:17 pm
I'm not hatin' on Barbara, just her version of that song.   :laugh:
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Marge_Innavera on December 20, 2011, 01:13:36 pm
Un-favorite performance of a Christmas song:  Aretha Franklin singing "Joy To the World".  I do love a lot of her stuff but just the memory of hearing JTTW conclude with someone yelling "OH YEAH!  OH YEAH!  OH YEAH!" comes close to giving me a headache.


Un-favorite song:  "Santa Baby."

Every time I hear it, no matter who's singing it, I want to slap the gold-digging little bitch from here to planet Jupiter.  (Well, ya did ask!   :laugh: )
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Marge_Innavera on December 20, 2011, 01:18:26 pm
I have TONS of xmess CDs, and very few songs actually annoy me.  However, "Little Drummer Boy" does not need to be heard more than once a year.  

It always struck me as a little odd -- of all the things you could do when introduced to a newborn baby, playing a drum?    ;)
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on December 20, 2011, 01:22:39 pm
Un-favorite song:  "Santa Baby."

Every time I hear it, no matter who's singing it, I want to slap the gold-digging little bitch from here to planet Jupiter.  (Well, ya did ask!   :laugh: )

I suppose when it's sung by a guy, it does nothing to combat gay stereotypes.  ;D  ;)
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: southendmd on December 20, 2011, 01:32:39 pm
Then there's this mess.  "Santa Buddy"?  "...I'll wait up for you, dude"?  Oy.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbbFpzly3eo[/youtube]
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Meryl on December 20, 2011, 02:42:46 pm
"The Twelve Days of Christmas" for me, even though we have fun playing a Brokie version.  Hmm, that should be bumped.  8)
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: CellarDweller on December 20, 2011, 04:08:49 pm
"The Twelve Days of Christmas" for me,


Twelve thank-you notes of Christmas

Dec 25

My dearest darling Edward,
What a wonderful surprise has just greeted me! That sweet partridge, in that lovely little pear-tree; what an enchanting, romantic, poetic present!  Bless you, and thank you.
Your deeply loving
Emily.




Dec. 26

Beloved Edward,
The two turtle-doves arrived this morning, and are cooing away in pear-tree as I write. I'm so touched and grateful!
With undying love, as always,
Emily.



Dec. 27

My darling Edward,
You do think of the most original presents! Who ever thought of sending anybody three French hens? Do they really come all the way from France? It's a pity we have no chicken coops, but I expect we'll find some.  Anyway, thank you so much; they are lovely.
Your devoted Emily.




Dec. 28

Dearest Edward,
What a surprise! Four calling birds arrived this morning. They are very sweet, even if they do call rather loudly, they make telephoning almost impossible - but I expect they'll calm down when they get used to their new home. Anyway, I'm very grateful, of course I am.
Love from Emily.



Dec. 29

Dearest Edward,
The postman has just delivered five most beautiful gold rings, one for each finger, and all fitting perfectly! A really lovely present! Lovelier, in a way, than birds, which do take rather a lot of looking after. The four that arrived yesterday are still making a terrible row, and I'm afraid none of us got much sleep last night. Mother says she wants to use the rings to "wring" their necks. Mother has such a sense of humor. This time she's only joking, I think, but I do know what she means.  Still, I love the rings.
Bless you,
Emily.



Dec. 30

Dear Edward,
Whatever I expected to find when I opened the front door this morning, it certainly wasn't six socking great geese laying eggs all over the porch. Frankly, I rather hoped that you had stopped sending me birds. We have no room for them, and they've already ruined the croquet lawn. I know you meant well, but let's call a halt, shall we?
Love,
Emily.




Dec. 31

Edward,
I thought I said NO MORE BIRDS. This morning I woke up to find no more than seven swans, all trying to get into our tiny goldfish pond. I'd rather not think what's happened to the goldfish. The whole house seems to be full of birds, to say nothing of what they leave behind them, so please, please, stop!
Your Emily.



Jan. 1

Frankly, I prefer the birds. What am I to do with eight milkmaids? And their cows! Is this some kind of a joke? If so, I'm afraid I don't find it very amusing.
Emily



Jan. 2

Look here, Edward,  This has gone far enough. You say you're sending me nine ladies dancing. All I can say is, judging from the way they dance, they're certainly not ladies. The village just isn't accustomed to seeing a regiment of shameless viragos, with nothing on but their lipstick, cavorting round the green, and it's Mother and I who get the blame. If you value our friendship, which I do (less and less), kindly stop this ridiculous behavior at once!
Emily.



Jan. 3

As I write this letter, ten disgusting old men are prancing up and down all over what used to be the garden, before the geese and the swans and the cows got at it. And several of them, I have just noticed, are taking inexcusable liberties with the milkmaids. Meanwhile the neighbours are trying to have us evicted. I shall never speak to you again.
Emily.



Jan. 4

This is the last straw! You know I detest bagpipes, and yet you send pipers! The place has now become something between a menagerie and a madhouse, and a man from the council has just declared it unfit for habitation. At least Mother has been spared this last outrage; they took her away yesterday afternoon in an ambulance to a home for the bewildered. I hope you're satisfied.




Jan. 5

Sir,
Our client, Miss Emily Wilbraham, instructs me to inform you that with the arrival on her premises at 7:30 this morning of the entire percussion section of the London Symphony Orchestra, and several of their friends, she has no course left open to her but to seek an injunction to prevent you importuning her further. I am making arrangements for the return of much assorted livestock.
I am, Sir, yours faithfully,
G. Creep
Solicitor
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Lynne on December 20, 2011, 05:57:02 pm
OMG - Chuckie!!

 :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

(People one cube over wonder what I'm snorting about...)



Twelve thank-you notes of Christmas

Dec 25

My dearest darling Edward,
What a wonderful surprise has just greeted me! That sweet partridge, in that lovely little pear-tree; what an enchanting, romantic, poetic present!  Bless you, and thank you.
Your deeply loving
Emily.




Dec. 26

Beloved Edward,
The two turtle-doves arrived this morning, and are cooing away in pear-tree as I write. I'm so touched and grateful!
With undying love, as always,
Emily.



Dec. 27

My darling Edward,
You do think of the most original presents! Who ever thought of sending anybody three French hens? Do they really come all the way from France? It's a pity we have no chicken coops, but I expect we'll find some.  Anyway, thank you so much; they are lovely.
Your devoted Emily.




Dec. 28

Dearest Edward,
What a surprise! Four calling birds arrived this morning. They are very sweet, even if they do call rather loudly, they make telephoning almost impossible - but I expect they'll calm down when they get used to their new home. Anyway, I'm very grateful, of course I am.
Love from Emily.



Dec. 29

Dearest Edward,
The postman has just delivered five most beautiful gold rings, one for each finger, and all fitting perfectly! A really lovely present! Lovelier, in a way, than birds, which do take rather a lot of looking after. The four that arrived yesterday are still making a terrible row, and I'm afraid none of us got much sleep last night. Mother says she wants to use the rings to "wring" their necks. Mother has such a sense of humor. This time she's only joking, I think, but I do know what she means.  Still, I love the rings.
Bless you,
Emily.



Dec. 30

Dear Edward,
Whatever I expected to find when I opened the front door this morning, it certainly wasn't six socking great geese laying eggs all over the porch. Frankly, I rather hoped that you had stopped sending me birds. We have no room for them, and they've already ruined the croquet lawn. I know you meant well, but let's call a halt, shall we?
Love,
Emily.




Dec. 31

Edward,
I thought I said NO MORE BIRDS. This morning I woke up to find no more than seven swans, all trying to get into our tiny goldfish pond. I'd rather not think what's happened to the goldfish. The whole house seems to be full of birds, to say nothing of what they leave behind them, so please, please, stop!
Your Emily.



Jan. 1

Frankly, I prefer the birds. What am I to do with eight milkmaids? And their cows! Is this some kind of a joke? If so, I'm afraid I don't find it very amusing.
Emily



Jan. 2

Look here, Edward,  This has gone far enough. You say you're sending me nine ladies dancing. All I can say is, judging from the way they dance, they're certainly not ladies. The village just isn't accustomed to seeing a regiment of shameless viragos, with nothing on but their lipstick, cavorting round the green, and it's Mother and I who get the blame. If you value our friendship, which I do (less and less), kindly stop this ridiculous behavior at once!
Emily.



Jan. 3

As I write this letter, ten disgusting old men are prancing up and down all over what used to be the garden, before the geese and the swans and the cows got at it. And several of them, I have just noticed, are taking inexcusable liberties with the milkmaids. Meanwhile the neighbours are trying to have us evicted. I shall never speak to you again.
Emily.



Jan. 4

This is the last straw! You know I detest bagpipes, and yet you send pipers! The place has now become something between a menagerie and a madhouse, and a man from the council has just declared it unfit for habitation. At least Mother has been spared this last outrage; they took her away yesterday afternoon in an ambulance to a home for the bewildered. I hope you're satisfied.




Jan. 5

Sir,
Our client, Miss Emily Wilbraham, instructs me to inform you that with the arrival on her premises at 7:30 this morning of the entire percussion section of the London Symphony Orchestra, and several of their friends, she has no course left open to her but to seek an injunction to prevent you importuning her further. I am making arrangements for the return of much assorted livestock.
I am, Sir, yours faithfully,
G. Creep
Solicitor

Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: ifyoucantfixit on December 20, 2011, 06:42:33 pm
This version of Jingle Bells by Barbara Streisand annoys the crap out of me.


[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2lRSk0MWAY[/youtube]


    I have always loved Barbra.  However/// this is a total disaster.  Makes me want to throw things at her....yuk
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: brianr on December 20, 2011, 08:19:14 pm

Twelve thank-you notes of Christmas

Dec 25

My dearest darling Edward,
What a wonderful surprise has just greeted me! That sweet partridge, in that lovely little pear-tree; what an enchanting, romantic, poetic present!  Bless you, and thank you.
Your deeply loving
Emily.

There is a version similar to this that sometimes turns up on radio at this time of the year by the wonderful Penelope Keith ('To the Manor Born' and 'the Good Life' amongst others) It always has me in stitches
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: louisev on December 20, 2011, 09:52:53 pm
Feliz Navidad can be rendered listenable with a well placed parody lyric:

http://www.minibite.com/christmas/policestoppedmycar.htm (http://www.minibite.com/christmas/policestoppedmycar.htm)
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on December 21, 2011, 12:10:20 pm
Oh, yeah. I'm not so fond as I might be of Blue Christmas. What a downer!  :P
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Shakesthecoffecan on December 21, 2011, 12:11:51 pm
Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.

The only thing that could make that song stoopider is to have the Chipmunks sing it.
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on December 21, 2011, 12:14:23 pm
Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.

The only thing that could make that song stoopider is to have the Chipmunks sing it.

Hey! I think that's actually a funny idea! Would be good for a laugh, for certain. At least once.
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Sason on December 21, 2011, 03:20:24 pm

Twelve thank-you notes of Christmas


 :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Hilarious!!
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on December 21, 2011, 04:09:15 pm
Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.

The only thing that could make that song stoopider is to have the Chipmunks sing it.

It just occurred to me: Alvin and the Chipmunks do have their own Christmas song.

Remember? Alvin wants a hula-hoop.  ;D
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: southendmd on December 21, 2011, 05:16:20 pm
It just occurred to me: Alvin and the Chipmunks do have their own Christmas song.

Remember? Alvin wants a hoola-hoop.  ;D

More than a song, they had their own Christmas album.  Here's "Christmas, Don't Be Late":

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hAUWyp0qzs[/youtube]
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on December 21, 2011, 07:12:31 pm
More than a song, they had their own Christmas album.  Here's "Christmas, Don't Be Late":

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hAUWyp0qzs[/youtube]

 ;D

See what you started by bringing up the Chipmunks, Truman?  ;D  :-*
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on December 22, 2011, 12:13:43 pm
#2.  "Dominick The Donkey."  Recorded by Lou Monte, the song is about a donkey that helps Santa give out gifts in Italy.  Lou sings it with an Italian accent, saying things like "jingity jing, hee haw hee haw"  

Quote
Lyrics to Dominic The Italian Christmas Donkey :

Hey! Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
It's Dominick the donkey.
Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
The Italian Christmas donkey.
(la la la-la la-la la la la la)
(la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)
Santa's got a little friend,
His name is Dominick.
The cutest little donkey,
You never see him kick.
When Santa visits his paisons,
With Dominick he'll be.
Because the reindeer cannot,
Climb the hills of Italy.

Hey! Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
It's Dominick the donkey.
Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
The Italian Christmas donkey.
(la la la-la la-la la la la la)
(la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)

Jingle bells around his feet,
And presents on the sled.
Hey! Look at the mayor's derby,
On top of Dominick's head.
A pair of shoes for Louie,
And a dress for Josephine.
The labels on the inside says,
They're made in Brooklyn.

Hey! Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
It's Dominick the donkey.
Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
The Italian Christmas donkey.
(la la la-la la-la la la la la)
(la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)

Children sing, and clap their hands,
And Dominick starts to dance.
They talk Italian to him,
And he even understands.

Cumpare sing,
Cumpare su,
And dance 'sta tarantel.
When jusamagora comes to town,
And brings du ciuccianello.

Hey! Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
It's Dominick the donkey.
Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
The Italian Christmas donkey.
(la la la-la la-la la la la la)
(la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)

Hey! Dominick! Buon Natale!
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
Hey! Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
It's Dominick the donkey.
Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
The Italian Christmas donkey.
(la la la-la la-la la la la la)
(la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)
Santa's got a little friend,
His name is Dominick.
The cutest little donkey,
You never see him kick.
When Santa visits his paisons,
With Dominick he'll be.
Because the reindeer cannot,
Climb the hills of Italy.

Hey! Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
It's Dominick the donkey.
Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
The Italian Christmas donkey.
(la la la-la la-la la la la la)
(la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)

Jingle bells around his feet,
And presents on the sled.
Hey! Look at the mayor's derby,
On top of Dominick's head.
A pair of shoes for Louie,
And a dress for Josephine.
The labels on the inside says,
They're made in Brooklyn.

Hey! Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
It's Dominick the donkey.
Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
The Italian Christmas donkey.
(la la la-la la-la la la la la)
(la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)

Children sing, and clap their hands,
And Dominick starts to dance.
They talk Italian to him,
And he even understands.

Cumpare sing,
Cumpare su,
And dance 'sta tarantel.
When jusamagora comes to town,
And brings du ciuccianello.

Hey! Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
It's Dominick the donkey.
Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
The Italian Christmas donkey.
(la la la-la la-la la la la la)
(la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)

Hey! Dominick! Buon Natale!
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)

OK, that's gotta be the worst Christmas song ever!  :P

Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on December 22, 2011, 12:21:14 pm
"The Twelve Days of Christmas" for me.

Tell you what, I have a memory buried deep in my childhood of a parody--maybe done by Allan Sherman?--of this song. All I can remember of it is the last line:

"And a Japanese transistor radio!"

(This was obviously back in Ancient Times when transistor radios were the hot new thing.  ;D )
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Monika on December 22, 2011, 01:18:23 pm
OK, that's gotta be the worst Christmas song ever!  :P


I agree. I got a headache just from reading the lyrics. Ouch.
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: CellarDweller on December 23, 2011, 06:58:05 am
It's worse sung, with the music.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON8JT8seaWU[/youtube]
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Marge_Innavera on December 23, 2011, 11:30:48 am
Oh, I forgot one:  Dan Fogelberg's "Same Old Lang Syne." 

A good song to listen to if you want to celebrate the holidays by sticking your head in a gas oven or jumping off a 40-story building; otherwise, stick to something more upbeat.  Like just about any Christmas/holiday/winter song ever written.
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Marge_Innavera on December 23, 2011, 11:53:22 am
This version of Jingle Bells by Barbara Streisand annoys the crap out of me.


[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2lRSk0MWAY[/youtube]

OMG!  No more coffee for her!   :laugh:
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Lynne on December 23, 2011, 11:56:57 am
Oh, I forgot one:  Dan Fogelberg's "Same Old Lang Syne."  

A good song to listen to if you want to celebrate the holidays by sticking your head in a gas oven or jumping off a 40-story building; otherwise, stick to something more upbeat.  Like just about any Christmas/holiday/winter song ever written.

It's funny, Marcia, but that's one of my favorite songs.   :)

I think I like to wallow this time of year.

And I don't have any problems with Neil Diamond, either.

 ::) 8)
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Marge_Innavera on December 23, 2011, 11:59:05 am
We're in agreement about Neil Diamond, so let's go with that.   :)

Quote
I think I like to wallow this time of year.

To an extent I do too, especially this year with both a death and some serious rifts in my birth family. But for that, I prefer "Song For a Winter's Night" (Sarah McLachlin's version).
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Lynne on December 23, 2011, 12:19:04 pm
We're in agreement about Neil Diamond, so let's go with that.   :)

To an extent I do too, especially this year with both a death and some serious rifts in my birth family. But for that, I prefer "Song For a Winter's Night" (Sarah McLachlin's version).

Agreed.  8)

I will look that one up when I get a chance later today - thank you for the suggestion.  I tend to like her.  I only need to work until noon or so because Monday and Tuesday were so interminable... :) and factoring in my BetterMost time.
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on December 23, 2011, 12:35:48 pm
A good song to listen to if you want to celebrate the holidays by sticking your head in a gas oven.

New Year's Eve tends to make me want to do that. God, I hate New Year's Eve.  :-\
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Lynne on December 23, 2011, 12:46:01 pm
New Year's Eve tends to make me want to do that. God, I hate New Year's Eve.  :-\

I usually do something quiet like have a Bogart movie marathon all by myself...NYEve is just an arbitrary construct, best I can tell.  There was that one time in SF, though... ::)

Anyhow - a college friend of mine wrote a pretty darned good article on the subject - I really enjoyed it - shared it on FB - but I'll give you the link here:

Good Riddance, Resolutions (http://www.lcweekly.com/rants-a-raves/2419-good-riddance-resolutions[/url)
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Marge_Innavera on December 23, 2011, 01:42:21 pm
New Year's Eve tends to make me want to do that. God, I hate New Year's Eve.  :-\

I've had some good times on New Year's Eve, but neither that nor New Year's Day have ever been really special for me.  Good thing this year, as I'll be working on both the 31st (overnight!) and the 1st.  Christmas Eve too; but we get Christmas off and quit early, at 6:00 a.m. instead of 7:30.  Bummer, but it doesn't happen most years.

Back OT, one Christmas song that people often dislike but always makes me laugh is "Jingle Bells", by the Singing Dogs.
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Marge_Innavera on December 23, 2011, 01:43:38 pm
Agreed.  8)

I will look that one up when I get a chance later today - thank you for the suggestion.  I tend to like her.  I only need to work until noon or so because Monday and Tuesday were so interminable... :) and factoring in my BetterMost time.

That's one of the Christmas "Brokeback songs" for me, in that it often puts me in mind of Ennis.
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Pipedream on December 23, 2011, 08:45:45 pm
Seriously, one of these (foggy) days, I might very well strangle Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer along with his partner in crime: Frosty The Snowman! Urghh.   ::)

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUVQtUbQCEA[/youtube]
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Pu-bVrndgY[/youtube]

 8)
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Pipedream on December 23, 2011, 08:59:07 pm
And if you thought english/american holiday songs were all too sugary and unbearable, you certainly haven't been exposed to many of the german ones. What about Heintje's version of "Heidschi Bumbeidschi"? Warning: this one comes right out of the poison cabinet. . .

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=496QyjNE-Vo&feature=related[/youtube]
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: David In Indy on December 23, 2011, 09:38:57 pm
And if you thought english/american holiday songs were all too sugary and unbearable, you certainly haven't been exposed to many of the german ones. What about Heintje's version of "Heidschi Bumbeidschi"? Warning: this one comes right out of the poison cabinet. . .



I am not familiar with this song, but I kind of liked it! Maybe I'm weird. :laugh:

He's a cute little kid too!
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Monika on December 24, 2011, 03:28:54 am
It's worse sung, with the music.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON8JT8seaWU[/youtube]
Yes, it was even worse


*run into the woods never to be seen again*
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Sason on December 24, 2011, 07:20:42 am
And if you thought english/american holiday songs were all too sugary and unbearable, you certainly haven't been exposed to many of the german ones. What about Heintje's version of "Heidschi Bumbeidschi"? Warning: this one comes right out of the poison cabinet. . .

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=496QyjNE-Vo&feature=related[/youtube]

O.M.G.....

This defies all serious commenting....

I wonder if this recording can be regarded as child abuse? Should we alert the authorities?
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Sason on December 24, 2011, 07:25:06 am
Yes, it was even worse


*run into the woods never to be seen again*

How sad.   :(

And here some people say animals improve your life. This tragic outcome clearly proves them wrong.

Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: CellarDweller on December 24, 2011, 02:45:52 pm
Back OT, one Christmas song that people often dislike but always makes me laugh is "Silent Night", by the Singing Dogs.


I've never heard the Singing Dogs do "Silent Night".  I've heard them do "Jingle Bells".


[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xam01uaj6Vg[/youtube]


I have heard the Jingle Cats do "Silent Night", from their CD, "Meowy Christmas".



[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9LqRl7tqf4[/youtube]
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Marge_Innavera on December 24, 2011, 06:02:01 pm

I've never heard the Singing Dogs do "Silent Night".  I've heard them do "Jingle Bells".


Oy!  I had my dogs and cats mixed up. Sorry, I corrected the post.   :(

I have a CD assortment of Christmas music, and the cats' version of "Silent Night" is on it.  Played the Singing Dogs video just now, and sure enough, my dog barked right along with it!  IMO, the tinkly background music is what makes it so funny.
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Meryl on December 25, 2011, 12:46:55 am
You're not the only one who hates singing, Anke!  ;D

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQTm0GFtrpQ[/youtube]
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: ifyoucantfixit on December 25, 2011, 12:59:31 am


   I am all about that cat..  I hate those too. 
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: serious crayons on December 25, 2011, 04:10:17 am
At this point in life, frankly, it's a rare Christmas carol that doesn't annoy the hell out of me, unless it's done really well.

I love "O, Holy Night" if it's sufficiently dramatic and terrifying (I love a really imperiously commanding "Faaaaall on your knees!!"). I love the melancholy "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," especially if done by someone really Greatest Generation-y like Judy Garland; it so perfectly illustrates the outlook of people living through a potentially world-changing war. I like "Carol of the Bells" by almost anybody. I have come to appreciate "Santa Baby." "Deck the Halls" brings back fond memorie of the time my son voluntarily memorized the three verses and sang it solo to his first-grade class.

Other than that, it has to be a REALLY good rendition for me to really genuinely like any Christmas song. Tonight while driving, my sons and I listened to a CD of Christmas songs. Unfortunately, almost all of them were bad versions.

On the other hand, I feel a certain cultural obligation to listen to them with my sons and pass along their heritage. If I don't, it's possible they'll never have any Christmas music until Kanye gets around to recording Christmas rap.

All that said, here is my vote for the worst Christmas song ever -- a song I had never heard and didn't even realize was a Christmas song until the two seasons I spent working at Macy's, where it was on the Muzak rotation.



[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiDht6CcYgE[/youtube]




Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on December 25, 2011, 10:48:14 am



You're not the only one who hates singing, Anke!  ;D

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQTm0GFtrpQ[/youtube]

SHRIEK!!!!!!!   :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on December 25, 2011, 10:51:13 am



Ok, it's from last year, but,
as we say, it's Christmas --!
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS5WjGvFDuo&feature[/youtube]



Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Sason on December 25, 2011, 12:18:25 pm

I love "O, Holy Night" if it's sufficiently dramatic and terrifying


How about Jussi Björling, one of the world's finest tenors ever?


[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nrDfqoYzNo[/youtube]
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: southendmd on December 25, 2011, 02:49:48 pm
I love Jussi!

Now this is another thing altogether.  I nominate this as the most bizarre xmess song:

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXDLY-tH8_w&feature=related[/youtube]

"I was drinking Champale.  Pink Champale."
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: serious crayons on December 25, 2011, 02:57:27 pm
How about Jussi Björling, one of the world's finest tenors ever?

That's a good one, thanks!  :)

Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Sason on December 25, 2011, 03:00:42 pm
That's a good one, thanks!  :)




Glad you like it.   :)
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Pipedream on December 26, 2011, 08:30:00 am
You're not the only one who hates singing, Anke!  ;D

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQTm0GFtrpQ[/youtube]
Haha. I don't hate singing. I just hate bad music.    ::)
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Meryl on December 26, 2011, 01:26:38 pm

Ok, it's from last year, but,
as we say, it's Christmas --!
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS5WjGvFDuo&feature[/youtube]

Strange, but cute!   ;D
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Meryl on December 26, 2011, 01:27:46 pm
This is mind-blowingly beautiful!

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MXlm47iCzU&feature=share[/youtube]
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on December 26, 2011, 03:18:50 pm


Now this is another thing altogether.  I nominate this as the most bizarre xmess song:

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXDLY-tH8_w&feature=related[/youtube]

"I was drinking Champale.  Pink Champale."

 :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: southendmd on December 31, 2011, 01:51:34 pm
This is mind-blowingly beautiful!

Sure enough, Meryl!  Thanks.
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on December 10, 2017, 12:01:20 am
Christmas is only a little more than two weeks away. Time to resurrect this thread.  ;D

I was thinking about it over dinner this evening. I'm sure I must have written about this somewhere on a preceding page, but I'm not going to search for it. I'm just going to say, probably repeating myself, that if I never heard "White Christmas" and "Silent Night" again, I wouldn't mind.

Aside from the fact that the song gets done to death every holiday season, I suspect I dislike "White Christmas" because it's not true to my life. "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know"? Hello. I grew up and live in southeastern Pennsylvania. I could probably count on the fingers of one hand the number of "white Christmases" that I've experienced in my 59 years. And every year the TV weather talkers prattle about "our chances for a white Christmas."  :P

"Silent Night" just raises my blood sugar level.
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: serious crayons on December 10, 2017, 10:37:42 am
I could probably count on the fingers of one hand the number of "white Christmases" that I've experienced in my 59 years.

I dream of a brownish-greenish Christmas. That is, a Christmas without snow, which I am pretty sure I have never seen. I remember at least a couple of years where it came close, but there was always at least an inch or two on the ground by Dec. 25. And sometimes much more than that. I'm not a big fan of winter or snow, so I would be happy with a Christmas of color.

Of course, I've lived in other places over the Christmas season that were slightly less white than Minneapolis. In New Orleans, I loved doing my shopping in a T-shirt, walking around the French Quarter, sipping a Hurricane from Pat O'Briens' takeout window.

But since my then-husband and I both have/had family in Minneapolis, we always came back here for the actual holiday.


Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: CellarDweller on December 10, 2017, 08:52:17 pm
"Silent Night" just raises my blood sugar level.


perhaps a different version is in order........


[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_GGBAxwm0I[/youtube]
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on December 14, 2018, 11:49:19 am
When my alarm went off this morning, the radio station was playing that great Christmas classic "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer."  :laugh:
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Front-Ranger on December 14, 2018, 12:06:14 pm
Thanks for bumping this thread, Jeff! It only took me 8 years but I just listened to Leontyne Price singing "O Holy Night." Mesmerizing!

I heard Pavarotti singing it yesterday, when the carol won the Christmas Countdown on our classical music station for the third year in a row. I think I prefer the Price version.
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: serious crayons on December 14, 2018, 02:31:44 pm
There's controversy brewing around "Baby, It's Cold Outside." At least one radio station has banned it because it can be interpreted as a date-rape scenario. I've thought that for a couple of years, and at one point commented on FB that the woman in the song probably wound up with a #metoo story.

So now Dean Martin's daughter has been defending it, saying her father would never think that way. Which may be true, although if Dean ever did think that way I doubt he'd tell his daughter about it. (Bill Cosby's wife defended him, too.)

But here's my take on it. It's possible that Dean Martin and whoever else has sung it may not have meant it that way. And maybe it didn't even occur to some that it could be interpreted that way. But it's part of a culture that encourages men to think it's OK to act that way and then keep going, despite the woman's protests.




Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: CellarDweller on December 16, 2018, 12:54:13 am
When my alarm went off this morning, the radio station was playing that great Christmas classic "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer."  :laugh:

blech!
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on December 17, 2019, 10:30:47 pm
Time to bump this thread, because I've just written elsewhere that the music of Carol of the Bells drives me batty.  :laugh:
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: CellarDweller on December 18, 2019, 01:45:02 am

Same as usual for me.

Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer,  Dominic The Donkey, and The Christmas Shoes.
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: serious crayons on December 18, 2019, 11:53:58 am
As I just wrote elsewhere, Dean Martins' "Marshmallow World" is the worst. I don't know if it's even a Christmas song, but it's always played among Christmas songs on retailers' Muzaks.


Same as usual for me.

Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer,  Dominic The Donkey, and The Christmas Shoes.

"Grandma GROBAR" is pretty bad, too. The other two I don't know, but they don't sound like songs I'd like.


The other day I realized I feel slightly sorry for "Baby, It's Cold Outside." I am willing to believe the original writers and performers meant the song in all sincerity as a harmless flirtatious little ditty.

Unfortunately it now reads like a dialogue between Harvey Weinstein and an aspiring young actress.



 
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: CellarDweller on December 18, 2019, 12:36:37 pm
"Grandma GROBAR" is pretty bad, too. The other two I don't know, but they don't sound like songs I'd like.

"Dominick the Donkey" is a Christmas song written by Ray Allen, Sam Saltzberg and Wandra Merrell, and was recorded by Lou Monte in 1960, on Roulette Records. The song describes a donkey who helps Santa Claus bring presents ("made in Brooklyn") to children in Italy "because the reindeer cannot climb" Italy's hills. The song was re-released onto Amazon on September 26, 2011, on Dexterity Records.  The spelling of "Dominick" was modified to "Dominic" for the re-release. It was included in Volume 2 of the Ultimate Christmas Album series produced by Collectables Records and on the Christmas compilation album Merry Xmas 2011 by Cinquenta Musica.

The song was listed at No. 14 in Billboard's "Bubbling under the Hot 100" list in December 1960.  Santa Claus owning a donkey is later referenced in the 1977 television special Nestor, the Long–Eared Christmas Donkey. In that special, the donkey's name is "Spieltote," who is voiced by Roger Miller and who is the narrator.





"The Christmas Shoes" is a Christmas-themed song by the Christian vocal group NewSong. The song was released through Benson Records as a bonus track on their 2000 album Sheltering Tree, at the urging of St. Louis and syndicated radio personality DC (of Steve & DC). DC also co-wrote and co-produced the hit single in the Summer of 2000.  It reached No. 31 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.  "The Christmas Shoes" spent one week at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and No. 42 on the Hot 100 chart.   It was written by NewSong group members Eddie Carswell and Leonard Ahlstrom, and radio personality Isaiah "D.C." Daniel.

The song recounts the events experienced by a narrator completing the last of his gift-shopping on Christmas Eve. He is waiting in the checkout line behind a young boy who wants to buy a pair of shoes for his terminally-ill mother: she will die soon and he wants her to appear beautiful when she meets Jesus. He is short on money and the narrator ends up paying for the shoes, which reminds him of the true meaning of Christmas.


Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: southendmd on December 18, 2019, 01:16:55 pm
The other day I realized I feel slightly sorry for "Baby, It's Cold Outside." I am willing to believe the original writers and performers meant the song in all sincerity as a harmless flirtatious little ditty.

Unfortunately it now reads like a dialogue between Harvey Weinstein and an aspiring young actress.

I'm with you.  The song has an interesting history.  Per wiki:

"During the 1940s, whenever Hollywood celebrities with vocal talents attended parties, they were expected to perform songs. In 1944, Loesser wrote "Baby, It's Cold Outside" to sing with his wife, Lynn Garland, at their housewarming party in New York City at the Navarro Hotel. They sang the song to indicate to guests that it was time to leave. Garland has written that after the first performance, "We became instant parlor room stars. We got invited to all the best parties for years on the basis of 'Baby.' It was our ticket to caviar and truffles. Parties were built around our being the closing act." In 1948, after years of performing the song, Loesser sold it to MGM for the 1949 romantic comedy Neptune's Daughter. Garland was furious: "I felt as betrayed as if I'd caught him in bed with another woman." The song won the 1949 Academy Award for Best Original Song."

Here it is, in context from "Neptune's Daughter" with Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalban.  Judge for yourself.  I especially love the reprise:  the gender roles are switched in a great comic turn by Red Skelton and Betty Garrett.

Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: CellarDweller on December 18, 2019, 02:33:49 pm
There are now 'sanitized" versions of this song.  I prefer the original.
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: serious crayons on December 18, 2019, 03:15:50 pm
She didn't even watch him pour the drinks! As the lyrics imply, hers is probably roofied.
 

There are now 'sanitized" versions of this song.  I prefer the original.

What -- you prefer

I simply must go (Baby it's cold outside)
The answer is no (But baby it's cold outside)
The welcome has been (How lucky that you dropped in)
So nice and warm (Look out the window at that storm)


to the ultraromantic

I simply must go (and I respect your decision; can I call you a Lyft?)
The answer is no (And I realize no means no, so I won't push it any further)
This welcome has been (Enjoyable -- now have a good night)
So nice and warm (Look out the window -- the Lyft is here.)


I prefer that one to

So really I'd better scurry (Beautiful please don't hurry)
OK, that's it -- hand me my phone; I'm tweeting Ronan Farrow.



Actually, I made those up. But I have seen the sanitized versions you're talking about and agree they're lacking.

This one isn't offensive, though I'm not sure I see the point in doing it:






Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: serious crayons on December 20, 2019, 12:44:50 pm
Turns out "Carol of the Bells" has a long and complex history. It started out as a Czech song about New Year's Eve and no reference to bells.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shchedryk_(song) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shchedryk_(song))


http://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/12/carol-bells-shchedryk-ukraine-leontovych.html (http://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/12/carol-bells-shchedryk-ukraine-leontovych.html)
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Front-Ranger on December 06, 2020, 06:01:35 pm
Am I getting too PC? I was listening to "Sleigh Ride" and the constant cracking of the whip really bothered me.

"Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring-ting-tingling, too
Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you
Outside, the snow is falling, and friends are calling, "yoo-hoo!"
Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you
Giddy-yap, giddy-yap, giddy-yap, let's go
Let's look at the show
We're riding in a wonderland of snow
Giddy-yap, giddy-yap, giddy-yap
It's grand just holding your hand
We're gliding along with a song of a wintery fairyland
Our cheeks are nice and rosy, and comfy-cozy are we
We're snuggled up together like two birds of a feather would be
Let's take that road before us and sing a chorus or two
Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you
There's a birthday party at the home of…"
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: serious crayons on December 06, 2020, 08:14:35 pm
I don't find this annoying so much as startling. I came across it for the first time the other night and thought, is there anyone you'd consider less likely to record a Christmas song? The version I watched had written lyrics, and I was startled to hear they were kind of sexist. I don't think of Keith Richards as particularly sexist. But then I discovered there are a number of videos with this recording, and that the song is originally by Chuck Berry, which explains both the sexism and the fact that Keith, a lifelong Chuck Berry fan, would choose to record it.

One thing about a Christmas song is that it can bring years of royalties. Which may not be a big factor for Keith, but might have been for Chuck.





Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on November 27, 2023, 03:04:57 pm
One of my favorite radio stations, normally an 80's--90's station, has already started playing nothing but Christmas songs. That drives me crazy. However, when my alarm went off yesterday morning, the station began to play "Do You Hear What I Hear?" and I decided I actually like that song.

The singer was a woman. I don't know who she was, and, of course, the DJ didn't say--and that always drives me crazy, too.

(As for "The Little Drummer Boy"--let's not go there.  :laugh: )
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: southendmd on November 27, 2023, 05:57:19 pm
One of my favorite radio stations, normally an 80's--90's station, has already started playing nothing but Christmas songs. That drives me crazy. However, when my alarm went off yesterday morning, the station began to play "Do You Hear What I Hear?" and I decided I actually like that song.

The singer was a woman. I don't know who she was, and, of course, the DJ didn't say--and that always drives me crazy, too.

(As for "The Little Drummer Boy"--let's not go there.  :laugh: )

Whitney Houston?  Carrie Underwood?  Long shot:  Karen Carpenter?
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on November 27, 2023, 10:14:38 pm
Whitney Houston?  Carrie Underwood?  Long shot:  Karen Carpenter?

Once I learned she had recorded it (thank you, Wikipedia), my guess would be Carrie Underwood. I think I know the voices of the other two well enough that I'm pretty sure it wasn't them.
Title: Re: Most annoying/least favorite holiday songs
Post by: Front-Ranger on December 24, 2023, 06:19:09 pm
I've decided my least favorite is the rendition of "Jingle Bells" that ends with the driver cracking the whip and the horse neighing in alarm (or pain).