imjustlori

the only christmas song i remember Sting doing was Gabriel's Message, on that first 80s-era rock-christmas cd (the one with gold stick-ish figure on a red cover).

Jon Anderson (of Yes) once did a partially-christmas album called Three Ships, featuring the title song.

AH -- always go Google. Sting's Gabriel's Message is on "A Very Special Christmas 1", Sting's Three Ships is on "A Very Special Christmas 3". Where #1 had the red cover (and #2 the green), #3 is brown (http://music.msn.com/album/?album=39986212&song=39986317).

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neadods.livejournal.com

That's a *very* big list for me - I'm in the midst of making plans to burn my favorite songs to a single Christmas CD and then going onto Itunes to buy the ones I don't already have.

Short list:
Linda Eder - Do You Hear What I Hear?
Chicago - Little Drummer Boy (also Eder's)
Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas
Springteen - Merry Christmas Baby
Bing/Bowie - Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth
Elton John - Step into Christmas
Boney M - Mary's Boy Child
You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch
Snoopy's Christmas
and anything by Mannheim Steamroller

(quick - guess my favorite carol!)

Those are the singles - it's also not Christmas until I've played the full 3 CDs of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra & the Victorian Christmas Revels.

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I mean, why should I stand next to the player and flip to the songs, or have to change CDs?

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neadods.livejournal.com

Especially when there are at least 6 CDs in my holiday binder that I only like one or two songs from? Yeah, time to burn, baby, burn!

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scaleslea.livejournal.com

Don't burn the CD unless you want it to be portable. Just get good speakers for the computer, or route the output to your stereo and play the songs directly from the computer.

Kee has a HUGE collection of holiday music. When I get back home, I'll look on iTunes and see how many DAYS of Christmas music we have.

Create a Holiday music playlist, put it on shuffle, and click play.

Doc

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cellymcfae.livejournal.com

I have so many--most of them are church-related, but here's a few:
E'en so Lord Jesus, Quickly Come
Carol of the Bells
Jesus Christ the Apple Tree
In the Bleak Mid-winter
O Come, All Ye Faithful (for the fabulous descant)
Once in Royal David's City (for the fabulous descant)
Gesu Bambino
Shepherd's Carol
O Holy Night

There are just so many to from which to choose!

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God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen is my fav for reasons i've never been sure, other than the Victoriana of it. My fav Christmas-themed album is Jethro Tull's Christmas Album where the current lineup of the band (along with a few past members like Dave Pegg) rerecord the many Christmas-themed songs the band has done in the last (almost) 40 years.

My fav Christmas movie of all time is "An American Christmas Carol" where Henry Winkler as "Benedict Slade" relives the Christmas Carol evening of ghosts in depression-era Massachusetts.

but i can also never tire of 24 hours of Jean Shepard's Christmas Story on TNT. :)

i can say i normally hate most of the P.A. music in shopping malls, mostly because they play nothing else and the sacharin saturation of it makes me sick. i believe christmas should be part of our lives, not replace our normal lives (or music) for 4 weeks and then be forgotten.

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Bob and Doug MacKenzie's 12 Days of [Canadian] Christmas. "And a BEER! (in a tree...)".

and, of course, any Vince Guaraldi peanuts themes.

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Anuna's first rendition of Winter Fire and Snow from Invocation (back before Katie McMahon left to tour with Riverdance),

Loreena McKennitt's A Winter Garden ep, and

many of the tracks on several Celtic Christmas cds from Celtic Heartbeat and Windham Hill records (though I think they're all out of print today).

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radiant-one.livejournal.com

You're not hallucinating. I also recall Sting singing I Saw Three Ships. I just checked a cd I thought it was on but no luck. If I come across something I'll let you know.

I've always been partial to Feliz Navidad by Jose Feliciano and Mary's Boy Child by Boney M. As for the classics, Minuet Chretien (Oh Holy Night) in French by Pavarotti rules.

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radiant-one.livejournal.com

I went to Sting's website. You can hear "I Saw Three Ships" on his play list along with "Gabriel's Message".

But for tracking it down purposes:

http://www.sting.com/discog/discog.php?view=song&id=162

The year was 1997, the album is: A Very Special Christmas 3, the label is A&M.

There ya go hon!

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I'm scary - I have about 30 hours of Christmas music. Nan is glad I'm not foisting it on her. With the exception of Mannheim Steamroller (and I think I'll get her with "A Solid Brass Christmas", her being a tuba player), she would prefer nothing more than to keep the music in the malls, where we hardly ever go.

One of the things I have is a tape copy of an old Readers' Digest 4 LP set, beautifully orchestrated (some would say overblown orchestration) and chorus on the first LP, very powerful, I love it.

Then again, I have a soft spot for Dr. Demento's Christmas CD. And the Jingle Cats.

And Mannheim Steamroller. :-)

I also have recordings of Mario Lanza singing Christmas Tunes - "Ave Maria" is stunning.

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Oh, and I also have two albums (1 LP - Volume 1, 1 CD - Volume 2) of music boxes playing Christmas music. Big, Victorian-era music boxes, not the little tinkly kinds you find in jewelry boxes or something like that.

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dawntreader

i love, love, love the Mannheim Steamroller CDs as well. :)

jingle bells is my favourite. i love the soft, quiet, lilting version they have and not the manic, breakneck speed versions you usually hear.

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And they have just fantastic arrangements. Chip Davis is a whiz at that. I want his job when I grow up. :-)

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And for a truly screwy song, "Christmas is Revolting (and So Are the Elves)", by the Tuna Observatory (which was Chicago radio personality Kevin Matthews and anyone else he may have roped into doing it) from 1983. This is also probably one of the rarest songs out there - it's been played on Dr. Demento, but except for a vinyl 45, it's never been released (and I'm not sure that 45 was ever properly released).

I have one.

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queenmaggie.livejournal.com

Oh, Nea reminded me, I love the Bing Crosby david Bowie duet Peace on Earth...
but my favorite is the Holly and the Ivy.
And I just can't reach any of the top notes anymore... sigh.
I contend that the George C Scott version of A Christmas Carol is the best at capturing the milieu, and at characterizing Scrooge as a real and sympathertic character, not just a caricature.

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I contend that the George C Scott version of A Christmas Carol is the best

HEAR, HEAR!!!!!

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neadods.livejournal.com

I third that vote! (Although if we're talking video, I also have a sneaking soft spot for Scrooge. There's something so delightfully sick about dancing on a coffin singing "Thank you very much, thank you very much!"

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dawntreader

the calypso style Mary's Boy Child by Boney M. there's just something about it that makes me extra-joyful and full of spirit.

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dawntreader

OH! and any of the Muppets Christmas songs!!!

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ptpgrad

check your puppy jeb account...let me know if it worked

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ptpgrad

bounced there, try the lori account...yahoo ish.

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YOU ROCK IN THE BIGGEST WAY.

::happydancinginmychair::

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That's not my account, that's the Boy's. I'll have to ask his "manager of accounts" to check and see why it's bouncing mail.

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Carol of the Bells. Almost any rendition, especially Manneheim Steamroller's version, ala Christmas in Sarajevo.

Done with just bells, or a full chorus, or with electric instruments, when done well, gives me a feeling of power and joy.

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Carol of the Bells

George Winston, December.

if you ain't got it, i'll bring my version to some party we do sometime whenever...

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