There’s nothing wrong with the usual holiday hits, but as you bust into the eggnog, why not spike your playlist with these lesser-known classics?
For most of us, the holiday season doesn’t really get going until we feel moved to blast the soundtracks to the season. And if you aren’t feeling festive just yet, fret not. There’s still plenty of time to listen to holiday music to help you invoke some cheer.
But rather than gorge yourself on all those Spotify playlists that are just shuffled mixes of the same songs, this year why not expand your holiday listening with some holiday songs that, while not as well known as, say, Madonna’s version of “Santa Baby” or pretty much any seasonal offering by Michael Bublé, will still get you right in the spirit?
In the interest of spreading some holiday cheer, we bring you 10 of our favorite alternative original holiday songs that could trigger some happy memories of holidays past — or even serve as the soundtrack to some fun new memories.
"Christmas Wrapping" by the Waitresses
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Back in 1981, this new wave Christmas classic from Ohio band the Waitresses gave holiday music a whole new sensibility and, depending on where you listen to music, still plays on heavy rotation every holiday season. According to the Akron Beacon Journal, writing “Christmas Wrapping” was no mean feat for the band’s lead songwriter, Chris Butler: “Christmas had always been a pain in the ass for me, frankly,” he told the paper. Butler went on to say that as a freelance writer, he found cramming away to make December deadlines really stressful (hear, hear!), so he brought the bah-humbug to “Christmas Wrapping,” a pun on the actual rap delivery the lyrics demanded of singer Patty Donahue.
"8 Days (of Hanukkah)" by Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings
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In October 2015, this Grammy-nominated, Brooklyn-based soul band released It’s a Holiday Soul Party, an album that includes this gorgeous old-school R&B Hanukkah anthem. Jones was trained in gospel, and her silky vocals describe how the eight days of Hanukkah are a celebration of love, with shout-outs to the spinning of the dreidel and the cooking of the brisket. A scan of the web didn’t reveal what inspired the song, but the video is a ’70s-inspired spectacle in itself, hearkening back to the Schoolhouse Rock musical shorts of yore. Sadly, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings dissolved when pancreatic cancer took Jones’ life back in 2016.
"December Will Be Magic Again" by Kate Bush
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“December Will Be Magic Again” is one of those magically unique holiday classics that sprinkles glitter on any playlist. Kate totally Kates out as only Kate can on this sweet seasonal number, weaving dramatically swooping melodies, jingle bells, and tinkling piano rhythms into a haunting anthem that evokes watching snow fall by the window with a warm cup of cocoa. She performed it live on her 1979 Christmas Special accompanying herself on piano and makes the rest of the special a spectacle by donning many a costume, engaging in many bouts of interpretive dance, and performing with her pal Peter Gabriel.
"And Anyway It's Christmas" by !!!
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!!! (pronounced and also known as “Chk Chk Chk”) gave us this alternative, flirty holiday song in 2013, but its electronic, dance-y excellence takes us back to 1982. It eases in with a shimmering synth and sinks into a bass-driven groove about consummating a holiday crush: “It was nothing but a crush/I was long resigned/That’s all it was/Just something that stayed on my mind/But I’ve been ’round the world/Seen all kinds of girls, and I’ve seen nothing better/Than you in that sweater.” Christmas just sets the time and place for some frolic under the mistletoe. According to Under the Radar, !!! frontman Nic Offer said the band always wanted to write a Christmas song but didn’t want it to be a disco throwaway. Mission accomplished.
"Christmas in Hollis" by Run-DMC
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This classic 1987 holiday Run-DMC rap about finding Santa’s wallet in the snow is required listening every year. Built around a sample of an R&B song called “Back Door Santa” by Clarence Carter, the song was included on A Very Special Christmas, a compilation album that benefited the Special Olympics. In an interview about the song for The A.V. Club, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels said they were initially reluctant to record the track: “At first, we were like, ‘Nope. We’re not doing it. That’s what they try to do to hip-hop. They commercialize you and try to make you corny. We’re totally against anything that’s going to be fake. If it ain’t beats and rhymes and deejaying and graffiti, we ain’t doin’ it! Here you go again with the corporate America powers that be and Hollywood trying to ruin hip-hop! We ain’t going out like that!’” But after spending some time in the studio with the Carter sample, they recorded the song, and now we all get to enjoy it.
"The Fat Man's Comin'" by David Byrne
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As evidenced in his work as star of the Broadway show American Utopia and as former frontman of the alt-rock/new wave band Talking Heads, David Byrne is one of those idea guys who can’t help but innovate — even when it comes to holiday music. Hence, “The Fat Man’s Comin’” — a one-buck Bandcamp single — was just released by Byrne to benefit Reasons to Be Cheerful, his nonprofit online news magazine focused on evidence-based responses to the world’s most pressing problems. The song, according to Stereogum, was originally written with composer and arranger Jherek Bischoff during Byrne’s sessions with St. Vincent during their collaborative album, Love This Giant, and here it is, unwrapped, for us to play today.
"Lights On" by Tyler, the Creator featuring Santigold and Ryan Beatty
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During your hellish trek home, this simple, cute, lo-fi blues rap about holiday travel havoc will make you feel seen. Tyler, the Creator added the track to Music Inspired by Illumination & Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch, a 2018 EP of leftover original tracks from his recording sessions for the latest animated Grinch iteration, according to NPR.
"2000 Miles" by the Pretenders
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Though it could be interpreted as a song about lovers separated by distance, “2000 Miles” is actually a song of mourning that singer Chrissie Hynde wrote for her friend and guitar player James Honeyman-Scott, who’d passed away the year before. New guitarist Robbie McIntosh was careful to evoke Honeyman-Scott’s distinctive six-string jangle, and the track is a melodic, melancholic treasure, initially released in 1983 as the second single from their album Learning to Crawl.
"Christmas Rappin'" by Kurtis Blow
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The first rap song released on a major label, the infectious 1979 holiday anthem “Christmas Rappin’” was reportedly written by Kurtis Blow as part of a two-song deal — the other song was “The Breaks,” leading to an album deal after that. According to Hip-Hop Evolution, before recording, Blow and his pal Russell Simmons were trying to figure out what they wanted their sound to be like. Says Blow: “My style of music was in between Chic, progressive disco funk, and James Brown, so that was the style of ‘Christmas Rappin’; that’s where you get that, and then the guitars are all [sings it]. That’s all James Brown all day.” You can hear these influences converge in an infectious groove guaranteed to bring the party this — and every — holiday season.