{"id":791,"date":"2006-12-22T11:40:33","date_gmt":"2006-12-22T11:40:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jasonbennion.com\/?p=791"},"modified":"2006-12-22T11:40:33","modified_gmt":"2006-12-22T11:40:33","slug":"bennions_favorite_christmas_so","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jasonbennion.com\/index.php\/2006\/12\/22\/bennions_favorite_christmas_so\/","title":{"rendered":"Bennion’s Favorite Christmas Songs"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have to be honest, I’m not a big fan of Christmas music. Actually, I’m one of those grinchy-scroogey curmudgeons that develops an uncontrollable shoulder-cringe and a twitchy eyelid every year right around November 1st — which is, not coincidentally, the same day that FM100<\/a>, our local “lite hits” station, begins its two-month-long all-Christmas, all-the-time format. Now, you may wonder why this affects me in the least since I don’t actually listen to FM100. It’s the principle of the thing; just knowing that there’s a radio station here in the valley that’s pumping out not just one but two<\/i> whole months of every imaginable recording of “Jingle Bells”… well, it just gets to me. Especially if I have to call The Girlfriend at work and spend any time at all on hold, because her employer’s hold music is, you guessed it, provided by FM100. Gack.
\nI think it’s the constant, unrelenting tidal-wave effect that really does it. If the Christmas music was spread out, just a song here and there with regular music in between, maybe I could handle it. But as it is, if you find yourself exposed to it, whether on some company’s hold-music feed or trapped in a department store somewhere, it just goes on and on and on until you want to strangle the nearest elf with a popcorn-string and then pour curdled eggnog into his open, staring eyes. I find almost the entire genre completely and utterly annoying. Almost. There is a small handful of Christmas songs that I do kinda, sorta like. Because, hey, even I<\/i> am not immune from sentiment and warm childhood memories and all that crap. So, for your ongoing edification on that most important of all subjects — my personal tastes — here are Bennion’s Favorite Christmas Songs, complete with a little video treat at the end…<\/p>\n


\n[A couple of quick notes before I well and truly begin: (1) I’m not religious, so I tend to be utterly indifferent to songs about mangers, shepherds, and The True Meaning of Christmas\u2122. Exception: “Silent Night,” but that’s more because I like the peaceful, contemplative mood of the song than anything in the lyrics. (2) I dislike the overly “joyous” tunes, for the most part, because the joy and happiness stuff always seems phony to me. Or scary, like the singers want me to join their cult or something. (3) I despise<\/i> the novelty tunes. Never-never-never-never-ever play for me “The Chipmunk Song,” the barking dogs, “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth,” “Nuttin’ for Christmas,” or — most especially — that damn “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” tune. Arg<\/i>. “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” is negotiable, depending on the version. Oh, and I hate “Silver Bells” and whatever that ring-ting-a-ling-a-ling one is, too.]<\/p>\n

In no particular order:<\/p>\n