12 Best Christmas Songs :)

From: http://spinner.com

12.

'I Want an Alien for Christmas'
--Fountains of Wayne (1997)

Gimme, gimme, gimme. Have you seen a kid's wish list for Santa these days? Wii, iPods, iPhones and countless other bank-breaking iCan't-Live-Withouts. At least this fine young man has a lively imagination. He doesn't need a bike, and like the rest of us, he's not up for more ugly sweaters. If Santa's such a wizard, why not ask for "a little green guy, about three feet high, with 17 eyes"?





11.

'Pretty Paper'
--Willie Nelson (1979)

It only seems as though Willie Nelson has been writing and performing the great American song since old St. Nick was a real-life bishop in fourth century Byzantium. Young Willie was still considered an apprentice song peddler when Roy Orbison rode this song of his all the way up to Number 15 on the pop charts. The white beard came later.





10.

'Candy Cane Children'
--White Stripes (2002)

Who ever knows what Jack and Meg are on about? Christmas, as Jack points out, comes but once a year, which leaves 364 tears. Still, the red-and-white color coordination has always made these kids the finest kind of indie-rock stocking stuffers, and the song title has been adopted by the band's fans. They know the drill: You peel back the wrapper, and you suck on it.





9.

'Christmas Is the Time to Say I Love You'
--Billy Squier (1981)

Billy was supposed to be the one-man reincarnation of Zeppelin, but he took some bad fashion advice and became an early MTV casualty. There's a rollicking N'Awlins flair at the heart of this big-beat, unabashedly corny sing-along that gives it a certain timelessness, even as it takes its rightful place on VH1's "Big '80s" Christmas comp.





8.

'Someday at Christmas'
--Stevie Wonder (1967)

It sounds innocuous on the surface -- Little Stevie Wonder caroling sweetly to his own seasonal original. Except that this was 1967, when innocence was lost. The verses ask for a future Christmas ("maybe not in time for you and me") when all men will be free and equal, when "men won't be boys/ Playing with bombs like kids play with toys." When the man wished, he wished big.





7.

'Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)'
--U2 (1987)

It's been covered by Cher, Hanson, Death Cab and Jon Bon Jovi, all of which makes sense: the song manages to be sassy, juvenile, shut-in and Jerseyish at once. A standout by Darlene Love on 'A Christmas Gift for You, From Phil Spector,' U2's bighearted version trumps the original, not least because it features Love on backing vocals.





6.

'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree'
--Brenda Lee (1958)

This perennial was a dud on its first go-round, selling a measly 5,000 copies. But the elfin Brenda Lee was becoming one of the biggest pop stars of her era, and the record company reissued the song each December. The third time was the charm: Since 1960, it has sold about 5 million copies, putting more than a few nuts in Brenda's cracker.





5.

'Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto'
--James Brown (1968)

Before Jay-Z was born, the great JB was teaching the world how to show off. He had radio stations, a Lear Jet and a fleet of Cadillacs. He also had a pronounced God complex -- he never met a superhero he didn't like. Put those traits together, and a magical guy in a red suit who makes poor kids feel special is right up James Brown Alley. Unh!





4.

'River'
--Joni Mitchell (1971)

It's not technically a Christmas song -- it's your basic garden-variety "Look-what-I've-gone-and-done" lost-love song. But Joni's from Canada, and when they start "putting up reindeer" in L.A., she's hopelessly homesick. She wishes she had a river to skate on, long enough so she could fly. But she's stuck in the crazy scene in La La Land, where the only river is a dry concrete aqueduct.




3.

'Blue Christmas'
--Elvis Presley (1957)

Elvis sure knew how to pick 'em. This one was first popularized by deep-drawlin' Texan Ernest Tubb, who had a knack for holiday cheerlessness ('I'll Be Walking the Floor This Christmas'). The opening gambit -- "Eh-hulla havva huh baluuuuuue kariss muss" --may be the single best example of the King's signature breathalizing.





2.

'Happy Xmas (War Is Over)'
--John Lennon/Yoko Ono (1971)

What you get when you combine the weight-of-the-world Beatle with Phil Spector and the Harlem Community Choir: A bombastic wall of Christmas sound with a heart of gold and a banner headline's timelessness. The prevailing sentiment – "war is over, if you want it" -- is an exercise in mass-scale positive thinking on par with believing in Santa Claus.





1.

'Christmas in Hollis'
--Run-DMC (1987)

Rapper Rev Run meets a guy in the park with a beard and a dog. Turns out the dog's a reindeer, the guy is Santa, and the million bucks he leaves behind in his wallet is the year's good tidings. The sample makes this a double whammy of good cheer: It's from Clarence Carter's soul strutter 'Back Door Santa,' itself a naughty-but-nice Christmas classic.