Most Overrated/Underrated Chrismas Song

Underrated:
Father Christmas by the Kinks
Fairy Tale of New York by the Pogues
Put A Little Love In Your Heart by Al Green/Annie Lennox
Christmas Wrapping by the Waitresses
Christmas in Prison by John Prine
Song for A Winter's Night-Sarah MacLachlan
Peace on Earth/Drummer Boy by Crosby and Bowie.

Overrated: All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey.

Unknown: Stop the Cavalry (I was just singing this in the shower today) by Jona Lewie, and Christmas at K-Mart by Rootboy Slim

Underrated: "Oi to the World" by No Doubt. The only No Doubt song I like.

The Darkness have got a bit tired, but 'Don't Let The Bells End' was genius.

Overrated-"Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer"...but I'm not alone in that.
"Step Into Christmas" I love Elton John, but that song is really annoying
"Wonderful Christmastime" Same for Macca, but come on, did the '70s have such crap Christmas singles?

Underrated-"I Won't Be Home for Christmas" Blink 182
"Christmastime in Tinsel Town (Again)"-Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
"Snow Angel" Little T & One Track Mike

This thread confuses me.
Does underrated mean underplayed or underappreciated? Cause this goddam song is on 24/7 in my radio market. And plenty of folks seem to love it.
Or is it usually overrated by super cool hipsters like me who tired of it years ago? If so, does it then qualify it for underrated status if someone comes back form said hatred and says , "For all the grief it gets (from super cool hipsters like me), it really isn't that bad a song. Just overplayed."
The mind reels.

I second "Fairy Tale of New York" by the Pogues. Awesome song contrasting optimism and love with depression and loathing. Heartbreaking, really.

"We Wish You a Reggae Christmas" is kinda fun, but uber repetitive.

I've burned a few Christmas cd's that contained nothing but odd songs (many of them novelty songs, so I won't list them here). There are some really great songs out there. Do a search on the word Christmas in a song search engine and you're bound to find some relatively obscure songs that are really worth listening to (I say this as one of those jaded Christmas consumer types).

No offense to Rath and Mack, but can we call a moratorium on people name-dropping "Fairytale of New York" as the ultimate, be-all, end-all Christmas song this year? It's a great song, but last year, every goddamn chewer seemed to discover it and had to pipe up with this opinion as if he were the first to ever hear this 'super-obscure Irish band called the Pogues.'

Look, if everyone loves it, it ain't underrated.

And I agree with Bob about "Christmas Wrapping," and the same goes for the Crosby/Bowie tune. If it's overplayed, it's probably not underrated.

Underrated or overrated, all you really need for Christmas music rock'n'roll style is Phil Spector's A Christmas Gift for You.

Well, I think the best Christmas standard is "Greensleeves". I'd love to hear Sigur Ros take it on.

Bright Eyes' Christmas album is pretty cool.

Overrated: Any Christmas song written by a modern pop or rock act. Also, the Kenny G Christmas album is shite, but everyone seems to have a copy of it. It's the holiday equivalent of "The Eagles' Greatest Hits."

On a semi-related note, is "Santa's Super Sleigh" (from 'About A Boy') an actual song? I don't think it is, but I guess it's possible. Anyone know?

Every year now I bust out the Low Christmas album because it's the only thing I can stand that qualifies as Christmas music. A guy from Chicago named Miles Tilmann has done two discs of wintery, ambient stuff that you can download called xmas ep1 and xmas ep2. It's not festive, but nice and snow-covered. Generally though, all holiday music drives me up a wall, especially in public places, and especially if it's overly-religious stuff. It just doesn't seem cool to subject people of different faiths to 24/7 songs about Jesus in a public place.

I think it was only written for the movie.

I'd like to throw in underrated "Happy Xmas (war is over)" by John Lennon, I'm also partial to any Christmas songs done on a classical guitar. When I was in high school I worked at a grocery store whose Christmas mix tape included dogs barking Jingle Bells, if you haven't experienced it, be glad.

Overrated-

I love all of the tradition X-mas songs. The more religious oriented the better. They don't quite get on my nerves as quickly as fucking Rudolph the rednosed reindeer, which was originally writen a commerical jingle for Montegomery Wards in the late 40's. So fuck that song in its stupid ass.

"Twelves Days of Christmas" makes no fucking sense.

"Jingle Bells" is fucking piss-awful. How fucking pedestrian does a song get?

Mariah Carey and Celine Dion need their tongues cut out. Awful renditions of worse songs.

Any alledgedly funny christmas novelty song is fucking ass. I'm looking at you Ray Stevens! Any comedic take on a traditional song. i.e. 'Twelve beers of Christmas', not funny. Go die.

"Frosty the Snowman", how is this a christmas song? Fuck off.

Underrated-

"Baby, Please Come Home"- Darlene Love.

Nat King Cole singing anything.

Bing Crosby- except for WHite Christmas.

Elvis Presley- "Merry Christmas, Baby" BEST SONG EVER!

"Christmas with the Devil"- Spinal Tap

"Punk Rock Christmas"- The Ramones

Fuck "Jingle Bells". I was in one of those mandatory participation Xmas plays in grade school, where we were cruelly forced to sing and act out Christmas carols. I wound up in the Jingle Bells number, having to yell out "HA HA HA!" after the line "laughing all the way", wearing an elf costume. I hate that song. I want to desecrate the grave of the man who wrote it. That said, I really like "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" (which, like Frosty, is a winter song that gets lumped in with all the xmas songs).

I'm saddened...

that no one has mentioned Prince's "Another Lonely Christmas"- its brilliant

Being the only Christmas song that gets me in the mood, I find "Santa Baby" is criminally underplayed, though I may just not be listening hard enough.

My child of the 80s underrated picks: "Christmas in Hollis" - Run DMC

Any song that mentions collard greens and macaroni and cheese is the bomb.

Also, Bob & Doug McKenzie's "12 Days of Christmas"

I'm also partial to the Hall and Oates version of "Jingle Bell Rock."

Queen's "Thank God It's Christmas" is on some CD my mom has. It's one of my favorites but I've never heard it elsewhere.

Overrated:
Last Christmas by Wham....must...kill....repetitive....chorus.....

Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree....there's something very soulless about it.

Underrated:
Christmas Time Is Here - Charlie Brown Christmas.....the show isn't underrated....the soundtrack is. Also, for those who can find it, Scott Weiland (can't remember if it was solo or with STP) did an acoustic version of this a few years ago that was just dead-on perfect....

Christmas In Sarajevo - Trans-Siberian Orchestra....yeah, it's dark, war-like-and moody. But there's nothing else like it, and forget any cheap punk rendition of a Christmas tune, this one kicks the ass of them all.

Frosti - Bjork.....wasn't written as a Christmas song....but, it's a short and sweet instrumental that captures a snowy, icy mood better than anything

Christmas Don't be Late - Chipmunks.....probably nostalgia creeping in on me....i was a chipmunks fan as a kid...but I still like it.

Trouble - Coldplay.....also not a Christmas song.....but due to both the song itself being just full of soft, calming sort of feeling and some rather fond memories of this time of year about 2, 3 years back, I just associate it with Christmas now....

Indeed. Christmas just isn't Christmas without Vince Guaraldi and TSO. Excellent choices.

Agreed. FAVORITE CHRISTMAS SONG EVER!

If you're a man, you're my twin. If you're a woman, marry me! These, along with Christmas In Sarajevo, are 4 out of my top 5 Christmas songs ever. (I also remember "Christmas in Hollis" and the Hall and Oates "Jingle Bell Rock" from the Bevis and Butt-head Christmas being quite hillarious when I was younger).

The other song to round out my 5 is one that I think, whether under- or over- rated, is underplayed is a tune by Sum 41 and Jack Black called "Things I Want". I know Sum 41 is terrible, but they just do the instrumentals. All the vocals are done by Mr. Black, and are him singing his Christmas list to Santa. His wants include such gems as "A Motley Crue lunchbox filled with sticky-buns" and " A time machine, and a BB gun". Absolute hilarity if you like Jack Black's style of humor.

Criminally Underrated-
Santa Claus Has Got The AIDS- Tiny Tim

Which is the one at the beginning of GREMLINS?

OVERRATED

"Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" by Elmo and Patty -- Just. Fucking. STOP. Stopped being funny about ten years ago.

"Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time" by Paul McCartney -- Just tap my head repeatedly with a ball peen hammer if you want to have this effect on me.

UNDERRATED

"I Believe in Father Christmas" by Emerson Lake and Palmer -- Very haunting, and great use of the orchestra.

"Baby Please Come Home" by U2 -- From the first Very Special Christmas album, Bono just wails the living crap out of this thing. Awesome.

Overrated: Sometimes the Carol of the Bells can sound frantic and freaky.

Underrated: I have a soft spot for the songs from the Muppets Christmas Eve On Sesame Street from the 70's including: Keep Christmas with You (All Through The Year), I Hate Christmas, and Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.

Two great songs that I love listening to this time of year.

Christmas in Hollis is awesome.

I like The Pretenders' cover of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, as well.

That's the one.

I agree with the above, but I wanted to add that Bing Crosby and Perry Como sing it best. I actually have both versions on my regular MP3 playlist.

I'll also add I Saw Three Ships by Sting (I"ve never heard anyone else talk about it) and even the version by Mannheim Steamroller and Barenaked Ladies with Sarach McClachlan doing God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.

As for overrated, I'll also agree with Jingle Bells but personally I love the way Mark Hamill does it in the BTAS episode Christmas with the Joker. Just cracks me up. I do a convincing, in my opinion, immitation.

EDIT: Just heard Michael W. Smith's instrumental version of I Saw Three Ships. Has a great Celtic flavor to it that works very well.

It's a good version, but there's only one Pretenders Christmas song you need, and that song is "2,000 Miles."

Some more underrateds (or, really, never-playeds):

Big Star - "Jesus Christ"
Tom Waits - "Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis" (Neko Case does a nice cover of this, as well)
They Might Be Giants - "Santa's Beard"

this is the best Christmas song ever.

but one proviso- can cause madness if played more than five times in a single workday.

Underrated: The entire album Calypso Christmas by the De Paur Chorus.

I stand corrected. The man speaks the truth.

I've thought long and hard about this over the years, and while there were many contenders, "Christmas in Fallujah" wins the coveted award of Worst Holiday Song. What a misguided, badly written, Starbucks-edgy, nail-in-the-coffin-of-Billy-Joel's-attempts-at-relevancy piece of crap.

Never forget. Because, really, it's the "Hallelujah, hallelujah, hoo-hah" chorus that sets it over the top.

Underrated:

Christmas Vacation theme by Mavis Staples
Somewhere In My Memory by John Williams
Wonderful Christmastime by the maestro Paul McCartney

Wonderful Christmastime is on every single Christmas Album released in the UK. It's mandatory along with I wish it could be Christmas (by Roy Wood and Wizard) and Merry Christmas everbody (by slade.)

Having said that, I love all three of those.

I think Fairytale of New York has somehow managed to make the journey from Underrated to Overrated. I still love the song, but the level of love it’s received in the last few years has been nuts.

I really, really, really, like Wonderful Christmas time as well. Amazing song.

No, I still think Fairytale of New York is still one of the greatest songs of all time, and you have to appreciate how that song, with its lyrics and everything, has become a staple.

Again, it's another song that is featured on every Christmas Album ever.
Which means if you put VH1 on the telly on Christmas day you will hear it about 50 times.

In the UK, maybe. It might get tons of love from music fans and college radio here in the U.S., but "Fairytale" is still relatively obscure among the general audience who get their fill of Christmas music from commercial radio stations dedicated to churning out non-offensive (i.e., no "scumbag"s or "cheap lousy faggot"s allowed) holiday music in the two-and-a-half month lead up to December 25.

That said, it's the perennial default "hey, look what I just discovered!" Christmas song of people who have only listened to aforementioned radio stations in the past.

Those Wizzard and Slade songs get even less play than "Fairytale" in the States, I think. My glam tribute band is planning on doing the Slade one at a show next month, and I don't expect much of the audience to recognize it.

Yeah over here stuff like Jona Lewie, Slade, The Pogues, Wizzard, Paul McCartney and even Cliff Richard (fuck you all Mistletoe and Wine is awesome) are the default Christmas songs. And the only American song which seems to have had any impact are Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas’ and the old Dean Martin stuff. Whereas stuff which I assume is perennial in the USA, like A Christmas Gift For You, is really fucking niche.

Don't get me wrong, I love all three of those songs,

What I am finding interesting here, is the difference in what is considered a Christmas Staple in the States.

For example, Pipes of Peace and a Spaceman came travelling are both well loved here but I bet they don't get played much in your neck of the woods.

On the flipside be thankfull you don't get to here Shakin Stevens, East17 and Cliff Richards

Edited to add Spike beat me to it. But Spaceman came travelling is still the best Xmas song ever.

I don't think I've heard "Pipes of Peace" since the 80s. Believe it or not, I don't think I've ever even heard "A Spaceman Came Traveling" before. Listening to it now on youtube.

And, yeah, even the least imaginative Christmas radio stations make frequent use of A Christmas Gift for You here. Those songs are usually the only super popular ones I can stomach by the time January rolls around. This is more typical (or you can just skip the godawful thing and listen to Patton Oswalt explain it instead).

I basically need two Christmas songs every year:

- "Snoopy's Christmas" by the Royal Guardsmen (for sentimental childhood reasons)

- "Swiss Colony Beef Log" off the South Park Xmas album

Spaceman came travelling is great because its a non religious Christmas song, which makes is stand out. Don't ask me why but I also find it really haunting for some reason. Incidently if you like it, don't get fooled into thinking that Chris De Berg is a good artist. Everything else he has done is utter crap.

Can't stream stuff at work so I will listen to A Christmas Gift for you, when I get home.

If you're including "Don't Pay the Ferryman" in there, then I would have words with thee.

It's not?

This sounds quite a bit more religious than a lot of the standards we regularly get in the U.S.!

A Christmas Gift for You is almost entirely secular (except "Silent Night," which Phil Spector talks all over). Come to think of it, most of the big Christmas songs of the pop music era that get play here are non-religious. They're mostly about non-religious figures like Santa (whose ties to Saint Nicholas are of decreasing importance), loved ones, and the weather.

There is a nice little Christmas ditty the Smashing Pumpkins put out a few years ago. I'd venture as far as saying it's underrated. It's actually a song recorded in a way that it fits with some of the oldies. Nice little piece.