Twelve Days of Christmas Songs (Day 12)

What don't I like about this song?

To be honest, this song was not initially at #1 when I started these countdowns.  But in the end, it had every component of a great song and I couldn't find anything I didn't like about it.  There are very few voices that could rival Josh Groban's, for starters.  The instrumentals in this song are excellent too and nothing less than what I would expect from Josh Groban.  This song is off his 2007 Christmas album, Noel, the highest selling Christmas album that year.

Then there are the lyrics...including the title itself.  There has been nothing more special about December 25 these past 5 Christmases, than coming home for Christmas.  This song would have meant much less to me just 5 years ago.  But the reality of "There's No Place Like Home For The Holidays" (Day #5) did not resonate with me until we moved away from our families.  Since then, I've personally experienced 5 times now that "...no matter how far away you roam...for the holidays you can't beat home sweet home!".  A song and lyrics like these speak to exactly what Christmas Day has meant to me these past 5 years.

Finally, and something that only Josh Groban's rendition offers, is the tribute to and story of Christmas in the lives of this great country's service members and their families.  As much as it is difficult to be away from our families, it pales in comparison to the sacrifices and distance many of our troops have endured over Christmas.

Every year we fly home, the airports are flooded with service men and women in their uniforms, on their way home for the holidays.  They are an unavoidable reminder of the current condition or our world and a direct link to those sacrificing their lives for our freedom and liberty.  It is humbling to travel each December and walk in the presence of those who may be returning home after months of service overseas, away from their families - not to mention those still serving over the holidays, away from their families, unsure if they will ever see them again or see their children grow up.  This song is an excellent tribute to their sacrifices and a reality check for those of us who are fortunate enough to spend the holidays with our family and friends.

I am very cognizant of the blessing it is that Stacie and I will, yet again, be home for Christmas.  We are thankful for that opportunity that God has given us each year.  We are even more thankful for the greatest Gift and greatest Sacrifice we could ever ask for, Jesus Christ - the reason for the season.  Born that we may have life!

Because He lives, Merry Christmas!


Josh Groban - I'll Be Home For Christmas

Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (vocal)
1- Josh Groban - I'll Be Home For Christmas
2- Darlene Love - All Alone On Christmas
3- Mavis Staples - Christmas Vacation
4- Andy Williams - It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
5- Johnny Mathis - It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
6- Jimmy Eat World - Last Christmas
7- Brandon Heath - The Night Before Christmas
8- Perry Como - Home For The Holidays (There's No Place Like)
9- Matthew West - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
10- Bing Crosby - White Christmas
11- Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
12- Celine Dion - Don't Save It All For Christmas Day

My favorite instrumental Christmas song is also the main title of my favorite Christmas movie, Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009).  Surprise, surprise!

Even though this movie is only two years old, it became my favorite Christmas movie the first time I saw it.  It is my favorite movie for a number of reasons.  For one, it was the first movie Stacie and I ever saw in 3D.  And it's actually a movie meant for 3D, if that makes sense.  The scenes in that movie are full of acrobatic fly-overs of quaint English villages, whisking the viewer through time and space, literally! (See official trailer below.) Avatar is often credited as re-igniting the 3D craze in movie theaters over the past couple of years.  However, Disney's A Christmas Carol was released in theaters in 3D in November 2009, a month before Avatar.

Second, I love that time period in the U.S. (~1830s), before the Civil War and the "modern age" (pre- planes, trains, and automobiles), yet a period removed from the infancy of America and the Revolutionary War.  It may be the period Americans are most unfamiliar with in their country's history.  It seems like the perfect period for a Christmas setting.  The history of Christmas, such as this time period, is really interesting to me, and something we rarely learn about.

Charles Dicken's classic story, A Christmas Carol (published December 19, 1843), piggybacked a series of literature pieces from authors of the same period (1820s-1830s), which helped spark a re-interest in Christmas in England.  Dicken's Christmas story, which introduced some secular aspects to Christmas, was the most influential in this Christmas revival which spread through England, and shortly thereafter to the US.


And finally, it is my favorite movie thanks in part to the excellent film score, composed by Alan Silvestri.  In addition, Alan Silvestri has also composed music for Father Of The Bride, Back To The Future, and Forrest Gump.  His work is bested by other contemporary composer greats, but it was his work on A Christmas Carol and The Polar Express that has earned him the top two spots on my instrumental countdown.

Happy first day of winter!



Alan Silvestri - A Christmas Carol (Main Title)


Disney's A Christmas Carol (official trailer, in HD)

Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (instrumental)
1- Alan Silvestri - A Christmas Carol (Main Title)
2- Alan Silvestri - Suite From The Polar Express
3- John Williams - Home Alone (Main Title)
4- John Debney - Elf (Main Title)
5- Mannheim Steamroller - Carol Of The Bells
6- Michael W. Smith - It's A Wonderful Christmas
7- James Horner - A Change Of Heart
8- Celtic Woman - Carol Of The Bells
9- David Foster - Carol Of The Bells
10- Vince Guaraldi - Christmastime Is Here (Instrumental)
11- Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve
12- Boston Pops Orchestra - Sleigh Ride

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs (Day 11)

I have little to say about my second favorite Christmas song.  A large part of that is due to the nature of the song.  1) I'm not a fan of Christmas "love songs" and 2) I'd hate to be all alone on Christmas.  How do you go about explaining that it's your second favorite song then?

Somehow neither of those facets of this song seem to have an effect on my affinity for this song.  It does have an uptempo and happy tune to it (despite the title and lyrics), which counts for positive points in my book.  But I know the biggest component of this song and the reasoning for placing it at the #2 spot, is because of its presence in the movie Home Alone 2.  Not only is that one of my favorite Christmas movies, but the song is played during one of the best parts of the movie...when Kevin is touring New York for the first time, including the World Trade Center towers.

It just IS my second favorite.  That's all I can say.

Darlene Love - All Alone On Christmas

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Street view of 671 Lincoln Blvd., Winnetka, Illinois (aka- "The McCallister House")
(Yours for $2.4 million)

Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (vocal)
1-
2- Darlene Love - All Alone On Christmas
3- Mavis Staples - Christmas Vacation
4- Andy Williams - It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
5- Johnny Mathis - It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
6- Jimmy Eat World - Last Christmas
7- Brandon Heath - The Night Before Christmas
8- Perry Como - Home For The Holidays (There's No Place Like)
9- Matthew West - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
10- Bing Crosby - White Christmas
11- Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
12- Celine Dion - Don't Save It All For Christmas Day

Actually, I am also somewhat surprised by my choice for the #2 spot on the instrumental countdown as well.

Given some of the uncertainties of why I chose some songs on these countdowns, you must think I really don't know what songs I like.  But I will assure you, once again, that 4 months is a long time to analyze every choice, and I stand by those choices.

Obviously I think this song has some clout, to place it just one spot below my favorite.  I've only seen The Polar Express twice, including once just last week; and it's not even one of my favorite Christmas movies.  What I believe makes up for the movie's lack of sentimental value to me, is found in the raw composition of this song.

Even if you've never seen the movie, this is one of those songs you may think sounds like it could be the theme song to any Christmas classic.  It is that caliber of song.  Listening to it sounds like the soundtrack to all your memories of Christmases past, mixed with the wonder of Christmases yet to come.  Maybe that sounds cheesy, but I really think this song has it all (and I'm not a good enough writer to relay that meaning in words - sorry).  It has everything, that is, except for that "special something" that would make it my absolute favorite.  You'll have to wait until tomorrow to hear what that is though!

I know.  You can't wait.

Alan Silvestri - Suite From The Polar Express

Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (instrumental)
1-
2- Alan Silvestri - Suite From The Polar Express
3- John Williams - Home Alone (Main Title)
4- John Debney - Elf (Main Title)
5- Mannheim Steamroller - Carol Of The Bells
6- Michael W. Smith - It's A Wonderful Christmas
7- James Horner - A Change Of Heart
8- Celtic Woman - Carol Of The Bells
9- David Foster - Carol Of The Bells
10- Vince Guaraldi - Christmastime Is Here (Instrumental)
11- Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve
12- Boston Pops Orchestra - Sleigh Ride

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs (Day 10)

"You couldn't hear a dump truck driving through a nitroglycerin plant!" 

What you can hear (below) is the theme song of one of my top 3 favorite Christmas movies, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.  Though not one of the traditional Christmas songs you hear on the radio, this is one of those songs that so many people recognize the tune to.  And part of what makes it my third favorite Christmas song (and Christmas movie, coincidentally) is that it IS so rarely heard.  I can't emphasize how much Christmas music appearing on my favorite Christmas movies has effected the songs I've chosen for these countdowns.  Can you relate?  Even songs I've heard a hundred times on the radio don't compare.  The song is so much more infectious ('Christmas-ly' speaking) when it is associated with your favorite Christmas movie/s.

Enjoy some classic scenes from the "hap-hap-happiest" Christmas movie ever!

Mavis Staples - Christmas Vacation

Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (vocal)
1-
2-
3- Mavis Staples - Christmas Vacation
4- Andy Williams - It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
5- Johnny Mathis - It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
6- Jimmy Eat World - Last Christmas
7- Brandon Heath - The Night Before Christmas
8- Perry Como - Home For The Holidays (There's No Place Like)
9- Matthew West - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
10- Bing Crosby - White Christmas
11- Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
12- Celine Dion - Don't Save It All For Christmas Day

Speaking of my favorite Christmas movies...

Home Alone 1 and 2 came out at the perfect time for me.  The first movie was released in 1990, and the second in 1992.  Macaulay Culkin, just three years my senior, was a very relatable figure to many boys my age, engaging in heroic and hilarious acts of courage that many boys that age (myself included) aspired to.  Subsequently, those movies became Christmas classics and I suppose there is still some part in every guy my age that can still relate to.  Our boyhood adventures, lived out in a movie which was also centered around a young's boy's favorite time of year.  

That was the movie, of which we all are familiar with.  What you may be unfamiliar with is the man who composed the music for those films.

If you've watched or even heard about movies in the past 50 years...OK, that's everyone (just to make my point)...then you are familiar with John William's work.  Just who is John Williams exactly?  Well, for starters, the only other person in history to be nominated for more Academy Awards (45) was Walt Disney himself.  John William's career spans nearly 6 decades and he is one of only two composers ever to win 5 Academy Awards for their work.  In addition, he has also won 4 Golden Globe Awards and 21 Grammy Awards.

You name it, John Williams has composed it...

Over his 6 decades of work, he has composed music for: 4 Olympic Games, the theme song to NBC Sunday Night Football and the NBC Nightly News, as well as film scores for the top movies of our lifetime.  He has composed music for all but two of Steven Spielberg's feature films. He has composed the music for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, E.T., Harry Potter, Schindler's List, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Superman, Hook, The Patriot, Fiddler On The Roof...and of course Home Alone.  Just to name a few!

It was never a question of if I would include Home Alone's Main Title on my instrumental countdown.  It was just a question of how far up.  And since I couldn't choose between both movie's Main Title (which are slightly different), I just chose both!

Be sure to check out the interactive street view map below of "The McCallister House", made famous in these movies.

John Williams - Home Alone 1 (Main Title)

John Williams - Home Alone 2 (Main Title)

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Street view of 671 Lincoln Blvd., Chicago, Illinois (aka- "The McCallister House")

(Yours for $2.4 million)

Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (instrumental)
1-
2-
3- John Williams - Home Alone (Main Title)
4- John Debney - Elf (Main Title)
5- Mannheim Steamroller - Carol Of The Bells
6- Michael W. Smith - It's A Wonderful Christmas
7- James Horner - A Change Of Heart
8- Celtic Woman - Carol Of The Bells
9- David Foster - Carol Of The Bells
10- Vince Guaraldi - Christmastime Is Here (Instrumental)
11- Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve
12- Boston Pops Orchestra - Sleigh Ride

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs (Day 9)

I love Christmastime and everything it brings.  I wouldn't listen to Christmas music in June or for 4 months in a row if I didn't.  However, I cannot agree that this is the most wonderful time of the year.  But I like this song so much, I would (and do) listen to it during the real "most wonderful time of the year"! :)

The song was written in 1963 by George Wyle, the same guy who wrote the theme song for Gilligan's Island.  I wish I could fit more of Andy Williams Christmas music on this countdown, but this is my favorite one of his. It's (almost) the most wonderful time of the year!

Andy Williams - It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (vocal)
1-
2-
3-
4- Andy Williams - It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
5- Johnny Mathis - It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
6- Jimmy Eat World - Last Christmas
7- Brandon Heath - The Night Before Christmas
8- Perry Como - Home For The Holidays (There's No Place Like)
9- Matthew West - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
10- Bing Crosby - White Christmas
11- Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
12- Celine Dion - Don't Save It All For Christmas Day

Who doesn't like the movie Elf?

And if you like film scores as much as I do, it's even better!

The movie, just 8 years old, has already become a Christmas classic and even the film score ranks up there with some of the best Christmas tunes.  Sure, I'm biased because I've placed it at #4 on the countdown. But listen to the song below and try to tell me - aside from the whirlwind of your Christmas festivities - that it doesn't put you in an instant Christmas mood.  If you haven't seen the movie than the song may not have the same effect on you, but you'll still enjoy it.  More importantly, if you haven't seen this movie, WATCH IT! :)

John Debney - Elf (Main Title)

This is the (longer) Elf suite.

Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (instrumental)
1-
2-
3-
4- John Debney - Elf (Main Title)
5- Mannheim Steamroller - Carol Of The Bells
6- Michael W. Smith - It's A Wonderful Christmas
7- James Horner - A Change Of Heart
8- Celtic Woman - Carol Of The Bells
9- David Foster - Carol Of The Bells
10- Vince Guaraldi - Christmastime Is Here (Instrumental)
11- Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve
12- Boston Pops Orchestra - Sleigh Ride

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs (Day 8)

I imagine a video of young children, awakening in their beds, running down the stairs, and tearing into their presents on Christmas morning.  This song has that kind of happy sound to it, as if it's a sunny Christmas morning and everything is buried under snow outside.  It is simply one of my favorite Christmas songs and I don't have a lot more to explain about it than that.

Johnny Mathis' version is my favorite because his song appeared on one of my favorite Christmas movies, Home Alone 2.   That was probably my first exposure to the song and it has reminded me of that movie and my childhood at Christmas ever since.  I haven't seen either Home Alone in their entirety yet this season, but I hope to remedy that before next Sunday (Christmas Day, for those of you not paying attention!) :)

The first video below is the full song.  The second video is a 10-minute clip of the movie, with this song beginning exactly at minute 2:00.

Johnny Mathis - It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Johnny Mathis - It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas (as heard on Home Alone 2)
(click here to view video)

Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (vocal)
1-
2-
3-
4-
5- Johnny Mathis - It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
6- Jimmy Eat World - Last Christmas
7- Brandon Heath - The Night Before Christmas
8- Perry Como - Home For The Holidays (There's No Place Like)
9- Matthew West - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
10- Bing Crosby - White Christmas
11- Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
12- Celine Dion - Don't Save It All For Christmas Day

How do you go about choosing the best Christmas song from Mannheim Steamroller?  Their work spans 40 years and encompasses 12 Christmas albums.  Eight of those albums sold over a million copies (platinum) and four were certified multi-platinum.  The 3 top-selling albums accounted for over 16 million copies.  No other artist has come close to selling more Christmas albums in the past 20 years (i.e. my memorable lifetime) than Mannheim Steamroller.

Even without those stats, I knew it was going to be hard to choose my favorite from their Christmas songs.  Mannheim Steamroller was another Christmas artist I remember growing up listening to as a child.  Their music not only reminds me of Christmas but of Christmases during my childhood.  It's hard to top that excitement and wonder that Christmas brought as a child.  And it was from the songs I knew the best, songs I remember from my childhood, that I began narrowing down my favorites. I narrowed it down to my top 5 and from those I made the tough choice of choosing one - this song.  Though not planned, this song (a different version) also appeared in Home Alone 1.

So, for the third time on my instrumental countdown, Carol Of The Bells has claimed a spot.  Spoiler alert: this is the last time Carol Of The Bells will appear on either countdown.  All three versions were on the countdown early on and I never was able to replace any of them, a decision I still wouldn't change.  Perhaps Stacie's most disliked Christmas song...is my favorite?  I guess opposites really do attract!

The video below is of Christmas lights programmed to the tune of Mannheim Steamroller's Carol Of The Bells.  While making these countdowns, I have found that homemade videos of Christmas lights synced to Christmas music, are a dime a dozen.  There's nothing special about this one, but it was sadly the best I could find for this song.  It has amazed me how few LIVE versions of these great Christmas songs I have been able to find.  I initially did not think I would have to settle for so many amateur videos to use on my countdowns.  But like I said in my introductory post, the music is what counts!

Mannheim Steamroller - Carol Of The Bells

Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (instrumental)
1-
2-
3-
4-
5- Mannheim Steamroller - Carol Of The Bells
6- Michael W. Smith - It's A Wonderful Christmas
7- James Horner - A Change Of Heart
8- Celtic Woman - Carol Of The Bells
9- David Foster - Carol Of The Bells
10- Vince Guaraldi - Christmastime Is Here (Instrumental)
11- Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve
12- Boston Pops Orchestra - Sleigh Ride

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs (Day 7)

I know this one is going to take some explaining.

Why has Jimmy Eat World made it into your countdown?  Who is Jimmy Eat World?  Do they even have a Christmas album?  You do know Wham! is the original artist of this song, don't you?  And really, Last Christmas is #6 on your countdown, above the plethora of Christmas classics?  This makes no sense!

Well, let me try to add some sense to this.

Yes, I am well aware that Wham! was the original artist of this song and that was the first version I ever heard.  I like their version as well, even though I'm not big into Christmas "love songs".  I also know that the lyrics (besides the chorus) are completely changed in Jimmy Eat World's rendition.  What I don't know, is much about Jimmy Eat World.  Besides their one-hit wonder that peaked the week I graduated from high school, I don't know anything about them or their music.  And 2002 was the last I had heard from them, until 7 years later.

In November 2009, I was doing the same thing I've been doing for the past 4 months...listening to Christmas music of course!  In 2009, we lived in Virginia Beach and I think it was the first time I actively and consistently listened to Christmas music via online radio.  Most days that Christmas season, I would listen to Christmas music at work through the web player of the local radio station 2WD.  That station is one of those that dedicates airtime 100% to Christmas music, beginning each November.  I not only finally learned the various artists who sang the songs I had known for many years, I also learned many new Christmas songs and artists that year with the onscreen display of each song that was playing.

As you might guess, that was when I first heard the song, Last Christmas, by Jimmy Eat World.  What I've also learned since, is that they released the Last Christmas single in December 2001, before their one-hit wonder that was released in January 2002.  What has made their version of Last Christmas special enough to me to place it at #6 on my countdown is directly related to listening to the song on 2WD almost every day that Christmas season.

I remember that season as being especially nostalgic.  More than just memories of Christmas vacation itself, but everything leading up to it as well.  The Christmas season was very festive in Virginia Beach and the only Christmas season we spent in that city.  It's almost like it never happened in a sense, which makes it more nostalgic, as if a figment of my imagination.  The Christmas parade, the lights, the stores, the music, the entire ambiance stands out in my mind in fresh detail.  Listening to Christmas music everyday that year was just part of the nostalgia of that memorable Christmas season. 

On a different but related note, since we moved away from Iowa in 2007, Christmases have been more special and memorable than when we still lived at home with our families.  It's not that they weren't special before then; just the opposite in fact.  But Christmas has been especially important and sentimental for us these past 5 seasons, as we are reunited with our families we have spent all year apart from.  In addition, every year since we moved away we've had a white Christmas in Iowa.  We always took snow for granted when we lived there but now we can't wait to get home to it at Christmas.  We fly home from the warm (but brown) South each Christmas, to arrive in the cold and snow-covered ground of Minnesota and Iowa.  I can never help but turn into a kid on Christmas Eve night, as we make our final approach into the Minneapolis airport at night.  The foreign snow covers everything in sight and brightens the clear, northern night sky.   Houses with Christmas lights and softly-lit windows enhance the magical effect of the snow on the ground below.  It's like we're descending into the alpine village inside our favorite snow globe.  The whole scene and experience is magical to me.  For some reason, this is where my mind is taken whenever I hear this song.

All of this, from the Christmas ambiance in Virginia Beach, to memories of flying over the snow and houses at night, to being home at Christmas, to the Christmas season as a whole, comes to mind whenever I hear this song.  It is the musical embodiment of all the things I have written about above.  This song would put me in a Christmas mood any day of the year!

Unfortunately, this is probably the worst video on either of my countdowns.

Jimmy Eat World - Last Christmas

Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (vocal)
1-
2-
3-
4-
5-
6- Jimmy Eat World - Last Christmas
7- Brandon Heath - The Night Before Christmas
8- Perry Como - Home For The Holidays (There's No Place Like)
9- Matthew West - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
10- Bing Crosby - White Christmas
11- Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
12- Celine Dion - Don't Save It All For Christmas Day

I like Michael W. Smith's earlier music, music I grew up with in the 80's and 90's, more than his recent work.  That is, except for his It's A Wonderful Christmas album he released in 2007.  That album became part of a larger (3-disc) album release in 2009 titled The Ultimate Christmas Collection.  If you ever thought MWS was a talented artist or enjoyed his music, his work as a composer is even more impressive I think.  These Christmas albums were born out of his love for composing and are full of songs that ooze Christmas.

There are many great songs from this Christmas collection that could have held respectable spots on this instrumental countdown.  There are some really excellent instrumental Christmas songs I could not omit from mentioning in my countdowns, so I made a playlist of a few of my favorites.  My favorite is the title track to the initial album, It's A Wonderful Christmas.  Even the first time I heard it, it sounded like a song I had known most of my life.  It has such a timeless sound to it, as if it is a remastered instrumental Christmas song from the 1940's or from the film score of a classic Christmas movie.  If you had never heard the song before, you would not know it was by Michael W. Smith.  It sounds like something more associated with Mannheim Steamroller or Hollywood.  As with other songs on the album, this title track was recorded with a 65-piece orchestra, which offers a full and festive track that fills a room with Christmas spirit.  Watch the video below and see/listen for yourself.

Michael W. Smith - It's A Wonderful Christmas

 Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (instrumental)
1-
2-
3-
4-
5-
6- Michael W. Smith - It's A Wonderful Christmas
7- James Horner - A Change Of Heart
8- Celtic Woman - Carol Of The Bells
9- David Foster - Carol Of The Bells
10- Vince Guaraldi - Christmastime Is Here (Instrumental)
11- Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve
12- Boston Pops Orchestra - Sleigh Ride

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs (Day 6)

This is the song that started it all.

The song that first gave me the idea to compile these countdowns, almost 4 months ago.

The lyrics are simple yet powerful, familiar yet inspirational.  The story of God's greatest Gift to man is not diluted amongst the usual festive overtones.  Instead, Christ's birth and the eternal hope that it brings, is sung with words that methodically highlight the reality, purpose, and hope of the night Christ was born.  I have never heard the true story of Christmas written in the lyrics of a song, so raw and poignantly.  The song chronicles the pain, despair, and humility of the night before Christmas, with the takeaway message instead being of hope; a hope resulting from the gift of eternal salvation offered and embodied by the King of Life, lying in a manger.

I first heard this song last year, though the single was released a year earlier for the 2009 Christmas season.  I first heard the song on one of the local Christian radio stations here, and so far that is the only place I have ever heard it.  Surprisingly, the instrumental component of the song has no Christmas theme and instead sounds like many of the songs on Christian radio.

Coming in to this Christmas season (which for me was August), I thought this song was my favorite.  I thought it would be fun to come up with my favorite twelve Christmas songs and so these two countdowns were eventually created.   This is my favorite "spiritual" Christmas song, but I'd be lying if I said it was my favorite Christmas song.  This song wouldn't put me in a Christmas mood in June; maybe not even today for that matter.  What it does offer is a vivid picture of the night Christ was born and the reason we celebrate Christmas.  The truth of Christ's life, death, and resurrection are relevant year round, regardless of season or song.  The song is a story of God's perfect love for us, a hope for eternal life with Him, and a truth that will never change.

Emmanuel, God is with us.

The song that started it all...

Brandon Heath - The Night Before Christmas

Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (vocal)
1-
2-
3-
4-
5-
6-
7- Brandon Heath - The Night Before Christmas
8- Perry Como - Home For The Holidays (There's No Place Like)
9- Matthew West - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
10- Bing Crosby - White Christmas
11- Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
12- Celine Dion - Don't Save It All For Christmas Day

This is the only song on my countdowns that if you do like it, you may be a Grinch.

This song is one of the tracks found on Universal Pictures movie, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, starring Jim Carrey.  I don't know when I first saw this movie but it was one I have slowly come to like as the Christmas seasons have come and gone.  I don't think I saw until it had been out for a few years but each year I seem to enjoy the movie more.  And I have enjoyed the film score even longer than the movie

I love film scores.  I enjoy them more than their respective movie sometimes.  My favorite movies are the Pirates of the Caribbean series and I own all four of them.  I owned the film scores to each respective film before I ever owned the movie.  I have developed a great interest in the contemporary composers over the years and am quick to scan the end credits for their names.

James Horner is no small name when it comes to film scores.  He has been responsible for composing and producing music for a number of popular films over the past 30 years.  You may not have known it but you have heard his music before if you've seen any of the following movies: Titanic, Braveheart, Avatar, The Perfect Storm, Troy, The Mask of Zorro, or Jumanji, to name a few.  And of course, he also composed the music for How The Grinch Stole Christmas, a contemporary remake of the Christmas classic.  From that movie's score, this is my favorite song and I have placed it at #7 on my instrumental countdown.

James Horner - A Change Of Heart

 Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (instrumental)
1-
2-
3-
4-
5-
6-
7- James Horner - A Change Of Heart
8- Celtic Woman - Carol Of The Bells
9- David Foster - Carol Of The Bells
10- Vince Guaraldi - Christmastime Is Here (Instrumental)
11- Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve
12- Boston Pops Orchestra - Sleigh Ride

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs (Day 5)

I really enjoy this song.  

I like this version the best.  

Perry Como is a classic Christmas singer.  

And there really IS no place like home for the holidays.

Boom!

Now don't say I went overboard with every description for these songs. :)

Perry Como - Home For The Holidays (There's No Place Like)

Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (vocal)
1-
2-
3-
4-
5-
6-
7-
8- Perry Como - Home For The Holidays (There's No Place Like)
9- Matthew West - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
10- Bing Crosby - White Christmas
11- Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
12- Celine Dion - Don't Save It All For Christmas Day

Oh, yes I did!  

Two days in a row of Carol Of The Bells.

Like I said in my initial post, there were some "subconscious criteria" - essentially nostalgia and taste of music - that I used to choose these songs.  Big surprise, huh?  Despite these "criteria", no one factor was employed to keep songs on or off the countdown.   Nevertheless, I was always hesitant to choose two versions of the same song.  I guess I wasn't hesitant enough when it came to Carol Of the Bells, because here it is again...and two days in a row at that!

Now, I could spend time defending using this song twice on the countdown or why I like music by Celtic Woman.  But I said on Day 3 that I would no longer bore you by defending my choices.  I simply like this song and I do like some of the Christmas music by Celtic Woman.  I also like the color pink and enjoy shopping for candles and curtains.  It's all part and parcel with me.  Savvy?

While I enjoy this song, the performances I've seen of it are rather ridiculous.  While the ladies who make up Celtic Woman are talented musicians, they are simply obnoxious thespians.  Watching them prance around on stage, with their fake smiles and gaudy dresses, simply ruins the music I think.  If it helps, just press play on the video below, then minimize the window so you don't have to watch it.

Take my advice.  They're annoying to watch! :)

Celtic Woman - Carol Of The Bells

 Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (instrumental)
1-
2-
3-
4-
5-
6-
7-
8- Celtic Woman - Carol Of The Bells
9- David Foster - Carol Of The Bells
10- Vince Guaraldi - Christmastime Is Here (Instrumental)
11- Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve
12- Boston Pops Orchestra - Sleigh Ride

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs (Day 4)

I doubt you'd guess that a song I placed at #9 is my favorite Christmas song.  I know, it's even confusing to me.  As I see it, I like more renditions of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas than any other Christmas song.  Whereas I enjoy the remaining songs on this list more than this song by Matthew West, I don't like as many versions of those songs.  Confused?  Perhaps I have trivialized the whole process of listening to and enjoying Christmas music.  But when you have 3 months to critically mull over your choices, it's hard not to analyze every facet of your choices.   It's hard for me to explain, even to myself.

I would also mention that this song is not lower on the countdown because of who sings it.  I believe Matthew West does the best rendition of this song.  And he just released the song this year, on his first Christmas album!  From the beginning, I tried hard not to favor any songs that just came out this year, and I thought that would be no issue for this song title - given the large number of renditions I like of the song.  But when I searched every rendition of the song, I didn't think any were better than this one.  The richness and eloquence of his voice coupled with the fullness and harmony of the background instrumentals, surpass anything I heard in other renditions.

I carefully considered the renditions by Frank Sinatra, Lou Rawls, Michael Bublé, and several others.  As Tony the Tiger says, they're all grrrreat!  Still, no version of my favorite Christmas song was as audibly appealing to me as this one.  I know I have preached "nostalgia" with the songs so far on these countdowns.  While I can't claim that kind of connection with a song I've only known since October, I feel like I've listened to this song for years now.  It's still my favorite version of my favorite Christmas song.

The video, however, leaves much to the imagination.  Get ready to stare at the album cover for 4:00+ minutes.  At least the audio is much better than the visual.

Matthew West - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (vocal)
1-
2-
3-
4-
5-
6-
7-
8-
9- Matthew West - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
10- Bing Crosby - White Christmas
11- Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
12- Celine Dion - Don't Save It All For Christmas Day

You know that phenomenon, when you experience something for the first time, perhaps thinking it's unique, then you notice it all the time after the fact?  Say you buy a green Jeep Cherokee.  That vehicle is not rare, but you never really seemed to notice it.  But after you bought it, you feel like you see green Jeep Cherokees everywhere. You know what I'm getting at?  Well, I suppose that was my experience with this song - or more so artist - after I heard him perform on a Christmas special with Andrea Bocelli two years ago.

Up until I saw that show two years ago, I had no idea who David Foster was.  Ever since that show, it seems his name (and music) pops up everywhere.  Maybe I was the only one who hadn't heard of him before.  But I definitely am not the only one who has heard of his music.  If you don't know him or recognize his name, you know his music.  Just to name a handful of artists he has written, produced, composed, or arranged music for include: Michael Jackson, The Bee Gees, Madonna, Prince, Mariah Carey, Chicago, Michael Buble, Josh Groban, Whitney Houston, Shania Twain, Kenny Rogers, Celine Dion, and on and on...and on!  In fact, typing out all those artists, I really am beginning to wonder if I am the only one who hadn't heard of David Foster before December 2009.  The man has 16 Grammy's to his name!  If I didn't know him then, I definitely know him today, and recognize his name/face/music everywhere now.

Now, if could just buy that spruce-green, leather-interior Jeep Cherokee with the sunroof and premium sound system that gets 50mpg!

David Foster - Carol Of The Bells

 Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (instrumental)
1-
2-
3-
4-
5-
6-
7-
8-
9- David Foster - Carol Of The Bells
10- Vince Guaraldi - Christmastime Is Here (Instrumental)
11- Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve
12- Boston Pops Orchestra - Sleigh Ride

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs (Day 3)

Hold on!  You placed Bing Crosby's White Christmas at #10??  How did you find nine other songs to place ahead of this most classic of Christmas songs?  

Well, I guess you'll just have to keep checking back to see which ones they are!

As I began choosing the songs to compile these countdowns (the vocal one in particular), I discovered how varied the songs were that I chose: from the artists, to the age of the song, to the nostalgic value.  The task of finding 12 classic Christmas songs for my countdowns - songs that everyone knows and grew up with - would be a piece of cake.  But that was never the intent of these countdowns. What was the intent and what made the compilation of these 12 songs difficult, was deciding what 12 were my favorite and furthermore how to rank them on the list.

Personally, I think Bing Crosby is one of if not THE most notable Christmas singers of all time, and White Christmas his most famous Christmas song.  While that was my preconceived opinion when I started my lists, I also found that it is factual, when you look at records sales, repeated renditions, radio airtime, and other similar statistics.  But even with all that going for this song, the top spot I could give it was #10.  The other nine songs above it on the list are simply songs that I find more enjoyable listening to or that mean more to me.  I know I have used the root-word "nostalgia" many times already in these first three days, but that word has much to do with countdowns like these (Christmas/musical).  My exposure to this song during childhood, or otherwise, was limited and not as sentimental, compared to the remaining nine songs.

I suppose the explanation I give for why I chose this and other songs could end up being a broken record by the time these countdowns are finished.  That is, if I stop every time to "defend" the songs I've chosen for these countdowns.  And so that I don't keep giving long-winded explanations for why I did or didn't include a particular song on the list, this will be the last time I give a long, "defensive" description for a song.  The songs are purely what I enjoy the most, and that's all.  But since you took the time to read this and visit my countdowns, I wanted to provide an sufficient explanation, one last time, for why I chose the songs I did.

Bing Crosby - White Christmas

Scene from Holiday Inn (1942), with the first big screen performance of White Christmas.

Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (vocal)
1-
2-
3-
4-
5-
6-
7-
8-
9-
10- Bing Crosby  - White Christmas
11- Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
12- Celine Dion - Don't Save It All For Christmas Day

Charles Schultz's A Charlie Brown Christmas was a movie most of us grew up with.  First aired on CBS back in 1965, this annual TV special has been a childhood Christmas staple since my parents were kids.  If yesterday's The Christmas Song would be Stacie's favorite (vocal) song, Christmastime Is Here (the movie's main title) would likely be her favorite instrumental song.  Her and her sister, Jennie, send each other texts/emails/messages every December when the show is airing.  The tradition of sending messages to each other today is as much a tradition as was watching the show as children.  I have heard about all their favorite parts and experienced their hysterical laughter as they describe those parts of the show.  I like the movie more for that reason than I do simply from my own memories of watching the show as a child.  Either way, this song is from one of the all-time classic Christmas movies and one that was an easy choice to include in my instrumental countdown.

I have included the full instrumental version below (1st video) as well as the opening 2 minutes of the movie (2nd video), which includes the shorter, vocal version of the song.  The second video is included purely for Stacie and Jennie's entertainment. :)

Vince Guaraldi - Christmastime Is Here (instrumental)

Vince Guaraldi - Christmastime Is Here (vocal)

 Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (instrumental)
1-
2-
3-
4-
5-
6-
7-
8-
9-
10- Vince Guaraldi - Christmastime Is Here (Instrumental)
11- Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve
12- Boston Pops Orchestra - Sleigh Ride

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs (Day 2)

The Christmas Song, also known as "Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire" or "Merry Christmas To You", is one of the most recorded Christmas songs of all time.  It was written by Mel Tormé in 1944 and first popularized by Nat King Cole in 1953.  If Stacie was the one making this list, she would most likely have The Christmas Song at the #1 spot.  She has told me more than once that it is her favorite Christmas title.  I don't know if she would have chosen Nat King's Cole version of it, but I wouldn't be surprised if she did.  

I chose this version not only because he was the first to popularize it, but because I think he sings it better than anyone.  Nat King Cole had an amazing voice, no doubt, yet I don't think any recording of his could top the richness in his rendition of this song.  There are so many classic Christmas songs performed by the crooners of the 1930s-1950s, which make creating lists such as this one difficult to select the songs to include.  While this song isn't particularly nostalgic for me, I didn't feel I would have a complete list without this Christmas classic in the countdown.

The video below is one of those where the best I could find was what some amateur YouTube-r put together in his basement on some cheap, for-dummies video editing software.  I can't blame them, as I would probably do the same thing if I had the time to make a video.  However, it just doesn't really do the song justice.

Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)

Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (vocal)
1-
2-
3-
4-
5-
6-
7-
8-
9-
10-
11- Nat King Cole  - The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
12- Celine Dion - Don't Save It All For Christmas Day

If I had little nostalgic connection with The Christmas Song above, I have even less (no) connection with this song.  Nevertheless, I chose to place it on my instrumental countdown for the same reason I placed NKC's The Christmas Song on my vocal countdown...what's instrumental Christmas today without including the Trans-Siberian Orchestra?

The video below was not available to embed on my blog, so the link to the YouTube video is below the title.  The video is not a traditional Christmas music video, but then again, TSO is not a traditional orchestra.

Trans Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve

 Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (instrumental)
1-
2-
3-
4-
5-
6-
7-
8-
9-
10-
11- Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve
12- Boston Pops Orchestra - Sleigh Ride

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs (Day 1)

Yes, I am starting the vocal countdown, albeit late in the day, with Celine Dion.  One could argue that she has one of the greatest and most powerful voices in the world, but you may not expect Celine Dion to show up on a grown-man's Christmas favorites playlist.  I'd be surprised.  However, her presence on this countdown is simply because of my exposure to her music years ago.

As with most people, the music they grow up with has a large influence on what artists and styles of music they enjoy as adults.  Not surprisingly, that fact has had a large influence on the songs I chose for these two playlists.  For me, during the Christmas season, a familiar sound in our house was Celine Dion's 1998 Christmas album These Are Special Times (the #1-selling Christmas album that year).  My mom played that album every following year during the Christmas season and often as she would decorate the house for Christmas.  The songs on that album, apart from being unmistakably Christmas music, became even more synonymous with Christmas for me.

Hearing the songs from that album today still reminds me of those Christmases at home, when life had less responsibility and the unbridled wonder of Christmas as a child was not as many years removed.  There were many great songs from that album, but the one that stuck in my memory the most and never faded away from radio stations these 13 years later, was "Don't Save It All For Christmas Day".  And that is why Celine Dion made it on the this guy's Christmas favorites playlist. :)

As I mentioned in my introductory post yesterday, I had little control over what the videos for these songs would be.  I admit this video is particularly cheesy, not to mention lip-synced.  And I expected more from Celine and her powerhouse of a voice.  C'mon man!  Even still, I maintain my masculinity and nostalgically present...

Celine Dion - Don't Save It All For Christmas Day

Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (vocal)
1-
2-
3-
4-
5-
6-
7-
8-
9-
10-
11-
12- Celine Dion - Don't Save It All For Christmas Day

There are many versions, vocal and instrumental, of the classic Christmas song "Sleigh Ride".  However, there is one version that reminds me the most of an annual Christmas event during my childhood.  I attended a K-12 grade school, where singing in the choir was required through the 8th grade.  While I did not particularly enjoy choir, there was still something special about the annual Christmas programs as a young child.

The excitement of the Christmas programs that began as a child eventually wore off in those last few years during middle school.   But one thing about those programs that never seemed to change was the opening instrumental music that the entire school choir would enter the auditorium to.  That song was "Sleigh Ride" and it was most likely the version by the Boston Pops Orchestra, who are known world-wide for numerous movie soundtracks and Christmas albums.

The video below is of Shaquille O'Neal, "conducting" the Boston Pops Orchestra as they play this Christmas classic.  This particular video is not the instrumental version, but I couldn't pass up using this unique video of the song. Shaq's presence at the podium makes for a more casual presentation of the song, but it is still a timeless Christmas tune...and at least it isn't as cheesy as Celine's video above.

Boston Pops Orchestra - Sleigh Ride

Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (instrumental)
1-
2-
3-
4-
5-
6-
7-
8-
9-
10-
11-
12- Boston Pops Orchestra - Sleigh Ride

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs

Twelve Days Of Christmas Songs

WHEN: Christmas 2011
WHERE: Somewhere In My Memories

As many have said/sung before, this is "the most wonderful time of the year".  But what makes December and Christmas the most wonderful time of the year?  Being with loved ones?  Copious amounts of sweets, meats, and other food you lose all control over?  Giving and receiving gifts?  Watching movies from your childhood that you love just as much as an adult?  

Maybe it's the mistletoeing or the figgy pudding?  Frolicking and playing the Eskimo way?  Taking a look at the five and the ten?  Roasting chestnuts on an open fire?  Meeting smile after smile?  Birthday parties at the home of Farmer Gray?  Or maybe it's just trolling the ancient Yuletide carols?

I don't know about you, but I'm not the best at trolling.  I do, however, greatly enjoy hearing others trolling carols - ancient or otherwise.  I think Christmas music ties everything we love about the holiday together.  Isn't your time spent with friends and family enhanced by the Christmas music playing in the background (or foreground)?  Isn't it easier to spend a little more when Christmas music is serenading you from the rafters of your favorite store?  And how less exciting would Christmas movies be without the accompanying music?

That's why I think Christmas music is anticipated by so many, of all ages, every time the Christmas season roles around.  It not only puts us in the mood for the season, but it rekindles the moods, memories, and nostalgia of Christmases past.

Have you started listening to Christmas music yet?  If you haven't, I doubt it is because you don't have access to the music.  It seems there are at least 3 or 4 radio stations completely committed to playing Christmas music by the time December rolls around.  Every store has some number of Christmas songs in their playlists by now, if not completely overtaken by them as well.  And I assume with only two weeks left before Christmas, even the people least excited about embracing Christmastime (*cough* grinches) have begun listening to Christmas tunes. :)

As for me, at least for the past few years, I always go through a phase - usually sometime during the summer - when I listen to Christmas music for several days.  It's not that I am looking forward to Christmas already, it's just that I feel the need to immerse myself in Christmas at a time when no one else is and during a time of year when the clutches of winter hold no threat.  I don't have memory of doing this for very long but I believe it probably started after we moved away from Iowa.  I think I began to really enjoy Christmas music more then, since it was my way of escaping to a time of year (Christmas) when we were always with our families, during a time of year far removed from them.

These are some posts from my Facebook wall I dug up today...

April 3, 2011

 July 1, 2009
(apparently I didn't finish the status)

October 12, 2011

This year was extreme though, even for my "condition".  My summer music fix is usually enough to get me to October or November, when I start listening to Christmas music again.  It's then that I am ready to fully embrace the Christmas season and listen to Christmas music until (and not a day past) December 25.  (Doesn't Christmas music sound so weird on December 26?)  Well, this year I started listening to Christmas music around Labor Day and have not stopped since (yes, Labor Day...it was still summer).  There have only been a handful of days since then that I have not listened to Christmas music.  I'm surprised Stacie still wants to celebrate Christmas, after I've been celebrating it through our speakers for the past 3+ months!  But I must say, the Christmas music is no less exciting for me to listen to today, than it was during any of the past 3 months.

Since I began listening so early this season and was more enamored with the music than I have probably ever been before, I decided to do something about my incessant listening to and affinity for the music.  I was interested in capturing what Christmas songs I loved the most and perhaps develop a playlist that I could start with when I begin listening to Christmas music next summer.

So why should you care?  As if you have not been bombarded by enough Christmas music already.  Who am I that you would care to check in to see what I deem the twelve best Christmas songs?  Well, that was never my intent.  I myself don't even like when "experts" tell us what the best "this" is or the best "that" is.  We all have our own opinions and my only intention for these posts is to share my opinions.  It's really just a playlist for myself, that I'm sharing with others.

Each day, I will present two songs, one instrumental and one vocal.  I will give a description for why I chose each song as well as provide an accompanying video for that song from YouTube.  What details I will provide today about the content in each countdown are limited, but I will provide a few - for those of you who can't wait for Christmas surprises and gave your parents grief each year about opening at least one present on Christmas Eve.  What?  I didn't do that!

First, the countdowns will NOT include any songs by the Chipmunks, Crazy Frog, or the like (see criteria #1 below).

Second, and ironically, the countdowns will NOT include any version of the song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas".

Third,  there were a number of "criteria" I noticed for the songs I chose.  I did not use those criteria to determine if I would place a song on the list; they were simply criteria I noticed after I had made the lists.  Those criteria were:

Finally, while I may have had criteria for the songs, I had little criteria for the videos.  This is due to the fact that I was subject to the sometimes-less-than-creative ideas of various amateur YouTube member's videos.  Some songs never had music videos associated with them, and even if they did they are not necessarily easy to find.  So don't judge the songs by their related videos.  After all, this is a "best of" Christmas songs, not Christmas videos.

Which gives me an idea for next year...Twelve Days of Christmas Movies??

Stay tuned for that one.

For now, I leave you with a video to wet your appetite for the next 12 days.  I came across this video for the first time this year, though it was filmed at Indiana University back in 1998.  It is by a group called "Straight No Chaser" and their version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas".  You may have heard of this group or seen this video before, but I have been completely out of the loop all these years.  If you have not heard it before, enjoy, and check back tomorrow for the Twelve Days of Christmas Songs and the countdown to Christmas (or in this case, December 22).