'Tis the Season

David sent me The Ten Least Successful Holiday Specials of All Time. And not a moment too soon, either, as I just heard a radio promo for Nick and Jessica's Holiday Horror Show.

My holiday favorites:

"Do They Know It's Christmas" - the extended mix with the spoken greetings makes me cry. Former roommate Jenny thinks this is because I find the idea of all those rock stars locked up together for 24 hours to be the real spirit of Christmas. She could be right.

"Carol of the Bells" - a fabulous piece of Ukranian music that I learned in high school and rarely get to hear. Turning it into a Transiberian machine gun symphony doesn't count. Ech.

Tom Lehrer's Christmas song - it starts running through my head on Thanksgiving Day and stays put until New Year's Day. I sing it quietly to myself while I sullenly march through stores.

Adam Sandler's "Hanukah Song" - "some people think Ebeneezer Scrooge is. Well he isn't, but guess who is: all three stooges!"

"All I Want for Christmas is You" - the only Mariah Carey song I've ever liked.

"Oh Come, All Ye Faithful" - has a fabulous descant which I adore singing.

"White Christmas" - my favorite movie to wrap gifts by. Danny Kaye! Bing Crosby! Mary Wickes! Rosemary Clooney!

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" - I still have a chrush on Linus and I always will. He's the first pedant I ever adored.

"A Christmas Story" - Fra-jee-lee. It must be Italian. Sort of says it all. I love that movie.