My Favorite Non-Traditional Christmas Music

Okay, so now that Thanksgiving is over it's the official start of Christmas music. Some radio stations (like B101 in Philly) start it after Halloween. I think that's absurd. Cut us some slack. These songs are fun, but only for so long. I used to HATE the idea of Holiday albums, because I thought it was just your favorite artist trying to milk you for more money during the holidays. Most of the time the songs aren't original, just the typical run of the mill Christmas song.

Anyway, these are my favorite Christmas songs that are "outside the norm" - except for a few "norms" that I love. I don't know why I'm writing this post. Enjoy?

1) Merry Christmas Happy Holiday - NSYNC

Well, this might be the norm these days. But who doesn't LOVE this song? The whole holiday album is awesome, but this song is clearly the best. Is it possible that this album will be their longest lasting? Since they don't seem keen on the comeback that BSB (which isn't really a comeback) and NKOTB are doing, this might be their biggest contribution. Every now and then I get my boy band fix, but to me this is the most frequent NSync song. My biggest problem is that the radios seem to cut out the bridge part (the part where the background chorus is clapping). How can you bastardize a song like that? Radio pisses me off enough just for cutting out Lil' Wayne's part in every song he's featured in. Okay, well that sidetracked.

2) I Won't Be Home For Christmas - Blink-182
This song is so ridiculous, but if your a Blink fan (or nut like I am) how could you hate it? Also add in Blink's "Happy Holiday's You Bastard" which is even more stupid, but it mentions Christmas, so it counts. They're idiots hahah.

3) Great White Sled & Don't Shoot Me Santa - Killers

4) The theme from Merry Christmas Charlie Brown
I don't know why this song isn't more popular. It's a classic. It's no words and just such a soothing sound, it's like a Christmas Eve Hot Chocolate song. I don't really know what that means. I'm losing my mind.

5) I want an Alien for Christmas - Fountains of Wayne

I really lost my mind.

6) All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey

Any guy who says they hate this song is a liar. I used to get depressed listening to this song, now I'm just happy. It's just a festive (almost wrote Festivus) little tune that would probably sound a lot better if I was one of those "in love" people. But I'm alright where I am. And I know that's not the album cover, I just wanted an attractive looking picture of her. Sorry. At least it's Santa related?

7) The Transiberian Orchestra - The Holiday Album

I honestly have been a bad person and know NOTHING about this band except their holiday music. Do they do normal music? I know I sound like an idiot - whatever. Obviously "Carol Of The Bells" is their best, but the songs are great. Do they even have an album? I don't know. I sound like an idiot. Next please (Josh)

8) Ho Ho Ho And A Bottle of Rhum
There's debate over weather it's Rum or Rhum. iTunes says Rhum. So it's not a typo. This song really isn't really related to Christmas at all, but I love Jimmy, so it was a slam dunk.

9) Last Christmas - Taylor Swift
Well, that's really just because Taylor Swift is awesome. Did you hear that Colin? Do you still read this Colin? "you know Colin"

10) Santa Claus is Comin' To Town - Bruce Springsteen
You didn't expect me to write a post about music and avoid Bruce, did you? Child Please. This song is classic and I think has replaced the typical "Santa Claus is Comin to Town" version. I don't even know what that is. In doing the YouTube search, the first result is Mariah, and the rest are Bruce. Maybe he wrote it, who knows. Either way, Big Man kills it with the vocals and the horn. Love it.

My Obsession with Bruce Springsteen

This post has been a long time coming. I've written it a few times and then deleted it and re-wrote it and re-wrote. I think I'm finally comfortable with this version. I think. I've tightened it so it's not a rambling mess or me trying to academically break down his music (believe me that was brutal), but just a short honest answer. I don't know why I'm taking the time to tell you this.

I don't know if it's been established how Bruce Springsteen is probably my favorite artist. I know I've written a lot about Kanye and Green Day lately, but Bruce is the favorite. I spent most of today trying to figure out why I love Bruce's music so much. I listened to it him day. I think I figured it out. The song/stories are about what I/we/everyone is chasing: The American Dream.

Think about what the American Dream means: the opportunity to succeed. To do whatever you want. It's the promise of prosperity. It's Working On A Dream (Bruce Pun counter: 1).


More specifically for a man, to find a woman, fall in love, start a family, provide for that family, and so on. Isn't that the typical male instinct?

That's what Bruce Springsteen's music is. Very simple. I know, I know, I'm not the first person to come up with this idea. It's so true though. Songs about dreams, work, love, success, failure, a somewhat blind optimism, etc. The thing I love the most is that he has written songs that I feel like I could apply to every emotion or feeling in my life. I may not be unemployed (well, eh, okay, sort of), in love, have my own family, and so on, but I still feel like I relate, and will be able to relate all my life. I love his optimism. Every day is a new opportunity to grow.


What else is amazing about Bruce is his longevity. At 61 he's still writing new music, and his music written almost over 40 years ago now are still relevant today. He hasn't forgotten who he is - a Jersey boy. He just wanted to get out of Jersey - doesn't everybody? I (thank god) don't come from Jersey, but I spent a lot of my free time there with my friends and spent time down the shore. I get it, sort of. I'm not from it at all, since South Jersey is like a Philly suburb, but I understand the idea when you're from a nowhere town. Doesn't almost everyone feel like they've got to get out of their hometown? That's the whole premise of Born to Run. Get out of the swamps of Jersey. Yet he's still in Jersey. And he fell for a Jersey Girl (pun counter: 2) and is still kicking ass as much as he was 30 years ago, playing for 3 hour sets when most bands can barely stay on stage for 90 minutes.

Bruce Springsteen represents the American ideal that this country stands for. It's changed quite a bit since he took over the world, but at it's core, he expresses everything that our country talks about. Especially after 9/11, no other album seemed to capture a sense of the nation than The Rising. It was what we needed at the time. I was also 14 when that came out, so I might be biased. Okay I'm most likely biased.

If you asked me to pick a favorite Bruce song, I don't think I could. It depends on my mood. And since he only has about 300+ songs to choose from, every day is a different answer. That's part of the beauty of it. One day I could be in a Tunnel of Love mood, but the next it's Rosalita. Either way it's from the same artist/storyteller/writer/etc. I'll probably write a post one day counting down my favorite 100 Bruce songs - things to look forward to! The sound is also different - how many popular bands have a saxophone as one of the band's key sounds? Only ones I could think of are Dave and OAR. Regardless, the band wouldn't be the same without Big Man's horn.
To capture my obsession, let me put it in numbers: I've downloaded over 100 live concerts from his shows. That's over 3600 songs. Andddd most of them are the same song. That's over 100 versions of Born to Run. I literally cannot get enough. I've been to four shows, and if I had better planning/money/friends/transportation, could of easily gone to at least four more. Hands down my favorite show I've been to.

I've had the cursor blinking on this line now for 20 minutes. I can't think of a way to close this post. I typically like to do stupid cheesy lines that humor me, but I can't think of it. So I'll end with a lyric. And PS I could of picked any lyric here and I would of been satisfied.

Meet Me In A Land Of Hope And Dreams.

Kanye West is Perfect for Twitter

A few days ago, Kanye had over 50 tweets regarding public perception of him, his own evaluation of himself, and the VMA/Taylor Swift incident that caused recent (although almost a year ago) criticism.

Before I get too far into this, I should say my opinion about Kanye. I really believe he's one of the most talented and inspired artists out there. I would almost say he's a genius musically. He is always exploring new avenues for music that have not been written before. Every album sounds different. He took a chance on 808s and Heartbreak - and was successful with it - that you wouldn't see most artists dare to attempt. I almost believe he's bored musically, because he's challenging himself to be better and doesn't want more of the same. He's exploring other avenues as well - fashion obviously being one of his other passions. You don't usually see a straight black man adamant about creating new fashion, yet there's Kanye doing his thing. He's got very strong emotions, as you can see in his tantrums, beliefs (like the George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People), and even how upset he got over his mother's untimely passing.

He's cocky. There's no doubt about it. But he usually backs it up. He really believes that he deserves all the credit in the world for his music, and can't believe that U2 could possibly create a better record than him for the 2006 Grammys. Really Kanye? Better than U2? Good luck. Many people hate him for his brashness. I think that's what makes him so great; his belief in himself that he is the best. It's a gift & a curse. You think Taylor Swift really thought she was good enough to win Album of the Year this year? Over GaGa, Beyonce, Dave, and Black Eyed Peas? (I love/have a crush on Taylor and think she's absolutely adorable/amazing/etc but she probably would have bet on all of them but herself. That's part of what makes Taylor great though. I'm rambling.) Kanye believes he's the best. You have to respect his opinion.

There's no way around the Taylor Swift/VMA incident. He came off looking like an asshole. Everyone hated him. He was right though - Beyonce's video was the best. He just had (or created) a platform to share his opinion with the world. And look - Beyonce's video won Video of the Year. (Random tangent - how do you lose Female Video of the Year but win Video of the Year, don't they correlate? MTV is dumb.)


That doesn't make what Yeezy did right. It was Taylor's time to shine. He took that away from her. Asshole move, absolutely. He tweeted how everyone benefited from it though - and yet again, he's right. Taylor was/is clearly a rising star destined for the top, but her hysteria reached a new high following that incident. So did Beyonce's. Jay Leno certainly did for his first night. So did Kanye's. I think he summed it up best in this tweet: "Remember in Anchor Man when Ron Burgandy cursed on air and the entire city turned on him? But this wasn't a joke. This was & is my real life"

So besides 'Ye's spelling problems, it's so true. Ron Burgundy came back from his exile. Which finally (and longer than I had planned) gets back to why Kanye is good for Twitter. Kanye seems to be the rare breed of celebrity that really doesn't censor himself. He doesn't have someone talk for him. Kanye talks from his heart, without thinking rationally or about the implications of his words. At his level of celebrity, society says he can't say things like our President doesn't care about black people. His emotions told him otherwise.

Some celebrities don't speak, and if they're on Twitter, it's automated or fake or just stupid tweets. I'm not saying Kanye's are the most intellectual things out there, and it's not how everyone else (read: probably you) should tweet. But Twitter breaks down the barrier between the fan and the celebrity and Kanye can really speak to us. I saw his UStream from a month ago and was surprised at how normal he is, yet how much of a genius he is. It opens a whole new door that I think is perfect for him.

So Kanye apologized on Twitter. He's done it before. Going through all of his tweets, you can tell he has really thought about this. It's been on his mind for a while. The amount of criticism he got was unreal. I'm real excited to hear his song that he wrote for Taylor, and his new album. I don't really believe Kanye is a "changed man" - you can't change who you are. He may try harder to be a better person, but he is who he is - and that's why we listen to his music.

No one man should have all that power.