“Christmas is awesome. First of all you get to spend time with people you love. Secondly, you can get drunk and no one can say anything. Third, you give presents. What’s better than giving presents? And fourth, getting presents. So, four things. Not bad for one day. It’s really the greatest day of all time.” – Michael Scott
1. Stream: Andrew Belle – “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
01 Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
… get the single on iTunes. One of the best Christmas songs, and this version, released last year, became my favorite the first time I heard it. It’s hard to imagine a better version ever being made. When I listened for the first time, I cried. Andrew Belle has turned a song that tugs on my heartstrings into a song that rips them out in only the way beautiful music can. It’s perfect.
2. Stream: Matt Pond PA “Holiday Road”
Holiday Road
… on Winter Songs EP (iTunes). National Lampoon’s Vacation made this song famous, and Matt Pond PA turns this not-really-a-Christmas-song into something that just feels wintery.
3. Stream: Ellery “Going Gone”
02 Going Gone
… on Down, Down, Down: A Holiday EP (iTunes). I love how the lyrics paint a beautiful snow day: “Silver flakes halo our faces…we’re all rose and shine…two tracks wandering home, in a thundering snow…back to the fire and wine.” Ellery‘s Holiday EP was released in 2009 and is an all around solid collection of original and classic tunes. It’s getting heavy rotation.
4. Stream: Brave Combo “Feliz Navidad”
12 Feliz Navidad
… on It’s Christmas, Man! (iTunes). Every Christmas playlist needs a great version of “Feliz Navidad,” and this is my favorite. One of my most unforgettable nights in college was dancing in the Denton square to Brave Combo‘s Christmas concert my senior year. The hometown band always draws a huge crowd and puts on an incredible show, and that night goes down in my Top Ten Dance Floor Dominating Moments.
5. Stream: Matthew Mayfield “It’s Christmastime Again”
It_s Christmastime Again
… on A Rock By the Sea Christmas::Volume 3 (iTunes…but you can get this song for free here). Matthew Mayfield is one of the best singer/songwriters out there. The man is just incredible. Make sure to also snag his EP, Maybe Next Christmas, on iTunes. And then if you haven’t yet…listen to everything else he has ever done.
New Merry Music goodness added err’day to my Spotify playlist, Go Christmas.