Mixing it up for the Holidays

Holidays and music have long gone together. Some of the most memorable holiday sing-alongs (aka ‘The Classics’) have been written and recorded over the last 150 years. With the Golden Age of holiday songs (arguably) behind us, we are annually subjected to the popular artist re-make rife with vocal olympics, over-production, gaudy arrangements, and sometimes just a bad fit.

There are occasionally some gems: poignant versions that remind us of the sentiment in the song, and some versions featuring clever arrangements, genres, and mash-ups. But what seems to be most lasting or most impressionable (to me at least) are the odd, random pairings of artist, song and genre. Over the last 35 years there have been some new “Classics” that put a genuine twist into the old standards. Here are few of my favorites.

Run DMC – Christmas in Hollis
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqe30azXSBo&feature=player_embedded#!]

David Bowie and Bing Crosby – Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiXjbI3kRus&playnext=1&list=PLDE5BD9BA29C89A86&index=33]

A little history on this odd pairing that almost never happened can be found here

Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly turn in a humorous version of the Bowie/Crosby pairing, re-creating the magic. (if they’re actually singing, I’m impressed!)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMgEym4WaHA&feature=related]

Finally, one that isn’t a song per se. This Christmas light show, choreographed in 2005 by a Mason, Ohio electrical engineer to the Trans Siberian Orchesta’s “Wizards in Winter” quickly became a holiday classic and is still pretty fun to
watch.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWBjl-jPcVM]

What are some of your favorites?

Happy Holidays!

– Anthony