I am currently listening to the best Christmas radio station I have ever heard. It figures that it's from Paris.
Thus far, it's featured a lot of piano and light jazz Christmas songs and medleys interspersed with Nat King Cole and a few other old fashioned Christmas songs. It's currently playing "Vive le Vent"- Jingle Bells in French, and the first French I've heard in 45 minutes (other than their call sign). There's a distinct lack of the pop 80s and 90s "Christmas" songs that I really, really dislike.
It's also missing Delilah- the maudlin queen of easy listening All Christmas format stations. If you have somehow managed to live a life devoid of the saccharine lady, she takes requests along with people's "moving and heartfelt" Christmas stories. I think of it as the radio equivalent to Paula Dean. It's really not that bad if you're in the car not really paying attention, but just to have on to listen to Christmas music, I could really do without her.
Anyway, here's the link to some Christmas music that's not going to make anyone say, "Oh, lord, Christmas music? Turn it off!" La Radio du Pere Noel. I think the reason most people don't like those all Christmas stations is just because people turn them on and hope to hear something they like in the midst of all the Clay Aiken/Britney Spears Christmas covers? My mother-in-law always wants to turn on the Christmas music in the car, especially when they go down to visit The Boy's grandmother and aunt- an hour away. I initially agreed with her, but after an hour long drive of Christmas music I had never heard and didn't really like, I joined the groans when she turned it on the following year.
And, since I'm on the subject of Christmas music- may I just say that my least favourite Christmas song of all time is The Little Drummer Boy? Maybe there's a cover out there somewhere that's good, but most of them seem to drone on and on. For those of you with a metronome on hand- I think it should run at about 84, 86 rather than the 76 that most versions I've heard seem to run. It's a march. It's a sort of royal march, which is a little moderate, but it's a march- not a funeral dirge. The song should not lag the way it does- especially when you're singing the exact same words 21 times. It should move- let's speed it up to partridge in a pear tree speed. That's another song which has to keep going or it gets repetitive and boring. Most parodies are annoying because they're not clever enough to make it much past "five roast beef sandwiches" and still be funny.
If you're still with me and looking for something truly fun to watch, and all your old favourites have already been on TV, may I point you towards Will Vinton's Claymation Christmas? This was one of my favourites from my childhood- I haven't seen it on TV since maybe 1991.
A very happy Christmas to you all!