I finished my Christmas shopping this weekend with everything sorted a full two weeks before the big day. Is this what being a grown up is really like? This means I’m ready to plow head first into the holiday season with a mug of mulled wine in one hand and a mince pie in the other without a care in the world. Because of this, the Christmas music has already started playing in my flat and I’m ready to start inflicting festive tunes on strangers as well.
Everybody knows that the greatest Christmas songs out there are “Santa Clause Is Coming To Town,” the Bruce Springsteen version, and “Blue Christmas,” by Elvis. Together, they cover all the emotions you might feel over the holidays – excitement, joy, happiness and a dash of sadness here and there. If you want to have a truly emo Christmas, though, this song is for you.
In its original form, “Lonely This Christmas” is already a pretty sad song, telling the story of a breakup right before the big day hits. The weirdly Elvis-esque vocals of Mud frontman Les Gray bring a certain melancholy to the festive period, which I like from time to time.
If you want to improve a song like this, I’ve long believed that the best thing to do is add synths and get an indie band to perform it – and that’s why this Los Campesinos! version is a real gem. Released as part of a Christmas EP put out by the British band a few years back, the cover is all droning synths and subtle glockenspiel jingles – in a very good way.
If you want proof that every holiday song doesn’t need to be a rambunctious jaunt through Christmas stereotypes start here. And if you need cheering up afterwards, put Spingsteen’s banger on next.
