A Very Special Holiday Mix CD

[Photo by Steve Hopson]

For someone who can't stand the holidays, I sure can't seem to shut up about them, can I? Well, to me, that's part of the problem. You can't ignore it. I know this because I've tried. Yesterday, to distract myself, I came up with a Mix CD with lots of dark, depressing or just plain old loud or weird (or bad or all of the above) versions of Christmas songs. These I tempered by tossing some good, klezmer-y Hanukkah tunes into the mix. The new CD by Berran Aaron Cohen is most awesome (the songs I've heard, anyway). I love that Chaka Khan does Do You See What I See. And I've forever been a fan of Neil "Jewish Elvis" Diamond faux-sincerely belting out tunes in honor of the Baby Jesus. There's a bunch of other cool stuff I found-- all I had to do was google: "depressing christmas music" and much of my work was done for me. I was, I must say, psyched to find out that Conor Oberst has a Christmas CD. Check out his rendition of Blue Christmas here.

And now, the set list for the CD mix known as BAH!

1. Christmas The Who
2. Father Christmas The Kinks
3. Dreidel Erran Baron Cohen
4. Blue Christmas Bright Eyes
5. Please Daddy (Don't Get Drunk This Christmas) The Decemberists
6. Xmas in Jail Asleep at the Wheel
7. Little Drummer Boy Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
8. Driedel, Driedel Meshugga Beach Party
9. Feliz Navidad El Vez
10. Happy Christmas (War Is Over) Neil Diamond
11. Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah Erran Baron Cohen
12. Do You Hear What I Hear Chaka Khan
13. The Chanukah Song Adam Sandler
14. Fairytale of New York Kirsty MacColl & The Pogues
15. Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem Bright Eyes
16. Dreidel Jingle Punx
17. What a Friend We Have In Jesus Tiny Tim
18. Baby, It's Cold Outside Tom Jones
19. Christmas Time for My Penis The Vandals
20. Heat Miser Lushy
21. Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah (Hora) Brave Combo
22. Don't Shoot Me Santa The Killers
23. Chanuka Jingle Punx
24. White Christmas Stiff Little Fingers
25. You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch Thurl Ravenscroft
26. Silent Night Jingle Punx
27. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) Joey Ramone