Favorite Christmas Songs, Albums

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In honor of the season, I thought I'd post of a few of my favorite Christmas songs.

• Favorite Traditional Christmas Song: "O, Holy Night" - Yes, every artist has to record it, and somebody at church has to sing it every year, but there's a reason for that! The song remains beautiful - one of the best worship songs ever written!
• Favorite Modern Christmas Song: "Born to Die" by Bebo Norman - A beautiful, moving pop song. It captures the truth of the season in a way that's hard to do in under four minutes.
• Favorite Novelty Christmas Song: "'Zat You, Santa Claus? by Louis Armstrong - Let's be honest. This is much closer to how we would actually react if some dude showed up at our houses on Christmas Eve. Plus, the song is just plain fun.
• Favorite Reworking of a Classic Christmas Song: "Jingle Bells" by James Taylor - "Jingle Bells" as blues! Brilliant!

Favorite Christmas Albums:

1. Christmas... From the Realms of Glory by Bebo Norman - Songs we know, and some we don't. Some are done in the Bebo Norman style CCM listeners have to come to know. Most are done in a style much more reminiscent of his indie music: simple instrumentation - acoustic guitar, piano, melodica, hammer dulcimer. It's a warm, folksy, introspective, beautiful album. Plus, the brave inclusion of Jackson Browne's "The Rebel Jesus." Highlights: "Born to Die," "Come and Worship," "The Rebel Jesus"
2. Christmas by Michael W. Smith - Remember when Michael W. Smith used to be a songwriter? This album is odd for 80s CCM. It's a high-church, classical Christmas album with a couple of classic Smitty touches, and it's pretty flippin' amazing. Of course, he had to to include the radio-friendly "Gloria," a pop rendition of "Angels We Have Heard on High." Highlights: "First Snowfall," "All Is Well," "Gloria"
3. Home for Christmas by Amy Grant - I am not, nor have I ever been, an Amy Grant fan, but I love this album. I even went to one of her Christmas concerts years ago. There are a couple of blemishes ("Grown Up Christmas List" and her insistence on singing along with the choir on Handel's "For Unto Us a Child is Born"), but there are so many classic renditions of so many classic Christmas songs, if you don't like it, you have no Christmas spirit! Highlights: "Breath of Heaven," "The Night Before Christmas," "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"

Christmas album honorable mention: Christmastime by Michael W. Smith, Music of Christmas by Steven Curtis Chapman

Worst Christmas Song Ever: "Grown Up Christmas List" - I do not need to defend this choice.