Merry Christmas everybody. Pour yourself a drink, and enjoy. Me, I'm nursing a Boulevardier. It's a Negroni with cojones: swap out the gin for bourbon. One ounce bourbon, one ounce sweet vermouth, one ounce Campari, straight up or on the rocks, with a twist of orange. A serious libation. It'll melt a snowflake for sure. The vermouth rosso contests the harshness of the bourbon, but then the Campari joins the fight on the side of the bourbon. Or you can think of it as a Manhattan wherein the Campari substitutes for the angostura bitters. That there are people who don't like Campari shows that there is no hope for humanity. An irrational prejudice against artichokes?
Cheech and Chong, Santa Claus and His Old Lady
Canned Heat, Christmas Boogie
Leon Redbone and Dr. John, Frosty the Snowman
Beach Boys, Little St. Nick. A rarely heard alternate version.
Ronettes, Sleigh Ride
Elvis Presley, Blue Christmas. This one goes out to Barack and Michelle.
Jeff Dunham, Jingle Bombs by Achmed the Terrorist. TRIGGER WARNING! Not for the p.c.-whipped.
Porky Pig, Blue Christmas
Dylan Magon, White Christmas. Don't know this dude. Appears to be a black Italian. Good performance, except that he says'sly bells' instead of 'slay bells.'
Charles Brown, Please Come Home for Christmas
Wanda Jackson and the Continentals, Merry Christmas Baby
Chuck Berry, Run Rudolph Run
Eric Clapton, Cryin' Christmas Tears
Judy Collins, Silver Bells
Ry Cooder, Christmas in Southgate. Don't miss this one if you are a Los Angeleno.
Bob Dylan, Must Be Santa
Is this the same guy who sang Desolation Row back in '65? This is the 'stoned' version. It'll grow on you! Give it chance.
Bob Dylan, Red Cadillac and a Black Moustache. Not Christmasy, but a good tune.
Who could possibly follow Dylan's growl except
Tom Waits, Silent Night. Give it a chance.
A surprising number of Christmas songs were written by Jews.