The best Christmas songs you have never heard

On a few occasions, people have accused me of not liking Christmas, since I don't like it before Thanksgiving and because I dislike a few (OK, several) Christmas songs.

But let's face it: I love holidays in general, and I probably like Valentine's Day, my least-favorite holiday, more than the average person likes Christmas. Christmas is my second-favorite holiday.

This week I crossed off a few more items from my bucket list: bake (cranberry orange crisp), buy a real wreath and a real poinsettia, buy presents, give to charity,

attend a Christmas concert, display Christmas cards, and hear a bell choir. 

I still have to go caroling, send Christmas cards, go sledding, donate to a Salvation Army kettle, have a real Christmas tree, make a cranberry/popcorn garland, watch a Christmas movie, make a gingerbread house, read the Christmas story and A Christmas Carol, make a paper chain, light a candle, shovel snow, chime, and wrap, give, receive, and unwrap presents.

The Christmas concert I went to was The Lower Lights. It was our fourth year; I went with my family, and this time my dad even came with. They are so fun. This time, there were twenty-two members, and they just get up and play and sing various Christmas (and other gospel) songs. They have a folk/bluegrass sound. You really get absorbed in the music. I think they are about 50/50 Mormon and not Mormon. They played lots of new songs, and I predict that they will have a new Christmas album out next year. This is one of my favorite new traditions. I might even say I like them more than I liked the Katy Perry concert. So good.

Since I like holidays so much, I find myself doing things or buying things I wouldn't otherwise, but because it has a holiday theme, I get it. This applies to music as well. Currently, my Christmas playlist is at 1,176 songs, and once a song goes into the playlist, it almost never leaves. I have a lot of not-so-good Christmas music, so I've been trying to balance it out with better stuff.

There is a lot of good Christmas music out there, and one of the things that frustrates me is that we don't always hear it. Yet we always hear songs that are simply horrendous (I'm looking at you, "Christmas Canon") or that masquerade as Christmas songs, yet they have nothing to do with it (did someone say "My Favorite Things"?). So I present to you "The best Christmas songs you have never heard." And by "best" I mean "underappreciated." I'm just trying my hand at clickbait. I want these songs to get more exposure so that they will be played more, or they will get recorded more, so that I don't have to hear "Jingle Bell Rock" again.

1. "Something about December" by Christina Perri. I think I have made a plug for this song every year since it came out in 2012, because it's so good. I don't understand why the modern "classics" ("All I Want for Christmas Is You," "Underneath the Tree") are Christmas love songs. Don't we get enough love songs the rest of the year? This song is actually about the feeling of Christmas. She is the modern Karen Carpenter.
2. "Joel the Lump of Coal" by the Killers. Every year the Killers do a Christmas song for charity, and they are usually tongue-in-cheek funny songs. One of their most amusing is "Joel the Lump of Coal" from 2014, which is also surprisingly heartwarming--and it points that it really isn't nice of Santa to give coal to the naughty kids.
3. "Mary's Lullaby" by the Lower Lights. My favorite member of the Lower Lights is Cherie Call, and she does the vocal for this song, which she describes as a Christmas carol from Arizona. It's simply lovely. "You are a king, but tonight you are mine." (Not to be confused with other songs with the same name.)
4. "Close Your Mouth (It's Christmas)" by the Free Design. Earlier this year, I discovered the obscure 1960s sunshine-pop band the Free Design. Their best song is "Kites Are Fun" (even Jimmy Fallon likes it), but they did two Christmas songs. At first, I preferred their other one, "Christmas Is the Day," but "Close Your Mouth" has grown on me. It's so weirdly catchy and cheerful. I also really like the lyrics: "Put your big bank book back in the drawer, bring your mind and body back from the store, get to know the people in your house--you might like them!" 
5. "The First Christmas" from Cricket on the Hearth. The year 1967 brought us this little TV special, Cricket on the Hearth, loosely based on a Dickens story. You've probably never seen it, and with good reason: it starts out moderately charming, but it gets totally bizarre (with talking toys, and a sultry feline who sings in a disreputable canine tavern). But since no one has seen it, they miss a lovely song from it. I don't think anyone has ever recorded it, and I couldn't find a good version on YouTube.
6. "There Was Starlight on the Hillside" from the LDS Children's Songbook. I never sang "There Was Starlight on the Hillside" in Primary, which is a shame, because it's better than a lot of the ones we did sing. It might not be a great song, but I love its tune. And as I pointed out last week, the lyrics are better than "The First Noel." The only recording I know of that's available is those horrendous recordings of primary kids. (I have found a jazzy instrumental version on the internet, and there used to be an instrumental arrangement on Spotify, but it's been taken down.)

I fully recognize that when I read other blogs that just showcase videos, I never watch or listen to them. Who has time for that?! Sorry for wasting your time. (And mine, I guess.)