Get out the egg nog

Brad over at Letters in Bottles has offered up his version of a top 10 Christmas song list. And while I agree with most of his choices, this seems an opportune occasion to prove imitation a genuinely sincere form of flattery and offer forth my top 10 holiday tunes of the modern era.

A few notes, first, though. Given my strong anti-piracy views in this electronic age, all of the songs offered forth on this list are available for $0.99 on iTunes – no Kazaa necessary to enjoy these hits. And, this limitation in place, one song in particular got cut from the list: Merry Xmas (War is Over) by John Lennon. Politics aside, it is a great tune but, unfortunately, Beatles music is about as tough to find on the legal download market as the Grateful Dead bootlegs that fans are longing for this week. Also, on that note, this is a thoroughly apolitical list, which is to say that no grudges are being held against the Boss from Jersey – music is music and politics are politics. Finally, one song had to find its way on to this list, even though only an “alternate” version of it is available on iTunes, so I have denoted such with an asterisk.

Without any further ado, the top 10 holiday songs of the modern era:

10. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus – John Mellencamp

9. The Chanukah Song – Adam Sandler

8. Little Drummer Boy – The Temptations

7. A Christmas to Remember – Amy Grant

6. Santa Claus it Comin' to Town – Bruce Springsteen

5. The Christmas Song – Nat King Cole

4. Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24) – Trans-Siberian Orchestra

3. 'Zat You Santa Claus? - Louis Armstrong

2. White Christmas – Frank Sinatra*

1. Auld Lang Syne – Duke Ellington

Honorable mentions to Alvin, Simon, Theodore and Kenny G.