My 10 Favourite Christmas Songs

One of those truly perfect songs - perfect tune, perfect words, perfect rhythm. It will (or at least should) stay in your head forever. I don't remember the first time I heard it, it feels like it's inhabited my brain since childhood.

Fairytale of New York - The Pogues featuring Kirsty McColl

Growly and probably drunk Shane McGowan and the rollicking melody of the sadly departed Kirsty McColl's voices blend beautifully discordantly in this bittersweet song.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Tori Amos

A beautiful and pure rendition of a classic. Tori's quirkiness is absent for a change, allowing her amazing voice to shine through.

Christmas Sucks - Porn Orchard

Another irreverent one, as you can no doubt infer from the title. It's also very, very funny and not half as lewd and rude as you'd expect, given the band's name.

Silent Night/A Christmas Card From a Hooker - Tom Waits

If it's Mr Waits, you know it's going to be hoarse and cynical - and it is. He sings a sad letter from the hooker, with a little Silent Night on either end.

Adeste Fideles (trad.)

AKA Oh Come All Ye Faithful. I used to know all the latin words off by heart too. It's such a fantastic carol to belt out at Christmas; it's a song with balls.

Merry Christmas, Darling - The Carpenters

Pure mawkish sweet sentimentality. I love The Carpenters and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Well, maybe a little bit.

It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas - Pet Shop Boys

From Elton John's Christmas Party, of course. Mindless, lush, disco pop with some sharp lyrical undertones, "there's nothing that you want to watch on tv..." Yeah.

That Was The Worst Christmas Ever - Sufjan Stevens

Hippy-cool Sufjan in bittersweet mode - this one's lovely, as long as you don't mind melancholy.

Christmas Griping - REM / Christmas in Athens

Not that I really want anyone to go after Rudolf with a high powered rifle, but this is just plain funny.

While I was compiling this, I discussed it online; me at one end of a really slow African dial-up connection, chatting to a Swedish goth with ADSL. As you can imagine, she thinks and speaks much faster than I do. What is it that makes lists of ten things so compelling?