Question of the Week: 12/11/16

/ The Shameful Narcissist

<–Question of the Week: 12/4/16          Question of the Week: 12/18/16–>

The Question of the Week is posted every Sunday and will consist of a question followed by my answer and explanation to the same.  Some questions will only require a simple answer that could potentially be followed by an explanation.  Many questions will be writer oriented, but not all.  Everyone is encouraged to answer in the comments and discussions/follow up questions are more than welcome!

What’s your favorite Christmas/Holiday song?

It’s only fair to have a favorite question after I have a most hated one, and last week’s question caused some pretty awesome conversations.  “Christmas Shoes” is either universally hated or unknown…the way it should be.

My favorite song is contingent on a number of factors, but it mostly comes down to how it’s performed.  I tend to drift towards darker sounding music (especially the minor key), nor do I shy from this position around the holidays.

When I was younger, my favorite song was “We Three Kings,” and while I still love that melody, Pentatonix’s “Mary, Did You Know” is currently in first place.

Just for a bonus, if you want to hear a Christmas song so over the top, disgustingly cheery, you’ll want to vomit candy canes, look no further than the below.

You’re welcome.

What’s your favorite holiday song?  Has it changed over the years or remained the same?

I look forward to your answers in the comments!

<–Question of the Week: 12/4/16          Question of the Week: 12/18/16–>

49 thoughts on “Question of the Week: 12/11/16”

  1. Pingback: Question of the Week: 12/4/16 | The Shameful Narcissist Speaks

  4. Is Christmas shoes the really, really heartwrenchingly sad song I’m thinking it is (kid wants to buy parent shoes for Christmas?) If so, I am neutral, but a little on the “I hate this” side because that song moves me to tears whenever I listen to it.

    I was raised Catholic, so I’m partial to songs rooted in the Christian faith around the holiday season. What Child is This? and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen are some of my favourites (especially the Barenaked Ladies cover). As well, I’d have to definitely have to say O Holy Night is at the very top. There is something so haunting about some versions of that song, and it’s been a family favourite for as long as I can remember.

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    • YES! Ugh it’s just awful. I think I’m more angry about it, because my mother is deceased, and that’s not something I want to be the subject of a Christmas song grrrr.

      My favorite songs are the more religious, too! Even though I’m more agnostic now, I was raised Methodist, and even in my school choir we’d sing the more religious ones. I think they’re the most beautiful and definitely more haunting. That Barenaked Ladies cover is fantastic with Sarah McLachlan? Yasss. She was my favorite singer/songwriter. I also like Loreena McKennit’s version. In fact LM’s To Drive the Cold Winter Away album is just divine. O Holy Night is another of my favorites, too. That chorus captures that haunting tone we’ve been talking about!

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        • Yup! All of her albums are so good, though I found out from another blogger friend that she stopped making music after her fiance tragically drowned 😦 She does a lot now for water safety for that reason, but I heard rumblings that she might be returning to the music circuit. I certainly hope so.

          Let me know what you think of that album!

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      • The one where they got Santa’s Little Helper is my favourite! It’s also the first episode, I think. The Springfielders do a touching rendition of “Hark the Herald Angles” at the end of one where Homer gets the Astro-globe thingy. Also they have a couple versions of the 12 days of Christmas, including with them as puppets with real life Katy Perry. I’m not a huge fan of her pop music, but I found it funny.

        I can sing off by heart ear-splitting versions of many other Simpsons songs. Including such classics as: “Maison Derriere”, “We do.”, “The Monorail Song”, and “Who Needs the Kwik-E-Mart?” 🙂

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        • I used to have a Simpsons album oh lord back when I was in high school? There was a song called “Sibling Rivalry” that Bart and Lisa did and one by Mr. Burns called “Look at All Those Idiots” about how much he despised the power plant workers. It was hysterical. I love the protest song Lisa sings when Homer and crew are fighting for better dental insurance, because she has the horrible braces. In fact that was one of my favorite episodes. The Monorail Song is another favorite. The We Do from the Stone Cutters episode has a special place in my heart, because the head Stone Cutter is voice by Sir Patrick Stewart ♥

          I can’t decide if I like the Halloween episodes the best of the Christmas ones, and I’m gong to have to look up that Hark the Herald Angels, because I don’t remember that!

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  6. O Come, O Come Emmanuel is one of my favorites, along with Do You Hear What I Hear? And I’m also rather partial to Coventry Carol, or The Gloucestershire Wassail. I also really like I’ll Be Home for Christmas… Gosh now you’ve got me going. We used to sing Christmas carols at my parents’ house when all us kids still lived there, so I have a lot of good memories from a lot of carols.

    If you’re looking for a fun one, Good King Kong by P.D.Q. Bach is pretty funny. But I’m with you; I love Mary, Did You Know? for so many reasons. It’s also interesting to think about from the standpoint of Easter (or more specifically, Good Friday), because thematically the lyrics fit (sorry, music nerd is showing).

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    • Emmanuel is one of my favorite hymns. It’s the only complete, surviving Advent hymn, and I really need to teach it to myself in Latin. I love Loreena McKennitt’s version. Do You Hear What I Hear is another favorite, and I actually like the Bing Crosby version. Manheim Steamroller does a great rendition, too. Ah you mentioning “Wassail” reminds me of a song by that name, but it’s not the “Here We Come a Wassailing,” it’s this other song that I either hear of sang in choir when I did that many years ago. I miss those days so much and wish I could find some way to sing again, though my voice is not what it used to be. I used to sing all the time, but I’m plagued with chronic sore throats. Sadness and woe.

      Nothing wrong with being a music nerd! You’re talking to one because it was such a big part of my life for so long. I started playing piano when I was five, sadly stopped lessons at 14, but I still remember. If I had time, I’d practice more. I’ve been trying to teach myself Aeris’s Theme from FFVII. I thought about majoring in music, but I think I took Theory too early, and that utterly put me off.

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      • Wassail, wassail all over the town… Now it’s in my head. Have you tried the tea called Throat Coat? It helped me a lot when I was getting sick all the time but still needed to sing.

        Yeah music theory is a tough class. I was a music major had to take 4 semesters for my undergrad, and even with a fairly solid theory background it was tough. I enjoyed it because, you know, nerd… But I’m with you – time for singing and practicing for my own enjoyment is limited.

        Gosh, I’m going to stop before I start gushing about music and Christmas carols and choir and orchestra… haha

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        • That’s the song! I love that version of it. Now I’m going to have to listen to it myself.

          I have not, but I’m going to look into it.

          What’s funny is I know I could grasp it because I have an understanding of how and why the underlying mechanics of music works, but yeah, I think it might have just been too advanced for me at the time. It happens.

          Please do! I love talking music stuff and have written a few articles about major/minor switching, because I find it fascinating how that completely changes the mien of a song, and I love when it’s contained in one melody phrase by phrase. I have a tendency to hear similar patterns in songs across genres and sources. Please feel free to geek out musically anytime you want. I’m sure I’ll learn something, too since you majored in it! I miss choir so much and wish I had more time to practice on my keyboard.

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            • Yasss definitely. If you need someone to nerd out with over music, I’m always here. I’ll try to talk to my husband about things sometimes, but he doesn’t really have a background in it, so he doesn’t really get it. This is not to say I’m a music expert in the least, but music is really just about patterns, and I’ve always been good at that 🙂

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  8. First of all I love Christmas songs, so it’s hard to choose. Oddly enough, I’ll have to go with What Child is This. I don’t know why I like it since it doesn’t sound particularly jolly, but it has a nice old folk tune sound thanks to its source tune Greensleeves. We Three Kings has a similar not-too-jolly sound, I believe, so that’s a pretty good choice too.

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    • I love the “darker” sounding Christmas songs, too! “We Three Kings” was my favorite for many years. I think the more religious sounding songs have that darker tone to them, because well, Christianity is about a martyr god who’s destined to die, so it’s pretty dark when you think about it like that hehe. The more secular favorites tend to be the jollier, but the ones you mentioned, Emmanuel, I Wonder As I Wander, and I’ve even heard a version of The Holly and the Ivy in minor key that’s really dark.

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  9. I’m a sucker for the songs in The Nightmare Before Christmas. 😛 As far as more traditional songs go, I like Carol of the Bells and Baby it’s Cold Outside. Most Christmas music turns me into a total grinch though. lol Too many years of hearing it when I worked retail I suppose.

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    • Carol of the Bells was my favorite song at one point when I was a kid! There’s this awesome parody version of Baby It’s Cold Outside done by the Portal people using GLaDOS and, ugh, what the hell is his name. He’s the dumb, little core that takes over GLaDOS’s job at one point and tries to kill you. Portal is such an awesome, strange game.

      Retail will kill your enjoyment of Christmas music (if you’ve ever had any) among other things. I’m happy I made it through that phase of my life intact and I hope I never have to unwillingly go through it again.

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  10. Pingback: Commentition Decadent December 2016 | I Read Encyclopedias for Fun

  13. Pingback: Star of Wonder–On the Occasion that It’s Time for Me to Pass Down a Gift – dearlilyjune

    • I’m happy I was able to spark your interest! I’ll probably be commenting again when I read this. I’m replying to the notification that you tagged me now hehe. Very slowly catching up on all of my blog subs. It was such a busy week that I didn’t get to my normal schedule of checking so it’s Friday catch up time 🙂

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  16. Pingback: Question of the Week: 12/18/16 | The Shameful Narcissist Speaks

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