For some people, the festive season is that special time when they assume they can blast pop hits by the likes of Wham! and Mariah Carey without fear of judgement.
For others, their Christmas playlists feature songs with far less mainstream recognition than those you’ve probably heard countless times already in the course of your Christmas shopping.
So, to expand your musical horizons, or simply remind you of your favourite indie Christmas-inspired tunes, ArtsHub has put together a short, alternative ‘Season’s Greetings’ playlist designed to see you through the rest of December.
Special thanks to ArtsHub’s Performing Arts Editor Richard Watts who contributed a lot of valuable suggestions to this shortlist. As well as being an editor and writer at ArtsHub, Richard has also just celebrated 20 years of Melbourne radio station Triple R’s arts show SmartArts, as its current and long-time host, and is unquestionably ArtsHub‘s greatest musical asset.
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Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis (1978), by Tom Waits
Is there anyone better placed to remind us of the woozy, faltering state of our souls during the month of December than Tom Waits?
His 1978 masterpiece ‘Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis‘ reads as a love letter to the kind of magical thinking that can overcome us in our darkest hours.
It’s written in the voice of a sex worker who is spilling her deepest thoughts to a man named Charlie. As she recounts her past choices and future hopes, she reminds us of the pain and ecstasy of our emotional lives.
It’s an unconventional choice for Christmas but, for many people, it’s their seasonal favourite for its rawness, honesty and quintessential Tom Waits prose.
December Will Be Magic Again (1980), by Kate Bush
As many indie-music fans already know, there are no excuses required to turn up the volume on anything by the legendary artist Kate Bush.
But the song that jumps to the front of the queue for Bush fans at Christmas time is her piece ‘December Will Be Magic Again‘.
Bush first performed a version of this song for a BBC Christmas television special in 1979, but didn’t release it as a single until 1980.
And even though you won’t find any “black-soot icicled roofs” or the white snow mentioned in this song in Australia at this time of year, you should still consider “dropping down in [your] parachute” and spending listening time with this “brightest star” of the experimental pop-rock genre.
Just Like Christmas (1999), by Low
This track is from the US indie rock band Low’s only Christmas album, which it released as a gift to fans in 1999.
There are a few traditional vibes in this beautifully simple song, with a gentle chiming of Santa’s reindeer sleigh bells playing in the background throughout, but its main draw are the smooth sounds of drummer and vocalist Mimi Parker, who sadly died in 2022, and whose death is the reason the band no longer exists (although guitarist and co-vocalist Alan Sparhawk continues to perform, having recently released a solo album, White Roses, My God).
This is a nostalgic song, but it also has a jaunty feel that you could dance to, and it’s a Christmas favourite with many Low fans for this reason.
I Saw Three Ships (2006), by Sufjan Stevens
One of our favourite tracks from Sufjan Stevens‘ Songs for Christmas album (released in 2006) is the artist’s whimsical take on the Christmas carol ‘I Saw Three Ships (Come Sailing In)’.
Stevens’ version is playful, plucky and rolls along in a very joyful way thanks to the artist’s imaginative time signatures and instrumentation.
It also feels like a sure-fire way to get any reluctant Christmas party/lunch goers at least nodding their heads along to this ode to the religious history of the day.
Our final tip when listening to this song is to listen right to the end to make sure you hear Stevens’ impromptu reflection on how well he did in the recording studio while setting down the track (he utters three words, but they offer a very cute ending to the piece).
The Blizzard (2009), Camera Obscura’s version (2009)
Camera Obscura’s ‘The Blizzard‘ is the Scottish ‘twee-pop’ band’s take on a 1960s Christmas classic by US Country singer-songwriter James Reeves.
The story Reeves tells in this song is actually very sad (it reveals the thoughts of a man returning home for Christmas during a blizzard, and riding his beloved lame pony who slows his journey down to the point he doesn’t make it).
Read: Australia’s Spotify Wrapped 2024: the year in Aussie music
In the hands of Camera Obscura, the tune still has hints of its Country music origins, but it’s also layered with folk and lilting pop elements that make it distinctively their own sound.
The band has actually been on an extended hiatus for years, since the sad and untimely death of its keyboardist Carey Lander, who died from bone cancer in 2015. But they actually re-formed earlier this year, releasing a new album in May 2024 and touring the world for most of this year. Their fans are very happy!
Christmas Will Break Your Heart (2015), LCD Soundsystem
Depending on the kind of music listener you are, this elegiac orchestral ballad released in 2015, may appeal if you feeling like this Christmas is a total bust, and you need a way to share your feelings of despair and anguish with LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy.
Murphy’s lyrics argue, “Christmas will crush your soul, like that laid back rock ’n’ roll, but your body is getting old, and is much too tired to be so bold.” So, it’s wise to proceed with caution with this track if you are looking for something to get friends and family members up on the dance floor… This is definitely not that track.
It’s more suited to an-end-of a Christmas day lie-down or lazy conversation (and while the song starts out on quite bleak notes, it builds throughout and ends in a surprisingly uplifting place).
Mama It’s Christmas (2021), by Maple Glider
This song, by Australian musician Tori Zietsch, who works under the moniker Maple Glider, was released in 2021 on the artist’s debut album To Enjoy Is the Only Thing.
It’s far from a being a jaunty Christmas number – it’s similar to LCD Soundsystem’s ‘Christmas Will Break Your Heart’ in that way.
But as you listen to this melancholy ballad where the artist pours her heart out at Christmas time, it’s easy to remember the beauty that’s out there, and will help you slow down and appreciate the wonder of the world at this time of year.
Happy Christmas!
