Linda Bennett with Ricky Nelson on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet in 1960, fifteen years before the atrocity that is "An Old Fashioned Christmas (Daddy's Home)."

​Yesterday Jezebel anointed "The Christmas Shoes" the worst Christmas song of all time. We at RFT Music agree that this maudlin tale of a little boy who wants to buy his dying mom a pair of shoes so she'll look all classy when she meets Jesus in the Great Beyond and, in the process, teaches the song's narrator the True Meaning of Christmas is unspeakably awful.

But it has nothing -- we repeat nothing -- on "An Old-Fashioned Christmas (Daddy's Home)," a rare gem recorded by Linda Bennett in 1975. Brace yourself -- and maybe pour yourself a good stiff cup of egg nog -- and give it a listen.

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A still from the "Last Christmas" video.

​As of 5 p.m. Friday, November 12, KEZK (102.5 FM) has started programming Christmas/holiday music 24-7 on the terrestrial airwaves and online at KEZK.com. According to a press release, the station "will feature traditional songs from top artists like Bing Crosby, Elvis, Nat King Cole, Burl Ives, as well as contemporary Christmas favorites from Madonna, Paul McCartney, The Eagles, Elton John, Mannheim Steamroller and more." I gave the station a spin over the weekend in the car, and indeed, the soft-glow of sugarplums and weepy nostalgia was already in full effect. (So was the Mariah Carey, natch.) I even detected some slow-jam action within the Christmas song playlist -- although no Wham! yet. And by my book, it's not the holiday season until the first sign of "Last Christmas." Video below.

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​Although it's still 70 degrees in St. Louis, it's already time to start thinking about the holidays. After a year off, the Matt Harnish-created A Very Bert Dax Christmas compilation is returning for 2010. A co-production with Pancake Productions, Volume 8 in the series is going to feature MISF, Glass Teeth, Trigger 5, Cassie Morgan, Popular Mechanics, Theodore, Union Electric, Beth Bombara, Humdrum, King Kong Magnetics and Johnny Vegas. Whew! To celebrate, BD and PP are having four release shows. Info below.

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The big guns come out on Christmas Eve. The classics. The canon. The pillars of seasonal cheer. Have a merry Christmas, if that's your thing. We're not going dark next week, so check back for fun stuff and interviews!

MP3: Mariah Carey, "All I Want for Christmas Is You"

MP3: The Ramones, "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)"

MP3: U2, "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"

MP3: Run-DMC, "Christmas in Hollis"

"Fairytale of New York" by the Pogues (featuring Kirsty MacColl) is my favorite holiday tune, tied with "Christmas Wrapping." I think "Fairytale" encourages the highest-quality covers of any seasonal song too. Evidence below.

Billy Bragg and Florence and the Machine (via Slicing Up Eyeballs):

MP3: The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl, "A Fairytale of New York"

MP3: Stars, "A Fairytale of New York"

MP3: Bob Schneider, "A Fairytale of New York"

Does anything scream "This Happened in the '80s" more than an All-Star Charity Single? (Yes. But for our purposes, no.) Cue "Do They Know It's Christmas"? -- alternate title in some circles: "Feed the World" -- the Bob Geldof-and-Midge-Ure-written benefit tune featuring English and Irish rockers.

The tune's been covered in a tongue-and-cheek and serious way since it was first recorded in 1984. Most recently, Canadian hardcore heroes Fucked Up recruited an all-star cast of collaborators -- RZA, Bob Mould, Tegan and Sara, Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend, et al -- and recorded a version of this song; proceeds from its sale go to three charities "working to bring to end to the epidemic of missing and murdered native women.". Air Supply also did a version of this song -- and even for them, it's saccharine.

But really, nothing compares to the original. Enjoy.

MP3: Band Aid, "Do They Know It's Christmas?"

MP3: Pete Yorn, "Do They Know It's Christmas?"

​Does this song even need an introduction? (Did George Michael frost his tips for most of the '80s?) The soft-glow of heartbreak and despair, crooned by Andrew Ridgely and Michael of Wham!, the dynamic '80s pop duo. "Schmaltzy" doesn't begin to describe this song -- but it doesn't matter!

MP3: Wham!, "Last Christmas"

The Canadian band Ohbijou recorded a fine version of the song this year. Head to its website to grab the tune and hear other lovely recordings.

MP3: Ohbijou, "Last Christmas"

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​Does it get any better than the Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping"? I'm not sure. ("Oh, damn! Guess what I forgot?") The whimsical tale of meeting a kindred scatterbrained soul in the supermarket -- the same guy you've been chasing all year, no less! -- who also forgot cranberries, "Wrapping" warms even the most jaded heart. Four versions of the tune -- below!

The original:
MP3: The Waitresses, "Christmas Wrapping"

Or how about an electro/synthpop version in the vein of Kraftwerk, from the British band I Love Poland? (H/T to this blog.)

MP3: I Love Poland, "Christmas Wrapping"

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Released in 1977, the song "Father Christmas" by the Kinks did not chart(!), although now it's a power-pop staple. Here's the original, a fantastic version by Chicago NYC band the Figgs and a link to stream a new version by LA singer-songwriter Cary Brothers. The latter version of this song comes from his new Father Christmas EP, which is now available on iTunes.

MP3: The Kinks, "Father Christmas"

MP3: The Figgs, "Father Christmas"

MP3: Cary Brothers, "Father Christmas" (stream here)

Euclid Records' YouTube account has been a holiday goldmine lately. In the past few weeks, high-quality videos of bands doing holiday tunes for the TV show Psychotic Reaction -- performances filmed in the old Cicero's basement -- have popped up. Check out a very young Yo La Tengo from 1987 performing a holiday chestnut below; after the jump, view clips from Fishbone, the Connells and Drivin' N Cryin'.

Yo La Tengo, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"

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