Maybe it’s just me, but one of the worst things about the Holiday season is being bombarded with Christmas songs. There’s only so many times I can hear “Feliz Navidad” without becoming enraged.

Nevertheless, there are some winners. One of my absolute favorites is “Christmas Card From a Hooker In Minneapolis” by the incomparable Tom Waits. It’s doesn’t mention Christmas outside of the title, but I feel like the tired, sardonic tone fits the holiday perfectly. As Mr. Waits once introduced the song with the following anecdote:

“I was in Minneapolis – it was 200 degrees below zero – I know – you think I’m bullshitting, no, I swear to God, I was wearing just a bra and a slip and a kind of dead squirrel around my neck – he was colder than I was. The police cars would go by and they’d wave: “Merry Xmas, Merry Xmas, Merry Xmas”… anyway …I got caught in the middle of a pimp war between 2 kids in Chinchilla coats, they couldn’t have been more than 13 years old… they’re throwing knives and forks and spoons out into the street – it was deep … so I grabbed a ladle..and Dinah Washington was singing “Our Day Will Come” and I knew that was it.

So, what’s on your list of X-mas songs that don’t suck?