It’s that time of year again! Christmas music is playing on every street corner and in every store.Even your radio is taken over by festive holiday classics. It can be hard to branch out into new music during the holidays, and sometimes all you need is a perfect balancing act of festive tunes with not-so-classic lyricism. Sometimes the repetitive nature of holiday songs can get a little annoying, and I don’t blame you, so here are five non-christmassy Christmas songs that have the same jolly effect for when you need a bit of a break.
“River” By. Joni Mitchell
Probably the most melancholic holiday song ever written, Joni has proven herself the queen of the sad Christmas anthem—but she didn’t always see it that way. In fact, it took Linda Ronstadt, yet another folk icon, to see the holiday potential when she recorded the song in 2000. Detailing painful events in which Mitchell’s then-husband left while she was three months pregnant in the middle of December, the song has become a classic song for those experiencing isolation or loneliness during the holiday. To put it in Joni’s words, River is “A Christmas song for people who are lonely at Christmas…We all need a song like that.”
“Merry Christmas, Please Don’t Call” By. Bleachers
Being the latest release on this list, Bleachers’ newest song is the best angsty pop ballad since Wham!’s Last Christmas, and those are some big shoes to fill. Since it was first played by band lead and super-producer Jack Antonoff at the Ally Coalition Talent Show in 2022, the synth-pop holiday ballad has been highly anticipated and succeeds in every way. Following a narrator reflecting on a bitter fallout, one could think of this song as the anti-Tis’ The Damn Season (ironic because they both were written and produced by Antonoff himself). Anyway, there’s nothing like defining self worth and boundaries just in time for the Christmas season!
“Winterlude” By. Bob Dylan
It’s Bob Dylan’s renaissance year with the Christmas release of James Mangold’s film A Complete Unknown starring Timothée Chalamet, so this addition seemed incredibly timely. In his 1970 album New Morning, the Nobel Prize-winning Dylan recounts a snowy winter day at a festival in Canada, but many think the song is also an allusion to his relationship with either Suze Rotolo or Joan Baez. One thing is for sure however, the comfy vibes are evident thanks to Dylan’s iconically raspy voice and instrumental skill on the guitar. And while the folk-rock icon famously avoided Christmas covers until 2009, Winterlude is his personal contribution to the genre.
“So Much Wine” By. Phoebe Bridgers
Where to begin with Phoebe Bridgers’ yearly holiday covers! With nearly 10 to choose from, it was difficult to not put them all on this list. Nevertheless, Bridgers’ cover of The Handsome Family’s So Much Wine has stuck with me in ways that other covers of classic holiday confessionals couldn’t. With background vocals from Paul Mescal as the icing on the cake, Phoebe never fails to deliver on a heartbreakingly beautiful rendition to put you in a deep contemplative state.
“Tis’ The Damn Season” By. Taylor Swift
Ok, one could call this list “sad Christmas songs that aren’t actually Christmas songs,” but I digress. Track four on arguably Swift’s best album, Evermore, Tis’ The Damn Season holds similar value to that of Merry Christmas, Please Don’t Call. Telling the story of two former lovers returning to their hometown and weighing whether or not their reconnection is worth fighting for, Swift creates the perfect bittersweet heartbreak account that can’t help but remind me of Connell and Marianne from Sally Rooney’s Normal People. If tales of complicated relationships, this is the holiday song for you!
While the Christmas classics aren’t for everyone, there is always room for reflection and appreciation for those closest to you. And you never know– maybe you’ll find a holiday anthem of your own!