Look what we woke up to in the Daily Mail. Mariah Carey, Lady GaGa, Britney Spears and Diana Ross. The fact that they represent four generations of female pop superstar and the sheer volume of tragedy make it worth pointing out.
There's a radio station in Los Angeles playing only Christmas music this month, which on the surface is a great thing what with all the great Christmas music out there, like Mele Kalikimaka by Arthur Lyman, Robert Earl Keen's Merry Christmas from The Family, Chuck Berry's Run Rudolph Run, Donde Esta Santa Claus by Augie Rios, Darlene Love's Merry Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), All I Want for Christmas is A Little Bit of Music by Huey Piano Smith & His Clowns, The Beach Boys' Little Saint Nick, Oh What A Silent Night by Randy Travis, Johnny Mathis' Sleigh Ride (and that's just off the top of our heads)-- but it's not, because soft rock KOST FM insists on programming the dreariest, most depressing funereal dirges that too often force us to change the station to K-EARTH, where we have to hear the Jackson 5 sing I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus for the thousandth time-- though they did play a Rick Nelson Christmas tune over the weekend that we hadn't heard. Anyway, complain to KOST-- even a run of Karen Carpenter songs would be preferable to Bing Crosby singing White Christmas, anyone singing Little Drummer Boy or Kenny G-- but it probably won't matter since it's Clear Channel...
Which brings us to Britney Spears and Mariah Carey. Funny how their Christmas songs are the best things they've ever recorded. You can throw out everything else they ever did but keep these two. Though Mariah's would have been a lot better with the E Street Band backing her.
THE KOST-FM PLAYLIST (TOP 20) 1. Amy Grant - Winter Wonderland 2. Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You 3. Andy Williams - It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Yea 4. Burl Ives - Holly Jolly Christmas 5. Hall & Oates - Jingle Bell Rock 6. Johnny Mathis - It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas 7. Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song 8. Vanessa Williams - Do You Hear What I Hear? 9. Brenda Lee - Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree 10. Josh Groban - O Holy Night 11. Leroy Anderson - Sleigh Ride 12. Gene Autry - Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer 13. Jose Feliciano - Feliz Navidad 14. David Foster - Carol Of The Bells 15. John Lennon - Happy Xmas (full Version 16. Trans Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Cannon 17. James Taylor - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas 18. Harry Simione Chorale - Little Drummer Boy 19. Bing Crosby - White Christmas 20. Bobby Helms - Jingle Bell Rock
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