Jump to content
View in the app

A better way to browse. Learn more.

Surly Horns

A full-screen app on your home screen with push notifications, badges and more.

To install this app on iOS and iPadOS
  1. Tap the Share icon in Safari
  2. Scroll the menu and tap Add to Home Screen.
  3. Tap Add in the top-right corner.
To install this app on Android
  1. Tap the 3-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the browser.
  2. Tap Add to Home screen or Install app.
  3. Confirm by tapping Install.

Featured Replies

Like the title says...  I'm looking for Christmas music that more or less meets the following criteria

  1. Doesn't suck
  2. Not "pop" or modern
  3. Ideally instrumental, orchestral, and/or choral
  4. Doesn't have to be mainstream

Some of these are the vibe...

 

and maybe my only modernish.... Just sounds clean & lush

You get the idea...

PS Surly search is the Mariah of Christmas music

  • Popular Post

20231204_222338.jpg

Seems like Handel would qualify.  This performance is out of this world.

 

December and Charlie Brown Christmas are my go to LPs this time of year. Looks like you're covered.

"Charlie Brown Christmas" is awesome.

I'm a decent piano player, and some of that Vincent Guaraldi stuff is surprisingly hard to play.  My hands always get tied up on "Linus & Lucy".

It's perfect to relax to in your mid-century modern furnished Don Draper condo as you have a drink or ten. 

  • Author
14 hours ago, GhostOfTomJoad said:

December and Charlie Brown Christmas are my go to LPs this time of year. Looks like you're covered.

December is a great one, and I like the Charlie Brown album as well, but I'm  interested in other great recommendations too.  I have music on all the time (not just around Christmas), two albums aren't going to get it done.

Not instrumental, but this is the gold standard for Christmas music:

rs-139851-bingwhitechristmas-1800-138636
 

I don’t know when it starts but KUTX goes wall to wall Christmas at some point and it is terrific. They do a great job of playing unique and eclectic music, including a lot of instrumental music. We stream it every Christmas whenever it starts.

Do you like jazz outside of the Vince Guaraldi? Christmas Cookin' by Jimmy Smith and Merry Ole Soul by Duke Pearson are pretty good.

 

3 hours ago, BrickHorn said:

Not instrumental, but this is the gold standard for Christmas music:

rs-139851-bingwhitechristmas-1800-138636
 

Linky no worky (for me at least).

  • Author
2 hours ago, gofuckyourself said:

Classic choral arrangement 

 

 

Username checks out

3 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Linky no worky (for me at least).

Bing Crosby’s White Christmas.

Based on OP's criteria, I think this one may fit.  Opening number alone is worth the price of admission:

 

I was talking to the wife about this one earlier today.  1978 Sam Houston Coliseum, I got a late invite from a gal on the beach in Galveston.  Great song as part of a great show.

 

The Three Tenors Christmas album is incredible.  Love Andrea Bocelli with the Space Christian Choir (and pretty much any Christmas music by him). Randy Travis did a pretty good Christmas album sometime back.  

 

Each year I purposely listen to one Thanksgiving song,

 

and one Christmas song,

 

and then call it a season.

Humbug.

Picked this up. If you're a fan of Chris Isaak, it's pretty good.

 

 

Screenshot_20231215_062743_Amazon Shopping.jpg

It's got some nice guitar work on it that you usually don't find on Christmas music.

Over the last couple of decades I have done a lot of digging for seasonal songs that don't suck, because I really hate the 99.9 percent we always here that really are trash. Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but this is one of my faves.

 

I still like this, which came out when I was in HS

55b2d1f70a9c8028aa04292f7c241c63.jpg

Yeah, this is fun... (2 minutes in if you want to jump to the smoke) 

 

Holy crap!

I love how the other bass player just puts his bass down about 45 seconds in.

Drummer ain't bad, either.

On 12/10/2023 at 8:07 AM, Stringer said:

I don’t know when it starts but KUTX goes wall to wall Christmas at some point and it is terrific. They do a great job of playing unique and eclectic music, including a lot of instrumental music. We stream it every Christmas whenever it starts.

FYI, this has begun.  Give it a listen.  

The Ray Charles and Booker T and the MG’s Christmas albums are essential. 

On 12/12/2023 at 8:23 PM, horn4life said:

I was talking to the wife about this one earlier today.  1978 Sam Houston Coliseum, I got a late invite from a gal on the beach in Galveston.  Great song as part of a great show.

 

It was a great show, but are you sure about that venue?  I was at his show at The Summit on December 8, 1978.  Here is the playlist:

The Summit, Houston, TX

 

Set One

Badlands
 
Streets of Fire
 
It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City
 
Darkness On The Edge Of Town
 
Spirit In The Night
 
Independence Day
 
The Promised Land
 
Prove It All Night
 
Racing in the Street
 
Thunder Road
 
Jungleland
 
The Ties That Bind
 
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
 
The Fever
 
Fire
 
Candy's Room
 
Because the Night
 
Point Blank
 
She's the One
 
Backstreets
 
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
 
Born to Run
 
Detroit Medley
 
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
 
You Can't Sit Down
 
Quarter To Three

 

1 hour ago, HouTex said:

It was a great show, but are you sure about that venue?  I was at his show at The Summit on December 8, 1978.  Here is the playlist:

The Summit, Houston, TX

 

Set One

Badlands
 
Streets of Fire
 
It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City
 
Darkness On The Edge Of Town
 
Spirit In The Night
 
Independence Day
 
The Promised Land
 
Prove It All Night
 
Racing in the Street
 
Thunder Road
 
Jungleland
 
The Ties That Bind
 
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
 
The Fever
 
Fire
 
Candy's Room
 
Because the Night
 
Point Blank
 
She's the One
 
Backstreets
 
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
 
Born to Run
 
Detroit Medley
 
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
 
You Can't Sit Down
 
Quarter To Three

 

Yep- I was thinking about that "invite from the beach" that Coliseum show was July 15th 1978.  You are correct on the Summit show.  I had 10 seats on the first row balcony for that one.  Good times...

Thanks again to whatever gal invited me to Springsteen for that first show.  It was awesome not having any expectations.  Now the expectations are so high for Springsteen live that it's damn near impossible to live up to the hyped expectations.  My BIL were talking about the 1980 show at the Erwin Center, he worked at Joske's here and got the ticket gal to pull the first tickets she could for him.  Third row Center at "the drum."   I was at that one too, but a lot farther back on the side.  

Regardless of all that, Springsteen's version of Santa Claus is coming to town always brings a smile to my face, for multiple reasons.

3 hours ago, horn4life said:

Yep- I was thinking about that "invite from the beach" that Coliseum show was July 15th 1978.  You are correct on the Summit show.  I had 10 seats on the first row balcony for that one.  Good times...

Thanks again to whatever gal invited me to Springsteen for that first show.  It was awesome not having any expectations.  Now the expectations are so high for Springsteen live that it's damn near impossible to live up to the hyped expectations.  My BIL were talking about the 1980 show at the Erwin Center, he worked at Joske's here and got the ticket gal to pull the first tickets she could for him.  Third row Center at "the drum."   I was at that one too, but a lot farther back on the side.  

Regardless of all that, Springsteen's version of Santa Claus is coming to town always brings a smile to my face, for multiple reasons.

I was at the 1980 concert at the Erwin Center as well.  Second row from the stage.  A guy in the frat was on the events committee and didn’t know who Springsteen was.  It was amazing.  I saw him again at Moody Center this year.  The guy can still play.  

This one cracked me up

 

Sting's Christmas album from like 15 years ago is good.  You said not Pop or modern and it's not either.   It sounds like it's from another time.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

Configure browser push notifications

Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.