We have made it to everyone’s favorite time of the year! It is time for Advent Caroling Madness X, the tenth journey into submitting and voting for your favorite versions of Christmas songs!
It all began with a spark of inspiration while driving in my car 9 years ago. At first it was just a way for me to flex my writing muscles and attempt humor. I angered the mobs by at first only allowing fake voting that didn’t really do anything, like some 18th century landowner holding sufferage in his tight little claws.
But we found our March Madness bracket groove, complete with all of you screaming at my ridiculous seeding, and my horror at your propensity to vote for folk music and muppets. WAY before the 45th president started lying about elections being stolen, we watched ballot stuffers (Bethany Bylsma) and ALL CAPS YELLERS (Bethany Bylsma) ruin Christmas by sending populist group Pentatonix and She-Who-IS-Christmas Amy Grant to the dust bins of defeated candidate history.
And now we come to the tenth time for this journey—and time for a little bit of new life to be injected into the old formula. We’ll have two brackets this year, and each is a format change from the past, when we’ve voted to choose the best version of one particular Christmas song.
The season of Advent is one of waiting, of longing. It’s a time where we acknowledge the reality of injustice in our world, and wonder if redemption and justice will ever come. So for the first bracket of this year, submit a song that you think most exemplifies waiting and longing. I’ll seed them and set up the bracket and we’ll vote to find the best example of an Advent longing-for-justice-and-hope song. Get those submissions to me (with a YouTube link so that everyone can hear it) by Sunday, Nov. 27, at 7 pm PST. DEADLINE EXTENDED! Monday, Nov. 28, at 6 pm PST.
For the second bracket, submit what you believe is the best Christmas song released in the 1990’s. This, my friends, is going to provoke much yelling and vitriol. Mariah, Amy, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Bruce Cockburn, Boys II Men, Steven Curtis Chapman (and woe is me, the Muppet Christmas Carol soundtrack)…WHEW! Get those submissions to me by Sunday, Dec. 11, at 7 pm PST.
So here we go! Off again on this journey! Share this far and wide, get new people involved in the adventure. You can send your submissions as a comment on this post, via Facebook, or via email.
For waiting and longing: Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDodhnk5lRg
Alternatively: In the Bleak Midwinter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTzqMi2AQF8
Well, Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel is the obvious one but since it’s already been submitted I’ll go with The Peace Carol. Unfortunately for Gregg, the Muppets/John Denver is one of the only recordings of it out there (personally, I think they’re fabulous and I used to listen to this record every night before bed when I was a toddler, whether it was Christmas or not!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRJIS7jBuUM
I would like to submit Advent Hymn. I found two different songs by that name. One is by Rick Lee James and has it subtitled “Watching, Waiting, Longing.” The other Advent Hymn is by Christy Nockels.
The Rick Lee James is “delighted/joyful,” a faster paced Christmas song. Christy Nockels’ song sounds more waiting and longing, as it is slower.
I only found these songs within the past few hours and was going to submit Rick Lee James’ song, but will submit Christy Nockels’ song instead. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNuY6I4OtoE
For both categories, I submit “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey https://youtu.be/aAkMkVFwAoo
1990s: Merry Christmas from the Family by Robert Earl Keen, 1994.
https://youtu.be/P37xPiRz1sg
Advent Hymn
Tired: Veni, Veni, Emmanuel
Wired: Rorate Caeli
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oMSQ–uwJE
https://hymnary.org/text/drop_down_ye_heavens_from_above
Perhaps not traditionally considered an advent song, but I say it counts: Leonard Cohen’s Anthem https://youtu.be/lSme9GKY-34
For the first I’m submitting Where the River Meets the Sea which was released on a CHRISTMAS ALBUM there for is a Christmas Song in my humble opinion. By John Denver and the Muppets ‘A Christmas Together’
https://youtu.be/zKAY2HlHyjE
Second I can’t BELIEVE Amy Grant isn’t on here at all but I submit a Grown Up Christmas List (1992). I dare you to listen without crying!
https://youtu.be/RmF2rsDHOZc
The Advent/Longing song on my heart this year: “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” by Bing Crosby
And Best 90’s song… Can’t believe I’m actually submitting an Amy song, but since I don’t see it on the list already, “Breath of Heaven.”
Now that I think about it, I suppose “Breath of Heaven” could work for either category… feel free to seed it where you wish!
I somehow barely missed the cutoff for the first one, but am going to try to sneak this submission in: https://youtu.be/CGmJISaj6gs
For the second category, I doubt this one will make it very far, but I have a deep and abiding love for the Windham Hill Christmas album that came out in 1990, and particularly this song: https://youtu.be/SIJe2a-Lyes
Wait, I may need to amend my second submission (or submit two if there’s room on the bracket). This one is a classic: https://youtu.be/5KsGrsW9HdM
This is huge for me too! He redid it on his own album, but this one is better. Much more energy on Emmanuel