December is upon us, and with that comes the permission to finally listen to Christmas music again. I know many people, particularly retail workers, can’t stand Christmas music due to hearing the same dozen or so songs repeated ad nauseum for several weeks or months leading up to Christmas. As a former retail and food service worker, I can understand this. But I just love Christmas way too much to let it annoy me. Plus, there is no retail this year, so maybe more people are in the mood for holiday cheer. And what better way to celebrate than by listening to all 100 Christmas songs officially released by indie electro-folk hero Sufjan Stevens.
Sufjan’s music has been musically inspirational for a number of reasons, but it was his affinity for Christmas music that inspired me to start recording my own holiday albums, including, oh, this one that I just released last week.
/shameless plug
In the long-ago winter of 2012, Sufjan embarked on a tour in which he played almost exclusively Christmas music, an event that has not been repeated since. Not wanting to miss out on the opportunity to witness this, I purchased tickets for Olivia and myself to see his show in Minneapolis. Olivia, at this time, was not a fan of Sufjan’s music and was unfamiliar with the over-the-top antics his Christmas songs inspired. She had just finished a long day of work, and during the concert found out that she was required to go into work the following day even though it was her scheduled day off.
The show began about an hour and a half late with no explanation, and the opening act was a purposely unfunny stand-up comedienne doing a bit that lasted way, wayyyy too long. Finally, about 2 hours past the show’s original start time, Sufjan came on and played a lively set on a ridiculously extravagant stage. It was a fun show, but by this point we were both tired and perhaps a little bit annoyed. He closed the set with a full rendition of “Christmas Unicorn,” a sprawling, endless electronic freak-out that I swear went on for 25 minutes. Not everyone was enthused.
Still, since I am a glutton for marathoning music, I went ahead and listened to both official Sufjan Christmas releases, the first being 2006’s Songs for Christmas, a generally stripped-down acoustic-based album, and 2012’s Silver and Gold, which prominently features his more recent electronics-based experimentalism. Some of these songs appear with different arrangements on both albums, and I tried to clarify which is which. Feel free to listen along. You probably don’t have anything better to do anyway.
Without further ado, here it is:
Every Sufjan Stevens Christmas Song, Ranked.
100 - Particle Physics
This isn’t really a song, so it goes at the bottom.
99 - I Am Santa’s Helper
No.
Most of the following are hymns or instrumental interludes. They’re nice, but not particularly interesting.
98,97 - It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (both versions)
96 – We Wish You a Merry Christmas
95 – Jingle Bells (Silver & Gold)
94- Break Forth O Beauteous Heavenly Light
93. Mysteries of the Christmas Mist
92. Behold the Face of Man, The Birth of Glory
91. Make Haste to See the Baby
90. Eternal Happiness or Woe
89. Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages)
88. Even the Earth Will Perish
87, 86. Angels We Have Heard on High (twice)
85. We Three Kings
84. Hark the Herald Angels Sing
83. O Come O Come Emmanuel
82. Ding! Dong!
81. The First Noel
80. The Incarnation
79. Once in Royal David’s City
78. Jingle Bells
77. Lo! How a Rose Ere Blooming
76. O Come O Come Emmanuel (Again)
75. Christ the Lord is Born
74. How Shall I Rightly Meet Thee?
73. Morning (Sacred Harp)
72. Christmas In July
71. Silent Night
70. Santa Clause Is Coming To Town
69. Ave Maria
68. Joy To The World (Silver & Gold)
67. Go Nightly Cares
66. Lift Up Your Head Ye Mighty Gates
65. Happy Karma Christmas
64. I’ll Be Home For Christmas
63. Lo How a Rose Ere Blooming
62. Little Drummer Boy
61. The Child With the Star On His Head
I love Sufjan, but he has a tendency to start out with a great idea for a song, and then just kind of lose track of things. Before you know it, it’s approximately 6-24 minutes later, and nothing interesting has happened. This has the potential to be a great song, but then it just putters about for way too long. This issue will come up again.
60. Only At Christmas Time
59. Away in the Manger
58. The Sleigh In the Moon
57. Sleigh Ride
56. Happy Family Christmas
55. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
54. We Three Kings
53. We’re Going to the Country
This isn’t actually Sufjan singing, but it’s a nice track anyway.
52. We Need a Little Christmas
51. Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella
Was this recorded on a 1990s answering machine tape?
50. Barcarola (You Must Be a Christmas Tree)
49. Ding-a-ling-a-ring-a-ling
This song is kind of stupid, but I like it.
48,47,46. Ah Holy Jesus (All three versions)
45. Silent Night (Silver & Gold)
44. Good King Wenceslas
43. Once in David’s Royal City
This one is also not sung by Sufjan, but is nice nevertheless.
42. Amazing Grace
41. Holly Jolly Christmas
40. Do You Hear What I Hear?
39. Hark! the Herald Angels Sing (Silver and Gold)
38. Joy to the World (Songs for Christmas)
37. Christmas Woman
36. Auld Lang Syne
I love this song, but he had to go and ruin it with a theremin. I hate theremin.
35. O Holy Night
34. Get Behind Me Santa!
33. The Winter Solstice
32. Put the Lights on the Tree
31. Carol of St. Benjamin The Bearded One
30. Lumberjack Christmas
29. Holy Holy Holy
28. Alphabet St.
This is a Prince song, and also not a Christmas song. Pretty good cover, though.
27. Come On! Let’s Boogey to the Elf Dance!
This is usually the first Christmas song I listen to every year. It sets the perfect tone for getting psyched about Christmas in November, then getting burned out for a while, then getting psyched again on December 23rd.
26. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
25. The Friendly Beasts
24. O Come O Come Emmanuel (Songs for Christmas)
23. Angels We Have Heard on High (Songs for Christmas)
22. The Midnight Clear
21. All The King’s Horns
20. What Child Is This Anyway?
19. Christmas Unicorn
This might be Sufjan’s most well-known Christmas song, and although I don’t love it as much as many others do, it’s certainly something to behold. This is a prime example of a song with a great beginning that just goes way, WAY too long. But in a weird way, this one works. How often do you hear extended Joy Division references in Christmas songs?
18. Mr. Frosty Man
Props for fitting references to Coolio and Yo La Tengo in the same song.
17. Christmas Face
I have no idea what a Christmas Face is, but I would like to see one.
16. Did I Make You Cry On Christmas Day?
15. I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In
14. Up on the Housetop
13. Coventry Carol
I like any Christmas song that sounds like it’s from Medieval times. Or Medieval Times.
12. Jupiter Winter
11. Sister Winter
10. It’s Christmas! Let’s Be Glad!
If there is any song that perfectly encapsulates this year, it’s this one. “Since it’s Christmas let’s be glad, even if your year’s been bad.” Yeah.
9. Idumes
I really love Sacred Harp, and shape-note singing in general. I think I skipped over this one the first time listening, but it’s a haunting, slow burner of a song.
8. X-Mas Spirit Catcher
7. Angels We Have Heard on High (Silver and Gold)
6. Come Thou Font of Every Blessing
This might be my favorite hymn, and it’s very reverently done here.
5. Hey Guys! It’s Christmastime!
This is about as musically heavy as Sufjan gets. Love that crunchy opening riff.
4. Christmas In the Room
Gosh, doesn’t this song just make you feel COZY?
3. Star of Wonder
This is how you do a 7-minute long track. I love the way this one builds and builds. Real stirring stuff.
2. Justice Delivers Its Death
Sufjan took what was already a downer of a song from Rudolph and made it even more depressing.
1. That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!
But it’s not as depressing as this one! Still, this is genuinely one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard. This track encapsulates everything a good Sufjan song needs: familial strife, repressed childhood memories, spiritual yearning, and plucky banjo strumming. This song makes you FEEL things. It’s sad, but ultimately hopeful, and think that’s something we can all relate to right now.