skip to content
home > navigation > songs > this page

This index lists the essential songs (not all the songs) contained on the albums reviewed in Hip Christmas, plus singles, album tracks, or one-hit wonders not otherwise included on those albums. Whenever possible, the artist's name is linked to my review of the best Christmas album (not necessarily the only or original album) on which to find the song.

Barring that, the names will be linked to a place where you may buy the song (usually Amazon). If there's no link, it means that, to my knowledge, the song is not available on CD or MP3. Of course, the list will expand as I write more reviews. And, nothing's perfect - especially me and my crazy list. Please send additions, corrections, criticisms, and suggestions via email.

  • Fa And A La (Gustafer Yellowgold, aka Morgan Taylor, 2012)
  • Fairytale Of New York
    • Ben Caplan & Katzenjammer (2011)
    • Dollyrots (2019)
    • Pilate (2004)
    • Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl (1987) Top 100 Song [close]

      Pogues, Fairytale Of New York, 1987 singleFor many of us, Christmas is a time of bittersweet memories, and the Pogues' singularly brilliant "Fairytale Of New York" captures those feelings in the most audacious way possible. Singer Shane MacGowan is spending "Christmas Eve in the drunk tank," but he finds the wherewithal to address his lover, voiced by fine English singer/songwriter Kirsty MacColl. "Happy Christmas," Shane begins, "I can see a better time when all our dreams come true." But, it ends badly when Kirsty spits out this immortal, venomous retort:

      You scumbag, you maggot,
      You cheap lousy faggot.
      Happy Christmas, your arse,
      I pray God it's our last.

      The Pogues' gritty tale is filled with hope and tradition, regret and recrimination - a veritable catalogue of the conflicting feelings the holidays evoke. Still, it is also a testament to our inexhaustible faith in the spirit of Christmas. No matter what we throw at the holiday - or at each other - this peculiar optimism survives down through the ages. Christmas can withstand the worst we have to offer, emerging intact on the bright side of morning. Or, as the Pogues put it, after all of Shane and Kirsty's travails, "The bells are ringing out on Christmas Day."

      Pogues, Fairytale Of New York, 2012 single"Fairytale Of New York" was first released as a single in 1987, and was subsequently included on the Pogues' 1988 album If I Should Fall From Grace With God and MacColl's 1995 collection Galore, as well as numerous Pogues retrospectives. The song was a huge deal in the United Kingdom, almost claiming the coveted Christmas #1 slot on the UK charts. The Pogues were rising stars in the UK, and "Fairytale" was their biggest hit to date - and it did, in fact, reach #1 in their homeland of Ireland. Outside the UK, though, the band never really became a household name. In the United States, in particular, the Pogues failed to gain a commercial foothold. They never registered on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and only a few of their albums made even a modest dent in the Top 200. The band did, however, earn a fiercely loyal following in the punk community.

      Worldwide, though, the reputation of "Fairytale Of New York" has grown steadily over the years. These days, it charts almost every year in the UK, Ireland, Europe, Australia, and beyond - just like Bobby Helms' "Jingle Bell Rock" or Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree." The Pogues' greatest hit has also been compiled on many Christmas albums including Oglio's The Edge Of Christmas (read more), Rhino's New Wave Xmas (read more), and numerous European collections like The Best Christmas Album In The World... Ever! (read more).

      Indisputably, "Fairytale Of New York" is a fine piece of songwriting and a marvelous, rapturous performance by all involved. But, the regard for the song is also deeply sentimental for two very different, but equally tragic reasons. First, Kirsty MacColl died in 2000 in a hideous boating accident in Mexico at age 41. Then, improbably, Shane MacGowan survived until 2023, but he was a shell of his former self, his body racked by a lifetime of substance abuse.

      Pogues, Fairytale Of New York, 2012 singleHow did the duet come about?

      Shane MacGowan and fellow Pogues founder Jem Finer started writing "Fairtyale Of New York" in 1985 when the band did, in fact, have a woman on board who could sing the female part. Caitlín O'Riordan had joined up in 1983, playing bass and providing both background vocals and the occasional lead. In 1986, she worked on an early version of "Fairytale" with the band and Elvis Costello, who had produced the Pogues' sophomore album, Rum Sodomy & the Lash. But, it was shelved, and O'Riordan left the band to marry Costello. Several demos featuring her vocals later appeared on a 2008 rarities box.

      Kirsty MacColl had been fairly successful in her own right, most notably as the writer of "They Don't Know," which she released with moderate success in 1979. In 1984, however, Tracey Ullman took the song to the Top Ten in both the UK and America. Among MacColl's biggest UK chart successes are the delightful "There's A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis" (#14, 1981) and "A New England" (#7, 1984), her rapturous reinvention of a Billy Bragg song. By 1987, however, Kirsty MacColl's career was on the skids.

      While working on If I Should Fall From Grace With God, producer Steve Lillywhite asked MacColl, whom he had married in 1984, to provide guide vocals for "Fairytale." The Pogues recognized the magic in MacColl's performance and kept her vocal track. Shane MacGowan then recorded a new track for his part but, despite their apparent chemistry, the two singers never worked together in the studio. Memorably, however, Kirst MacColl appeared in the promotional video for "Fairtyale Of New York," and she performed the song with the Pogues on stage and screen.

      Kirsty MacColl, Fairytale Of New York, 1995 promo singleA Word About The Controversy

      The lyrics I quoted above are self-evidently offensive, and modern audiences often take offense. Bands that cover the song, and broadcasters who play it, often censor those lines - and everyone is free to do as they like. No argument there. Reportedly, Kirsty MacColl herself changed the controversial second like of the verse to "You're cheap and you're haggard" for a 1992 BBC telecast - though there's no record of whether she did by choice or necessity.

      For me, "Fairytale Of New York" is a work of fiction. It's a short story set to music. When someone writes a novel with a character who uses offensive language, no one thinks the author is racist or sexist or homophobic. The same can be said of an actor in a movie who speaks offensive lines. Kirsty MacColl didn't call someone a faggot, her character did. She's not guilty of homophobia any more than Johnny Cash was guilty of murder when he sang that he "shot a man in Reno just to watch him die." Moreover, Shane MacGowan isn't homophobic simply because he writes about a character who is.

      The controversy, I think, speaks to the very projective quality of music. More than books or movies, we have a tendency to see not just the artist but ourselves in a song. I understand that, but it's important to remind ourselves of the line between artists and their work. Bad people can make good art, and good people can make art about the darkest and ugliest among us.

    • Stars (2005)
  • Fall in Love At Christmas (Mariah Carey, Khalid & Kirk Franklin, 2021)
  • Fan Club Flexi-Disc Recording (T.Rex, 1972)
  • Fangsgiving (Happy Fangs, 2014)
  • Far Away Christmas Blues (Little Esther Phillips with Johnny Otis, 1950)
  • The Fat, Fat Man (Leslie Uggams, 1954)
  • The Fat Man's Comin' (David Byrne, 2022)
  • Father Christmas (Elastica, 1994)
  • Father Christmas (The Features, 2004) [close]

    The FeaturesTouted during the early 21st century as part of a new wave of southern bands (e.g. Kings Of Leon, My Morning Jacket), the Tennessee-based Features were more melodic and pop-centric than either of those bands - and more to my liking, for sure. Anyway, the band's "Father Christmas" (not the renowned Kinks song, by the way) reminds me of Ben Folds Five - chunky, cranky, catchy. The song chronicles singer Matt Pelham's anticipation of Santa's arrival. Having perused the catalogs and set out his cookies, all that's left is to wait while pondering his own misdeeds. As the band takes us out on a swelling chorus of fa-la-la's, the Jolly Old Elf arrives. But, Pelham leaves us in the dark as to whether Santa fulfills his Christmas wishes.... To my knowledge, "Father Christmas" has been released only as a digital download - I got mine from iTunes, and it's now available at Amazon.

  • Father Christmas
  • Father Sgt. Christmas Card (Guided By Voices, 2002)
  • Favourite Time (The Cords, 2024)
  • Feast Of Lights (They Might Be Giants, 1999)
  • Feelin' Sorry (My Morning Jacket, 2023)
  • Feels Like Christmas (Al Green, 1983)
  • Feels Like Christmas
  • Feliz Navi-Nada (El Vez, 1994) Top 100 Song
  • Feliz Navidad
  • Felt Like Summer (But It Looked Like Christmas) (Peter Holsapple Combo, 2019)
  • The Festivus Song (Jingle Punx, 2021)
  • A '55 Telecaster Under My Tree (Carlene Carter and John Jorgensen, 1992)
  • Find Peace (Hannah Peel, 2014)
  • Fireside (John Mark Nelson, Tancred & Jenny Owen Youngs, 2021)
  • First Noel
  • First Snowfall (Coctails, 1993)
  • First Snowfall (Bing Crosby, 1955)
  • The First Toymaker To The King (from "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town") (Joan Gardner, 1970)
  • Five Pound Box Of Money (Pearl Bailey, 1959)
  • Flappie (Todd Rundgren, 2020)
  • Flying For Christmas (Jackopierce, 2019)
  • Fool's Gold (Lucie Dacus, 2019)
  • For The Love Of Others (Piney Gir, 2009)
  • Forget It (Nadroj & The Wolrats, 1984)
  • Forgive Me Santa (Jimmie Davis, 1966)
  • From Our House To Your House (Red Foley, 1966)
  • Frosty The Snowman
  • Fruitcake (The Superions featuring Fred Schneider of the B-52's, 2010)
  • Fuck Christmas (Fear, 1982) [close]

    Fear"Fuck Christmas" is an unforgettable affront to decency courtesy of L.A. hardcore band Fear. Singer Lee Ving (clever, huh?) sets the stage with a quasi-metal soliloquy about the joys of the season, only to conclude, "For me, it's not that sweet." And then, after he bellows the titular phrase eight frenzied times, it's over - 44 seconds after it began.

    "Fuck Christmas" was originally released in 1982 as the "unclean side" of a Slash 7-inch single, where it was technically titled "★uck Christmas. The "clean side" was "(Beep) Christmas," a censored version for radio - or punks with sensitive ears, if there is such a thing. The song was later added to the 1991 CD reissue of the band's love-it-or-hate-it 1982 debut album, The Record, and it formed the spiritual core of Rhino's 1995 compilation, Punk Rock Xmas.

    Some sources claim the single was included with initial pressings of The Record, an assertion I cannot confirm. But, there is a red-vinyl edition with a fancy picture sleeve that was reportedly pressed for promotional purposes. On the back cover, it specifies that "Fuck Christmas" was recorded in December 1981 at Sound City Recording Studios in Van Nuys, California, most likely during sessions for the album. But, it was definitely not released until the following year.

  • Fuck It, It's Christmas (Faux Canada, 2019)
  • Fuck U 4 Xmas (Christina Chong, 2023)
  • Fuck You Kristmas! (Kim Wilde & Lawnmower Deth, 2017)
  • Funky Christmas (Maceo Parker, 1990)
  • Funky Christmas (Snoop Dogg with October London and Cocoa Sarai, 2020)
  • Funky Christmas (Whispers, 1979)
  • Funky Drummer Boy (Thornetta Davis, 1997)
  • Funky Funky Christmas (Electric Jungle, 1974)
  • Funky New Year (Eagles, 1978)
  • Funky Xmas To You (J. Hines & The Boys, 1975)

[top of page]