Every year, countless artists crank out Christmas related albums and singles. Most of them tread on songs from the past (either by re-invention or staying faithful).

Yet, every year there are also numerous new songs that keep with the Christmas spirit in surprising ways – and some of them slip through the cracks.

That’s why we here at ASSIGNMENT X decided to pick our five favorite new Christmas songs to add to your playlist – especially if you’re tired of the 800th rendition of “Silent Night” and fear someone is going to cover “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” again.

Happy Holidays and make sure that electronic Santa rocks your body this Christmas.

“Boots” – THE KILLERS

Every year, like clockwork, The Killers fronted by Brandon Flowers offer up a brand new Christmas song. The last couple of years, the songs have been a bit tongue-in-cheek (“Don’t Shoot Me Santa” was hilarious for its sheer political incorrectness). This year, they’re all sincerity with this affecting little song about memories of youth and that perfect Christmas of yore. It’s a reminder of why the Killers are such a great band, and why we should hope Brandon Flowers gets this “solo” thing out of his system and rejoins one of the best bands to come out of the 2000s.

CLICK HERE to purchase

“Electronic Santa” – BLAZER FORCE

This year, Target stores offered up 14 free holiday tracks on their website. All the songs are from up-and-coming artists (and a few established ones), none are covers, and there are some really great tracks in this group (including “Party Hard” by Little Isidore, “Tiny Tree Christmas” by Guster and “Get Down for the Holidays” by Jenny O.). However, we’re partial to “Electronic Santa.” Simple, unconventional and with a techno beat, this infectious and insanely deranged song (matched by an equally deranged commercial) will make you want to rock your body right alongside that electronic St. Nick.

CLICK HERE to get this song and the complete album from Target for FREE. You can also sample the song below.

“Christmas Lights” – COLDPLAY

At this point, Coldplay can do no wrong, and this Christmas song proves they’re on a creative roll with Chris Martin’s vocals lighting up this song about the beauty of, well, Christmas lights. The instrumentation is lush, and swells with urgency by song’s end.

CLICK HERE to get this song

“7 Days of Kwanzaa Song” – URBAN VILLAGE

It’s surprising that no one has crafted a memorable and radio-friendly Kwanzaa song, but Urban Village performs this excellent hybrid of radio friendly hip-hop, an uplifting message and some nice Christmas embellishments. A perfect all-inclusive song that’s incredibly catchy and encourages “peace and unity” (plus it has a cool sax solo to carry the song out).

CLICK HERE to purchase (and you sample the track below)

“Calling on Mary” – Aimee Mann

Okay, so I break a few rules with this song, because it was originally released in 2006, but it’s such a great, original tune and completely captures the Christmas spirit, that it deserves a little extra push. Mann’s vocals are stunning and the lyrics are heartfelt. Just the line “And to all the lost souls down below/Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas/What’s one more drifter in the snow?” gets me every time. The production value is top notch too, managing to capture the holiday flavor without a bunch of obvious Christmasy instrumentation to muck it up.

CLICK HERE to purchase the song

Amazon’s 25 DAYS OF FREE

And for a Christmas bonus, you can’t beat this special promotion. Like Target, Amazon is also giving away free Christmas music with their annual 25 Days of Free. Every day in December leading up to Christmas, they’ve released a new holiday song that you can download for free. Some are good, some not so much, but it’s worth checking out to see if something strikes your fancy.
CLICK HERE for Amazon’s free holiday music

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