It’s a matter of public record that I hate Christmas carols. I guess I’m too cynical, but around Christmas time they just sound like advertisements, and no one seems to play them in August when they feel much more appropriate.
The one carol I do like is Carol of the Bells. It doesn’t sound like it is trying to be cheerful. As I’ve said before, “Doom is coming… for Christmas!” I thought I was original when I spoke that attitude, but I bought the script to TJ Dawe’s “The Slipknot” and he voices a similar opinion.

Everybody knows the Carol of the Bells…
The version they play on the Shopper’s Radio Network is a choral
And it sounds like someone slipped the choir something–they are wild-eyed and intense

Scariest Christmas Carol in the World!
And it’s made even worse by the fact that I think it’s really similar to the theme music from The Exorcist

So then, yesterday I poked around the iTunes store looking for a good version. Most are sung by chipper pop stars. I found the irony of The Canadian Brass version amusing (Let’s do the Carol of the Bells without bells!) The best seems to be The Mormon Tabernacle Choir version. Still they don’t have the fear of god in their voice while singing it, which defeats the point.
My point is that I listened to it a lot yesterday and it is now stuck in my head. So I found myself whistling a christmas carol this morning.
Bitter irony.