For the past few years, the Parenthetical Girls have released Holiday EPs, the first of which had a pretty awesome version of “Last Christmas.” (This year’s EP has a track called “Last Christmas part 2,” but they say it’s related to the original only by name, so we’re not going to post it.) At the Parenthetical Girls site, you can find a few more Christmas gems and songs from their other releases as well. I’m not sure how to best describe how engaging their music is, so I’ll let Pitchfork help me out: “Xiu Xiu fans hungry for the new nervousness would do well to seek out the work of … Zac Pennington’s Parenthetical Girls, for a strong dose of panic-pop.” Panic pop? Ok, sounds good to me.

Well, we had the great pleasure to see the Parenthetical Girls when they came through town a month or so ago. Lead singer Zac Pennington took a minute and talked to us about his version and his love for holiday music in general, and then somehow we convinced him to give us a hand with today’s reviews. He got a good day, too; all today’s tracks are Magical Snowflake Award winners!

When you get to their site, the Beautiful Losers immediately tell you what to think of them: “Electro Acoustic Indian Alternative Folk Rock.” Well there you have it. This is what that sounds like—slow and sad, the way George Michael would’ve wanted it. Put this one on, sit in a circle, dim the lights, get cozy with friends, and just see where the song takes you…

This is the opening track on their holiday album Peace, Love, & Xmas which you can find on itunes.


The Beautiful Losers – Last Christmas


This is peculiar. Little Voices are like a Kidz Bop group with contemporary jazz music. But the most peculiar thing is that on the Christmas CD this version comes from, you’ll also find a version of “The Loco-Motion.” I don’t get it. I can’t seem to find a website for the group, but Little Voices Sing Christmas Songs is available on itunes along with their many other albums.


Little Voices – Last Christmas


This is another version recorded this year, coming from New Jersey’s the Finals. They’re labelmates with Hot Rod Circuit and 30 Seconds to Mars, so that should give you a general idea of their sound. Of the punk versions we’ve posted, this is one of my favorites.

This comes from A Santa Cause II: It’s a Punk Rock Christmas which you can get directly from Immortal Records, and you can find the Finals’ new release, “Plan Your Getaway” also on Immortal Records, or itunes.


The Finals – Last Christmas


Multi-Talentdz and a Half sound like kids with a midi file and a dream. I can’t quite discern their level of sincerity in wanting to be musicians, but I imagine the recording session may have looked like our video of the day…


Multi-Talentdz and a Half – Last Christmas

We seriously have more dance versions of this song than I can believe. But in all fairness, I suppose it is a fun melody to speed up and shake some ass to.


DJ Diego D – Last Christmas (Jump 2005 Remix)


The Preluders were a German pop trio that disbanded earlier this year. Their version is not unlike many of the other pop versions we’ve posted, but that’s not to say it’s bad.


The Preluders – Last Christmas


Put this next one on for Mom—she’ll dig it, I promise. It’s a jazzy, Kenny G-style version. Veeeeerryy smooth.


State of the Heart – Last Christmas


Yeah, Turbo’s a good way to describe this. It’s another high-energy stab at making a dance version.


Turbo – Last Christmas


And these guys have a big hypnotizing machine in the background…

Remember earlier when I said that “Last Christmas” is not in my personal Top 10? Well, the following version has made me do a lot of soul-searching about that. Of all the different versions of “Last Christmas,” this is without-a-doubt one of the best. It’s totally in the Top 10 of what we’ve presented to you. Probably the Top 5. I cannot stress enough how amazing this version is.



Das Palast Orchester & Max Raabe – Last Christmas


Collage just jumps right in with a sort of ’90s-radio-dance thing going on. Think Snap (“Rhythm is a Dancer”), only with a dude at the helm.


Collage – Last Christmas


Kymaera is a Latin jazz band, and they love George Michael. So much in fact, they have an entire album dedicated to him and his music on amazon and itunes. They also have an extra download from the album on their site .





Kymaera – Last Christmas


There is a little bit of confusion over here for us. When this was originally presented to us, it was labeled with “Tinh Ca Giang Sinh” as the artist, but we could only find a Vietnamese christmas cd by that title, and no “Last Christmas” on the track list. A little help?


Tinh Ca Giang Sinh – Last Christmas