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It's that time of the year again: Christmas music is playing everywhere, from stores, to offices, to car radios. You're bound to hear staples like "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", but have you heard The Ramones' "Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight)?"
It's just one of a big and expanding universe of alternative Christmas songs. Melissa Locker, culture reporter for Time, The Guardian, and The Takeaway, provides tunes from David Bowie, Tom Waits, and Baltimore soul legend Paul "Fat Daddy" Johnson, and more.
David Bowie and Bing Crosby - "Little Drummer Boy"
The Ramones - "Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight)"
Paul "Fat Daddy" Johnson - "Fat Daddy"
Tom Waits - "Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis"
Big Star - "Jesus Christ"
Twister Sister - “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)”