Welcome to Episode 25 of the POP GOD POPcast – a podcast interview series exploring the presence of God in pop culture.

To celebrate the 12 Blogs Of Christmas it’s the first ever POP GOD Christmastravaganza – a celebration of all things Christmas music! My wife Kate Doriot joins me to talk about our Christmas music memories, new Christmas songs for 2014 and everything in between. We break down the best and the worst holiday tunes of all time, explore the history of “Do They Know It’s Christmas” and discover the surprising origins of a holiday gem. Is “Baby It’s Cold Outside” the creepiest Christmas song? Why do bad songs happen to good people? When is the appropriate time to listen to Christmas music? We answer all those questions and more on this merry music Christmastravaganza!

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Songs Discussed In This Episode Include:

‘A Great Big Sled’ – The Killers
‘A Holly Jolly Christmas’ – Burl Ives
‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ – Mariah Carey
‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ – Various Artists
‘Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)’ – Darlene Love/U2
‘Christmas in Killarney’ – Bing Crosby
‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ – Baid Aid (1984, 1989, 2004, 2014)
‘Feliz Navidad’ – Jose Feliciano
‘Fum Fum Fum’ – Various Artists
‘Go Tell it on The Mountain’ – Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors
‘Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer’ – Elmo Shropshire & Patsy Trigg
‘Happy XMas (War is Over)’ – John Lennon & Yoko Ono
‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ – Judy Garland or Frank Sinatra
‘It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year’ – Andy Williams
‘Jingle Bell Rock’ – Bobby Helms
‘Joy to the World’ – Three Dog Night
‘Kissin’ By the Mistletoe’ – Aretha Franklin
‘Last Christmas’ – Wham!
‘Love is All Around’ – Wet Wet Wet
‘Mele Kallikimaka’ – Bing Crosby
‘Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays’ – N*Sync
‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’ – Brenda Lee
‘Run Run Rudolph’ – Chuck Berry/Bryan Adams
‘Santa Baby’ – Peggy Lee/Madonna/Ariana Grande
‘Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town’ – Bruce Springsteen
‘Santa Tell Me’ – Ariana Grande, 2014
‘Text Me Merry Christmas’ – Straight No Chaser & Kristen Bell (We’re sorry for exposing you to this atrocity)
‘The 12 Days of Christmas’ – Various Artists
‘(There’s No Place Like) Home for the Holidays’ – Perry Como
‘Up on the Housetop’ – Gene Autry
‘Waiting on the World to Change’ – John Mayer
‘White Christmas’ – Bing Crosby
‘Wonderful Christmastime’ – Paul McCartney