Arts and Culture
Looking For Arts & Culture Exclusives? Get Your Cheeky Card!
The holiday season has crept up on us. Christmas decorations are already up, for crying out loud! So, although we might not need anything else to help us get into the holiday spirit, as you might know, I’m an avid supporter of having a soundtrack for every life occasion, holidays included. We all have our favorite Christmas or Hanukkah songs, but let us not forget Thanksgiving — I mean, a holiday celebrated by eating multiple helpings of delicious, home-cooked food? Where do I sign up? To help ease into the holiday season, be sure to add these songs to your next iPhone playlist — or for those who prefer to keep it old-school, like me — a mix CD!
5. “Give Thanks and Praise” by Bob Marley: No one quite speaks peace and thankfulness like Bob Marley, and this song is the perfect example. “Give thanks and praises so high,” he sings. “He will not deceive us, my brethren / He will only lead us again.”
4. “Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Song” by Vince Guaraldi: Vince Guaraldi’s musical masterpieces are essential— and oh-so-nostalgic — during the holiday season. The jazz pro has penned some of the most famous compositions, and is most notably known for composing piano-laden music for animated adaptations of Peanuts comics, such as Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving and Christmas Songs.
3. “November Rain” by Guns N’ Roses: Okay, okay. I admit, this is not a Thanksgiving song, per se; in fact, I think it’s safe to say no Guns N’ Roses songs quite ring in the holiday spirit as the others on this list, but this song encompasses November, making it a seasonal listening necessity! Besides, it has one of the most beautiful piano scores in a modern rock song, and a sassy video to boot.
2. “Give Peace a Chance” by John Lennon: We all know and love John Lennon’s famous Christmastime song, “Happy Christmas (War Is Over),” but “Give Peace a Chance” serves as a pre-cursor to the holiday season, promoting John Lennon’s #1 message — peace.
1. “The Thanksgiving Song” by Adam Sandler: I admit it. I am a sucker for this song. What can I say – funnyman Adam Sandler won me over with “Lunch-Lady Land.” This pro-turkey anthem meshes food with humor — what could be better?
