‘Tis the season to be jolly! The city streets drown in light, beauty, and… music. There is something both magical and quite sinister in having winter holiday hits that are just inescapable. I am sure that all you want for Christmas is just a new playlist. Last Christmas you gave your heart to some of the popular tunes, but this year, to save you from tears of boredom and the feeling of being stuck in a time loop, I will give you something special. Prepare to jingle around the clock to some of the most underrated songs of all time: the underground Christmas music.

For all those who by now have accepted that the emo phase was always actually a forever lifestyle, I offer you the Punk Goes Christmas album. A collection of original and cover songs about one of the merriest times of the year, the tracks on this Fearless Records compilation record offer a slightly dark twist to stereotypical Christmas tunes. With bands of the likes of All Time Low, Yellowcard, August Burn Red, and Mayday Parade as the featured artists, the holly and jolly of winter holiday hits get reimagined in various rock genres: from pop-punk to post-hardcore, all the way to metalcore. While you are at it, add My Chemical Romance’s rendition of “All I Want for Christmas” to the queue and scare your mom.

Still in the realm of rock, but a lot more publicly playable, are U2’s cover of “I Believe in Father Christmas”, Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime”, and The Beatles’s “Christmas Time is Here Again.” In fact, for all you TikTok enjoyers, the “war is over audio” is a sample from John Lennon’s “Happy XMas.” You might also want to add Queen’s “Thank God It’s Christmas,” to this particular playlist, yet another tune worth unearthing. Now that I said “unearth,” I am reminded that Hozier has an interesting cover of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” that should make it to this eccentric soundtrack for the holidays.

If you have a healthy relationship with music, you would not know that every year around November and December at least one of your favorite artists releases a whole Christmas album that inevitably flops (except if your favorite artist is Michael Bublé). In my unhealthy listening, I discovered that this year the unfortunate artist is Jacob Collier. He chose wisely and released only a recording of three covers on YouTube under the creative title “Three Christmas Songs.” I must admit, it is a genuinely repeatable musical composition, a must-hear this season.

There are fewer songs dedicated to New Year’s Eve even though it is an equally, if not a bigger, day to celebrate. If you are traumatized at this point by ABBA’s “Happy New Year” (Eastern European kids, I see you), I have, unfortunately, only a small dose of medicine to rid your system of it. Try a few rotations of Ella Fitzgerald’s “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve.” In case that does not work, consider adding “New Year” by Beach House as a supplement. As a probiotic, I recommend some old Sabrina Carpenter with “is it new years yet?”.

As you travel home, as you set the festive table, as you toast to the old year and greet the new, I hope the tunes from this music column keep you in good company. But if you would rather just revisit your Spotify Wrapped, I will understand. Even the songs in this article are no exception to the rule: Christmas and New Year’s songs can only be appreciated when sung out of tune and in the middle of summer, otherwise, they can lead to permanent hearing and soul damage.