A Baker's Dozen Of "White Christmas" Renditions

So, I've pulled 13 different versions of the same song for your holiday listening pleasure. Now it's up to you to decide which one you like best. I have my favorites among these – and ultimately, my single favorite – as I've noted here. But I'd love to hear your take on it too. Get used to this idea, by the way. I'm likely to do a couple more of these posts – all Christmas songs, of course! Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Rod Stewart  (Nice traditional take on a classic – isn't that David Foster on piano?)

2)  Michael Bublé & Kellie Pickler  (Classy cool with a dash of raucous redneck – not bad at all!)

3)  Cee-Lo Green  (Somehow Cee-Lo seems to make this song his own – well-done!)

4)  Lady Gaga  (Surprisingly subdued – plus, she wrote a new verse to it…and it's actually NOT nasty!)

5)  Tony Bennett  (Crooners and Christmas just seem to go together for some reason – a masterful jazz rendition.)

6)  Garth Brooks  (Hey, I found Garth Brooks on YouTube! I thought that was impossible! Nice version, too!)

Video wouldn't load properly –

 of course! – click link to view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYfgWSF81TE

7)  Michael Bolton  (I'm not a huge fan of Bolton – I think he tries too hard at that blue-eyed soul thing – but I suppose this one isn't too bad.)

8)  Martina McBride  (I've always loved Martina's voice/music, and she doesn't disappoint here either – surprise, surprise!)

9)  Il Divo  (A little too slow for my tastes, but there's no denying that these guys are mega-talented.)

10)  Kelly Clarkson  (I wish this were an actual video, but whatevs… Kelly is, as always, fantastic on this song.)

11)  Glee Cast  (Not surprisingly, Darren Criss and Chris Colfer knock this one out of the park!)

12)  The Drifters  (Often-copied, never-duplicated – this is the group that originally recorded the doo-wop, Motown-style version of the song made über-famous on the Home Alone soundtrack.)

13)  Bing Crosby  (For my money, Crosby's is the quintessential version of what is truly a quintessential Christmas song. Many have performed it well, but no one does it better than Bing!)

Songs About Thinking And Knowing

Okay, same deal as yesterday. A bunch of songs with one thing in common – they all have either the word "Think" or "Know" (or some derivative of such) in their titles. Some good songs here – and a couple of mediocre ones. Enter at your own risk. (Not really.)  ~  JH

1)  Katy Perry  ~  "Thinking Of You"

2)  Chris Brown ft. Aaliyah  ~  "Don't Think They Know"

3)  Montgomery Gentry  ~  "What Do Ya Think About That?"

4)  Kelly Clarkson  ~  "Mr. Know It All"

5)  Keith Urban  ~  "You'll Think Of Me"

6)  Colbie Caillat ft. Gavin DeGraw  ~  "We Both Know"

7)  Céline Dion  ~  "Think Twice"

8)  Fall Out Boy  ~  "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light 'Em Up)"

9)  Public Enemy  ~  "Harder Than You Think"

10)  Collective Soul  ~  "The World I Know"

11)  Jessica Simpson  ~  "I Think I'm In Love With You"

12)  Norah Jones  ~  "Don't Know Why"

13)  Darius Rucker  ~  "Don't Think I Don't Think About It"

14)  Paramore  ~  "All We Know"

15)  Misha B.  ~  "Do You Think Of Me?"

16)  Adam Lambert  ~  "Better Than I Know Myself"

17)  Garbage  ~  "I Think I'm Paranoid"

18)  Ellie Goulding  ~  "I Know You Care"

19)  The Partridge Family  ~  "I Think I Love You"

20)  KISS  ~  "Sure Know Something"

"High" & "Low" Songs

Another "Opposites" music post? Really? Yep. Get over it!  ~  JH

1)  Kellie Pickler  ~  "Red High Heels"

2)  The Wanted  ~  "All Time Low"

3)  James Blunt  ~  "High"

4)  Middle Class Rut  ~  "New Low"

5)  Radiohead  ~  "High & Dry"

6)  Kelly Clarkson  ~  "Low"

7)  Tal Bachman  ~  "She's So High"

8)  a-ha  ~  "Hunting High And Low"

9)  Kodaline  ~  "High Hopes"

10)  Cracker  ~  "Low"

11)  John Denver  ~  "Rocky Mountain High"

12)  Tony Bennett & Norah Jones  ~  "Speak Low"

13)  Damn Yankees  ~  "High Enough"  (Don't give me that look – it's the name of their band!)

14)  Augustana  ~  "Sweet And Low"

15)  Survivor  ~  "High On You"

16)  Sara Evans  ~  "Low"

17)  Tiffany Houghton  ~  "High"

18)  Freshlyground  ~  "Fire Is Low"

19)  Steve Winwood  ~  "Back In The High Life Again"

20)  War  ~  "Low Rider"

"Light" & "Dark" Songs

Okay, so maybe I'm getting a little carried away with these "Opposites" music posts. But I sort of don't care, because I enjoy putting them together. Maybe you'll enjoy them, too?  ~  JH

1)  Jillian O  ~  "Lighter"

2)  Lawson  ~  "Standing In The Dark"

3)  Jessie J ft. David Guetta  ~  "Laserlight"

4)  Bruce Springsteen  ~  "Dancing In The Dark"

5)  David Cook  ~  "Light On"

6)  Kelly Clarkson  ~  "Dark Side"

7)  Mumford & Sons  ~  "Lover Of The Light"

8)  Gloria Estefan  ~  "Coming Out Of The Dark"

9)  Ellie Goulding  ~  "Lights"

10)  Skillet  ~  "Whispers In The Dark"

11)  Florence + The Machine  ~  "No Light, No Light"

12)  Hoobastank  ~  "Crawling In The Dark"

13)  Rita Ora  ~  "Shine Ya Light"

14)  Au Revoir Simone  ~  "Dark Halls"

15)  House Of Heroes  ~  "Touch This Light"

16)  Anouk  ~  "The Dark"

17)  Greyson Chance  ~  "Sunshine & City Lights"

18)  Gary Allan  ~  "Smoke Rings In The Dark"

19)  Brandon Heath  ~  "The Light In Me"

20)  Brenda Russell  ~  "Piano In The Dark"

"Hit" & "Miss" Songs

Here's an "Opposites" music post that almost didn't happen. I was able to find more than enough "Miss" songs, but very few "Hit" songs – ironically. (You'll get that pun later.) In the end, it's almost balanced but not perfectly so, and that bothers me. Which probably says more about me than I feel like analyzing right now. Anyway, the songs...enjoy?  ~  JH

1)  Suede  ~  "Hit Me"

2)  Aerosmith  ~  "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing"

3)  Pat Benatar  ~  "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"

4)  Brad Paisley  ~  "I'm Gonna Miss Her"

5)  Mr. Tom  ~  "Feet Hit The Floor"

6)  Fifth Harmony  ~  "Miss Movin' On"

7)  Blu Cantrell  ~  "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)"

8)  Little Richard  ~  "Good Golly Miss Molly"

9)  Gia Farrell  ~  "Hit Me Up"

10)  Kelly Clarkson  ~  "Miss Independent"

11)  Ray Charles  ~  "Hit The Road, Jack!"

12)  Catalin Josan  ~  "Don't Wanna Miss You"

13)  Hole  ~  "Miss World"

14)  Britney Spears  ~  "(Hit Me) Baby One More Time"  (Okay, so I cheated on this one. "Hit Me" isn't actually part of the song title, but it is in the chorus of the song. So sue me!)

15)  Klymaxx  ~  "I Miss You"

16)  Maria Mena  ~  "Miss You Love"