If I Were a Carpenter

You may remember last year when I did a 25-day countdown of my favorite versions of 25 different Christmas standards.

I'm not feeling quite so ambitious this year.

All the same, though, it's now Christmas music season and there are certainly going to be songs going through my head. I might as well share them here, don't you think?

(Besides all that, I have an editor who's been bellyaching since last year because I didn't blog about a certain Mariah Carey song. But I'll get back to that one later in the month.)

For now, an artist who reminds me a lot of Ms. Carey this time of year, in that I don't have much use for them except at the holidays: Richard and Karen Carpenter. Off the top of my head, I'm not sure I can name you a non-Christmas Carpenters song. I may or may not own a Carpenters record, but I own a lot of vinyl I've never listened to. I'm weird that way.

But at Christmas it's another story. I didn't actually own The Carpenters "Christmas Portrait" until last year, but their versions of "Christmas Waltz", "Christmas Song" and "Sleigh Ride" as well as their great original "Merry Christmas Darling" have been weaving their way into my holiday listening for years.

Last Christmas, I had to face a fact: I like the Carpenters. At least one month a year. So I bought the album. The Norman Rockwell-inspired cover doesn't hurt this one's stock either.

And as good as "Merry Christmas Darling" is, it's way too early in December for sad Christmas. I won't be breaking out my sad Christmas favorites like "I'll Be Home for Christmas" or "Pretty Paper" or "Hard Candy Christmas" for at least a couple weeks.

Instead, here's the Carpenters with their rendition of "Home for the Holidays." Enjoy the video. It's complete with some corny late-'70s merrymaking.

Happy December, everybody.