Christmas Songs
As Christmas time approaches my heart goes out to all those involved in the retail trade who have endless loops of Christmas music inflicted on them by thoughtless employers. Although there are some excellent Christmas songs they are outweighed by the many truly terrible Christmas songs and even the best songs very quickly become annoying. The following are a short list of Five of the best and Five of the worst Christmas songs, listed roughly in order of excellence and crapulence respectively.

Five of the Best Christmas Songs

• Fairytale of New York by The Pogues, Shane McGowan and Kirsty MacColl
• Merry Xmas Everybody by Slade
• I wish it could be Christmas everyday by Roy Wood with Wizzard
  I'm sure some people would list this one among the worst Christmas songs but despite being overplayed sometimes it is a good song and I like it.
• Stop the Cavalry by Jona Lewie
  (Irish musician Mundy recently did a nice cover version I quite like for a local radio station).
• Santa Claus song by Kevin Bloody Wilson

Five of the Worst Christmas Songs

Jingle Bell Rock by Destinys Child
Tragically the made a whole album of horriffic hip-hop interpretations of Christmas Songs

Fairytale of New York by Ronan Keating
The bland and irritatting Ronan Keating spews out a bland and irratatting homogenised version of this classic. The most tragic thing about it that this version often gets played instead of the original by some whom prefer its inoffensive blandness.

Last Chrismas by Wham
Once should be enough.

(Okay, so the list doesn't currently include Five of each but as the Christmas season is only just started I am sure I'll hear a few more soon and finish the list. Feel free to send suggestions of the worst Christmas songs to horkana at tcd dot ie).

Not Hot
Some joker put a picture of Bertie Ahern (our Taoiseach, the Irish equivalent to Prime Minister) on Hot or Not. For a change he is not wearing an anorak and doesn't look all that bad but bizarrely he managed to get rated 7.2 out 10. Please help give him the really low score he richly deserves.